INTRODUCTION

In the early 1990s, the Indian government adopted a new economic policy aimed at improving India's competitiveness in the global markets and the rapid growth of exports. Key to achieving these goals was a world-class telecom infrastructure. In India, the telecom service areas are divided into four metros (New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkatta) and 20 circles, which roughly correspond to the states in India. The circles are further classified under "A," "B" and "C," with the "A" circle being the most attractive and "C" being the least attractive. The regulatory body at that time the Department of Telecommunications (DOT) allocated two cellular licenses for each metro and circle. Thirty-four licenses for GSM900 cellular services were auctioned to 22 firms in 1995. The first cellular service was provided by, Modi Telstra in Kolkatta in August 1995. For the auction, it was stipulated that no firm can win in more than one metro, three circles or both. The circles of Jammu and Kashmir and Andaman and Nicobar had no bidders, while West Bengal and Assam had only one bidder each. In 1996, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha, and the president officially announced the TRAI ordinance on 25 January 1997. The government decided to set up TRAI to separate regulatory functions from policy formulation, licensing and telecom operations. Prior to the creation of TRAI, these functions were the sole responsibility of the DOT. High license fees and excessive bids for the cellular licenses put tremendous financial burden on the operators, diverting funds away from network development
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and enhancements. As a result, by 1999 many operators failed to pay their license fees and were in danger of having their licenses withdrawn. In March 1999, a new telecom policy was put in place (New Telecom Policy [NTP] 1999). Under this new policy, the old fixed-licensing regime was to be replaced by a revenue-sharing scheme whereby between 8-12 percent of cellular revenue were to be paid to the government. 1.1 INDIAN CELLULAR MARKET - EARLIER ROADBLOCKS AND THEIR RESOLUTION Indian Cellular market immediately after the first round of licensing in 1994-96 was beset by several problems for 3 - 4 years till the New Telecom Policy of 1999 was announced. Some of these roadblocks / current position is tabulated below:

ROADBLOCKS CURRENT POSITION High license fees Migration to revenue sharing mode in 1999 mitigates high initial fund requirements for payment of license fees. Inadequately funded businesses / weak and fragmented promoters Businesses that have since been adequately funded growing at over 60% per annum, while businesses with weak promoters continuing to languish - spate of acquisitions / mergers, with 4/5 major groups emerging in the last one/two years. Regulatory authority not in place Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) firmly in place, and its role being accepted by all operators; Deptt of Telecommunications (DOT) restructured, with operations and policy making roles vested in different bodies. Issues relating to unfavorable interconnect terms for private operators, pass through income, intra circle long distance, spectrum availability and allocation and the like remained unresolved for long periods. Interconnect terms since rationalized, risks on pass through income to DOT / BHARTI (Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd.) resolved to the satisfaction of all parties with changes in methodology / revenue sharing, intra circle long distance allowed, spectrum availability cleared with vacation of frequencies for usage by GSM operators. Problems in Financial closures due to:

Licensing tenure of 10 years Large up front cash requirements from promoters due to heavy license fee burden in initial stages of deployment Asset based financing approach by Indian Financial Institutions.

Licensing tenure increased from 10 to 20 years Large up front cash requirements for license fee payments mitigated with migration to revenue sharing mode allowing promoters to deploy more capital for capital expenditure; project financing being considered by most financial institutions.

Foreign ownership / change of partner limitations Foreign ownership norms clarified, and change of partners allowed as a matter of routine allowing ease of entry / exit - paves the way for full control of businesses by foreign companies. Inadequate growth of market / subscribers Roadblocks spelt out earlier resulted in low market / subscriber growth, but with corrective measures taken, market / subscriber base expected to zoom 1.2 DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CELLULAR INDUSTRY The interconnection regime between cellular operators and fixed-line operators is still biased against the former. Despite the recent gains of the cellular industry, not everything is rosy. The cellular penetration rate is still very low at 0.8 percent in a nation of over one billion people.

In recent years, many foreign companies had pulled out from their cellular joint ventures in India due to the difficult operating environment and bureaucracy. In 1999 alone, Swisscom pulled out from Sterling Cellular, Telstra from Modi Telstra and both the Telecom Organization of Thailand and Jasmine International from JT Mobile. In 2000, Telecom Malaysia sold its stake in Usha Martin Telecom, and both Shinawatra of Thailand and Bezeq exited from Fascel. In June 2001, British Telecom exited from Bharti Cellular. Bell South International has also indicated its intention to pull out from Skycell Communications, and Hong Kong-based Distacom is seeking to sell its stake in Spice Communications. First Pacific's (based in Hong Kong) continued commitment to Escotel is uncertain, and the former is reviewing various options. The string of sell-outs notwithstanding, there has been a merger and acquisition wave sweeping across the Indian cellular industry in recent years. Hong Kongbased Hutchison Whampoa, via Hutchison Telecommunications (HK), acquired major stakes in Sterling Cellular (December 1999), Usha Martin Telecom (mid2000) and Fascel (September 2000). Through a partnership with local company, Kotak Mahindra Finance, Hutchison Whampoa practically controls Fascel and Usha Martin Telecom, thus circumventing the 49 percent limit on foreign ownership in Indian cellular operators. Hutchison Whampoa is also the controlling shareholder of Hutchison Max Telecom. Not to be outdone, Bharti Enterprises another major cellular player acquired control of JT Telecom, which was later renamed Bharti Mobile (December 1999), and Skycell Communications renamed Bharti Mobinet (August 2000). Bharti also acquired the Punjab license of Essar and started operations, giving competition to the lone operator there, Spice

