CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
Comparative research is simply the act of comparing two or more things with a view
to discovering something about one or all of the things being compared. This
technique is often utilizes multiple disciplines in one study. When it comes to method,
the majority agreement is that there is no methodology peculiar to comparative
research. The multi disciplinary approach is good for the flexibility it offers, yet
comparative programs do have a case to answer against the call that their research
lacks a seamless whole. There are certainly methods far more common than others in
comparative studies, however. Quantitative analysis is much more frequently perused
than qualitative, and this is seen in the majority of comparative studies can be use
quantitative data. The general method of comparing things is the same for
comparative research as it is in our everyday practice of comparisons. Like cases are
treated alike, and cases are treated differently; the extent of difference determines how
differently cases are treated. The point here is that if one is able to sufficiently
distinguish two cases, comparative research conclusions will not be very helpful.
Secondary analysis of quantitative data is relatively widespread in comparative
research, undoubtedly in part because of the cost of obtaining primary data for such
large things as a countrys policy environment. A typical method of comparing
welfare state is to take balance their levels of spending on social welfare. we all know
in the changing environment corporate ha also changing their strategy for staying in
the market and always with the external environment like government and telecom
regulatory authority of India. But in this project I am totally focused on secondary

data. It is just an external analysis of life time plans of Vodafone Airtel and some other
telecom sector. as we all know the secondary data is totally based on internet
information, news paper cutting, ,comments etc. Organization always tries to maintain
the comparative edge between the competitors. And some external factor where also
active for different region here organization has always cope-up with the situation. In
line with how a lot of theorizing has gone in the last century, comparative research
does not tend to investigate grand theories such as Marxism. It instead occupies
itself with middle-range theories theories that do not purport to describe our social
system in its entirely, but a subset of it. A good example of this is the common
research programs that looks for differences between two or more social systems, then
look at these differences in relation to some other variable coexisting in those
societies to see if it is related. The classic cases of this is Esping-Andersons research
on social welfare systems, and compared them based on there levels of deco
modification of social welfare goods. He found that he was able to class welfare states
in four types, based on their deco modification. She further theorized from this that
deco modification was based on a combination of class collisions and mobilization,
and regime legacy. Here Esping-Anderson is using comparative research: he takes
many western countries and compared their level of deco modification, then develops
a theory of the divergence based on his findings. Comparative research is a
methodology in the social sciences that aims to make comparisons across different
countries and cultures. A major problem in comparative research is that the data sets
in different countries may not use the same categories, or define categories different.
A project is a scientific and systematic study of real issues on a problem with the
application of management concept and skills. The study can deal with small or big
issues in any division of an organization. It can be case study where a problem has

been dealt with, through the process of management. The essential equipment of a
project this that, it should contain scientific collection of data, analysis and
interpretation of data .Winter projects an essential part in MANAGEMENT
curriculum. It enables the student to share the real experience in industry. My
management has assigned me to do a winter project based on secondary data. The
topic has assigned to me the comparative analysis of life time plans of telecom sector
(airtel and vodafone). It is very difficult to analyze the life time plans of each and
every telecom company. Or comparative analysis of each and every state life time
plan of telecom sector. so thats why I have concentrated only on Maharashtra sector.
we all know in the changing environment corporate ha also changing their strategy for
staying in the market and always try to maintain the comparative edge between the
competitor. and some external factor where also active for different different region
here organization has always cope with the external environment like government and
telecom regulatory authority of india. but in this project I am totally focused on
secondary data. It is just an external analysis of life time plans of Vodafone airtel and
some other telecom sector. as we all know the secondary data is totally based on
internet information,news paper cutting, ,comments etc.
Telecom Industry in India
The telecom industry is one of the fastest growing industries in India. India has nearly
200 million telephone lines making it the third largest network in the world after
China and USA. With a growth rate of 45%, Indian telecom industry has the highest
growth rate in the world.
- Much of the growth in Asia Pacific Wireless Telecommunication Market is spurred
bythe

growth in demand in countries like India and China.

- Indias mobile phone subscriber base is growing at a rate of 82.2%.

- China is the biggest market in Asia Pacific with a subscriber base of 48% of the total
subscribers in Asia Pacific. Compared to that India s share in Asia Pacific Mobile
Phone.-Market is 6.4%. Considering the fact that India and China have almost
comparable populations, Indias low mobile penetration offers huge scope for growth.

Year
1851

First operational land lines were laid by the government near Calcutta (seat of

1881

British power)
Telephone service introduced in India.

1883

Merger with the postal system.

1923

Formation of Indian Radio Telegraph Company (IRT).

1932

Merger of ETC and IRT into the Indian Radio and Cable Communication

1947

Company (IRCC).
Nationalization of all foreign telecommunication companies to form the
Posts, Telephone and Telegraph (PTT), a monopoly run by the government's

1985

Ministry of Communications.
Department of Telecommunications (DOT) established an exclusive provider

1986

of domestic and long-distance service that would be its own regulator .

Conversion of DOT into two wholly government-owned companies: the
Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) for international telecommunications
and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) for service in

1997

metropolitan areas.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India created.

1999

Cellular Services are launched in India. New National Telecom Policy is

adopted.
History of Indian Telecommunications

Started in 1851 when the first operational land lines were laid by the government near
Calcutta(seat of British power). Telephone services were introduced in India in 1881.
In1883 telephone services were merged with the postal system. Indian Radio
4

Telegraph Company (IRT) was formed in 1923. After independence in 1947, all the
foreign telecommunication companies were nationalized to form the Posts, Telephone
and Telegraph (PTT), a monopoly run by the government's Ministry of
Communications. Telecom sector was considered as a strategic service and the
government considered it best to bring under state's control.The first wind of reforms
in telecommunications sector began to flow in 1980s when the private sector was
allowed in telecommunications equipment manufacturing. In 1985, Department of
Telecommunications (DOT) was established. It was an exclusive provider of domestic
and long distance service that would be its own regulator (separate from the postal
system). In 1986, two wholly government-owned companies were created: the Videsh
Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) for international telecommunications and Mahanagar
Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) for service in metropolitan areas.In 1990s,
telecommunications sector benefited from the general opening up of the economy.
Also, examples of telecom revolution in many other countries, which resulted in
better quality of service and lower tariffs, led Indian policy makers to initiate a change
process finally resulting in opening up of telecom services sector for the private
sector.National Telecom Policy (NTP) 1994 was the first attempt to give a
comprehensive roadmap for the Indian telecommunications sector. In 1997, Telecom
RegulatoryAuthority of India (TRAI) was created. TRAI was formed to act as a
regulator to facilitate the growth of the telecom sector. New National Telecom Policy
was adopted in 1999 and cellular services were also launched in the same
year.Telecommunication sector in India can be divided into two segments: Fixed
Service Provider (FSPs), and Cellular Services. Fixed line services consist of basic
services, national or domestic long distance and international long distance services.
The state operators (BSNL and MTNL), account for almost 90 per cent of

revenues from basic services. Private sector services are presently available in
selective urban areas, and collectively account for less than 5 per cent of
subscriptions. However, private services focus on the business/corporate sector, and
offer reliable, high- end services, such as leased lines, ISDN, closed user group and
videoconferencing.

Cellular services can be further divided into two categories: Global System for Mobile
Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). The GSM
sector is dominated by Airtel, Vodfone-Hutch, and Idea Cellular, while the CDMA
sector is dominated by Reliance and Tata Indicom. Opening up of international and
domestic long distance telephony services are the major growth drivers for cellular
industry. Cellular operators get substantial revenue from these services, and
compensate them for reduction in tariffs on airtime, which along with rental was the
main source of revenue. The reduction in tariffs for airtime, national long distance,
international long distance, and handset prices has driven demand.

OUR PARTNERS
IDEA welcomes all businesses and individuals interested in partnering with us to
enhance and strengthen the IDEA products & services portfolio.
To explore such potential partnerships, kindly get in touch with us by submitting the

Partners Form.
Some of our Technology and Content Partners:
VAS
Onmobile Asia Pacific Ltd

Cellebrum India Ltd

Siddhivinayak Astro Services Ltd.

