50067616-aircel-project-report

132
A PROJECT REPORT ON “CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR WITH A FOCUS ON PERCEPTION TOWARDS POCKET INTERNET IN DISHNET WIRELESS LIMITED, This is to certify that the project report titled “Consumer buying behavior with a focus on perception towards Pocket internet in Dishnet Wireless Limited.”

Upload: mahendrakaya

Post on 26-Mar-2015

340 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

A PROJECT REPORT ON

“CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR WITH A FOCUS ON PERCEPTION TOWARDS POCKET INTERNET IN DISHNET

WIRELESS LIMITED,

This is to certify that the project report titled

“Consumer buying behavior with a focus on perception towards Pocket internet in

Dishnet Wireless Limited.”

Page 2: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

2

Page 3: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

PREFACE

Education becomes more meaningful when its theoretical aspects are combined with

practical experience. This provides an opportunity to the students to improve their

understanding of the studies.

BBA is a course, which combines both its theory and application as its content of study in

the field of management as a part of this course, every aspirant has to undergo at least six

to eight weeks “Industrial Training” in an organization of repute. The purpose of this

training is to expose the students or management sciences to real business situation and to

provide insight into the various functions carried out within the organization.

project-is-an-important-part-of-theoretical-studies.-It-covers-all-that-remains-uncovered-

in-the-classroom-i.e.-without-it-76% our-studies-remains-ineffective-and-incomplete.-

Also-it-is-a-well-known-fact-that-practical-training-plays-a-very-important-role-in-

future-building-of-an-individual.-One-can-easily-overcome-the-fear-of-joining-

organisation-after-the-completion-of-the-course-as-the-environment-no-longer-remains-

align-to-him-and-one-can-easily-fit-a-place-for-themselves.-Only-gaining-theoretical-

knowledge-is-just-not-sufficient-for-sure-success-in-life,-practical-knowledge-is-a-must-

and-have-been-given-an-opportunity-to-gain-practical-experience we avail-this-stance-in-

a-very-satisfactory-manner-and-think-it-will-be-very-beneficial-for-me-in-building-our-

future.-

In order to use the theoretical knowledge I get the opportunity of “Industrial Training” in

‘DISHNET WIRELESS LIMITED’ (head office of Aircel telecommunication) in

Jammu.

As complementary to training, I have prepared and submitted a project report on

“Consumer buying behavior with a focus on perception towards Pocket internet in

Dishnet Wireless Limited.”

3

Page 4: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

.

4

Page 5: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

TABLE OF CONTENT

TOPICS Page No.

1. Introduction to the consumer behavior:- 13

a) Theoretical foundation about the consumer behavior. 13-16

b) Review of Literature on the consumer behavior

theories.

16-21

2. Introduction to the Telecom industry:- 21

a) Overview of the Indian telecom industry 21-30

Telecommunication reforms in India 30-31

Growth 31-32

Land marks of Indian telecom industry 33

Major players in Indian telecom industry 34-35

Market structure of Indian telecom industry 36-38

Market shares of major players. 39

b) Profile of the Dishnet Wireless limited(J&K) 39-44

c) Company’s history 44-47

d) Recent achievements and milestones 47-48

e) Product range and services of the company 49-66

f) Performance of the company over the last few years 67-68

g) Future Prospects / Plans 69

3. Objectives of the study and Research Methodology 70

Objectives of study. 70

Research Methodology 70

Research Design 71

Source of data collection 72

Tools of analysis 73

Limitation of the study 73

5

Page 6: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Background of the study 74-76

4. Data presentation, analysis and Interpretation

Use of statistical technique 77-87

Data interpretation and conclusion

5. Conclusion and Recommendations 88-91

6. Appendix (Questionnaire) 92-94

7. Bibliography and References 95

6

Page 7: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Growth on the mobile(pocket) internet especially happen when business travelers, academicians as well as other professionals need to access emails and corporate applications as well as personal requirements during urgent trips and travels.

Now, Question is,

1- What kind of a company enters an industry with competitors already entrenched?

2-Which ones actually succeed?

The answer to both the questions is Dishnet Wireless Limited also known as Aircel Communication. Aircel Communication is a confident and smart company that was able to enter a saturated and highly competitive industry, and emerge at the top. The cut-throat competition in the telecommunication sector of India posed a great threat to the development of Aircel Communication. When the key people Mr. Gurdeep Singh of Dishnet Wireless Limited charted out the mission for Aircel Communication in 1999, he had a clear game plan to position itself on the platform of affordable as well as world class information and communication service highlighting unparalleled value to create customer delight and enhance business productivity.

The project aims to identify the problems faced by Aircel Communication regarding their product pocket internet in the market. Customers often feel that service providers do notdeliver what they promise. They feel players should present the terms and conditions and tariff plans/schemes in clear terms. The research we conducted also supports this fact. We have suggested a plan along with other suggestions for Aircel Communication to face theCompetition in the near future and the long run.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:-

The objectives of the study are as follows:-

To study and analyze the consumer perception regarding the pocket internet in Aircel communication.

To study the factors that plays the most important role in a consumer’s choice of buying internet connection.

To study the impact of advertisement on consumer choice of buying internet connection.

To study the consumer satisfaction level regarding the pocket internet of aircel communication.

To study about the Value added services (VAS) of Aircel communication.

7

Page 8: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research methodology is a design to systematically solve the problem. In research methodology, we not only talk of research methods but also consider the logic behind the methods. The purpose of the methodology section is to describe the research procedure. It includes the overall research design, the sampling procedures, the data collection method, the field methods and analysis procedures. Research design used in this project Exploratory and descriptive. The data is analyzed in a tabular form and in well and easy to understand manner.

FINDINGS OF THE STUDY:-

Most of the people know about pocket internet earlier.

Majority of the respondents know about pocket internet through TV advertisement and print advertisement.

Majority of the respondents prefer cheap and good net speed as two important factors for buying internet connection.

Most of buyer rated Aircel pocket internet (14/98) as a fair product and many people rated it as a good product.

Majority of the respondents are not using the pocket internet.

Most of the respondents were using GPRS enabled handset.

Majority of the respondents were not interested to buy the product instantly.

Most of the respondents were not interested to buy the product due to low net speed as compared to other competitors in the market.

Most of the consumers were satisfied with the services provided by Aircel.

8

Page 9: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

RECOMMENDATIONS:-

On the basis of conclusions drawn & enumerated in previous pages, an attempt has been

made to suggest the following recommendations.

Pocket internet had the big limitation of not being able to be used with laptop or

PC. This is a big reason that customers are not using pocket internet. So the

company should try to solve this problem by making discussion with technical

department.

The second reason for less customers using pocket internet is related to cost

factor.

10 paisa/10KB i.e. 10Rs /1MB and 10,000 Rs /1GB. The charges were very high in

comparison to competitors like BSNL that provides unlimited browsing @200

Rs/month and Vodafone 5 paisa/10kb.

The company should introduce some new tariff plans so that customers can use the

aircel internet services at cheaper rates. The company should introduce plans like

BSNL such as unlimited browsing at some fixed amount.

On introduction of internet @98 Rs the customers were in confusion that whether

there would be additional down load charges or not. The aircel website has not

been up dated till this date to give right information. Websites should have been

updated well in advance to avoid confusions.

Settings for internet usage on mobile brands such as fly, asus, Chinese sets and

intex were not delivered and Customers with such brands were not able to use

pocket internet. We need to include support for mobile brands like fly, intex so

that aircel net can work on these mobile sets.

Many customers who opted for internet@ 98 Rs were unable to run it even on

phone. Call center executives need to be trained in a better way because at present

customers complaint that they are not able to help them properly.

9

Page 10: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Majority of the customers said they need internet only for 5-6 days in a month. So

that customers demanded for pocket internet@14 Rs. But it was found that this

product is not available in the market. So the company should focus on introduce

this product in the market as early as possible.

Many customers were receiving repeated sms congratulating them for activation

of net but net was not working at all. Employees at aircel outlet were also not

trained to handle those problems.

Many retailers of aircel are not much aware about the plans of pocket internet. In

the survey there were very less respondents who know about pocket internet

through retailer. So the company should focus on motivate the retailer to sell the

pocket internet by giving some gift items like one air conditioner with the sale of

1000 vouchers of pocket internet in one month, one washing machine with the

sale of 500 vouchers of pocket internet in one month one microwave oven with

the sale of 250 vouchers of pocket internet in one month.

Many customers are not using the internet services of aircel because of low net

speed as compared to other competitors in the market. So the company needs to

maintain the good net speed as compared to other competitors to increase the

users of internet.

One customer who himself was running computer shop managed to run aircel net

and was very satisfied with the speed. We need to maintain this speed even when

more people buy and run aircel internet @ 98.

Majority of the respondents are using the GPRS enabled handset. But still

majority of respondents are not using the pocket internet. This is due to reasons

that some of them have never used internet nor they are willing to use it as they

are not to comfortable with technology, some are not educated enough to use

internet, some are not aware of internet. So the company should try to aware that

people about the pocket internet by making calls through call centers executives

and try to motivate them for the use of internet.

10

Page 11: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Suggestions for value added services:-

I did not find a single customer knowing about value added services like doctor-

on-call, subscription services, voice station. There are boards in various aircel

outlets advertising about calling plans but not a single board advertising VAS like

doctor-on-call, subscription services, and voice station. Therefore people do not

even know such services exist. We need to advertise these VAS, so people may

come to know about them and use them.

Few people do know about vas live astrology and internet but these should also be

advertised to educate more people about them.

Many customers use dialer tones but most of them want more variety of songs.