Communications. Going forward, Bharti is likely to merge all its cellular companies into one entity. Five companies together bid Rs16.3 billion to bag the licenses for the fourth operator slots in four metros and 13 circles. Bharti emerged as the No. 1 bidder with eight new licenses, followed by Escotel with four, Hutchison with three, and Reliance and Idea cellular with one each. Bharti and Hutchison have already commenced operations in all the circles while Idea is set to launch in Delhi. Escotel and Reliance have not made any headway. BHARTI, the third cellular operator for Delhi and Mumbai, started services in March 2001. BSNL, as the third nationwide cellular operator, launched services in Kolkatta and Bihar in January 2002. This was followed by Tamil Nadu in July 2002. A nationwide launch was scheduled for 2 October 2002. However, this has been postponed until after mid October. Once BSNL rolls out its service, most telecom circles will have four cellular operators. There will be tremendous competitive pressure, which will result in lower tariffs. Future rate cuts are expected, which will drive demand, together with falling handset prices and the introduction of prepaid services. In the midst of declining interest in technology stocks, Bharti came out with its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) in January 2002. Leveraging on the success of its cellular service, the company got a very good response from the primary market. The total size of the IPO was 185 million shares at a floor price of Rs10. The issue was oversubscribed by more than 2.5 times, netting Rs8.3 billion. This will be used to fuel its investment in long-distance, basic and cellular services. Building visibility and awareness
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Deviating from competing on the price platform, cellular operators are actively promoting their brand and service portfolio through high-visibility advertising and promotional campaigns. Cellular operators like Bharti, Orange and BPL Mobile have been advertising aggressively on hoardings and kiosks. Public transport like the city rail system and cabs are used widely to carry the message of mobility. Customer-focused activities are gaining traction among cellular operators with the establishment of longstanding consumer benefit programs. Orange in Mumbai offers "Orange Holidays" and "Orange Monsoon Offers" at very attractive rates and added benefits like discounts on airfare, food and beverages, among others. Others offer special privileges in retail outlets, cinemas and music shops. Enterprise mobile applications promising revenue stream All along, customer acquisition and the top line have been the focus. Few operators have concentrated on offering differentiated services for businesses. However, as operators realize that offering basic voice and Short Message Service (SMS) will get them the numbers but not the margins, some are now seriously looking at the enterprise segment for provisioning superior services. Cost-centered solutions like closed user group (CUG), value-adds like unified messaging and instant alerts are being offered. A variety of mobile applications are finding takers among the enterprise segment. Bharti is in the process of introducing a facility to fleet management companies so that they can improve the efficiency of trucks or buses by tracking movement and ensuring higher-use, accurate route planning. Premium automakers are also installing a global system for mobile communications inside a vehicle to help trace lost vehicles and track down stolen cars.
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1.3 FUTURE TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENT There will be more competition, forcing operators to constantly focus on differentiations to maintain their lead. The implementation of enhanced networks like 2.5G will enable operators to offer data services. This is an opportunity to customize and differentiate better. The entry of state-run operators like BSNL and BHARTI means that prices will no longer be controlled, thus there is less chance of a cartel being formed. Network coverage in terms of geographic spread and quality of coverage is crucial especially for the business subscriber. The bigger the service provider's national presence, the better it is for businesses. On the roaming front, signing up with a national operator is advantageous. 1.4 REGULATORY ISSUES The operations of this sector are determined as under the Indian Telegraph Act of 1885. A document buried in the sands of time. The next major policy document, which was produced, was the National Telecom Policy of 1994, a consequence of the on going process of liberalization. Year 1851 1943 Event First telephones in India Nationalization of telephone companies
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1985 1986 1991 1994 1994 September 1994

DoT was created Creation of BHARTI and VSNL Telecom equipment liberalized Licenses for paging Telecom policy announced Guidelines for private sector participation in basic services

November 1994 December 1994

Cellular licenses issued for metros Tenders for cellular licenses in 19 cities apart from 4 metros

January 1995

Tenders for 2nd operator in basic services apart from DoT on circle basis.