Kodiak Ltd

Mauj

Net4nuts India Ltd

Yahoo
Rediff
Indiatimes
Mobile2win
Sify
NDTV

ROAMING
Roamware.inc

Starhome

Bharti Telesoft

MARKETING
COMMUNICATIONS
Lowe India Pvt Ltd

Insight Media Ltd

PUBLIC RELATIONS
AdFactors PR

NETWORK
Nokia - Siemens

Ericsson

Our Promoters
The Aditya Birla Group is India's first truly multinational corporation. Global in
vision, rooted in Indian values, the Group is driven by a performance ethic pegged on
value creation for its multiple stakeholders. Its 66 state-of-the-art manufacturing units
and sectoral services span India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Egypt,
8

Canada, Australia and China.A US$ 6.7 billion conglomerate, with a market
capitalisation of US$ 7 billion, it is anchored by an extraordinary force of 72,000
employees belonging to over 20 different nationalities. Over 30 per cent of its
revenues flow from its operations across the world.A premium conglomerate, the
Aditya Birla Group is a dominant player in all of the sectors in which it operates.
Such as viscose staple fiber, non-ferrous metals, cement, viscose filament yarn,
branded apparel, carbon black, chemicals, fertilizers, sponge iron, insulators and
financial services.The Group has also made successful forays into the IT and BPO
sectors.Currently around 57 percent of our Equity Shares are held by our Promoters
who are companies belonging to the Aditya Birla Group.
Our Promoters are 1. Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited
2. Grasim Industries Limited
3. Hindalco Industries Limited and
4. Birla TMT Holdings Private Limited.
SERVICES PROVIDED BY IDEACELLULAR
o SMS
o ASTROLOGY
o MUSIC MESSAGING
o RINGTONES
o DIAL-a-RINGTONE
o LOGO
FLASH SMS

o JOKES
o LOVE LOGOS
o CALLER LINE IDENTIFICATION
o VOICE MAIL
o ITEMIZED BILLING
o ENQUIRY SERVICE
o PICTURE MESSAGING
o YAHOO DATING
o YAHOO! MAIL
o YAHOO MESSENGER
o GROUP MESSENGER
o MOBILE BANKING
o NEWS UPDATE
SUPPLEMENTARY SERVICES
o ATTACH/DETACH (PLUS TIMER)
o BARRING ALL CALLS
o BARRING INCOMING CALLS
o BARRING INCOMING CALLS WHEN ABROAD
o BARRING INTERNATIONAAL CALLS
o CLIP
o COLP
o CALL FORWARD-ON BUSY
o CALL FORWARD-ON NO REPLY

10

o CALL FORWARD-ON NOT REACHABLE

o CALL FORWARD-UNCONDITIONAL
o CALL HOLD
o CALLWAITING
o DTMF SIGNALING
o MULTI PARTY CALLING
o OPERATOR CONTROLLED BARRING
o VOICE MAIL WITH SMS NOTIFICATION SMS-MT
o SMS -MT
TELE SERVICES
CORE BELIEFS The company continuously harnesses the power of wireless
revolution to provide world-class products and services. It aims at responding to
customer needs proactively by anticipating requirements and providing ready
solutions.Idea Cellular draws inspiration from the loyalty of its subscribers to keep
raising the bar, to shape the future, and to change and enrich the life of each and every
member of its ever-growing family of subscribers.

IDEA CELLULAR MISSION

Innovate. Stimulate. Liberate...
Through continuous innovation, Idea Cellular seeks to liberate customers from the
shackles of time and space.
VISION

11

To achieve objectives of growth and profitability by cellular telephony a common

means of personal communication and a fact everyday life in our markets we will do
so by providing high quality wide range cellular services, which is easy to use,
offered at a fair price and supported by exceptional customer service organizational
structure.
If not, the money for this deal could also be raised through the initial public offer
(IPO) route or through additional debt, which would father iUP(EAST)ease the debt
burden. On Jan 15th, Idea issued a press release saying they had completed the
largest acquisition in the wireless industry. The transaction includes six telecom
circlesthe existing three circles of Escotel and the three licenses obtained by
Escorts at the time of auctions of forth operator licenses. Escorts has more than
15,25,000 subscribers. DSP Merrill Lynch have been advisors to Idea cellular. The
newly acquired circles represent an addition to Ideas existing footprints with all,
except Kerala, being contiguous to Ideas existing operation.Idea will have
incumbency advantage in as many as seven circles,which would entitle the company
to an additional 2% reduction in license fees for four years from April 1,2007 which
has been granted only to the incumbent first and second operators in non metro
circle.The Nundas hold 51% of Escotel, while the balance 49% is held by First
Pacific. First Pacific had decided to exit India two years ago and had been waiting for
the right buyer to come along with the right price. It is learnt that hiked its offer in the
last few days. The deal makes great sense for Idea because it is not an operator in any
of the circles in which Escotel provides service. Bharti, on the other hand, offers
service in all the circles where Escotel operates, as the fourth operator. The deal is the
major setback for Bharti as Sunil Mittal, chairman of Bharti Group, was also buying
Escotel.Bharti lost in a bid war with Idea cellular for Escotel as they had bid
12

significantly lower as they were already present in all those circles of which Escotel is
a part. In the absence of intra circle merger guidelines, it was difficult for Bharti to
evaluate Escotel fully. Bharti operates on 1800 MHz. The cost of operation is higher
at this frequency. So it made sense for Bharti to acquire Escotel and gain access to the
frequency in 900 MHz band that Escotel operates on.
SPECIAL SERVICES BY IDEA(after services provided by IDEA)

1.

Call forwarding with the help of services you can divert your incoming calls
to any number to the cellular or P&T.

2.

Calls waiting/ calls hold this facility let you handle two calls at the same time.
You can put one call on hold while you attend another incoming call. Also put
your current call on hold while make an outgoing call. You can switch
between calls as often as often as you want & terminate any when you want.

3.

Calling

Line

Identification

Presentation

(CLIP)

the

CLIP

facility

automatically display you callers number, letting you decide whether you
want to take the call or not.
4.

Call conference this facility converts your mobile UN to a conference room

by connecting you many people simultaneously whether they are on a cellular
or a P&T line.

5.

Call barring, it allows you to prevent certain type of calls being made from
your handsets.

6.

Voice Mail Service, this services let you receive & store messages even when
your handsets.

13

7.

Roming facility Idea provides you roaming facility in any part of the country
i.e. you can use Idea cellular phone of India.

8.

Turant- TAAR bid good by phones, letters, telegrams, faxes & even e-mails
the new facility adding by the organization is Turant-Tar the mobile to mobile
messaging service that can allow you to send text messages to the mobile
phones or your business associates instantly anywhere in the world without
incurring STD or ISD charges.

TELECOM HISTORY
1842: Wireless by conduction
1843:

Early

electromagnetic

research,

wireless

1865: Induction and Dr. Loomis

Early radio discoveries
1879: D.E. Hughes and the first radio-telephone reception
1880: The photophone and the first voice radio-telephone call
1880 - 1900: Radio development begins in earnest
1910: The first car-telephone
1924: The first car-mounted radio-telephone
1937: Early conventional radio-telephone development
The modern era begins

14

by

induction

1946: The first commercial American radio-telephone service

1947: Cellular systems first discussed
1948: The first automatic radio telephone service
1969: The first cellular radio system
1973: The Father of the cell phone
1978: First generation analog cellular systems begin
1980: Growth of Japanese cellular development
1981: NMT -- the first multinational cellular system
1982: The rise of GSM
1990: North America goes digital: IS-54
Classification of Telecommunication services
Cellular Service
Overview
1. There are five private service operators in each area, and an incumbent state
operator. Almost 80% of the cellular subscriber base belongs to the pre-paid segment.
2. The Dot has allowed cellular companies to buy rivals within the same operating
circle provided their combined market share did not exceed 67 per cent. Previously,
they were only allowed to buy companies outside their circle
Growth Drivers.
Opening up of international and domestic long distance telephony services are growth
drivers in the industry. Cellular operators now get substantial revenue from these
services, and compensate them for reduction in tariffs on air time, which along with
rental was the main source of revenue. The reduction in tariffs for airtime, national
long distance, international long distance, and handset prices has driven demand.