So to get the profit in this competitive scenario there is need to more focus on services

(value added services) more than product.

Some other important suggestions for aircel communication:-

Billing system in case of post paid need to be made more customers friendly.

Itemized bills should be provided to customers on demand.

Online bill payment and recharge facilities should be provided.

Repeated alerts to recharge when balance is low annoy many customers.

Disconnection on slight delay on bill payment really disappoints customers and

something should be done so that they get more time to clear bill before

disconnection.

Customers want some discount for family using more than four aircel Sim cards.

So there is need to give some offer/discounts to these kinds of customers to

motivate them.

Verification delays and activation delays presently in some cases extend more

than month such delays should be reduced or eliminated.

More billing centers need to be raised to decrease the time gap for amount

received from the customers and convert it into cash for the company.

11

Page 12: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

1) INTRODUCTION ABOUT THE SUBJECT

An Introduction to Consumer Behavior:-

Consumer Behavior is the study of who acquires, consumes and disposes of products (goods, services, ideas, images, brands) and where, when, how, and why they do so.  Marketers must understand their consumers' behaviors before they develop marketing strategy (e.g., segmentation, targeting, positioning, and the marketing mix).

Consumer behavior referred to as the study of when, why, how, where and what people do or do not buy products. It blends elements from psychology, sociology,social psychology, anthropology and economics. It attempts to understand the buyer decision making process, both individually and in groups. It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics and behavioural variables in an attempt to understand people's wants. It also tries to assess influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference groups, and society in general.Customer behaviour study is based on consumer buying behaviour, with the customer playing the three distinct roles of user, payer and buyer. Relationship marketing is an influential asset for customer behaviour analysis as it has a keen interest in the re-discovery of the true meaning of marketing through the re-affirmation of the importance of the customer or buyer. A greater importance is also placed on consumer retention, customer relationship management, personalisation, customisation and one-to-one marketing. Social functions can be categorized into social choice and welfare functions. Each method for vote counting is assumed as a social function but if Arrow’s possibility theorem is used for a social function, social welfare function is achieved. Some specifications of the social functions are decisiveness, neutrality, anonymity, monotonocity, unanimity, homogeneity and weak and strong Paretooptimality. No social choice function meets these requirements in an ordinal scale simultaneously. The most important characteristic of a social function is identification of the interactive effect of alternatives and creating a logical relation with the ranks. Marketing provides services in order to satisfy customers. With that in mind, the productive system is considered from its beginning at the production level, to the end of the cycle, the consumer (Kioumarsi et al., 2009).Belch and Belch define consumer behaviour as 'the process and activities people engage in when searching for, selecting, purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of products and services so as to satisfy their needs and desires'.'

12

Page 13: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

BLACK BOX MODEL

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

BUYER'S BLACK BOX BUYER'S RESPONSE

Marketing Stimuli

Environmental Stimuli

Buyer Characteristics

Decision Process

ProductPricePlacePromotion

EconomicTechnicalPoliticalCultural

AttitudesMotivationPerceptionsPersonalityLifestyle

Problem recognitionInformation searchAlternative evaluationPurchase decisionPost-purchase behaviour

Product choiceBrand choiceDealer choicePurchase timingPurchase amount

The black box model shows the interaction of stimuli, consumer characteristics, decision process and consumer responses. It can be distinguished between interpersonal stimuli (between people) or intrapersonal stimuli (within people).The black box model is related to the black box theory of behaviourism, where the focus is not set on the processes inside a consumer, but the relation between the stimuli and the response of the consumer. The marketing stimuli are planned and processed by the companies, whereas the environmental stimulus are given by social factors, based on the economical, political and cultural circumstances of a society. The buyers black box contains the buyer characteristics and the decision process, which determines the buyers response.

The black box model considers the buyers response as a result of a conscious, rational decision process, in which it is assumed that the buyer has recognized the problem. However, in reality many decisions are not made in awareness of a determined problem by the consumer.

IMPORTANCE OF STUDY OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

The study of consumers helps firms and organizations improve their marketing strategies by understanding issues such as how

The psychology of how consumers think, feel, reason, and select between different alternatives (e.g., brands, products);

The psychology of how the consumer is influenced by his or her environment (e.g., culture, family, signs, media);

The behavior of consumers while shopping or making other marketing decisions;

13

Page 14: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Limitations in consumer knowledge or information processing abilities influence decisions and marketing outcome; 

How consumer motivation and decision strategies differ between products that differ in their level of importance or interest that they entail for the consumer; and

How marketers can adapt and improve their marketing campaigns and marketing strategies to more effectively reach the consumer.

One "official" definition of consumer behavior is "The study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society."

Behavior occurs either for the individual, or in the context of a group (e.g., friends influence what kinds of clothes a person wears) or an organization (people on the job make decisions as to which products the firm should use).

Consumer behavior involves the use and disposal of products as well as the study of how they are purchased. Product use is often of great interest to the marketer, because this may influence how a product is best positioned or how we can encourage increased consumption. Since many environmental problems result from product disposal (e.g., motor oil being sent into sewage systems to save the recycling fee, or garbage piling up at landfills) this is also an area of interest.

Consumer behavior involves services and ideas as well as tangible products.

The impact of consumer behavior on society is also of relevance. For example, aggressive marketing of high fat foods, or aggressive marketing of easy credit, may have serious repercussions for the national health and economy.

APPLICATIONS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

There are four main applications of consumer behavior:

The most obvious is for marketing strategy—i.e., for making better marketing campaigns. For example, by understanding that consumers are more receptive to food advertising when they are hungry, we learn to schedule snack advertisements late in the afternoon. By understanding that new products are usually initially adopted by a few consumers and only spread later, and then only gradually, to the rest of the population, we learn that

o Companies that introduce new products must be well financed so that they can stay afloat until their products become a commercial success.

o It is important to please initial customers, since they will in turn influence many subsequent customers’ brand choices.

A second application is public policy. In the 1980s, Accutane, a near miracle cure for acne, was introduced. Unfortunately, Accutane resulted in severe birth defects

14

Page 15: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

if taken by pregnant women. Although physicians were instructed to warn their female patients of this, a number still became pregnant while taking the drug. To get consumers’ attention, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) took the step of requiring that very graphic pictures of deformed babies be shown on the medicine containers.

Social marketing involves getting ideas across to consumers rather than selling something. Marty Fishbein, a marketing professor, went on sabbatical to work for the Centers for Disease Control trying to reduce the incidence of transmission of diseases through illegal drug use. The best solution, obviously, would be if we could get illegal drug users to stop. This, however, was deemed to be infeasible. It was also determined that the practice of sharing needles was too ingrained in the drug culture to be stopped. As a result, using knowledge of consumer attitudes, Dr. Fishbein created a campaign that encouraged the cleaning of needles in bleach before sharing them, a goal that was believed to be more realistic.

As a final benefit, studying consumer behavior should make us better consumers. Common sense suggests, for example, that if you buy a 64 liquid ounce bottle of laundry detergent, you should pay less per ounce than if you bought two 32 ounce bottles. In practice, however, you often pay a size premium by buying the larger quantity. In other words, in this case, knowing this fact will sensitize you to the need to check the unit cost labels to determine if you are really getting a bargain.

There are several units in the market that can be analyzed. Our main thrust in this course is the consumer. However, we will also need to analyze our own firm’s strengths and weaknesses and those of competing firms. Suppose, for example, that we make a product aimed at older consumers, a growing segment. A competing firm that targets babies, a shrinking market, is likely to consider repositioning toward our market. To assess a competing firm’s potential threat, we need to examine its assets (e.g., technology, patents, market knowledge, awareness of its brands) against pressures it faces from the market. Finally, we need to assess conditions (the marketing environment). For example, although we may have developed a product that offers great appeal for consumers, a recession may cut demand dramatically.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR THEORIES

Consumer perception and consumer behavior:-

According to Rice (1993), perception is the initiator of behaviour. It can also be seen as a process of information extraction. Perception is the process by which an individual selects, organizes, and interprets information inputs to create a meaningful picture (Kotler, 2000). Different people tend to perceive quite differently even when they are exposed to the same reality. A set of factors, e.g. individual responses, determine an individual’s perception process and lead to individual differences. The most important is that people’s perceptions are often more important than the reality in marketing (Kotler, 2000). The study of customer behaviour provides a sound basis for identifying and

15

Page 16: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

understanding the factors that influence consumers purchase on line. Schiffman and Kanuk state that the behaviour that consumers display in searching, purchasing, and evaluating products/services is those that they expect to fulfil their needs. Although perception and behaviour are typically treated as two completely separate phenomena, i.e. the input and output respectively, it has been suggested that perception and behaviour are in fact two sides of the same phenomenon and are closely related to each other (Rice, 1993). In order to understand what customer perceive and how they act to affect their perceptions, study of perception and behaviour should be treated as one integral part.

Consumer decision process:-

At present, the consumer decision process model has been well accepted. This model of purchase as decision process is explained in more detail by Thorelli et al. (1975). Thorelli’s decision model illustrates the type and shows there are a series of semi-discrete steps which take place over time for the buyers and purchasers.

Predispositions (Before Purchase):

According to Thorelli et al (1975), the prospective buyer possesses a certain stock of cognitive content, including his own personality or self-concept, attitudes and opinions both in general and on specific products, and stored information and past experience. This stock has been formed as a result of his interaction with his environment over time, and it will help determine the environment in which he places himself in the future as well as influence his perceptions of that environment.