August 1995 January 1996 November 1998

VSNL launches Internet services TRAI formed Internet policy announced

COMPANY PROFILE

Vision "As we spread wings to expand our capabilities and explore new horizons, the fundamental focus remains unchanged: seek out the best technology in the world and put it at the service of our ultimate user: our customer." These are the premise on which Bharti Enterprises has based its entire plan of action. Bharti Enterprises has been at the forefront of technology and has revolutionized telecommunications with its world-class products and services. Established in 1985, Bharti has been a pioneering force in the telecom sector. With many firsts and innovations to its credit, ranging from being the first mobile service in Delhi, first private basic telephone service provider in the country, first Indian company to provide comprehensive telecom services outside India in Seychelles and first private sector service provider to launch National Long Distance Services in India. Bharti had approximately 3.21 million total customers nearly 2.88 million mobile and 334,000 fixed line customers. Its services sector businesses include mobile operations in Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh circle, Maharashtra circle, Mumbai, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and
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Uttar Pradesh (West) circle. In addition, it also has a fixed-line operations in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh, Haryana, Delhi, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and nationwide broadband and long distance networks. Bharti has recently launched national long distance services by offering data transmission services and voice transmission services for calls originating and terminating on most of India's mobile networks. The Company is also implementing a submarine cable project connecting Chennai-Singapore for providing international bandwidth. Bharti Enterprises also manufactures and exports telephone terminals and cordless phones. Apart from being the largest manufacturer of telephone instruments, it is also the first telecom company to export its products to the USA. Bharti Tele-Ventures' strategic objective is to capitalise on the growth opportunities that the Company believes are available in the Indian telecommunications market and consolidate its position to be the leading integrated telecommunications services provider in key markets in India, with a focus on providing mobile services. The Company has developed the following strategies to achieve its strategic objective:

Focus on maximizing revenues and margins; Capture maximum telecommunications revenue potential with minimum geographical coverage;

Offer multiple telecommunications services to provide customers with a "one-stop shop" solution;
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Position itself to tap data transmission opportunities and offer advanced mobile data services;

Focus on satisfying and retaining customers by ensuring high level of customer satisfaction;

Leverage strengths of its strategic and financial partners; and Emphasize on human resource development to achieve operational efficiencies.

Businesses Bharti Tele-Ventures current businesses include

Mobile services Fixed-line National and international long distance services VSAT, Internet services and network solutions

Competitive Strengths Bharti Tele-Ventures believes that the following elements will contribute to the Company's success as an integrated telecommunication services provider in India and will provide the Company with a solid foundation to execute its business strategy:

Nationwide Footprint - approximately 92% of India's total mobile subscribers resided in the Company's fifteen mobile circles. These 15 circles collectively accounted for approximately 56% of India's land mass;

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Focus on telecommunications to enable the Company to better anticipate industry trends and capitalize on new telecommunications-related business opportunities;

The strong brand name recognition and a reputation for offering high quality service to its customers;

Quality management team with vision and proven execution skills; and The Company's strong relationships with international strategic and financial investors such as SingTel, Warburg Pincus, International Finance Corporation, Asian Infrastructure Fund Group and New York Life Insurance.

Brand Architecture: Bharti is working on a complex three-layered branding architecture to: Create specific brands for each service, Build sub-brands within each of these services and Use Bharti as the mother brand providing the group its corporate identity as well as defining its goal to become a national builder of telecoms infrastructure.

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BHARTI

AIRTEL
(Cellular Operations)

TOUCHTEL
(Basic Service Operations)

INDIA ONE
(National Long Distance)

AirTel - The flagship brand for cellular operations all across the country. Touchtel - The brand earmarked for basic service operations. India One - The brand for national long distance (NLD) telephony Though the costs of creating new brands are heavy but the group wants to create distinct independent brands to address different customers and profiles. Brand Strategy:

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To understand the brand strategy, lets first look at the brand building exercise associated with AirTel a brand that had to be repositioned recently to address new needs in the market. When the brand was launched seven years ago, cellular telephony wasnt a mass market by any means. For the average consumer, owning a cellular phone was expensive as tariff rates (at Rs 8 a minute) as well as instrument prices were steep sometimes as much as buying a second-hand car. Bharti could have addressed the customer by rationally explaining to him the economic advantage of using a mobile phone. But Sachdev says that such a strategy would not have worked for the simple reason that the value from using the phone at the time was not commensurate with the cost. Instead of the value-proposition model, we decided to address the sensory benefit it gave to the customer as the main selling tack. The idea was to become a badge value brand, he explains. So the AirTel leadership series campaign was launched showing successful men with their laptops and in their deluxe cars using the mobile phone. In simple terms, it meant AirTel was positioned as an aspirational brand that was meant for leaders, for customers who stood out in a crowd. Did it work? Repeated surveys following the launch showed that there were three core benefits that were clearly associated with the brand leadership, dynamism and performance. These were valuable qualities, but they only took AirTel far enough to establish its presence in the market. As tariffs started dropping, it became necessary for AirTel to appeal to a wider audience. And the various brand-tracking exercises showed
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that despite all these good things, there was no emotional dimension to the brand it was perceived as cold, distant and efficient. Sachdev and his team realized that in a business in which customer relationships were the core this could be a major weakness. The reason? With tariffs identical to competitor Essar and roughly the same level of service and schemes, it had now become important for Bharti to humanize AirTel and use that relationship as a major differentiation. The brand had become something like Lufthansa cold and efficient. What they needed was to become Singapore Airlines, efficient but also human. A change in tack was important because this was a time when the cellular market was changing. The leadership series was okay when you were wooing the crme de la crme of society. Once you reached them you had to expand the market so there was need to address to new customers. By that time, Bharti was already the leading cellular subscriber in Delhi with a base of 3.77 lakh (it now has 1.2 million customers). And with tariffs becoming more affordable as cell companies started cutting prices it was time to expand the market. How could Bharti leverage this leadership position down the value chain? Surveys showed that the concept of leadership in the customers minds was also changing. Leadership did not mean directing subordinates to execute orders but to work along with a team to achieve common objectives it was, again, a relationship game that needed to be reflected in the AirTel brand.