15

The Key players in the Telecom Market in India

Cellular Service provider:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

BSNL
Airtel
Idea
Reliance
Vodafone
Tata indicom
Aircel
Spice
MTNL

INTRODUCTION
AIRTEL
Bharti Airtel formerly known as Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited (BTVL) is among
India's largest mobile phone and Fixed Network operators. With more than 60 million
subscriptions as of 13th February 2008.[2] It offers its mobile services under the
Airtel brand and is headed by Sunil Mittal. The company also provides telephone
services and Internet access over DSL in 14 circles. The company complements its
mobile, broadband & telephone services with national and international long distance
services.
The company also has a submarine cable landing station at Chennai, which connects
the submarine cable connecting Chennai and Singapore. The company provides
reliable end-to-end data and enterprise services to the corporate customers by
leveraging its nationwide fiber optic backbone, last mile connectivity in fixed-line and

16

mobile circles, VSATs, ISP and international bandwidth access through the gateways
and landing station.
Airtel is the largest cellular service provider in India in terms of number of
subscribers. Bharti Airtel owns the Airtel brand and provides the following services
under the brand name Airtel: Mobile Services (using GSM Technology), Broadband
& Telephone Services (Fixed line, Internet Connectivity(DSL) and Leased Line),
Long Distance Services and Enterprise Services (Telecommunications Consulting for
corporates). Leading international telecommunication companies such as Vodafone
and SingTel held partial stakes in Bharti Airtel. In April 2006 Bharti Global Limited
was awarded a telecommunications license in Jersy in the Channel Islands by the
local telecommunications regulator the JCRA.
In September 2006 the Office of Utility Regulation in Guernsey awarded Guernsey
Airtel with a mobile telecommunications license. In May 2007 Jersey Airtel and
Guernsey Airtel announced the launch of a relationship with Vodafone for island
mobile subscribers. In July 2007, Bharti Airtel signed an MoU with Nokia-Siemens
for a 900 million dollar expansion of its mobile and fixed network.[3] In August 2007,
the company announced it will be launching a customized version of Google search
engine that will provide an 'array of services' to its broadband customers
INTRODUCTION
IDEA

As India's leading GSM Mobile Services operator, IDEA Cellular has licenses to
operate in 11 circles. With a customer base of over 17 million, IDEA Cellular has
operations in Delhi,Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh,Uttaranchal, Haryana, UP-West, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala. IDEA

17

Cellular's footprint Currently covers approximately 45% of India's population and

over 50% of the potential Telecom-market.
As a leader in Value Added Services, Innovation is central to IDEA's VAS Factory. It
is the first cellular company to launch music messaging with 'Cellular Jockey',
'Background Tones', 'Group Talk', a voice portal with 'Say IDEA' and a complete suite
of Mobile Email Services. Idea Cellular is a wireless telephony company operating in
various states in India. It initially started in 1995 as a join venture between the Tatas,
Aditya Birla Group and AT&T by merging Tata Cellular and Birla AT&T
Communications.
Initially having a very limited footprint in the GSM arena, the acquisition of Escotel
in 2004 gave Idea a truly pan-India presence covering Maharashtra (excluding
Mumbai), Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh
(East and West), Haryana, Kerala, Rajasthan and Delhi (inclusive of NCR).
The company has its retail outlets under the "Idea n' U" banner. The company has also
been the first to offer flexible tariff plans for prepaid customers. It also offers GPRS
services in urban areas.
Holding
Initially the Birlas, the Tatas and AT&T Wireless each held one-third equity in the
company. But following AT&T Wireless' merger with Cingular Wireless in 2004,
Cingular decided to sell its 32.9% stake in Idea. This stake was bought by both the
Tatas and Birlas at 16.45% each.Tata's foray into the cellular market with its own
subsidiary, Tata Indicom, a CDMA basedmobile provider, cropped differences
between the Tatas and the Birlas. This dual holding by the Tatas also became a major
reason for the delay in Idea being granted a license to operate in Mumbai. This was
because as per Department of Telecom (DOT) license norms, one promoter could not

18

have more than 10% stake in two companies operating in the same circle and Tata
Indicom was already operating in Mumbai when Idea filed for its license. The Birlas
thus approached the DOT and sought its intervention, and the Tatas replied by saying
that they would exit Idea but only for a good price. On April 10, 2006, the Aditya
Birla Group announced its acquisition of the 48.18% stake held by the Tatas at Rs.
40.51 a share amounting to Rs. 44.06 billion. While 15% of the 48.14% stake was
acquired by Aditya Birla Nuvo, a company in-charge of the Birlas' new business
initiatives, the remaining stake was acquired by Birla TMT holdings Private Ltd., an
AV Birla family owned company.Currently, Birla Group holds 98.3% of the total
shares of t
company. Idea has successfully launched 3 more new circles (states) in India viz.
Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and UP (East) to make itself a pan-India player.
Recently, Idea got licenses to operate in Mumbai & Bihar.

INTRODUCTION
RELIANCE
A DREAM COME TRUE
The Late Dhirubhai Ambani dreamt of a digital India an India where the common
man would have access to affordable means of information and communication.
Dhirubhai, who single-handedly built Indias largest private sector company virtually
from scratch, had stated as early as 1999: Make the tools of information and
communication available to people at an affordable cost. They will overcome the
handicaps of illiteracy and lack of mobility. It was with this belief in mind that
Reliance Communications (formerly Reliance Infocomm) started laying 60,000 route
kilometres of a pan-India fibre optic backbone.

19

This backbone was commissioned on 28 December 2002, the auspicious occasion of

Dhirubhais 70th birthday, though sadly after his unexpected demise on 6 July 2002.
Reliance Communications has a reliable, high-capacity, integrated (both wireless and
wireline) and convergent (voice, data and video) digital network. It is capable of
delivering a range of services spanning the entire infocomm (information and
communication) value chain, including infrastructure and services for enterprises
as well as individuals, applications, and consulting.
Today, Reliance Communications is revolutionising the way India communicates and
networks, truly bringing about a new way of life.Reliance Communications (formerly
Reliance Infocomm), along with Reliance Telecom and Flag Telecom, is part of
Reliance Communications Ventures (RCoVL). According to National Stock Exchange
data, Anil Ambani controls 66.75 per cent of the company, which accounts for more
than 1.36 billion shares of the company.[1]Reliance Infocomm is an Indian
telecommunications company. It is the flagship company of the Reliance- Anil
Dhirubhai Ambani Group, comprising of power (Reliance Energy), financial services
(Reliance Capital) and telecom initiatives of the Reliance ADA Group. Reliance
Infocomm is currently managed by Anil Dhirubhai Ambani.It uses CDMA2000 1x
technology
HISTORY
Reliance Infocomm was founded by Dhirubhai Ambani. Between 1999 to 2002
Reliance Infocomm built 60,000 km of fibre optic backbone in India. This network
was commissioned on December 28, 2002.
FOOTPRINT
At present, Reliance Telecom's GSM cellular services are available in 340 towns
within its eight-circle footprint. Reliance's CDMA services are available in 19 states

20

and cover about 65% of the country, state wise. Reliance Infocomm also offered for
the first time in India, mobile data services through its R-World mobile portal. This
portal leverages the data capability of the CDMA 1X network.

BUSINESS REVIEW
During the twelve months ended March 31, 2007, revenues of the Wireless business
increased by 46% to Rs. 10,728 crore (US$ 2,489 million) from Rs. 7,364 crore (US$
1,709 million).
Wireless EBITDA increased to Rs. 3,984 crore (US$ 924 million) from Rs. 2,250
crore (US$ 522 million). Margins expanded to 37% from 31%. EBITDA of the Global
business increased by 98% during the twelve months ended March 31, 2007 to Rs.
1,271 crore (US$ 295 million). EBITDA margins increased to 24% from 12% last
year. In the same period, the Broadband business achieved revenue growth of 123% to
Rs. 1,144 crore (US$ 265 million), and EBITDA increased by more than 6 times, to
Rs. 519 crore (US$ 120 million). The EBITDA margin crossed 45% in the twelve
months ended March 31, 2007, from 15% in the corresponding period in the previous
year.