Product Need:

As a result of either cognitive activity or some environmental stimulus, the buyer recognizes a need which is capable of being satisfied by a product or service. In other words, the need is often triggered by internal or external stimuli. Some authors also take this need recognition stage as the entry point. Chaston (2001) argues that the potential consumer will not implement any of the other steps in the buying process until need recognitrion has happened. External Search:

Thorelli et al (1975) describe that this stage represents all search of the external environment for alternative solutions as well as for information helpful in evaluating these alternatives. The search for information occurs on an internal and external basis (Gilbert, 1999). The internal search for information from previous experience might be relevant to the present purchase situation. The extent and nature of external search for information likely in any given purchase has been the subject of a great deal of research. When searching for information in the external environment (e.g., friends and family), consumers focus on those relevant attributes that are available and are diagnostic (Dick et al., 1990).

16

Page 17: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Evaluation of Alternatives:

This stage consists of the physical and cognitive activities involved in comparing alternatives on the basis of information gathered from external search above. According to Kotler (2000), the consumer arrives at attitudes toward the various brands through an attribute evaluation procedure and most buyers consider several attributes in their purchase decision. These attributes used by consumers for evaluation are also called choice criteria. Jobber (2001) has made a good summary of these choice criteria. In fact, consumers attempt to optimize the trade-off between product benefits, product costs, the desired personal utilities and other variables.

Purchase Activity:

Purchase activity involves the actual final decision and physical activities involved in making (or not making) the purchase. This stage includes the actual transaction. However, as suggested by Kotler (2000), perceived risks of a consumer can heavily influence his decision to modify, postpone, or avoid a purchase decision. Therefore it is necessary for marketers to understand factors that might provoke perceived risk in consumers and work out solutions to reduce that.

Post Purchase Behaviour:

This step is concerned primarily with the buyer’s use of the product purchased. After purchasing the product, the consumer will experience some level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction which will influence a consumers’ subsequent behaviour. Dissatisfied consumers may abandon or return the product, they may even complain to the other group (Kotler, 2000). It is clear that satisfactions and dissatisfactions created by product performance will be important determinants of attitudes and information stored as inputs to future purchase decisions.

Predispositions (After Purchase and Use):

This stage suggests that following the purchase process, the buyer (or non-buyer) is left with cognitive content which may be quite different from that which was present at the beginning of the process. Buyers may change their attitudes, information and experience due to reasons of time and events. All of these may serve to change substantially the nature of the decision process for future purchases of the same type.

CONSUMER PERCEPTION

17

Page 18: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Introduction

Our perception is an approximation of reality. Our brain attempts to make sense out of the stimuli to which we are exposed. This works well, for example, when we “see” a friend three hundred feet away at his or her correct height; however, our perception is sometimes “off”—for example, certain shapes of ice cream containers look like they contain more than rectangular ones with the same volume.

Factors in perception

Several sequential factors influence our perception. Exposure involves the extent to which we encounter a stimulus. For example, we are exposed to numerous commercial messages while driving on the freeway: bill boards, radio advertisements, bumper stickers on cars, and signs and banners placed at shopping malls that we pass. Most of this exposure is random—we don’t plan to seek it out. However, if we are shopping for a car, we may deliberately seek out advertisements and “tune in” when dealer advertisements come on the TV Exposure is not enough to significantly impact the individual—at least not based on a single trial (certain advertisements, or commercial exposures such as the “Reliance communication” logo, are based on extensive repetition rather than much conscious attention). In order for stimuli to be consciously processed,attention is needed. Attention is actually a matter of degree—our attention may be quite high when we read directions for getting an income tax refund, but low when commercials come on during a television program. Note, however, that even when attention is low, it may be instantly escalated—for example, if an advertisement for a product in which we are interested comes on. Weber’s Law suggests that consumers’ ability to detect changes in stimulus intensity appear to be strongly related to the intensity of that stimulus to begin with. Several factors influence the extent to which stimuli will be noticed. One obvious issue is relevance. Consumers, when they have a choice, are also more likely to attend to pleasant stimuli (but when the consumer can’t escape, very unpleasant stimuli are also likely to get attention—thus, many very irritating advertisements are remarkably effective). One of the most important factors, however, is repetition. Consumers often do not give much attention to a stimuli—particularly a low priority one such as an advertisement—at any one time, but if it is seen over and over again, the cumulative impact will be greater. Surprising stimuli are likely to get more attention—survival instinct requires us to give more attention to something unknown that may require action. A greater contrast (difference between the stimulus and its surroundings) as well as greater prominence (e.g., greater size, center placement) also tend to increase likelihood of processing.Subliminal stimuli back in the 1960s, it was reported that on selected evenings, movie goers in a theater had been exposed to isolated frames with the words “Drink Coca Cola” and “Eat Popcorn” imbedded into the movie. These frames went by so fast that people did not consciously notice them, but it was reported that on nights with frames present, Coke and popcorn sales were significantly higher than on days they were left off. This led Congress to ban the use of subliminal advertising. First of all, there is a question as to whether this experiment ever took place or whether this information was simply made up.

18

Page 19: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Secondly, no one has been able to replicate these findings. There is research to show that people will start to giggle with embarrassment when they are briefly exposed to “dirty” words in an experimental machine. Here, again, the exposure is so brief that the subjects are not aware of the actual words they saw, but it is evident that something has been recognized by the embarrassment displayed.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS INTERNET

When consumer purchase internet connection, they still perform a similar sequence of tasks: searching for information about different products, evaluating these alternatives, and transacting the chosen alternative. However, the family and friends has great impact on these activities.

Problem recognition:

The starting point is feeling the need or recognition of a problem. The need for accessing internet at anywhere can trigger the recognition of a need or problem and can have significant impact by encouraging customers to begin the information search process.

Information Search:

Once customers identify the need they may seek information about retailers or products to help them satisfy. Customer search regarding internet connection could be limited because it’s a specialty product. Our analysis has shown that in terms of internet connection , customer mostly refer to family and friend as reference group. These reference groups affect buying decision offering information like price, tariff plan availability and so forth. Providing rewards for specific purchasing behaviors for instance friends could appreciate that you could access internet at anywhere if you are carrying a laptop. By identifying and affiliating with reference groups, consumers create, enhance, and maintain their self-image. Customers who want to create an image of mobile, technologically updated person as well as want to be seen as members of a higher social class might buy internet connection from Aircel communication or other competitor’s products.

Product Evaluation:

During this stage, consumers process different product information and make a final value judgment. The multiattribute model provides a useful way for summarizing how customers use the information they have about alternative brands of internet connection. From our consumer behaviour analysis we have found out that on this stage customer evaluate internet connection on its several attributes like price, net speed, tariff plan which come along with, looks etc and they also decide which attributes are most important for them. The multiattribute model shows that how a consumer gives weights of importance to the various attributes of a internet connection.

19

Page 20: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Purchase Activity:

Its not necessary that customer will always purchase a brand or internet connection with evaluation. The internet connection offering benefits (having the highest evaluation) may not be available in the store, or the customer may feel that the risks outweigh the potential. During purchasing customer also may feel that their internet connection might not be able to meet their expectations. Therefore retailer should ensure that their sales persons are knowledgeable enough and they are also skilled presenter of their product, otherwise it could raise confusion in customers’ mind during purchasing of internet connection . Reducing the actual and perceived time of purchasing.

Post Purchase Activities:

As we know buying process doesn’t end when a customer purchase a product.From focus group interviews we have come to know that after making a purchase of internet connection, customer evaluate their experience on the basis of net speed, signal strength amount of money they have spent. Customers often feel that service providers do not deliver what they promise. They feel players should present the terms and conditions and tariff plans/schemes in clear terms. Mentioning every small detail regarding the tariff plans must be included in the bill. For example, if a company intends to collect an advanced monthly rental from customers, then it has to mention that in its tariff plan, so that customers are not shocked when they see a bill that includes monthly advance rentals as well. This kind of practice might keep customers away from going for a particular brand.

2) HISTORY OF TELECOM INDUSTRY

20

Page 21: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

The word telecommunication was adapted from the French word télécommunication. It is a compound of the Greek prefix tele-, meaning 'far off', and the Latin communicare, meaning 'to share'. Telecommunication is the transmission of signals over a distance for the purpose of communication. In modern times, this process almost always involves the sending of electromagnetic waves by electronic transmitters but in earlier years it may have involved the use of smoke signals, drums or semaphore. Today, telecommunication is widespread and devices that assist the process, such as the television, radio and telephone, are common in many parts of the world. There is also a vast array of networks that connect these devices, including computer networks, public telephone networks, radio networks and television networks. Computer communication across the Internet, such as e-mail and instant messaging, is just one of many examples of telecommunication.

Telecommunication systems are generally designed by telecommunication engineers. Early inventors in the field include Elisha Gray, Alexander Bell, Nikola Tesla, Guglielmo Marconi and John Logie Baird. In recent times, optical fibre has radically improved the bandwidth available for intercontinental communication, helping to facilitate a faster and richer Internet experience. And, digital television has eliminated effects such as snowy pictures and ghosting. Telecommunication remains an important part of the world economy and the telecommunication industry's revenue has been placed at just under 3% of the gross world product.