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Also, a survey showed that 50 per cent of the new customers choose a mobile phone brand mostly through word-of-mouth endorsements from friends, family or colleagues. Thus, existing customers were an important tool for market expansion and Bharti now focused on building closer relationships with them. That is precisely what the brand tried to achieve through its new positioning under the AirTel Touch Tomorrow brand campaign. This set of campaigns portrayed mobile users surrounded by caring family members. Says Sachdev: The new campaign and positioning was designed to highlight the relationship angle and make the brand softer and more sensitive. As it looks to expand its cellular services nationwide to eight new circles apart from the seven in which it already operates Bharti is now realizing that there are new compulsions to rework the AirTel brand, and a new exercise is being launched to this effect. Right now, the company is unwilling to discuss the new positioning in detail. But broadly, the focus is on positioning AirTel as a power brand with numerous regional sub-brands reflecting customer needs in various parts of the country. If AirTel is becoming more humane and more sensitive as a brand, Bharti has also understood that one common brand for all cellular operations might not always work in urban markets that are now getting increasingly saturated. To bring in new customers, the company decided that it needed to segment the market. One such experiment, launched last year, is Youtopia, a brand aimed at the youth in the 14 to 19 age bracket and for those who are young at heart. With its earlier positioning, AirTel was perceived as a brand for the well-heeled older

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customer; there was nothing for younger people. With Youtopia, AirTel hoped to reverse that. In order to deliver the concept, AirTel offered rock bottom tariff rates (25 paise for 30 seconds) at night to Youtopia customers a time when they make the maximum number of calls. It also set up merchandising exercises around the scheme like a special portal for young people to buy things or bid for goods. The company is now looking at offering other services at affordable prices to this segment which include music downloads on the mobile and bundling SMS rates with normal calls to make it cheaper for young people to use. The other experiment that Bharti has worked on is to go in for product segmentation through the Tango brand name. The brand was created to offer mobile users Internet-interface services or what is known as WAP (Wireless Application Protocol). The idea was to bring Internet and mobile in perfect harmony. The name was chosen from the popular movie title It Takes Two To Tango: basically, you need the two services to tango to offer customers a new choice, says Sachdev. This, however, had less to do with the branding exercise as with inefficiency of service (accusingly slow download speeds) and the limited utility of WAP services. Subsequently, the ads were withdrawn, but the company re-iterated that the branding exercise could be revived because Tango will be the brand to offer GPRS services or permanent Internet connectivity on the mobile phone which AirTel is expected to launch soon. The Magic:
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Perhaps the more ambitious experiment has been with Magic the pre-paid card. The idea was to make the brand affordable, accessible and, most importantly, feasible as a means of expanding the market even faster. PHASE I Magic was aimed at bringing in infrequent users of a mobile phone into the market and assure him that he would have to pay only if he made a call. Such a customer used the phone sparingly mostly for emergencies and was not willing to pick up a normal mobile connection with its relatively high rentals (pre-paid cards do not include rental charges). To achieve its objectives Bharti did three things. One, the product was made available at prices ranging from Rs 300

to Rs 3,000 with no strings attached and was simple to operate. Two, the product was made accessible and distributed through small

stores, telephone booths and even kirana shops so that the offering was well within arms reach.

Third, to make the product more approachable to the customer, the

company came with vernacular ad campaigns like Magic Daalo Se Hello which appealed to local sensibilities. This apart, the company roped in Karisma Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan for a major ad campaign all across Delhi, a ruse that saw the number of subscribers go up from 5.47 lakh to 12 lakh today, overtaking Essars branded pre-paid card Speed, which was launched much ahead of Magic. The company is now reworking its Magic strategy even further.
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Earlier, the branding strategy was aimed at roping in only interested customers that is, customers who were already inclined to opt for mobile services. But now, with basic service providers having been allowed limited mobility at far cheaper rates, mobile service providers could find themselves under threat again. That is why the new exercise is aimed at co-opting non-adopters. While the exact strategy is under wraps, insiders say the new branding strategy would be aimed at offering them value which they had not perceived would be available from using a pre-paid card. PHASE II Bharti used AirTel Magic to build a strong value proposition and accelerate market expansion through Indias first national pre-paid card TV brand campaign

First time ever in India - any pre-paid card brand goes on TV A combination of the film genre exposed through the TV medium designed to connect with the masses of India

Youth based - romance driven strategy platform makes the value proposition of AirTel Magic - Mumkin Hai come alive

All elements - user imagery, context, tone & language created to connect the category to the lives of the SEC B & SEC C segment the middle class nonmobile user.

AirTel Magic positions itself on the platform of being excellent for emergency situations - increasing productivity as a part of everyday life.