21

TATA TELESERVICES

Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) is part of the Tata Group of Companies, an Indian
Conglomerate. It runs the brand name Tata Indicom in India in various telecom circles
of India. The company forms part of the Tata Group's presence in the
Telecommunication Industry in India, along with Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra)
Limited (TTML) and VSNL. TTSL was incorporated in 1995 and was the first
company to offer CDMA Mobile services in India, specifically in the state of Andhra
Pradesh.
In December 2002, the company acquired the erstwhile Hughes Telecom (India)
Ltd.which was renamed Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited. In September 2007,
Tata Indicom launched the Talk World plan, an International Long Distance Plan.Tata
is the direct competitor with Reliance, both CDMA operators in India. The company
provides unified telecommunication solutions including mobile, fixed wireless, fixed
line
and broadband. Other competitors are Vodafone, Airtel, Aircel, Idea, MTNL, BSNL
providing GSM based mobile telephony. The company was first in India to provide
free intra network calling within city limits. They launched a unique scheme
providing lifetime rental free connectivity on its mobile and fixed wireless for a one
time charge. Tata Teleservices is part of the INR Rs. 119000 Crore (US$ 29 billion)
Tata Group, that has over 87 companies, over 250,000 employees and more than 2.8
million shareholders. With a committed investment of INR 36,000 Crore (US$ 7.5
billion) in Telecom (FY 2006), the Group has a formidable presence across the
telecom value chain.

22

Tata Teleservices spearheads the Groups presence in the telecom sector. Incorporated
in 1996, Tata Teleservices was the first to launch CDMA mobile services in India with
the Andhra Pradesh circle. Starting with the major acquisition of Hughes Tele.com
(India) Limited [now renamed Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited] in December
2002 the company swung into an expansion mode. With the total Investment of Rs
19,924 Crore, Tata Teleservices has
created a Pan India presence spread across 20 circles that includes Andhra Pradesh,
Chennai, Gujarat, Karnataka, Delhi, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Tamil Nadu, Orissa,
Bihar, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh (E), Uttar
Pradesh (W), Kerala, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. Having pioneered
the CDMA 3G1x technology platform in India, Tata Teleservices has established a
robust and reliable 3G ready telecom infrastructure that ensures quality in its services.
It has partnered with Motorola, Ericsson, Lucent and ECI Telecom for the deployment
of a reliable, technologically advanced network. The company, which heralded
convergence technologies in the Indian telecom sector, is today the market leader in
the fixed wireless telephony market with a total customer base of over 3.8 million.
Tata Teleservices bouquet of telephony services includes Mobile services, Wireless
Desktop Phones, Public Booth Telephony and Wireline services. Other services
include value added services like voice portal, roaming, post-paid Internet services, 3way conferencing, group calling, Wi-Fi Internet, USB Modem, data cards, calling
card services and enterprise services. Some of the other products launched by the
company include prepaid wireless desktop phones, public phone booths, new mobile
handsets and new voice & data services such as BREW games, Voice Portal, picture
messaging, polyphonic ring tones, interactive applications like news, cricket,
astrology, etc. Tata Indicom redefined the existing prepaid mobile market in India, by

23

unveiling their offering Tata Indicom Non Stop Mobile which allows customers to
receive free incoming calls. Tata Teleservices today has Indias largest branded
telecom retail chain and is the first service provider in the country to offer an online
channel www.ichoose.in to offer postpaid mobile connections in the country.
Tata Teleservices has a strong workforce of 6000. In addition, TTSL has created more
than 20,000 jobs, which will include 10,000 indirect jobs through outsourcing of its
manpower needs.
Today, Tata Teleservices Limited along with Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited
serves over 21 million customers in over 4000 towns. With an ambitious rollout plan
both within existing circles and across new circles, Tata Teleservices offers worldclass technology and user-friendly services in 20 circles.

24

INTRODUCTION
BSNL

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (known as BSNL, India Communications Corporation

Limited) is a public sector communications company in India. It is the India's largest
telecommunication company with 25.14% market share as on December 31, 2007. Its
headquarters are at Bharat Sanchar Bhawan, Harish Chandra Mathur Lane, Janpath,
New Delhi. It has the status of Mini-ratna - a status assigned to reputed Public Sector
companies in India. BSNL is India's oldest and largest Communication Service
Provider (CSP). Currently BSNL has a customer base of 68.5 million (Basic &
Mobile telephony). It has footprints throughout India except for the metropolitan
cities of Mumbai and New Delhi which are managed by MTNL. As on December 31,
2007 BSNL commanded a customer base of 31.7 million Wireline, 4.1 million
CDMA-WLL and 32.7 million GSM Mobile subscribers. BSNL's earnings for the
Financial Year ending March 31, 2007 stood at INR 397.15b (US$ 9.67 b) with net
profit of INR 78.06b (US$ 1.90 billion). Today, BSNL is India'slargest Telco and one
of the largest Public Sector Undertaking with estimated market value of $ 100 Billion.
The company is planning an IPO with in 6 months to offload 10 % to public.Bharat
Sanchar

Nigam

Ltd.

formed

in October, 2000, is

World's

7th

largest

Telecommunications Company providing comprehensive range of telecom services in

India: Wire line, CDMA mobile, GSM Mobile, Internet, Broadband, Carrier service,
MPLS-VPN, VSAT, VoIP services, IN Services etc. Within a span of five years it has
become one of the largest public sector unit in India.BSNL has installed Quality
Telecom Network in the country and now focusing on improving it, expanding the
network, introducing new telecom services with ICT applications in villages and

25

wining customer's confidence. Today, it has about 47.3 million line basic telephone
capacity, 4 million WLL capacity, 20.1 Million GSM Capacity, more than 37382 fixed
exchanges, 18000 BTS, 287 Satellite Stations, 480196 Rkm of OFC Cable, 63730
Rkm of Microwave Network connecting 602 Districts, 7330 cities/towns and 5.5
Lakhs villages. BSNL is the only service provider, making focused efforts and
planned initiatives to bridge the Rural-Urban Digital Divide ICT sector. In fact there
is no telecom operator in the country to beat its reach with its wide network giving
services in every nook & corner of country and operates across India except Delhi &
Mumbai. Whether it is inaccessible areas of Siachen glacier and North eastern region
of the country. BSNL serves its customers with its wide bouquet of telecom services.
BSNL is numerous Uno operator of India in all services in its license area. The
company offers vide ranging & most transparent tariff schemes designed to suite
every customer. BSNL cellular service, Cell One, has more than 17.8 million cellular
customers, garnering 24 percent of all mobile users as its subscribers. That means that
almost every fourth mobile user in the country has a BSNL connection. In basic
services, BSNL is miles ahead of its rivals, with 35.1 million Basic Phone subscribers
i.e. 85 per cent share of the subscriber base and 92 percent share in revenue
terms.BSNL has more than 2.5 million WLL subscribers and 2.5 million Internet
Customers who access Internet through various modes viz. Dial-up, Leased Line,
DIAS, Account Less Internet(CLI). BSNL has been adjudged as the NUMBER ONE
ISP in the country. BSNL has set up a world class multi-gigabit, multi-protocol
convergent IP infrastructure that provides convergent services like voice, data and
video through the same Backbone and Broadband Access Network. At present there
are 0.6 million Data One broadband customers.The company has vast experience in
Planning, Installation, network integration and Maintenance of Switching &

26

Transmission Networks and also has a world class ISO 9000 certified Telecom
Training Institute.Scaling new heights of success, the present turnover of BSNL is
more than Rs.351,820 million (US $ 8 billion) with net profit to the tune of Rs.99,390
million (US $ 2.26 billion) for last financial year. The infrastructure asset on
telephone alone is worth about Rs.630,000 million (US $ 14.37 billion).
BSNL plans to expand its customer base from present 47 millions lines to 125 million
lines by December 2007 and infrastructure investment plan to the tune of Rs. 733
crores (US$ 16.67 million) in the next three years. The turnover, nationwide coverage,
reach, comprehensive range of telecom services and the desire to excel has made
BSNL the No. 1 Telecom Company of India.

What is prepaid mobile service?