The basic elements of a telecommunication system are:

a transmitter that takes information and converts it to a signal for transmission a transmission medium over which the signal is transmitted a receiver that receives and converts the signal back into usable information

For example, consider a radio broadcast. In this case the broadcast tower is the transmitter, the radio is the receiver and the transmission medium is free space. Often telecommunication systems are two-way and devices act as both a transmitter and receiver or transceiver. For example, a mobile phone is a transceiver. Telecommunication over a phone line is called point-to-point communication because it is between one transmitter and one receiver, telecommunication through radio broadcasts is called broadcast communication because it is between one powerful transmitter and numerous receivers

Signals can either be analogue or digital. In an analogue signal, the signal is varied continuously with respect to the information. In a digital signal, the information is encoded as a set of discrete values (e.g. 1's and 0's). Telecommunications devices convert different types of information, such as sound and video, into electrical or optical signals. Electrical signals typically travel along a medium such as copper wire or are carried the air as radio waves. Optical signals typically travel along a medium such as strands of glass fibers. When a signal reaches its destination, the device on the receiving end converts the signal back into an understandable message, such as sound over a telephone, moving images on a television, or words and pictures on a computer screen

21

Page 22: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

A collection of transmitters, receivers or transceivers that communicate with each other is known as a network. Digital networks may consist of one or more routers that route data to the correct user. An analogue network may consist of one or more switches that establish a connection between two or more users. For both types of network, a repeater may be necessary to amplify or recreate the signal when it is being transmitted over long distances. This is to combat attenuation that can render the signal indistinguishable from noise.

The shaping of a signal to convey information is known as modulation. Modulation is a key concept in telecommunications and is frequently used to impose the information of one signal on another. Modulation is used to represent a digital message as an analogue waveform. This is known as keying and several keying techniques exist — these include phase-shift keying, frequency-shift keying, amplitude-shift keying and minimum-shift keying. Bluetooth, for example, uses phase-shift keying for exchanges between devices

HISTORY OF GSM

The lack of a technological standardization prompted the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) to create the Groupe Spécial Mobile (GSM) in 1982 with the objective of developing a standard for a mobile telephone system that could be used across Europe.In 1989, GSM responsibility was transferred to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), and phase I of the GSM specifications were published in 1990. The first GSM network was launched in 1991 by Radiolinja in Finland. By the end of 1993, over a million subscribers were using GSM phone networks The growth of cellular telephone systems started in the early 1980s, particularly in being operated by 70 carriers across 48 countries

The Global System for Mobile communications (GSM: originally from Groupe Spécial Mobile) is the most popular standard for mobile phones in the world. GSM service is used by over 2 billion people across more than 212 countries and territories.The ubiquity of the GSM standard makes international roaming very common between mobile phone operators, enabling subscribers to use their phones in many parts of the world.From the point of view of the consumers, the key advantage of GSM systems has been higher digital voice quality and low cost alternatives to making calls such as the Short Message Service (SMS). The advantage for network operators has been the ability to deploy equipment from different vendors because the open standard allows easy inter-operability.Like other cellular standards GSM allows network operators to offer roaming services which mean subscribers can use their phones all over the world. GSM is a cellular network, which means that mobile phones connect to it by searching for cells in the immediate vicinity. GSM networks operate in four different frequency ranges. Most GSM networks operate in the 900 MHz or 1800 MHz bands. Some countries in the Americas (including the United States and Canada) use the 850 MHz and 1900 MHz bands because the 900 and 1800 MHz frequency bands were already allocated.

22

Page 23: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

The GSM logo is used to identify compatible handsets and equipment

There are four different cell sizes in a GSM network - macro, micro, pico and umbrella cells. The coverage area of each cell varies according to the implementation environment. Macro cells can be regarded as cells where the base station antenna is installed on a mast or a building above average roof top level. Micro cells are cells whose antenna height is under average roof top level; they are typically used in urban areas. Picocells are small cells whose diameter is a few dozen meters; they are mainly used indoors. Umbrella cells are used to cover shadowed regions of smaller cells and fill in gaps in coverage between those cells.

The network behind the GSM system seen by the customer is large and complicated in order to provide all of the services which are required. It is divided into a number of sections and these are each covered in separate articles.

The Base Station Subsystem (the base stations and their controllers). The Network and Switching Subsystem (the part of the network most similar to a

fixed network). This is sometimes also just called the core network. The GPRS Core Network (the optional part which allows packet based Internet

connections). all of the elements in the system combine to produce many GSM services such as

voice calls and SMS

The Base Station Subsystem (BSS) is the section of a GSM network which is responsible for handling traffic and signaling between a mobile phone and the Network Switching Subsystem. The BSS carries out transcoding of speech channels, allocation of radio channels to mobile phones, paging, quality management of transmission and reception over the Air interface and many other tasks related to the radio network

23

Page 24: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

The Base Transceiver Station, or BTS, contains the equipment for transmitting and receiving of radio signals (transceivers), antennas, and equipment for encrypting and decrypting communications with the Base Station Controller (BSC). Typically a BTS for anything other than a picocell will have several transceivers (TRXs) which allow it to serve several different frequencies and different sectors of the cell (in the case of sectorised base stations). A BTS is controlled by a parent BSC via the Base Station Control Function (BCF).

The Base Station Controller (BSC) provides, classically, the intelligence behind the BTSs. Typically a BSC has 10s or even 100s of BTSs under its control. The BSC handles

24

Page 25: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

allocation of radio channels, receives measurements from the mobile phones, controls handovers from BTS to BTS

A key function of the BSC is to act as a concentrator where many different low capacity connections to BTSs (with relatively low utilisation) become reduced to a smaller number of connections towards the Mobile Switching Center (MSC) (with a high level of utilisation). Overall, this means that networks are often structured to have many BSCs distributed into regions near their BTSs which are then connected to large centralized MSC sites.

PACKET CONTROL UNIT

The Packet Control Unit (PCU) is a late addition to the GSM standard. It performs some of the processing tasks of the BSC, but for packet data. The allocation of channels between voice and data is controlled by the base station, but once a channel is allocated to the PCU, the PCU takes full control over that channel.

BSS interfaces

Um - The air interface between the MS (Mobile Station) and the BTS Abis - The interface between the Base Transceiver Station and Base Station

Controller A - The interface between the BSC and Mobile Switching Center Ater - The interface between the Base Station Controller and Transcoder. It is a

proprietary interface whose name depends on the vendor (for example Ater by Nokia), it carries the A interface information from the BSC leaving it untouched.

Gb - Connects the BSS to the Serving GPRS Support Node

SECTORISATION

25

Page 26: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

By using directional antennas on a base station, each pointing in different directions, it is possible to sectorise the base station so that several different cells are served from the same location. Typically these directional antennas have a beamwidth of 65 to 85 degrees. This increases the traffic capacity of the base station (each frequency can carry eight voice channels) whilst not greatly increasing the interference caused to neighboring cells (in any given direction, only a small number of frequencies are being broadcast). Typically two antennas are used per sector, at spacing of ten or more wavelengths apart. This allows the operator to overcome the effects of fading due to physical phenomena such as multipath reception. Some amplification of the received signal as it leaves the antenna is often used to preserve the balance between uplink and downlink signal.

SUBSCRIBER IDENTITY MODULE

One of the key features of GSM is the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), commonly known as a SIM card. The SIM is a detachable smart card containing the user's subscription information and phonebook. This allows the user to retain his or her information after switching handsets. Alternatively, the user can also change operators while retaining the handset simply by changing the SIM. Some operators will block this by allowing the phone to use only a single SIM, or only a SIM issued by them; this practice is known as SIM locking, and is illegal in some countries.

In the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia, many operators lock the mobiles they sell. This is done because the price of the mobile phone is typically subsidized with revenue from subscriptions and operators want to try to avoid subsidizing competitor's mobiles. A subscriber can usually contact the provider to remove the lock for a fee, utilize private services to remove the lock, or make use of ample software and websites available on the Internet to unlock the handset themselves

Some providers will unlock the phone for free if the customer has held an account for a certain period. Third party unlocking services exist that are often quicker and lower cost than that of the operator. In most countries removing the lock is legal. In countries like India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Belgium, etc., all phones are sold unlocked. However, in Belgium, it is unlawful for operators there to offer any form of subsidy on the phone's price. This was also the case in Finland until April 1, 2006, when selling subsidized combinations of handsets and accounts became legal though operators have to unlock phone free of charge after a certain period (at most 24 months).

A) OVERVIEW OF INDIAN TELECOM INDUSTRIES

26

Page 27: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Indian Telecom sector, like any other industrial sector in the country, has gone through many phases of growth and diversification. Starting from telegraphic and telephonic systems in the 19th century, the field of telephonic communication has now expanded to make use of advanced technologies like GSM, CDMA, and WLL to the great 3G Technology in mobile phones. Day by day, both the Public Players and the Private Players are putting in their resources and efforts to improve the telecommunication technology so as to give the maximum to their customers.

The Indian telecom sector can be broadly classified into Fixed Line Telephony and mobile telephony. The major players of the telecom sector are experiencing a fierce competition in both the segments. The major players like BSNL, MTNL, VSNL in the fixed line and Airtel, Aircel, Hutch, Idea, Tata, Reliance in the mobile segment are coming up with new tariffs and discount schemes to gain the competitive advantage. The Public Players and the Private Players share the fixed line and the mobile segments. Currently the Public Players have more than 70% of the market share.

India

o India has a 700 million people living in 638,000 villages per-capita income of $ 0.40 per day)

o As per DoT statistics 500,000 villages have telephone access.

o Divided into 22 circles 4 metros 19 circles

Further divided into A, B and C category based on economic parameters and revenue potential

o Each circle has a licenses Four operators per circle are allowed Licenses are saleable

HISTORY OF TELECOMMUNICATION IN INDIA

27

Page 28: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

In 1880, two telephone companies namely “The Oriental Telephone Company Limited” and “The Anglo-Indian Telephone Company Limited” approached the Government of India with the objective of establishing Telephone Exchanges across the country. Initially, the Government denied the permission as it wanted to exercise its monopoly power over the promising industry once it emerged. By the following year, it changed its decision and finally on 28 th January,1882, license was granted to The Oriental Telephone Company Limited of England for opening telephone exchanges at Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Ahmedabad.