Sharukh Khan makes everything in life possible while romancing pretty Kareena Kapoor with AirTel Magic, Indias leading pre-paid mobile card.
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AirTel today unveiled its strategy for market expansion with the launch of its new AirTel Magic pre-paid card brand campaign Magic hai to Mumkin hai. The strategy is targeted at the non-user segment defined as young adults, 15-30 years of age; in the Sec B & C segment is aimed at accelerating market expansion. The value proposition is centered around a persons desire to make all his / her dreams, ambitions & aspirations instantly possible. The new campaign for AirTel Magic is all about empowering millions of Indians to be on top of their lives. The brand is positioned to be relevant to the mass-market who want to make all their dreams, hopes & desires come alive instantly. (At just Rs.300/- per month AirTel Magic is so easy to buy.) Improving productivity, letting you befriend the world and opening up new horizons. It gives you the freedom to control your life in a way never possible before. Indeed, anything that you think is possible is

possible with AirTel Magic. The new brand slogan Magic hai to Mumkin hai has been specially created to capture this effectively. PHASE III Bharti used AirTel Magic to build a strong value proposition and accelerate market expansion through Indias first national pre-paid card TV brand campaign

First time ever in India recharge any value

- any pre-paid card brand gives such freedom to

A combination of the film genre exposed through the TV medium designed to connect with the masses of India

Youth based - romance driven strategy platform makes the value proposition of AirTel Magic - Aisi azaadi aur kahan? come alive
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Sharukh Khan makes everything in life possible AirTel today unveiled its strategy for market expansion with the launch of its new AirTel Magic pre-paid card brand campaign Magic hai to Mumkin hai. . The value proposition is centered around a persons desire to make all his / her dreams, ambitions & aspirations instantly possible. The new campaign for AirTel Magic is all about empowering millions of Indians to be on top of their lives.

The brand is positioned to be relevant to the mass-market who want to make all their dreams, hopes & desires come alive instantly .At a amount of your choice you can recharge your account with available validity time .Improving productivity, letting you befriend the world and opening up new horizons. It gives you the freedom to control your life in a way never possible before. Indeed, anything that you think is possible is possible with AirTel Magic. The new brand slogan Aisi azadi aur kahanhas been specially created to capture this effectively. Servic Amount (Rs.) 54 60 75 100 125 150 175 200 216 225 250 275 300 Amount e Tax (8%) 4 4.44 5.56 7.41 9.26 11.11 12.96 14.81 16 16.67 18.52 20.37 22.22 Servic Fees(Rs.) 25 25 25 25 50 50 50 50 85 85 85 85 85 Processing (Rs.) 25 30.56 44.44 67.59 65.74 88.89 112.04 135.19 115 123.33 146.48 169.63 183.78 Talk ) 5 5 5 5 10 10 10 10 20 20 20 20 20 Validit
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Talk Processing Time y

Validit (Days

e Tax (Rs.) (8%) 324 24 350 25.93 360 26.67 375 27.78 400 29.63 425 31.48 475 35.19 500 37.04 525 38.89 540 40 600 44.44 650 48.15 700 51.85 775 57.41 800 50.36 Tax Fees(Rs.) 150 150 150 150 150 150 150 150 150 150 150 150 150 150 150

Time (Rs.) 150 174.07 183.33 197.22 220.37 243.52 289.81 312.96 336.11 350 405.56 451.56 498.15 567.59 580.74

y (Days) 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30

( Rs.) (8%) Fees(Rs.) (Rs.) 850 62.96 150 637.04 900 66.67 150 683.33 1000 74.07 150 775.93 1080 80 150 850 1200 88.89 150 961.11 1300 96.3 150 1053.7 1400 103.7 150 1146.3 1500 111.11 150 1238.89 1800 133.33 150 1516.67 2000 148.15 150 1701.85 2160 160 150 1850 3000 222.22 150 2627.78 5000 370.37 300 4329.63 6000 444.44 300 5255.56 7000 518.52 300 6181.48 8000 592.59 300 7107.41 9000 666.67 300 8033.33 9999 740.67 300 8958.33 YOUR TALK TIME = MRP - PROCESSING FEE SERVICE TAX Other Brand Building Initiatives:-

(Days) 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 366 366 366 366 366 366

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The main idea is to stay ahead of competition for at least six months. Working on the above game plan Bharti is constantly coming up with newer product offerings for the customers. The focus, of course, is to offer better quality of service. To make the service simpler for customers using roaming facilities,

Airtel has devised common numbers for subscribers across the country for services like customer care, food services and cinema amongst others. It will also launch a unified billing system across circles so, customers

moving from one place to another do not have to close and then again open new accounts at another place. To assist customer care personnel to deal with subscriber queries, a

storehouse of 40,000 frequently asked questions and their answers have been stored on the computers. Bharti expects that most of its new customers (one estimate is that it

would be 60 to 70 per cent of the total new subscriber base) would come from the pre-paid card segment. So, they must be given value-added products and services which competitors dont provide. Bharti, for the first time for a cellular operator, has decided to offer

roaming services even to its pre-paid customers, but the facility would be limited to the region in which they buy the card. To ensure that customers dont migrate to other competing services (which is known as churn and ranges from 10 to 15 per cent of the customer base every month), the