Prepaid cellular services are getting very popular these days. Many people now prefer
prepaid services since they offer a variety of advantages related to lifestyle and cost
control that simply are not available through post-paid contract based services.
Prepaid cell phones have a distinct advantage over regular subscriptions. They offer
cost control with a fixed price per minute, control over costs with cell phones
distributed by parents, no credit check and increased anonymity.Get you own cell
phone with no credit check! It's today's safe, convenient, andflexible way to manage
your spending on cellular phones. Prepaid cell phones are convenient and easy to get
because there are:
* no contracts
* no credit checks
* no deposits
* no monthly bills

27

* no activation or early termination fees

You will be safer and more secure when you own a prepaid cell phone without paying
hefty monthly fees.
Great Cost Control with No surprises!
Increasing consumer demand for prepaid cellular phones Prepaid cellular services are
currently the fastest-growing segment of the wireless phone market, perhaps because
wireless service can be started up with no subscription fee for well under $100. More
and more people are using this service to control spending than to get around credit
problems. In Europe, already more than 60 % of subscribers are on a prepaid wireless
plan, while in the United States, only 8 to 10 percent of users have chosen that system
But it's growing fast: in Canada, for example, some providers see their prepaid
subscribers base increase 50% faster than those of an ordinary monthly billed service.
Prepaid cellular phones are ideal in the following situations:
* If you want to budget your cell phone use, or
* If you want a phone for occasional use but don't want to pay a monthly service fee
or enter a long-term agreement, or
* If you have no credit history or past credit problems, or
* If your usage varies from month to month, or
* If you want to buy your children a phone for emergency use but restrict the amount
of calls they can make, or
* If you are looking for a gift. Or
* If you don't feeling comfortable providing information for a carrier credit check, or
* If you want to learn about your usage patterns before committing to a long-term
Monthly billing wireless contract.

28

What is lifetime validity?

Lifetime prepaid means that your cell-phone connection remains valid for life. You
also get a minimal talk time, ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 100 .The good part is that all
subsequent recharges give you full talk time. There will be no processing charges,
something that is a big turn-off for prepaid customers. For instance, out of the Rs 335
an Airtel prepaid customer in Delhi pays to recharge his connection for 30 days, Rs
150 go into processing fees. Another Rs. 31 goes to the government as tax and he gets
airtime worth only Rs 154. If he takes the lifetime validity offer, the same Rs 335
recharge will give him talk time worth Rs 302 and thats for life. By saving on the
Rs 150 processing fee, he will recover the one-time charge for lifetime validity in a
few months. Lifetime plans allow pre-paid subscribers to have lifetime validity for a
one-time payment. The user can then continue to receive calls without having to
recharge.

TRAI on Lifetime validity plans

TRAI asks mobile operators to disclose key issues of lifetime plans. TRAI has asked
the mobile operators offering lifetime connectivity plans to disclose 'risk factors', like
change in tariff plans and their remaining license period duration, in their
announcement.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)

incorporated safeguards to

protect consumer interest in the lifetime validity tariff schemes being offered by
phone companies. These include a restriction on the companies from hiking the tariff

29

on any item specified in the plans and an obligation to inform the subscribers of the
monthand year of the expiry of current license.
The amendment to the Telecommunication Tariff Order thus addresses a moral issue
that had arisen after phone companies began promoting lifetime schemes their
licenses are for a limited span ranging from seven to 15 years while they were
offering a tariff that went well beyond the license period. It also answered a question
in the minds of the subscribers whether there would be subsequent demands from
phone companies after the initial upfront payment. TRAI made it clear that in the case
of tariff plans offered or marketed as having lifetime or unlimited validity, the
subscribers should get the service as long as the phone company is permitted to
provide such telecom service under the current license or renewed license. TRAI has
also reiterated the right of the subscribers to choose any tariff plan at any point of
time.
TRAI released a `Regulation on Code of Practice for Metering and Billing Accuracy.
With no stakeholder replying to the consultation paper on billing issues that also
Contained a code of practice for metering and billing accuracy, TRAI decided to issue
the regulation. It has directed companies before enrolling a customer to inform in
writing, within a week of activation of service, the complete details of the tariff plan.
Charges for a value added service (download of film clip, ring tone and the like) or
entry to an interactive service (such as a game) must be provided before the customer
commits to use the service.

30

Articles No. 1

3. M A N A G E M E N T

P R A C T IC E S INFLUE NC IN G NE W PR ODUC T T HAT IS LIFE

T IM E P LA N O F SU C C E SS AND FAI LUR E IN T HE

S C A N D IN AVI A :

A SIA

AND

A C R O SS - C U LTUR A L C OMPAR ATI V E ST UDY OF

T E LE C O M P R O D U C T .

Abstract:
This

comparative

cross-cultural

study

of

Asia

and

Scandinavian

telecommunications products found both similarities and differences in the successful

new product development (NPD) management practices that is time plan within the
Asia and Scandinavia. Proficiencies in conducting development, marketing, and
customer service activities were identified as important to NPD success in both
Scandinavia and the U.S. However, differences between the Asia and Scandinavia
were found with regard to the importance of research and development/marketing
integration and project manager competency, with these aspects being more important
to NPD success in the Asia Additional differences between Scandinavia and the U.S.
were found in the successful NPD strategies for entering familiar versus unfamiliar
markets, with the Scandinavian systems being more oriented toward product design
strategies like life time plan of telecom industry. The overall results characterized U.S.
NPD management systems as product-market oriented, task focused, and project
management driven. By comparison, the Scandinavian NPD management systems
were characterized as product-service oriented, driven by enduring interpersonal
relationships and socially oriented to helping others. These characterizations were
found to be consistent with dissimilarities in the national cultures of the Asia and
Scandinavia, suggesting that some core NPD management principles may be
31

generally important to success, whereas others may be culturally dependent. The

importance of recognizing these differences is pointed out in a discussion of their
implications for NPD theory and practice in today's global economy.

Articles No. 2

FORECASTING MARKET DEMAND FOR LIFE TIME PLAN OF NEW

TELECOMMUNCATION SERVICES: AN INTRODUCTION

ABSTACT:
The marketing team of a new telecommunications company is usually tasked
with producing forecasts for diverse stakeholders with different needs. Consequently,
those outside marketing often realize both the many reasons for developing forecasts
nor the marketing theory used and the challenges involved in doing so. Based on our
three decades of experience working with telecommunications operators around the
world we seek to redress this situation by presenting a discussion of the issues
involved in demand forecasting for new communications services.

Articles No. 3

GUEST EDITORIAL. QUALITY OF TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES,

NETWORKS AND PRODUCTS.

32

ABSTRACT:
The present issue of the IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications provides
a forum in which suppliers of telecommunications services and suppliers of
telecommunications equipment can come together with the academic and research
communities to meet the quality needs of end users. Papers cover the areas of
understanding and communicating customer needs, tools and techniques for managing
quality and evolving survivability, reliability, and security needs

Article No-4

TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY IN INDIA: THE POLITICAL

ABSTACT:
In the mid-1980s India became one of the first developing countries to launch reforms
in its telecommunications services; yet 10 years later little change had been
introduced in the sector. Then in 1994 the government launched a new national
telecommunications policy which has a considerable number of important features
that are rather puzzling and uniquely Indian. This paper argues that the slow pace and
uniqueness of India's telecommunications reform are to be explained in terms of the
country's institutional arrangements. Radical telecommunications reforms move at a
slow pace, take peculiar local twists or fall in implementation when (1) the state is
highly permeable and vulnerable to demands from powerful, domestic interest groups
that oppose changes in the sector; and/or (2) top government officials diverge and
clash over the reform agenda, generally due to the head of state's lack of power.