The opening of exchanges was followed by further innovations and improvements in all sections of the telecom industry . However, while telephones were introduced in the major towns and cities across the country during the British period, total number of telephones in India in 1948 was merely 80,000. The growth was negligible even after independence and the telephone was used as a status symbol by the rich despite being an extremely essential device of public utility. This sluggish rate of growth continued till 1991 when the number of telephones was 5.07 million.

The period post 1975 saw an resurgence in the India Telecom Market by virtue of a series of fruitful decisions initiated by the Government which included:

The separation of Department of Telecom (DoT) from Post and Telegraph (P&T) in 1975.

The formation of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) out of DoT to provide telecom services exclusively to Delhi and Mumbai.

In the 1990s, the telecom sector was opened up by the Government for private investment as a part of Liberalization-Privatization-Globalization Policy.

On 1 st October, 2000, the Government corporatized its operations wing under the name of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).

India's Telecom Market

Mobile services were commercially launched in India in August, 1995. Although in the initial years, the high prices of handsets and allied services hindered the growth of the telecom market in India, the New Telecom Policy in 1999 introduced several consumer-friendly initiatives. The entry of private operators like Airtel, Hutch, Reliance, Tata, BPL, Idea etc. created a competitive market which further reduced operational costs. Since then, the number of mobile subscribers began to rise in leaps and bounds. The number of new mobile subscribers rose from 16 million in 2003 to 65 million in 2006. With 156.31 million subscribers across the country, India has become one of the fastest growing mobile markets in the world.

Truly, the growth of India's mobile market has surpassed that of the basic telephones by a huge margin. Nevertheless it is the Indian Telecom Market which is having the last laugh.

28

Page 29: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

The telecom network in India is the fifth largest network in the world meeting up with global standards. Presently, the Indian telecom industry is currently slated to anestimated contribution of nearly 1% to India’s GDP.The Indian Telecommunications network with 110.01 million connections is the fifthlargest in the world and the second largest among the emerging economies of Asia.Today, it is the fastest growing market in the world and represents uniqueopportunities for U.S. companies in the stagnant global scenario. The total subscriberbase, which has grown by 40% in 2005. According to Broadband Policy 2004, Government of India aims at 9 million broadband connections and 18 million internet connections by 2007. The wireless subscriber base has jumped from 33.69 million in 2004 to 62.57 million in FY2004- 2005. In the last 3 years, two out of every three new telephone subscribers were wireless subscribers. Consequently, wireless now accounts for 54.6% of the total telephone subscriber base, as compared to only 40% in 2003. Wireless subscriber growth is expected to bypass 2.5 million new subscribers per month by 2007. The wireless technologies currently in use are Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). There are primarily 9 GSM and 5 CDMA operators providing mobile services in 19 telecom circles and 4 metro cities, covering 2000 towns across the country.

TELECOMMUNICATION REFORMS IN INDIA

Telecommunication Reforms in India revolutionized the telecom industries sector in India, which is an important factor for the growth of the Indian telecom sector and in turn helped the Indian economy to perform well for the past few years. The Telecommunication reforms in India were development and growth oriented. Technological advancements and innovations contributed largely towards the reformation of the telecom sector in India. The sector of telecom was a monopoly under the Central Government of India. During the 1990s this sector faced fierce challenges due to the development in the technological sector. The sector was privatized and with the abolition of the monopoly new player entered the consumer market. The competition increased in the telecom sector, the rates were slashed in order to grab the share of the market and the customers were provided with better services.The telecommunication reforms in India started in the eighties with the mission better communication. This is regarded as the first phase of the reformation process. Several private manufacturers of tailor made equipments entered the market. There were private developer for indigenous technologies and the franchisee for STD/ISD and PCO increased. The Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) were set up under the Government of India's Department of Telecommunication. The second phase of telecommunication reforms in India came in the early nineties. The introduction of the New Economic Policy (NEP) in the year 1991 was a landmark in the history of telecom industry sector in India. The manufacturing of equipments pertaining to telecom sector was decentralized and several value added services were introduced into the market. The telecom services were divided into basic telephony, radio paging and cellular mobile The TRAI was established an independent regulatory body pertaining to telecom sector. The growth of the private sector increased.

29

Page 30: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

The third phase of the telecommunication reforms in India took place in the period of the late nineties. The government of India introduced the New Telecom Policy 1999. The TRAI was endowed with more power. The concept of revenue sharing was introduced to replace the fixed license fee. The National Long Distance was introduced with free entrance. Moreover, there was introduction of International Long Distance schemes. The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), a corporate body of the telecom service sector was formed, followed by the introduction of the Internet to the Indian market.

Impact of Telecommunication Reforms in India The rates of the National Long Distance were cut down by 60% The prices of the hand sets and telephone equipments were reduced The charges on calls were reduced by 8 times The introduction of the cellular mobile phone The bandwidth availability was increased

GROWTH OF TELECOM INDUSTRY

The telecom industry is growing at a great pace and the growth rate is expected to double with every passing year. There are many new developments in the telecomm sector, including the ingress of 3G technology that the Indian market is witnessing at present.

In 2005-2006, the telecom industry witnessed a growth of 21% with a total revenue of Rs. 86,720 crores, and the total investment rising to Rs. 2,00,660 crores. It is projected that the telecom industry will be enjoying over 150% growth in the next 4-6 years. The growth also requires a huge investment by the players in the sector. Bharti Airtel is planning to invest about $8 billion by the year 2010.

Liberalization policy and some socio-economic factors are mainly responsible for the immense growth in the sales volumes. The lifestyle of the people has changed. They need to be connected to the other people all the time. With the lowering down of the tariffs the affordability of the mobile phones has increased. The finance sector has also come up with loans for handsets on 0% interest. Mobile services providers are also expanding their coverage area by installing more and more antennas and other equipments.

The telecom sector in the country has already adopted the latest technological advancements to cater to the demands of the growing market. Telecom Expo India, Convergence India, VAS India and IPTV India being organized year to year are all efforts in this direction.

Budget 2007 has brought disappointment to the telecom sector. Mobile service providers have been asked to cut down their roaming rentals as well as their long distance and international call tariffs. This has led to discontent on the part of the service providers. However, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is of the opinion that this will lead to increased use of roaming, which will ultimately lead to more revenue generation. Moreover, with cheaper handsets and lesser tariffs, it is expected that by the year 2010

30

Page 31: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

there will be over 500 million subscribers in the Indian telecom market.

Also, the telecom industry this year will be focusing more on rural areas to connect them with the urban areas so that the farmers and the small-scale industries can have faster access to information related to weather and market conditions.

RURAL INDIA KEY GROWTH DRIVER OF TELECOM INDUSTRY

Rural population is the key growth driver of India’s telecom industry though ‘affordability still remains a key issue. According to the study by LIRNEasia, and information and communication technology policy organisation, 27 percent of the total mobile owners at the bottom of the pyramid (BOP), or the poorest socio-economic group, were added last year, whereas the urban areas added only 19 percent.

‘Just five years ago, the massive momentum developed by the Indian telecom industry did not include rural areas. But now, the picture is different,’. It added that phone ownership - both landline and mobile - at the BOP increased a whopping 131 percent between 2006 and 2008.

‘Affordability still remains a key issue for the people at the bottom of the pyramid to buy mobile phones,’ Rohan Samarajiva, chairman and chief executive of LIRNEasia, told IANS.

Mobile ownership is as high as 40 percent at the BOP whereas the fixed phone ownership is 8 percent.

The study said India has a large second hand mobile phone market. ‘Most of the rural customers on an average spend $34.82 to buy a second hand phone and approximately $48 for a new phone,’ Samarajiva said.

However, a major chunk of the people still utilise only voice services and services like payment through mobile. Other value-added services are still at a negligible level, the study said.

EMPLOYMENT STATUS

With the coming of more and more projects, the telecom industry is going for high scale recruitments. There is a huge demand for software engineers, mobile analysts, and hardware engineers for mobile handsets. Besides, there are ample opportunities for marketing people whose services are required to capture more and more customer base.

The new projects, setting up of new service bases, expansion of coverage areas, network installations, maintenance, etc are providing more and more employment opportunities in the telecom sector.LANDMARKS OF INDIAN TELECOM INDUSTRY:-

31

Page 32: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Year

1851 First operational land lines were laid by the government near Calcutta (seat of British power)

1881 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 Company (IRCC)

1947 Nationalization of all foreign telecommunication companies to form the Posts, Telephone and Telegraph (PTT), a monopoly run by thegovernment's Ministry of Communications

1985 Department of Telecommunications (DOT) established, an exclusiveprovider of domestic and long-distance service that would be its ownregulator (separate from the postal system)

1986 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 metropolitan areas.

1997 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India created.

1999 Cellular Services are launched in India. New National Telecom Policy is adopted.

2000 DoT becomes a corporation, BSNL

MAJOR PLAYERS IN TELECOM INDUSTRY AND THEIR MARKET SHARE

32

Page 33: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Major Players in telecom industry:-

There are three types of players in telecom services:

State owned companies (BSNL and MTNL)

Private Indian owned companies (Reliance Infocomm, Tata Teleservices,)

Foreign invested companies (Vodafone-Essar, Bharti Tele-Ventures, Escotel, Idea Cellular, BPL Mobile, Spice Communications,Dishnet Wireless ltd.)