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company is also working on a loyalty program. This will offer subscribers tangible cash benefits depending upon their usage of the phone. The loyalty program will not be only for a badge value, it will provide

real benefits to customers. The idea is to create an Airtel community. Another key area which Bharti is concentrating its attention upon is a

new roaming service launched in Delhi under which calls of a roaming subscriber who is visiting the city will be routed directly to his mobile instead of traveling via his home network. The company also offers multi-media messaging systems under

which customers having a specialized phone with a in-built camera can take pictures and e-mail it to friends or store it in the phone. The cost per picture is between Rs 5 to Rs 7. Bharti is also aware that it has to make owning a ready-to-use cellular

service much easier than it is today. A key area is to increase the number of activation centers. Earlier Bharti had 250 Airtel Connect stores which were exclusive outlets (for its services) and about 250 Airtel Points which were kiosks in larger shops. Now activation can be done by all of them, and not only by Connect outlets, all within 15 to 20 minutes. In comparison, the competition takes two to four hours. Pre- paid cards are really catching up with the mobile phone users

and it is actually helping the market to increase. First, they are easier to obtain and convenient to use. Unlike post-paid, one need not pay security deposits for picking up a pre-paid card. It is often available even with paanwalas. As befits a fast-moving consumer service, the game is now
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moving beyond price to expanding distribution reach and servicing a wellspread-out clientele with technology and strategic alliances. Bharti is focusing on two factors to make pre-paid cards more attractive. Keeping the entry cost low for consumers and making recharging more convenience. Bharti is in the process of launching a new system in alliance with

Mumbai-based company Venture Infotech which will enable a pre-paid card user to renew his subscription by just swiping a card. The system will not only save users the hassle of going out and buying a card every time it expires but also enable mobile companies to reduce the cost of printing and distributing cards.

Bhartis View on its Branding strategy:First, brand building efforts in todays context have to be seen in a more holistic manner. Delivering value on a sustained basis is perhaps the most potent key to build a brand that lasts. Unflinching orientation to customer needs is the second key success factor. Customers (be it for industrial products or consumer goods and services) across the world are more informed and, at the same time, becoming more individualistic in their needs and far more demanding with the passage of time. Pro-active tracking of shifts in consumer behavior, anticipating redefined or emerging customer needs, and then reacting in real-time are essential to attract and retain customer loyalty a key element of creating brand equity in the present situation.
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Customizing the product (and communication of its benefit) to meet the specific needs of various consumer/customer sub-segments is the third element in creating brand appreciation. As far as allocation of time and financial resources are concerned, too many companies mistakenly allocate a disproportionate amount on mere advertising and promotion. This is not to say that advertising and promotion are less relevant. On the contrary, with more choices and higher media clutter, businesses need to budget for an increasingly higher spend on their brand promotion but this has to be undertaken in tandem with enterprise-wide reengineering of the business philosophy and core design, production, and delivery operations for the product itself. The positive spin to this argument is that by first addressing the fundamentals, the enterprise itself becomes more competitive. This can be the beginning of a virtuous cycle wherein brand equity continues to increase as the enterprise sustains delivery of an appropriate product or service at an ever increasing value. It is, however, crucial to note that in the years to come, not only will the cost of building a regional or a national (or an international) brand will continue to rise but also the time taken to do so will be longer and will need sustained and focused efforts.

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OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

1. To identify the difference in market performance of Airtel industry. 2. To study the market of Airtel Industry in big scale sector. 3. To compare various parameters of manufacturing process, technology, production policy, advertising, collaboration, export scenario, future prospect and government policies.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Achieving accuracy in any research requires in depth study regarding the subject. As the prime objective of the project is to compare Airtel with the existing competitors in the market and the impact of WLL on Airtel, the research methodology adopted is basically based on primary data via which the most recent and accurate piece of first hand information could be collected. Secondary data has been used to support primary data wherever needed. Primary data was collected using the following techniques Questionnaire Method Direct Interview Method and Observation Method The main tool used was, the questionnaire method. Further direct interview method, where a face-to-face formal interview was taken. Lastly observation method has been continuous with the questionnaire method, as one continuously observes the surrounding environment he works in.

Procedure of research methodology # To conduct this research the target population was the mobile users, Who are using GSM technology. # Target geographic area. Sample size of 100 was taken. # To these 100 people a questionnaire was given, the questionnaire was a combination of both open ended and closed ended questions.
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# The date during which questionnaires were filled. # Some dealers were also interviewed to know their prospective. Interviews with the managers of GSM service providers were also conducted. # Finally the collected data and information was analyzed and compiled to arrive at the conclusion and recommendations given. Sources of secondary data Used to obtain information on, Bhartis history, current issues, policies, procedures etc, wherever required. # Internet # Magazines # Newspapers # Journals

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DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

Age Group Graph As we can see from the above graph, the people who are in the age group of 21-

AGE GROUP
15-21 15%

28-35 20%

21-28 65%

28 years are the ones who are the maximum users of mobile phones. This segment is the one which gives maximum business to the mobile operators. This segment constitutes the young executives and other office going people. They are 65% of the total people who were interviewed. The next age group are the people who are 28-35 years old. They are 20% of the total. They are those who are at home or have small business units etc. And the next age group is the youngest generation who are 15-21 years old. They are school and college going students and carry mobile phones to flaunt. They are 15% of the total interviewed people.