Articles No. 5
33

10. DEMAND FOR LIFE TIME PLAN OF TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES

IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.
ABSTRACT:
Living standards and economic growth in developing countries are invariably linked
to the availability and use of telecom services. Effective policy decisions require the
best estimates of the drivers of these services. In this paper, telecommunications
demand is estimated in models for residential mainline and mobile telephone service
for developing countries for the period 19962003. The paper tests for cross-price
effects between mainline and mobile service and its findings have important policy
implications. It finds residential monthly price elasticity to be insignificant for
developing countries, but the connection elasticity is larger than generally found in the
literature. Mobile monthly price elasticities are very large. A new and important
empirical finding is that although wireline phones are substitutes in the mobile
market, the contrary is not truemobile phones are not substitutes in the wireline
market, and in fact may be considered complements. This lack of symmetry has
important implications for properly defining telecom markets. Universal service
subsidies and competitive market initiatives should be reevaluated in light of the
papers elasticity estimates. Increased competition, income growth and enhanced
education may be the ultimate universal service promoters

Articles No. 6
THE DIFFUSION OF MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES IN THE
ASIAN UNION
ABSTRACT:

34

We study the technological and regulatory determinants of the diffusion of

mobile telecommunications services in the European Union, using a logistic model of
diffusion. We find that the transition from the analogue to the digital technology
during the early 1990s, and the corresponding increase in spectrum capacity, had a
major impact on the diffusion of mobile telecommunications. Countries which
granted first licenses at later points in time show a significant but slow catching-up
effect, implying international convergence only by around 2006. The impact of
introducing competition has also been significant, during both the analogue and the
digital period, though the effect was smaller than the technology effect.

Articles No. 7
COMPETITION

AND

INNOVATION

THE

DIFFUSION

MOBILE

TELECOMMUNICATION IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN ASIAN

ABSTRACT:
The paper unravels the determinants of the diffusion of mobile telecommunications in
Central and Eastern Europe. About 20% of the population will adopt mobile
telecommunications. The diffusion speed is faster in countries that have adopted
mobile telecommunications late, implying a pattern of convergence in the diffusion
levels. The speed of diffusion increases with the number of firms. Simultaneous entry
is more effective than sequential entry in accelerating the diffusion speed. Diffusion
speed increases with the size of the fixed telecommunications network and the length
of the waiting list. Policy recommendations derived from these results permit to
further qualify popular views on the sector.

35

Articles No. 8
T HE

I M PAC T

OF

P R IVATIZATIO N

T E LE C O M M U N IC ATIO NS S E C TOR

AND

C OMP E T IT IO N

AR OUND T HE

IN

T HE

W OR LD .

A BST R A C T :
Using a comprehensive country level panel data set covering the period from 1990 to
2001, we investigate the impact of privatization and competition in the
telecommunications sector around the world. Full privatization, which gave private
owners control rights, contributed substantially to improving the allocation of labor
and capital, expanding service output and network penetration, and improving labor
and total factor productivities. But partial privatization, in which the state retained
control rights, showed no significant impact. The increase in competitive pressure
contributed substantially to growth in the sector by raising both factor inputs and total
factor productivity. We also found evidence of complementarity between privatization
and competition in deepening network penetration and in restraining the rise of
service pricing among privatized operators. Our results are robust to plausible
alternative specifications.

Articles No. 9

FORMAL STANDARDS-SETTING FOR GLOBAL TELECOMMUNICATION

AND INFORMATION SERVICES. TOWARDS AN INSTITUTIONAL REGIME
TRANSFORMATION?

36

ABSTRACT:
This paper reviews the nature and economic significance of the activities carried on
by standards development organizations (SDOs), focusing in particular upon the
telecommunications and information technology standards-setting work of the
government-created public and quasi-public institutions, and the international treaty
organizations that constitute the formal standards sector. It documents the current
sources of tension within this regime and appraises various proposals for
organizational reforms. There are especially pressing needs for adaptations of the
inherited institutional mechanisms for technical coordination to provide for interoperability in the development of new telecommunication networks and services.
Among the manifold sources of strain on the old structure, those which seem at once
most fundamental and potentially most threatening are the recently heightened
industrial perceptions of the potential strategic value of standards as tools of business
competition and national policy, and the incentives for institutional by-pass that have
been created by the rapid proliferation of technological possibilities. The paper
considers some alternative organizational models for negotiated standard-setting that
might be able to withstand, and better harness these forces for the continued
production of standards as public goods.

Articles No. 10
INTERNATIONALISATION

IN

THE

TELECOMMUNICATION

SERVICES

INDUSTRY: LITERATURE REVIEW AND RESEARCH AGENDA.

ABSTRACT:
A review of 356 publications addressing internationalization aspects of the
telecommunications services industry (TSI) shows a growing body of contributions,
37

mainly covering research themes like settlement and regulation policy, strategic
alliances and incumbents reactions to deregulation as well as opening of markets indepth until recently. Wire line telephony TSI has been the dominant segment in most
contributions, while the mobile or broadband Internet segments only featured in more
recent work. Segment characteristics like non-uniform barriers to entry, different
reasons for alliances and non-uniform levels of internationalization differentiate these
TSI segments pose a number of additional questions concerning telecom firms
internationalization strategy and success promising for future research.

Articles No. 11
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TELEDENSITY IN PAKISTAN AND INDIA
Countries that succeeded in harnessing (information and telecommunication
technology) potential can look forward to leapfrogging conventional obstacles of
infrastructure development, "and that" Everyone should be able to enjoy access to
information and communication networks
(Said by G-8 members)
Pakistan and India are the most oldest, famous and strong rival. They are competing
each other in every field. Telecom is one of them which took the shape of an industry,
as market watchers put it, is one of the fastest growing and lucrative sector.
Teledensity a common term which comes in telecom means "the number of main
telephones lines for every 100 inhabitants, in broader term mobile subscriber includes
in it. Teledensity is also used to refer the level of a countrys telecommunication
infrastructure (Saunders etal., 1994; Gille 1986).

38

Despite stiff competition, economic slowdown and emerging saturation in the market
of telecom industry, the total teledensity of the country has reached to ever highest of
60.6% in MAY, which means that number of connection through fixed line, wireless
local loop and cellular phone has increased by more than 60% of the countrys
population.
the teledensity has been driven by the wireless local loop and cellular phone
connections, which have been registering growth persistently despite watchdogs
regulation and price war.Teledensity of mobile subscriber also registered all time high
level of 56.6% with over 91million total customers base .wireless local loop sector
has retained its teledensity at 1.5 with overall 2.41 million subscriber on the network
of various operators.
On the other hand Indias teledensity at the end of MARCH`09 was 37%, with total
telephone subscriber accounting to more than 429 million with 38 million wire line
subscriber. The GSM subscribers of total wireless subscriber were 288 million at
March end 09. Teledensity increased from 4% in 1996 to 20% in 2007 which was
primarily public sector driven and also by the new technology i.e. mobile technology.
Pakistan have higher mobile teledensity i-e 90% of population as compared to India
which has 60%,reason is that due to last start of mobile in India
The main factors affecting the teledensity are
Socio economic conditions i-e the economic and social condition that might
tend to explain the observed phenomenon.
Per capita income i-e how much each individual receives, in monetary terms,
of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to
receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone. Per
capita income is usually reported in units of currency per year.
39

 Literacy rate i-e the literacy rate is the percentage of people who can read in a
certain country.
Terrain conditions i-e the condition of ground or a tract of ground, esp. with
regard to its natural or topographical features or fitness for some use
Availability of infrastructure i-e the basic physical and organizational
structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services
and facilities necessary for an economy to function.
Telecom sector of Pakistan continued to grow positively during 2007-08, however, the
pace of growth was not fast. Since the liberalization has been completed and most of
the segments of the sector have competition in some form, therefore it can be said that
market is now moving towards maturity. Similarly internal and external factors
including political and economic situation of the country also played a major role in
current growth t
Article-12

COMMENTS ON THE LIFE TIME PLAN STARTED BY THE ROBBERT

PERIEE:

TRAI is absolutely focussed on finding out the root cause behind the recent spate of
lifetime offers being introduced by various cellular service providers. The supervising
body has announced that it will surely examine the capability of the different lifetime
validity options, which have hit the market recently.
According to a TRAI official, they would be examining all the various facets of the
schemes and would take necessary steps if required.He added that TRAI would be
submitting its report on this subject soon.
40

The pioneer in this race was Bharti Televentures, which is owned by Sunil Mittat. The
company launched a lifetime offer with one-time payment of Rs 999.After which
there were a number of cellular operators, which include Airtel, Hutch, Reliance
Infocomm, Spice, MTNL and BSNL followed suite, the functioning of all was the
same get lifetime validity on your pre-paid cards with just a one-time entry fee. Idea
Cellular too is one of the contestants in the race and infact went ahead and extended
the scheme to pre-paid as well as post-paid customers.