Public and Private Players

MTNL, BSNL, VSNL are the major Public Players, whereas Airtel, Aircel, Idea, Vodafone, Tata, Reliance, BPL are the leading Private Players in the country. Some of them are entering foreign markets as well. The Bharti Telecom will be launching its services the leading Private Players in the country. Some of them are entering foreign markets as well. The Bharti Telecom will be launching its services for the NRIs in the US with the help of Airtel CALLHOME service.

List of Private service provider in India are as:-

CompanyLogo Circle in different states Official website

Aircel GroupAssam, Bihar, Chennai, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, North East, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kolkata, Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka, Andra Pradesh,UP(E), UP(w), Mumbai

http://www.aircel.com

Airtel

Delhi (Metro), Mumbai (Metro), Kolkata (Metro), Chennai (Metro), Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, North East, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh (E), Uttar Pradesh (W), West Bengal.

http://www.airtelworld.com

Vodafone

Andhra Pradesh, Chennai (Metro), Delhi (Metro), Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kolkata (Metro), Mumbai (Metro), Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh (W), Uttar Pradesh (E), West Bengal, Maharatshtra, Tamilnadu, Kerala, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, Assam, North East, Madhya Pradesh.

http://www.vodafone.com

Idea cellularDelhi (Metro), Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh (E), Uttar Pradesh (W).

http://www.ideacellular.com

33

Page 34: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Reliance telecom ltd.

Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh, North East, Orissa, and West Bengal.

http://www.reliancemobile.com

Tata teleservices ltd.

J&k, Punjab,H.P, Maharashtra (including Mumbai), New Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Karnataka

BSNL

On October 1, 2000 the Department of Telecom Operations, Government of India became a corporation and was renamed Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).BSNL is now India’s leading telecommunications company and the largest public sector undertaking. It has a network of over 45 million lines covering 5000 towns with over 35 million telephone connections.The state-controlled BSNL operates basic, cellular (GSM and CDMA) mobile, Internet and long distance services throughout India (except Delhi and Mumbai). BSNL will be expanding the network in line with the Tenth Five-Year Plan (1992-97). BSNL, which became the third operator of GSM mobile services in most circles, is now planning toovertake Bharti to become the largest GSM operator in the country. BSNL is also thelargest operator in the Internet market, with a share of 21 per cent of the entire subscriber base.

AIRTEL

Established in 1995 by Sunil Mittal as a Public Limited Company, Airtel is the largest telecom service provider in Indian telecom sector. With market capitalization of over Rs. 1,360 billion, Airtel has 33% of total market share of GSM service providers. Providing GSM services in all the 23 circles, Airtel was the first private player in telecom sector to connect all states of India. Also, Airtel is the first mobile service provider to introduce the lifetime prepaid services and electronic recharge systems.

VODAFONE

Vodafone Essar in India is a subsidiary of Vodafone Group Plc and commenced operations in 1994 when its predecessor Hutchison Telecom acquired the cellular licence for Mumbai. Vodafone Essar now has operations in 20 circles with over 54.63 million customers. Vodafone is the world’s leading international mobile communications company. It now has operations in 25 countries across 5 continents and 40 partner networks with over 269 million customers worldwide. Vodafone has partnered with the Essar Group as its principal joint venture partner for the Indian market.

34

Page 35: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

MTNL

MTNL was set up on 1st April 1986 by the Government of India to upgrade the quality of telecom services, expand the telecom network, introduce new services and to raise revenue for telecom development needs of India’s key metros – Delhi, the political capital, and Mumbai, the business capital. In the past 17 years, the company has taken rapid strides to emerge as India’s leading and one of Asia’s largest telecom operating companies. The company has also been in the forefront of technology induction by converting 100% of its telephone exchange network into the state-of-the-art digital mode. The Govt. of India currently holds 56.25% stake in the company. In the year 2003-04, the company's focus was not only consolidating the gains but also to focus on new areas of enterprise such as joint ventures for projects outside India, entering into national long distance operation, widening the cellular and CDMA-based WLL customer base, setting up internet and allied services on an all India basis. MTNL has over 5 million subscribers and 329,374 mobile subscribers. While the market for fixed wireline phones is stagnating MTNL faces intense competition from the private players—Bharti, Hutchison and Idea Cellular, Reliance Infocomm—in mobile services. MTNL recorded sales of Rs. 60.2 billion ($1.38 billion) in the year 2002-03.

RELIANCE INFOCOMM

Reliance is a $16 billion integrated oil exploration to refinery to power and textilesconglomerate. It is also an integrated telecom service provider with licenses for mobile, fixed, domestic long distance and international services. Reliance Infocomm offers a complete range of telecom services, covering mobile and fixed line telephony including broadband, national and international long distance services, data services and a wide range of value added services and applications. Reliance India Mobile, the first of Infocomm's initiatives was launched on December 28, 2002. This marked the beginning of Reliance's vision of ushering in a digital revolution in India by becoming a major catalyst in improving quality of life and changing the face of India. Reliance Infocomm plans to extend its efforts beyond the traditional value chain to develop and deploy telecom solutions for India's farmers, businesses, hospitals, government and public sector organizations. Until recently, Reliance was permitted to provide only “limited mobility” services through its basic services license. However, it has now acquired a unified accesslicense for 18 circles that permits it to provide the full range of mobile services. It has rolled out its CDMA mobile network and enrolled more than 6 million subscribers in one year to become the country’s largest mobile operator. It now wants to increase its market share and has recently launched pre-paid services. Having captured the voice market, it intends to attack the broadband market.

TATA TELESERVICES

Tata Teleservices is a part of the $12 billion Tata Group, which has 93 companies, over 200,000 employees and more than 2.3 million shareholders. Tata Teleservices provides

35

Page 36: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

basic (fixed line services), using CDMA technology in six circles: Maharashtra (including Mumbai), New Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Karnataka. It has over 800,000 subscribers. It has now migrated to unified access licenses, by paying a Rs. 5.45 billion ($120 million) fee, which enables it to provide fully mobile services as well. The company is also expanding its footprint, and has paid Rs. 4.17 billion ($90 million) to DoT for 11 new licenses under the IUC (interconnect usage charges) regime. The new licenses, coupled with the six circles in which it already operates, virtually gives the CDMA mobile operator a national footprint that is almost on par with BSNL and Reliance Infocomm.

VSNL

On April 1, 1986, the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) - a wholly Government owned corporation - was born as successor to OCS. The company operates a network of earth stations, switches, submarine cable systems, and value added service nodes to provide a range of basic and value added services and has a dedicated work force of about 2000 employees. VSNL's main gateway centers are located at Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai. The international telecommunication circuits are derived via Intelsat and Inmarsat satellites and wide band submarine cable systems e.g. FLAG, SEA-ME-WE-2 and SEA-ME-WE-3.The company's ADRs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and its shares are listed on major Stock Exchanges in India. The Indian Government owns approximately 26 per cent equity, M/s Panatone Finvest Limited as investing vehicle of Tata Group owns 45 per cent equity and the overseas holding (inclusive of FIIs, ADRs, Foreign Banks) is approximately 13 per cent and the rest is owned by Indian institutions and the public. The company provides international and Internet services as well as a host of value-added services. Its revenues have declined from Rs. 70.89 billion ($1.62 billion) in 2001-02 to Rs. 48.12 billion ($1.1 billion) in 2002-03, with voice revenues being the mainstay. To reverse the falling revenue trend, VSNL has also started offering domestic long distance services and is launching broadband services. For this, the company is investing in Tata Telservices and is likely to acquire Tata Broadband.

IDEA

Established by AT&T, Aditya Birla Group and Tata Group as joint venture, Idea Cellular, is a part of Aditya Birla Nuvo, a flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, Idea is growing its network in 11 circles. Idea offers both prepaid and post paid services in the GSM network. Having 14.96 % market share, Idea has a base of 2.3 crores subscribers all over the country. A three-year contract was signed between Idea cellular and Ericsson for GSM expansion. The network will now cover Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh telecom circles (operator-licensed areas).

MARKET SHARES OF THE LEADING PUBLIC AND PRIVATE

PLAYERS

36

Page 37: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

GROUP COMPANY WISE % MARKET SHARES

Name of the Company Total Sub Figures % market share

Airtel88382758

33.04 %Vodafone

6334002423.68 %

BSNL42673357

15.95 %Idea cellular

4001615314.96 %

Aircel16761397

6.27 %Reliance

103538413.87 %

MTNL4003807

1.50 %BPL

20073030.75 %

All India267538640

100.00 %

GRAPH SHOWING COMPANY WISE % MARKET SHARE

37

Page 38: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Total Sub Figures

33%

24%16%

15%

6% 4%

1%

1%

1 Bharti Airtel 2 Vodafone Essar 3 BSNL

4 IDEA 5 Aircel 6 Reliance Telecom

8 MTNL 9 BPL

38

Page 39: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

B) COMPANY PROFILE

DISHNET WIRELESS LIMITED

About Aircel

The Aircel Group is a joint venture between Maxis Communications Berhad of Malaysia and Apollo Hospital Enterprise Ltd of India, with Maxis Communications holding a majority stake of 74%.

Aircel is a mobile phone service provider in India. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout Tamil Nadu (including Chennai), Andhra Pradesh, Assam, North East India, Orissa, West Bengal (including Kolkata), Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh & Mumbai. Aircel was founded by NRI businessman C Sivasankaran. Aircel is a joint venture between Maxis Communications Berhad of Malaysia and Apollo Hospital Enterprise Ltd of India. It is India’s seventh largest GSM mobile service provider with a subscriber base of over 18 million. It has a market share of 6.3% among the GSM operators in the country. As on date, Aircel is present in 17 telecom circles (including Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, North East, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, West Bengal, Delhi) and with licences secured for the remaining 10 of the 23 telecom circles, the company plans to become a pan-India operator by 2009. Additionally, Aircel has also obtained permission from Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to provide International Long Distance (ILD) and National Long Distance (NLD) telephony services. It is also a category A ISP.