Occupation Graph
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OCCUPATION 10% 20% 15%

55% STUDENTS EXECUTIVES HOUSEHOLDS OTHERS

As the above graph shows that 55% of the total people interviewed are working. So, these people are the ones who are the maximum users of mobile phones. They are the young executives, managers, Tele - callers etc. who require mobile for their official purposes. The next category is the households, who are either housewives, small units which operate from their homes etc. They are 20% of the whole . The next segment is the students. They are 15% of the whole. And 10% of the whole is a category who are the professionals.

Service Provider Graph

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SERVICE PROVIDER
60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

50% 15% 30% 5%

The above graph shows a slice of 50%. These are the total no. of people who are using Airtel. It seems that people are more aware of Airtel than any other brand. The next popular brand is Hutch. 305 of the people interviewed had Hutch connections. The next popular brand was Idea. 15% people had Idea connections. As it came very late in the market when Airtel had established it self very well. So, that could be one of the reasons of such a low percentage. The remaining 5% had trump connections.

Customer Service At Airtel Graph

AI R TE L H U TC H O TH ER S

ID EA

Series1

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CUSTOMER SATISFACTION LEVEL

10% 20%

10% 60% FULLY DISSATISFIED PARTIALLY FULLY DISSATISFIED

As the above graph clearly shows that customer services at Airtel seems poor. 60% of the people are dissatisfied with the customer services provided by Airtel. They are the ones who have the maximum share in the market but they are lagging behind in the customer vices. 10% of the people were fully dissatisfied with the customer services of Airtel. This could leave an impact on the mind of the consumer. He can even switch over his brand. 20% of the people seemed partially satisfied with the customer services and only 10% seem to be fully satisfied with Airtels customer services, which is a very small amount.

Type Of Card Graph

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TYPES OF CARDS
SIM CARD 15%

CASH CARD 85%

Cash cards seemed quite popular among the people interviewed. 85% of the total mobile users were having cash card connections. This means that the cash cards should be easily and readily available in the local markets. Airtel should make sure that Magic is available in each and every nook and corner of the market. 15% of the people were having sim connections which is the regular bill.

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Monthly expense graph People on an average spend RS 500 per month as their mobile phone expense. Monthly Expense

24%

12%

Rs 600 Rs 450 Rs 200

64%

64% people spend this amount. 24% people spend RS 300 per month as their monthly mobile expense. And the remaining 12% had an expense more than RS 1000, they could the ones having sim connections or having cash cards and having a lot of business calls on their mobiles.

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Awareness About WLL Graph

AWARENESS ABOUT WLL

NO 45%

YES 55%

WLL seemed to be a new word for many of the people. 45% of the people were not at all aware of such a technology. So, in order to get the answer for this question they were first explained the concept. Only, 55% people knew what WLL is all about.

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Awareness of WLL Players Graph

AWARENESS OF WLL PLAYERS

TATA INDICOM 15%

RELIANCE 85%

Reliance was the brand which was popular amongst the interviewed people. As Reliance had done so much advertising and has it banners and hoarding spread all over Delhi. So, this could be one the reasons of its popularity. Tata was hardly a known brand in this new field. Possibly, because of less promotions done by them as compared to Reliance. On the basis of analysis of the questionnaire I have found that the maximum no. of people who use mobile phones are in the age group of 20 to 28. who are the young executives and other office goers. They spend a maximum of RS. 500 as their mobile expense.

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There are more no. of prepared cards than post paid cards. The mobile users want to spend money side by side than to spend money at the end of the month on a big bill. Now when I compared Airtel with its competitor from the point of view of the consumer I found that on the basis of Tariff plan, value added services and billing accuracy Airtel is at par or ahead of its competitor but in the case of customer care and availability they lag behind there competitors. As, Airtel has a hold in the market because it has the maximum no. of connections, so it must improve upon it customer services. As far as WLL is concerned people are aware about it but not many people are aware about Tata. They only Know more about Reliance. People at this point of time are not interested to switch over from GSM to WLL.

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SUGGESTIONS
Following are the few suggestions to AIRTEL for improving the market share and image of the products concerned. 1. PRODUCT *Modification must be brought about in AIRTEL, in terms of quality. Its demand should be increased. 2. PLACE * The brands must be made available easily in, PCO & general stores. 3. PROMOTION *Company must undertake extensive promotional activities like advertisements must be released in different Medias to create brand awareness. *Free samples should be distributed among the prospects. Sales promotion tools like gifts, contests and coupons must be given to retailers as well as customers and prospects. * Catalogues should be distributed among customers.