ARTICLE-13

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS

Abstract:
Wireless penetration and the Indian economy have grown significantly over the past
few years, but how robust and sustainable is the adoption of wireless services and
products? Several papers have discussed India as a wireless service and product
market, and sometimes tried to assess quantitative attributes thereof. The present
paper aims, looking from a managerial point of view, at the unique underlying
evolution processes, bottlenecks and risks. It analyses five traditional adoption
models, as well as five other one's, to determine their fit, or not, to the Indian wireless
evolution.

41

Articles- 14

INSIGHTS ON THE DRIVERS AND INHIBITORS OF MOBILE DATA SERVICES

UPTAKE
A3

Department of Management Science and Technology, Athens University of

Economics and Business, GR11362 Athens, Greece

ABSTRACT:
Studying the adoption and acceptance of Mobile Data Services (MDS) has been an
intriguing endeavour for quite some time. Much of the related literature is inspired by
the technology acceptance model and its heirs. The study presented in this paper
adopts an alternative perspective and proposes the study of MDS actual usage patterns
under the lens of the Triandis theory of explaining human behaviour. To this end, we
adjust the concepts included in the original Triandis model to the MDS context and
construct a model predicting MDS use. The model is empirically validated through a
survey (N = 365) and tested for its predictive capacity against four different MDS
categories (m-commerce, communication, information and entertainment services).
Results suggest that the uptake of each of the four service categories is contingent
upon a limited set of factors. In addition, financial barriers emerge as a unive inhibitor
over and above specific service groupings.rsal

42

Subscriber in million

Fy- 2006-07
March
Aug
Add

March

July

Fy-2007-08
Aug
Adds.

Adds

during

During

during

April-

Aug

April

Aug

Aug

Wire

98.78

2006
123.44 24.66

165.11

192.98 201.29 8.31

36.18

less
Wire

41.54

40.87

40.75

39.89

-1.02

line
total

140.32

164.31 23.99

205.86

232.87 201.02 8.15

0.67

39.73

-0.16

*The present data is tentative and likely to be adjusted on the basis of quarterly
reports received from telecom service provide

43

35.16

Comparison of lifetime plans of all cellular companies

CELLULAR LIFE

Charges (call rates)

CO.S

TIME

Own

Other

PLAN

network

network

AIRTEL

RS.
95

O.60

2.65

6.9

1/2/5

BSNL

295

0.60

1.40

2.75

9.16

1/2/5

RCOMM

199

0.60

0.99

2.99

11

1/2/5

TATA

289

0.60

2.75

13

1/2/5

STD

SMS
L/N/I

INDICOM

CHAPTER TWO

44

ISD

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The growth in demand for telecom services in India is not limited to basic
telephone

services. India has witnessed rapid growth in cellular, radio

paging; value added services, internet and global communication by satel item
(GMPCS) services. The agents of change, as observed from
international perspective, have been broadly categorized into economic
structure, competition policy and technology. Economic reforms and liberalization
have driven telecom sector through several transmission channels of which these
three categories are of major significance.
The effective research cannot be accomplished without critically studying
what already exists in the form of general literature and specific studies.
Therefore, it is considered as an important pre-requisite for actual planning and execution
of research project. This helps to formulate hypotheses and framework for further
investigation. In this research, the survey of literature has been classified into two
parts - studies related to telecom sector and studies related to marketing strategies.
Technological changes in the telecom and computers have radically changed the
business scenario. In turn, the new demands of business have spurred many telecom
based technological innovations. In order to exploit these innovations for competing
in global markets, business community has been putting pressures on governments to
revise the policy, regulation and structure of the telecom sector. Several countries
across the world have responded by restructuring the state controlled telecom
provider, increasing private participation and deregulating service provisions.

45

Business Today (1992)27 pointed out that due to lack of technical and
financial resources especially foreign exchange, the DOT generally lagged behind in
its level of technology. Indias indigenization program in the switching segment
carried out by C-DOT was successful in the introduction of rural exchanges designed
especially for Indian conditions characterized by dust, heat and humidity

STUDY RELATED TO MARKETING STRATEGY

Strategy is the fundamental pattern of present and planned objectives, resources,

developments and interactions of an organizations with markets, competitors and other
environmental factors.(Mullins, Walker, Beyd & Larreche, 2002 )72 for this reason , a
good strategy should always
specify;

1. What is to be accomplished
2. Where - the product, market, or industries that are to be
focused.
3. How - resources and activities that will be allocated to each
market/ product to gain sustainable competitive advantage.

Marketing is a process for analyzing, planning and managing the

organizations resources while identifying and serving current and potential client group
and their needs profitability.
46

Reason for developing marketing strategy Dirks & Danniel(1991) 73

mention that company managers choose to introduced and / or reemphasize marketing
strategy for a number of reasons, which may range from personal interests to corporate
policies. However the reason usually centers around an opportunities or an identified
problem that the company management
needs to explore. For example :

1. Introducing new products or services

2. Expanding into new markets.
3. Differentiating products or services.
4. Revitalizing products, services or markets.
5. Deleting or DE marketing product or service
6. Responding to a drop in sales or profits.
7. Evaluating financial or legal risks of opportunities.
8. Enhancing company image, brand or reputation

CHAPTER THREE

47

OBJECTIVE AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It is the

study of the various steps that are generally adopted by the researcher in studying his
research problem along with the logic behind them. Research methodology considers
the research methods. The logic behind the methods used, and reason for using a
particular method or technique to facilitate evaluation of the research by the
researcher himself or by others.
The study under taken by the researcher is,

Comparative study of life time plan of telecom services.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1. To find out the difference between the life time plan of different telecom industry.

2. To find out the hidden information in lifetime plans of cellular services.

3. To find out the consumer satisfaction towards the lifetime plans

4. To find out the actual growth in telecommunication industry.

RESEARCH METHODS:

48

Research methods means the method adopted for the collection of the data and the
information. The different research methods used in social science are as follows:
Historical method:
It is the method in which present day events are studied with reference to the events
that took place in the past. Sources of historical data are books, magazines, accessible
documents, papers and literature, autobiographies, statistical material etc.
Case study method:
A case study is a deep and intensive study of particular social unit confined to a very
small number of cases. It is a complete analysis and report of the status of an
individual subject. Sources of case study are personal documents, life history etc.
Data Collection:
To make any decisions in any business you need data. Facts expressed in quantitative
form can be termed as data. The collection of data is one of the most important steps
in research, as success of any statistical investigation depends on the availability of
accurate and reliable data. Depending upon the sources utilized, whether the data has
come from actual observations or from records that are kept for normal purposes, data
can be classified into two categories .

CLASSIFICATION OF DATA:

49

Primary Data:

The primary data are those, which are, collected a fresh for the first time, and thus
happen to be original in character. The primary data is one, which is collected by the
investigator himself for the purpose of study or inquiry.

Secondary Data:
The secondary data are those which have already been collected by some one else and
which have already been pass through the statistical process.

SOURCES OF SECONDARY DATA COLLECTION:

Various publications of the central, state and local governments.

Technical and trade journals.

Books, magazines and newspapers.

Reports and publications of various associations connected with business and

industry, banks universities, economists, etc., in different fields.

Public records and statistics, historical documents and other sources of

published documents.

Unpublished data like unpublished biographies, data found in diaries and

letters etc.

Before using the secondary data the researcher must ensure the reliability,
suitability and adequacy of data.

50

For the present study the researcher has collected only secondary data.

Processing and Analysis of Data:

The data after collection has to be processed and analyzed in accordance with the
outline laid down for the purpose of study. Processing implies editing, coding,
classification and tabulation of collected data so that they are amenable to analysis.
Analysis of data refers to the computation of certain measures along with searching
for patterns of relationship that exist among data groups.

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The following are the limitations of the present study.

1. This study was carried out only on secondary data.
2. This study was carried out from 8th Dec, 2009 to 7th Jan, 2010 and
3. The generalization and conclusions are based on the data collected through the
internet And magazines.
4.

The study may not be accurate because it is based on secondary source of

information.

5. The study may be biased because the secondary source may have altered the
data
For its own benefits.

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS

51

(1) How many customers have any TELECOM connection?