AIRCEL IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR

39

Page 40: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Dishnet wireless Limited is a leading telecom company in J&K. The head office of Aircel communication in J&K is situated in B-1, North Block, Bahu Plaza Complex, Jammu. It has been functioning smoothly and about 275 employs are working there.

Departments in Dishnet Wireless Limited Head Office, Jammu

Dishnet Wireless limited, Jammu has the following departments:-

HR Department

Finance Department

Marketing Department

Technical Department

Rollout Department

Customer Services Department(VAS)

Sales Department

Management of Dishnet Wireless Limited Head Office, Jammu

40

Page 41: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Dishnet Wireless limited, head office Jammu is managed by the following persons:-

Surindher Katharia ( Head of HR department)

Mr. Raman Kumar (HR Manager)

M.K Jha (Head of Finance department)

Mr. Jai Varsehney (Head of Marketing department)

Ashwani Kumar (Head of Technical department)

Narinder Sharma ( Head of Rollout department)

H.P Singh ( Head of Sales Department)

S.P Singh ( Sales deptt.)

Mr. Milan( Zonal sales Manager)

Mr. Shameem Mohammed ( Head of VAS)

Mr. Shared ( Area sales manager)OUR GOALS AND VALUES

41

Page 42: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

CUSTOMERS : Our customers are our most valued assets. We will strive to exceed

their expectations at all time by providing them with superior services that embody value,

innovation, quality and care.

PEOPLE: Our people are our greatest resources. We will attract, train and retain the

best. We will challenge them to develop their full potential in the context of our company

goals.

INTEGRITY: We will maintain and strive for the highest levels of personal and

professional integrity and honesty in all ours dealings. We will keep our promises.

RESPECT: We will treat with respect and dignity all people we deal with.

EXCELLENCE : We are committed to excellence in all what we do. There will be no

place for mediocrity.

WORK: We will promote a work environment that embraces creativity, promotes

empowerment, encourages team work, innovation, prudent risk taking, honest and open

communication and respectful iconoclasm.

QUALITY: The hallmark of our internal and external outputs and processes will be

quality. This will pervade every aspect of our functioning.

MISSION STATEMENT

42

Page 43: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

We are conditionally committed to exceeding our customer’s expectations. We will

provide network and services that are innovative and reliable, allowing our customers any

time anywhere communications. We will attract, develop and retain an exceptional team

of people. We are committed to enhancing the quality of real life in the community in

which we operate. We will meet the financial expectation of our shareholders.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

The key drivers of the organizational structure are:

Delivery of superior value to the customer.

Permits integration of feedback from our customers.

Efficiency

Ease and flexibility of decision-making.

Promotes the development of the potential of our team members around

the company’s goals and values.

Responds quickly to market forces.

These drivers translate into the following organizational characteristics:

Flat organizational structure

Span of control not too large

There will be a reporting structure, which has no more than 4-5 labels

between the customer and the CEO

43

Page 44: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

A structure that is not around people or designation or levels. One that is

limited on hierarchy and which is informal open and transparent.

C) COMPANY HISTORY:-

Maxis’ expansion into Indonesia and India is another milestone in our aspiration to be the regional communications leader of choice. The acquisition of a 51% stake in PT Natrindo Telephone Seluler (NTS), Indonesia and a 74% equity interest in Aircel, India provides new growth opportunities for Maxis. These acquisitions give Maxis a strong foothold in two of the world’s most attractive high-growth, low-penetration markets.

This marks the beginning of the new world of Maxis – a world beyond voice, and beyond borders

44

Page 45: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

On 29th April 2005, Maxis acquired 51% of PT Natrindo Telepon Seluler. Maxis is currently in the middle of rolling out a Java wide network to establish the company as a national operator. The initial launch phase encompasses 1,300 BTS, providing both 2G and 3G services. NTS expects to have up to 480 employees by launch date and to increase significantly upon launching.Maxis in India Maxis completed the acquisition of a 74% stake in Aircel on March 21, 2006. Currently, Aircel has operations in 9 of the 23-telecom circles of India - Chennai, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Orissa, Assam, North East, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Bihar. Aircel launched its services in Bihar and Himachal Pradesh in December 2006 and also recently received the licenses to operate in the remaining 14-telecom circles of India giving it the ability to become a pan-India player.

Maxis’ expansion into Indonesia and India is another milestone in our aspiration to be the regional communications leader of choice. The acquisition of a 51% stake in PT Natrindo Telepon Seluler (NTS), Indonesia and a 74% equity interest in Aircel, India provides new growth opportunities for Maxis. These acquisitions give Maxis a strong foothold in two of the world’s most attractive high-growth, low-penetration markets. This marks the beginning of the new world of Maxis – a world beyond voice, and beyond borders. MAP Maxis in Indonesia On 29th April 2005, Maxis acquired 51% of PT Natrindo Telepon Seluler. Maxis is currently in the middle of rolling out a Java wide network to establish the company as a national operator. The initial launch phase encompasses 1,300 BTS, providing both 2G and 3G services. NTS expects to have up to 480 employees by launch date and to increase significantly upon launching. Maxis in India Maxis completed the acquisition of a 74% stake in Aircel on March 21, 2006.

45

Page 46: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

AIRCEL OPERATIONS IN INDIA

Currently, Aircel has operations in 9 of the 23 telecom circles of India - Chennai, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Orissa, Assam, North East, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Bihar. Aircel launched its services in Bihar and Himachal Pradesh in December 2006 and also recently received the licenses to operate in the remaining 14 telecom circles of India giving it the ability to become a pan-India player. Aircel expects to aggressively grow its subscriber base in India and is developing a broad range of new propositions for its customers - from branding, to increased network coverage, to innovative product and service offerings, to refreshing customer experience. As of 31st December 2006, Aircel serves more than 4.5 million subscribers with a network comprising of almost 4,000 BTS. Aircel continues to be the market leader in Tamil Nadu and Chennai circle. Aircel’s network provides 2G and GPRS services, and is EDGE capable. Aircel is also currently in the process of conducting 3G Trials across different cities in India. In addition, Aircel is the first cellular operator in India to launch wireless Internet services using WiMAX technology. It aims to immediately extend its WiMax coverage to over 20 cities to serve enterprise broadband customers. Over the next few quarters, India is expected to add new subscribers at the rate of 5 to 6 million per month. India offers huge opportunities for Aircel given the current low mobile penetrations levels as well as challenges in terms of its geographic spread and low ARPU levels.

Aircel expects to aggressively grow its subscriber base in India and is developing a broad range of new propositions for its customers - from branding, to increased network coverage, to innovative product and service offerings, to refreshing customer experience.As of 31st December 2006, Aircel serves more than 4.5 million subscribers with a network comprising of almost 4,000 BTS. Aircel continues to be the market leader in Tamil Nadu and Chennai circle. Aircel’s network provides 2G and GPRS services, and is EDGE capable. Aircel is also currently in the process of conducting 3G Trials across different cities in India. In addition, Aircel is the first cellular operator in India to launch wireless Internet services using WiMAX technology. It aims to immediately extend its WiMax coverage to over 20 cities to serve enterprise broadband customers.

Over the next few quarters, India is expected to add new subscribers at the rate of 5 to 6 million per month. India offers huge opportunities for Aircel given the current low mobile penetrations levels as well as challenges in terms of its geographic spread and low ARPU levels.

Aircel’s current and proposed footprint is illustrated below.

46

Page 47: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

D) RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS AND MILESTONES FOR AIRCEL

The Aircel Group is a joint venture between Maxis Communications Berhad of Malaysia and Apollo Hospital Enterprise Ltd of India.Today , Aircel communication is proud of its achievements:-

Aircel began its outward expansion in 2005 and met with unprecedented success in the Eastern frontier circles. It emerged a market leader in Assam and in the North Eastern provinces within 18 months of operations.

Aircel commenced operations in 1999 and became the leading mobile operator in Tamil Nadu within 18 months.

In December 2003, it launched commercially in Chennai and quickly established itself as a market leader in Chennai.

Aircel spreads its wings to 700 locations in TN Becomes the largest operator in the State.

Aircel the most preferred operator in TamilNadu, today, crossed yet another milestone by spreading its service areas to 700 towns in TamilNadu.

47

Page 48: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Aircel has also obtained permission from Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to provide International Long Distance (ILD) and National Long Distance (NLD) telephony services. It is also a category A ISP.

Aircel has won many awards and recognitions

Voice and Data gave Aircel the highest rating for overall customer satisfaction and network quality in 2006.

Aircel emerged as the top mid-size utility company in Businessworld’s ‘List of Best Mid-Size Companies’ in 2007.

Tele.net recognised Aircel as the best regional operator in 2008.

Aircel Business Solutions (ABS), part of Aircel, is an ISO 9000 certified company.

ABS is a registered member of WiMAX forum , both in the Indian and International Chapters. ABS product range includes enterprise solutions such as Multi Protocol Label Switching Virtual Private Networks (MPLS VPNs), Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Managed Video Services on wireless platform including WiMAX.

Aircel are one of the sponsors of the Indian Premier League Cricket Team Chennai Super Kings captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

It is also the sponsor for Professional Golf Tour of India from 2009 onwards.

