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Case Study: Airtel Maven 14

IN ASSOCIATION WITH
PRESENT

MAVEN 14
CASE STUDY: AIRTEL
MAVEN 14
Maven is a flagship business event organized by CONSTRAT: The
Consulting & Strategy Consortium of XIMB. This year, Constrat is
organising Maven in association with Airtel.

A marketing
strategy in the
Telecom Sector

Case Study: Airtel Maven 14

The Problem Statement:


Bijoy just graduated from the famous Indian Academy of Business, JhumriTalaiya with distinction in
marketing majors. He got placed as a product manager for mobile internet in a leading telecom
company, XYZ Telecom, he is really happy that he is able to get into such an important role at a very
young age.
His first project was to build the launch strategy of 4G for their company, which already is a leading
player in voice and 2G/3G. He was asked to answer the following questions:
1. Where should we launch 4G? Metro, urban or rural? Why?
2. Who should be our target customer?
3. Should we price 4G higher than 3G or lower?
4.

Should we position it for smartphones or dongles?

The top management given the following guidance and constraints to Bijoy:
1. There is enough capex to launch 4G only in ten thousand sites.
2. The cost of producing 4G is lower than that of 3G.
3. <1% of the smartphones being shipped today are 4G compatible today, but will pick up in the
next couple of years.
4. Web is a bigger source of information, there are case studies of 4G launches across the world,
learn from them.
5. Additional Information: This particular telecom company has fifty thousand towers across
India, for decent coverage one tower can cater to a population of three thousand.
Bijoy started to search online to understand 4G technology a bit more along with 2G/3G. He needs to
give a 8 slide (not more, title & thank you / appendix not included) presentation to his top
management on the same. Can you please help Bijoy with that deck?
Challenges of Implementing 4G services in India
There are several challenges of implementing 4G services in emerging economies like India.
Given the low ARPU (a prominent indicator for market attractiveness), constructing and deploying 4G
LTE Networks in India can be a huge financial drain on the already stretched out Telecoms. The
proliferation of OTT (Over-the-Top) players has further reduced the already low ARPUs.
To further complicate the matter is the fact that deploying LTE networks is a hugely complex and
expensive task for mobile network operators. Additionally the network speeds achieved through 4G
services is highly region specific and can be easily replicated.
October 27, 2014

Case Study: Airtel Maven 14

Thus to fully exploit the enhanced capabilities and to achieve sustainability, Telecoms require
innovative business models, nuanced strategies and best in class operations.
Key Expectations and Guidelines
Teams are expected to prepare a 8 slide (not more, title & thank you / appendix not included)
presentation, which broadly covers the following points:
1. A thorough analysis of Indian Telecom market

Latest trends in products and service offerings

Key players and their competitive positioning

Present customer preferences and any foreseeable shifts in future

Any other relevant analysis

2. Roadmap for 4G launch by XYZ Telecom

Timelines and Phases of Launch

Target customer segments or geographical regions in each of the phases

Short Term, Medium Term and Long term strategies to support 4G expansion

Any other relevant points as deemed fit by Teams

3. Business Case for 4G launch by XYZ Telecom

Financial Analysis including NPV, IRR, ROI, Breakeven, etc

Social Impact Analysis of 4G launch in India

4. Strategy and Business Model

Comment on the sustainability of the business model

Highlight what strategies are to be employed to launch and subsequently expand the
4G service offering over a time horizon of 10 years.

Teams are free to make relevant assumptions and add analysis or points relevant to the case analysis.
However all assumptions must be explicitly mentioned. Additionally the case analysis must be done
keeping the Indian Context for Telecom in mind.
The final presentation shall be conducted on the 8th November, 2014 in the XIMB campus to a panel
consisting of representatives from Airtel and faculty.

October 27, 2014

Case Study: Airtel Maven 14

The duration of the PPT would be 20 minutes per team followed by a 10 minute Q&A session. Please
note that only the teams coming down to the XIMB campus for the final round would be considered
for evaluation and only those teams would be provided prize money and participation certificates.
Deadlines:
The teams are required to mail in their PPTs by the 6th November,2014 (EOD). No extensions in the
deadline would be entertained
Travel Reimbursements:
All teams shall be provided a travel reimbursement as follows:
INR750 or actuals, whichever is lower for neighbouring states (West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar,
Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana)
INR1500 or actuals, whichever is lower, for travel from rest of India.

Accomodation:
All participants coming down to campus will be provided food & accommodation for the day of the
event.
Prize Money:
The details of the prize money are as follows:
1st Prize: Cash Prize of INR 19,000 along with shopping vouchers* from Spykar and Turtle worth INR
2000
2nd Prize: Cash Prize of INR 9,000 along with shopping vouchers* from Spykar and Turtle worth INR
1000
*The shopping vouchers do not have any discount or minimum purchase condition.

October 27, 2014

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