The data shows that the total sample size of 50 people taken for research out of which
86% of persons keep telecom service with them.

52

2) What occupation do the customers have?

(a) Business
(b) Professional
(c) Government Employee
(d) Student

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The data shows that 216 persons are from business, 123 persons are professionals, 68
persons are government employees and 93 persons are found students to consume
mobiles.

3) Do the customers know how many telecommunication companies exist in Meerut

region?
(a) 4
(b) 2
(c) 1
(d) Not knowing.

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The data shows that 60% of people are aware about all companies dealing in
telecommunication in, Meerut 30% of people says about only 2 companies, 5% are of
both categories knowing either one company or not knowing any and 5% are having nil
information about mobile companies dealing in Meerut .

4) If the customers have to purchase Telecom service connection which company

customers will prefer and why?
(a) BSNL
(b) Airtel
(c) IDEA
(d) Reliance

When the preferences for mobile phone connections were asked, results drawn that 45%
of persons prefer to take BSNL because they believe in BSNLs better coverage &
cheaper rates after BSNL, 20% of people opt IDEAservices because of its cheaper rate
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and flexible schemes, 25% of people opt Reliance services because of its cheaper rate and
flexible schemes, then Airtel is only 35% but there is very high recommendation or its
better connectivity. Airtel is rich in attractive schemes and plans for business persons and
persons related to corporate world.

(5) MAJOR MEDIA SERVICES

The customers were asked to choose the advertising media who founds the major source
of information for Advertisements to be effective the media source is important.
MEDIA SOURCES

PERCENTAGE

T.V. Commercials

50%

Hoarding

25%

News paper

17%

Radio

05%

Magazines

03%

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1-50% of respondents selected TV Commercials as their major media source 2Magazines and Radio were treated as the least preferred media &TV commercials
formed the major media source as advertisements in between TV programs are
unavoidable and also audio visual advertisement have a greater impact than only visual or
audio information

(6) .GSM SUBSCRIBERS

Subscribers as of

Additions in

Subscribers as on

NOV'10

DEC11

DEC'12

Bharti

11,389,370

415,540

11,804,910

3.65

BSNL

9,683,687

194,302

9,877,969

2.01

Vodafone

7,957,297

230,776

8,188,073

2.90

IDEA

5,153,483

210,505

5,363,988

4.08

Reliance

1,165,318

62,581

1,227,699

5.37

Group

(%) Growth

Company

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Total

42,121,496

1,225,210

43,346,706

INTERPRETATION
Highest growth rate is in RIM as far as gsm subscriber are concern

(7) Company share in sales (in month)

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2.91

INTERPRETATION
Highest growth rate is in IN RIM as compare to ohers

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(8) Commission /additional incentive schemes provided from

INTERPRETATION
In postpaid plan most of the commission is provided and highest in RIM

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(9)- GSM AND TOTAL MOBILE MARKET

This graph indicates the growth in the GSM and expected growth in 2007 showing a
great potential of the customer to be exploited.

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(10)-CONSUMER AWARENESS OF DATA SERVICE IN INDIA

The graph indicates the awareness of data services in India that gives indication of very
less knowledge about the M-banking and other activities and usage of these services as
compared to SMS which is very low shown below.

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(11)UP(WEST)EASING SMS VOLUME

The graph indicates the SMS volume growth and the expected growth.

CHAPTER FIVE
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FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS

FINDINGS

In current situation 73% of population are using lifetime plans, where the rest
are using general plan of the cellular companies.

64% of respondents are satisfied with the call rates of the lifetime plans, it is
because telecom companies have slashed their call rates few months ago. Still in
this situation 36% of respondents did not satisfy with the call rates which service
they are using.

Most of the people are using lifetime services because of money savings with the
percentage of 48. Where 29% of people like this service because of the facilities
provided by the operators. And 23% of people are using this service because of
incoming only.

78% of customer satisfied with the lifetime plans of cellular companies, and which
are not satisfy with the service they are mostly BSNL and TATA indicom users

63% of the population use only mobile, and 30% of poulationuse both the
services & only 5% people use the telephone service. It shows the popularity of

64 | P a g e

cellular phone services.

34% of population are using the Airtel services, which is the highest percentage
of users of cellular phone. Idea takes 2nd place in with 28% of users. Then
comes reliance and BSNL, and tata indicom having leading competitor customers in
the

Prepaid service is most popular in the cellular services with 95% of customers.
The remained uses postpaid services.
In the lifetime plan of cellular companies most of the respondents are using this
service because of its validity eriod with 83% of answer. Where 15% of people
like this services because of its call rates.

SUGGESTIONS
In the lifetime plans, cellular companies should reduce the call rates.
They should provide other facilities like massage and minimum call rates in the
same network.
They should make aware the customers that they have limited license period.
They should not take other hidden charges.
There should not be any compulsion that customer have to recharge their card in
180 days with certain amount. This is the main drawback of the lifetime validity
plan.

CHAPTER SIX

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CONCLUSION

In India it is found that Airtel is the market leader in the lifetime plan segment. People
like the lifetime plans provided by the companies. And Idea having 2nd highest
customers in Reliance and Idea.

TATA indicom having least customers , where Reliance and BSNL having
almost equal percent of customer.

But population are not much aware about the bound of cellular companies with TRAI,
that cellularcompanies can deliver their services till their license have validity, they have
to renew itfor providing further service..

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BIBILIOGRAPHY
BOOKS:
1.Balu.v, marketing research of consumer behaviour2ndedition2001, sri venkadeswaran
bublications.
2.Kothari. c.r (2003) research methodology 2nd edition, wishawav prakashan.
3.Kotler philip(2003) marketing management millennium edition, prentice tall of india
private limited 2001 10th edition.
4. Hawkins D.I.Best, R.J. and Convey,K.A. Consumer Behaviour Implications for
Marketing Strategy, (Rev.ed),Business Publications, Inc. Texas, 2001.
5. Howard John H., and Sheth,Jagdish N., The Theory of Buyers Behaviour, John Wiley
and Sons Inc.,New York, 2000.

JOURNALS
American Management Association. (1996). The AMA style guide for business writing.
New York, NY: Author.
Barthelemy, J., & Geyer, D. (2005). An empirical investigation of IT outsourcing versus
outsourcing in France and Germany. Information & Management, 42, 533-542.
doi:10.1016/j.im.2004.02.005
Moneesha pachauri, Nottingham University Business School, Jubilee campus, Wollaton
Road,
Nottingham,the marketing review, 2002, 319-355, ISSN 1472-1384/2002/0300319,

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WEB REFERENCE
www.airtel.in
www.ideacellular.com
www.bsnl.in
www.vodafone.in
www.aircel.in

ANNEXURE

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ANNEXURE
1

How many customers have any TELECOM connection?

o IDEA
o AIRCEL
o MTNL
o SPICE
o RELIANCE
o BPL
o BHARTI AIRTEL
o BSNL
o VODAFONE

2) What occupation do the customers have?

o Business
o Professional
o Government Employee
o Student

3) Do the customers know how many telecommunication companies exist in Meerut

region?
o FULLY AWARE
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o NOT AWARE
o PARTIAL AWARE

4) If the customers have to purchase Telecom service connection which company

customers will prefer and why?

(e) BSNL

(f) Airtel

(g) IDEA

(h) Reliance

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(5) MAJOR MEDIA SERVICES

1

T.V. Commercials

Hoarding

News paper

Radio

Magazines

(6) .GSM SUBSCRIBERS

1

Bharti

BSNL

Vodafone

IDEA

Reliance

(7) Company share in sales (in month)

1

PREPAID

POSTPAID

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RCV

4
8) Commission /additional incentive schemes provided from

Bharti

BSNL

Vodafone

IDEA

Reliance

(9)- GSM AND TOTAL MOBILE MARKET

o GSM
o MOBILE MARKET

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(10)-CONSUMER AWARENESS OF DATA SERVICE IN INDIA

o ROAMING
o VOICE MAIL
o CALL WAITING
o E MAIL
o INTERNET ACCESS
o DATA SERVICE
o M BANKING
o MMS
(11 ) WH AT

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IS

UP(WEST)EASING SMS VOLUME