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SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths Being one of the largest companies in India the company has achieved a degree of focus in its core business of its products. It has a strong brand name, superior quality products and an enviable distribution network. It has a clear and well-defined organization structure and limits of financial authority. Increase in advertisement spends affect the companys margins. The companys bottom line falls victim to the bloated and highly paid workforce, which affects its margins. Weakness:

Little efforts over the Advertising of products. Distribution channel is not accurately categorized. Premium priced products, hence cant compete in low price segment. No separate strategy for rural market.

Opportunities: The company's financial performance can receive a major boost from its cost reduction efforts. There is a lot of scope of product and market diversification.
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Exports of products will also have huge chances in the coming years. Airtels business has ample scope for gaining market share from the unorganized sector. Rural penetration too holds vast potential to bring about growth.

Threats The slowdown in the economy has restricted topline growth of most FMCG majors and for Airtel also it will be difficult to maintain historical growth rates in such a depressed scenario. Companys major raw materials are influenced by government policies / controls as well as vagaries of the monsoons. Fluctuations in the

prices of raw materials would have significant impact on costs and margins of the company. Moreover, inordinate hike in Broad Band Internet products would also increases companys production and distribution cost.

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RECOMMENDATION
I have made following recommendation to the company after doing the summer training there: The company should modify its credit policy as they only target the cash paying customers who are not easy to trace. The company should emphasis more on the quality of Pharmaceuticals Products it was mostly claimed by the exporters that their receipts from company doesnt matches with the samples quality shown before giving orders. The company should makes its marketing strategy flexible enough in order to face competition. The company should keep an eye on the proper delivery of the goods to exporter on time, as it has been recommended by exporters to make the delivery on time. The company rate policy must be flexible enough to catch new customers because if company offers lower price to a new customer then he may continue buy the goods and can be a permanent customer for the company. The company should offers such rate in the market so that it may able to catch a biger market share and it should be able to compete with the local traders and commission agents while having a brand name. The company should take the opinion of exporters from time to time to know what problems they are facing from the companys side? And if any change they require in present supplying condition?
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LIMITATIONS
No project is without limitations and it becomes essential to figure out the various constraints that we underwent during the study. The following points in this direction would add to our total deliberations:-

1. During the study, on many occasions the respondent groups gave us a cold shoulder. 2. The respondents from whom primary data was gathered any times displayed complete ignorance about the complete branded range, which was being studied. 3. Lack of time is the basic limitation in the project. 4. Some retailers/wholesellers refuses to cooperate with the queries. 5. Some retailers/wholesellers gave biased or incomplete information regarding the study. 6. Money played a vital factor in the whole project duration. 7. Lack of proper information and experience also because hurdle for me. 8. Some retailers did not answer all the questions or do not have time to answer.

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CONCLUSION

After analyzing the findings of the research, I can conclude that Airtel lagged behind its competitors as far as customer service and availability is concerned. The maximum no. of people who use the mobile are in the age group of 20 to 28. Cash cards are the most popular type of mobile connections, as they are consumer friendly and recharging the connection is not a problem. Maximum no. of people spend RS 500 on their connections. As Airtel is the only company having the maximum no of mobile connections so it must seriously look into the loop holes of the existing customer service department. As we know that now airtel has already launched its product with logo Aisi azaadi aur kahan has already became popular in market. So we can say that inspite of so many competitor in the market Airtel is having a good position just because every time, it tries its best to understand the need of its important customer.

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QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: Age:.. Gender:. Occupation: Q.1 For how long you have been using Airtel Product?

0-2 Years 2-5 Years 5-10 Years More than 10 years

Q.2 Are you using other product instead of Airtel?

Yes No

Q.3 Among them, which Brand you, prefer most?

Idea Hutch Airtel

Q. 4 How would you rate the experience with Brand? Excellent

Good

Average

Below Average

Idea Hutch Airtel

Q.5 Do you collect any information search before making purchase?

Yes No.

Q.6 If yes, which sources are used?

Magazines Dealers Sales Executives Operators reference Pamphlets and catalogue Reference from friends and relatives Any other
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Q.7

What are the features you look for in a product before making purchase decision? Give preferences (1-Highest, 6- least)

Brand credibility Price and Discount After sales services and parts, network Value for money Vehicle performance Add on features or ergonomics of design

Q.8. Which of these marketing / sales schemes attracts you while purchasing any connection?

Good Network Discount scheme Service package Any other If you have to purchase a new connection or product in near future, which Brand will you go for and why? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________

Q.9

Q.10 Are you aware of various promotional activities being run by Airtel, if yes then how? Are you satisfied with these promotional activities? Very Satisfied Somewha Not Satisfied t Satisfied satisfied Customer Care By Ad Films By Camp 24 hrs call center services

Q.11 How would you rate Airtel performance as your expectation on 5 points scale (5 Highest) 1

After Sale service Maintenance Product as per expectation

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Q.12 What are you suggestions for improving the product quality, service availability and parts availability? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ________________________

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

In this project report, while finalizing and for analyzing quality problem in details the following Books, Magazines/Journals and Web Sites have been referred. All the material detailed below provides effective help and a guiding layout while designing this text report.

Websites:

www.airtelworld.com
www.google.com www.india.com

Book Reference Kothari, C.R., Research Methodology(Methods & Techniques), New age International(P)Ltd.,1990

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