48

Page 49: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

E) PRODUCT RANGE AND SERVICES OF AIRCEL

COMMUNICATION IN JAMMU & KASHMIR:-

Aircel communication has the following products and services for their customers:-

Aircel Postpaid

Aircel offers you postpaid plans which are tailor-made to suit your calling needs. You can now explore the world of limitless possibilities by subscribing to an Aircel postpaid plan!

Our customer care is always ready to help and support to ensure you an exciting and a trouble-free experience. Not only that, you also get a host of exciting value-added services along with your postpaid connection. 

So get connected and be a part of the Aircel family today!

Aircel Prepaid

Start-up Kit

Start-up Kit

Prepaid Start-up KitMRP (Rs.) 49 99 149 200Talktime Value (Rs.) 0 25 35 50Validity Period (days) 0 30** 30 days** 10 daysµ

**On a recharge of upto Rs 10 during 30 days, extension of validity by another 30 days.#On a recharge of upto Rs 100 during 90 days, extension of validity by

49

Page 50: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

another 90 days.µCustomer will be churned 30 days after entering into grace

Composite Call Charges(Rs./min)Base Plan

SUK 49/99/149/298 Yatra Pack

Local call charges 6 AM - 11 PM

11 PM -6 AM

to Aircel 0.99 0.99 0.50to other mobile 0.99 0.99 0.50to landline 0.99 0.99 0.50STD call charges Rs./ SMSto Aircel 1.00 1.00 1.00to other mobile 1.50 1.50 1.50to landline 1.50 1.50 1.50SMS Charges Rs./ SMSLocal 1.00 1.00 1.00National 2.00 2.00 2.00International 5.00 5.00 5.00ISD (Rs/min)America, UK, France, Cyprus, Asia and Australia

6.40

Gulf, Africa, Rest of Europe, Equador, Phillipines and SAARC Countries and Rest of the world

9.19

Select Islands * 39.20INMARSAT 500.00

¶ Only talktime recharges are applicable on Shubh Yatra Pack.* List of Select Islands ISD CodeCuba 53Sao Tome and Principe 239Guinea Bissau 245Diego Garcia 246Nauru 674Solomon Island 677Vanuatu 678Cook Island 682Tuvalu 688Tokelau Island 690Norfolk Islands 6723Sakhalin 74242

50

Page 51: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

The call duration is measured with accuracy up to +/- 1 second as per TRAI Regulations.

Call charges are calculated based on the call units which are calculated by dividing call duration by the pulse rate defined in the Tariff Plan.

Rolling Prepaid

Rolling Prepaid

Prepaid Lifetime

MRP (Rs.) 10 25 50 110 111 220 399

Talktime Value (Rs.) 8 23 48 108 50 220 399

Validity Period (days) 30 30 30 30 30† 30 30

Tariffs as per plan selected. The call duration is measured with accuracy up to +/- 1 second as per TRAI

Regulations.

Call charges are calculated based on the call units which are calculated by dividing call duration by the pulse rate defined in the Tariff Plan.

†Recharge with Rs. 10 in 30 days to enjoy extension of validity by another 30 days.†Terms and Conditions apply.

Recharge Vouchers

51

Page 52: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Recharge Vouchers

Recharge VouchersDenomination (Rs.) 100 111 µ 200 325 399 500Talk Value (Rs.) 50 50 100 300 399 461.25Validity (Days) 10 30# 30 30 30# 60µ Applicable for existing subscribers only.# Recharge with Rs. 30 in 90 days to enjoy extension of validity by another 90 days.

TOP UPSMRP 10 25 50 110 220Talk Value(Rs.) 8 23 48 108 220Validity (Days) 0 0 0 0 0

Rate CuttersMRP (Rs.) Talkvalue

(Rs.)Validity (Days)*

Special Benefits for 30 days (Rs./min)

35 0 30 Local:to Aircel : 1.00to other mobile : 1.00to landline : 1.00 

STD:to mobile : 1.00to landline : 1.00

48 0 30 Local:to Aircel : 0.25to other mobile : 1.00to landline : 1.00

75 0 30 Local:to Aircel : 0.37to other mobile : 0.50to landline : 0.50SMS:Local : 1.00National : 1.00

80 0 30 Local:

52

Page 53: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

6am to 11pmto Aircel : 0.25to other mobile : 1.00 to landline : 1.00 

11pm to 6 am to Aircel : 0.10to other mobile : 1.00 to landline : 1.00 

STD:to Aircel: 1.00to other mobile : 1.50to landline : 1.50SMS:Local : 1.00National : 2.00 International : 5.00

95 0 30 200 Local Aircel minutes FREE99 0 30 Local:

to Aircel : 0.25to other mobile : 0.50to landline : 0.50 

STD:to mobile : 1.00to landline : 1.00

250 50 30 Local:

6am to 11pmto Aircel : 0.25to other mobile : 1.00 to landline : 1.00 

11pm to 6 am to Aircel : Free to other mobile : 1.00 to landline : 1.00 

STD:to Aircel: 1.00to other mobile : 1.50to landline : 1.50 

SMS:

53

Page 54: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Local : 1.00National : 2.00 International : 2.00

SMS Pack9 0 15 SMS:

50 (Local + National) SMS free30 0 30 SMS:

200 (Local + National) SMS free49 0 30 SMS:

400 (Local + National) SMS free

* Validity applicable for special benefits only. All other call charges remains same as per the Base Plan.

ISD Rate CuttersMRP (Rs.) Talkvalue

(Rs.)Validity (Days)*

Special Benefits for 30 days (Rs./min)

29 0 30 ISD:Malaysia & Singapore : 3.50Saudi Arabia : 7.50UAE : 8.00Bahrain, Qatar & Kuwait : 7.50Oman : 9.00Srilanka : 6.00Bangladesh : 4.00Australia, China & South Korea : 4.50Canada : 2.00US except Alaska, Hawaii, Guam : 2.00Alaska, Hawaii & Guam : 6.00UK Fixed : 4.00 

94 0 30 Local:to Aircel mobile : 0.50to other mobile : 0.50 to landline : 0.50

STD:to mobile : 1.00to landline : 1.00 

ISD:Malaysia & Singapore : 3.00 Saudi Arabia : 7.00 UAE : 7.50Bahrain, Qatar & Kuwait : 7.00 Oman : 8.50Srilanka : 5.50

54

Page 55: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Bangladesh : 3.50 Australia, China & South Korea : 4.00 Canada : 1.75 US except Alaska, Hawaii, Guam : 1.75Alaska, Hawaii & Guam : 5.50 UK Fixed : 3.75 

Recharge Coupons available

MRP Talk Value PF Sales Tax ValidityApproximate 

Minutes of Usage10 8 1.02 0.98 0 725 23 0 2.44 0 2150 48 0 4.89 0 44110 108 0 10.76 0 100220 220 0 21.52 0 203100 50 40.22 9.78 10 46111 50 50.14 10.86 30 9200 100 80.44 19.56 30 92325 299.82 0 31.78  30 277399 399 0 39.02 30 369500 461.25 0 48.90 60 427

Handset Offer

NOKIA Aircel offer

Offer details: Handset Model – Nokia 1203, Nokia 1661 & Nokia 3110 Free SIM card Rolling recharge connection @ Rs. 50/-, with 0 talktime (available on e-recharge

only). Tariffs, as mentioned below Free 50 Local Aircel minutes every month for 3 months

55

Page 56: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Two month’s Free subscription of Dialer Tunes and one month’s Free subscription for Aircel Alerts (for activation process/queries/details, please click on the VAS link or call customer care (toll free)

Note: Offer valid only on prepaid connection Offer valid till stock lasts Offer is not valid if the handset is bought without the offer SIM Recharge of Rs. 37/- will be the only recharge applicable for the first recharge on

the offer SIM, after that the connection properties would be similar to standard Lifetime connection available

Recharge with Rs. 10 in 30 days to enjoy extension of validity by another 30 days.

For more information, call customer care All warranties/guarantees on handsets lie with the Handset manufacturers. For

any handset related queries/problems, please contact the handset manufacturer for resolution. Aircel is not liable for any defect related to non performance of the handset

Composite Call Charges(Rs./min) FRC 50Local call chargesto Aircel 1.00to other mobile 1.00to landline 1.00STD call chargesto Aircel 1.00to mobile 1.50to landline 1.50SMS Charges Rs./ SMSLocal 1.00National 2.00International 5.00ISD (Rs/min)America, UK, France, Cyprus, Asia and Australia

6.40

Gulf, Africa, Rest of Europe, Ecuador, Philippines and SAARC Countries and Rest of the world

9.19

Select Islands* 39.20INMARSAT 500.00

Roaming

56

Page 57: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Postpaid - RoamingRoaming gives you the convenience of using your Aircel, even while you are

away from Jammu Kashmir.

Aircel has tied up with all leading cellular service providers in India and abroad. You can make and receive calls the same way … anytime, anywhere as you do while you are in Jammu Kashmir. You can always stay in touch and will not miss any calls.

Aircel Pocket Internet

Aircel is offering to his subscribers a new product pocket internet on which they can downloads Wallpaper of their favorite stars', latest Polyphonic Ringtones, MP3 tones, True tones, Music Videos, Movie videos, Themes, Movie Themes and Mobile games only on Aircel pocket internet. 

New Plans

57

Page 58: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

New Plans 

Composite Call Charges (Rs. / Min)

Plan 199Plan 299

Plan 399 Plan 499 ARP 699

Monthly Rental 199 299 399 499 6 months

CLIP Free Free Free Free FreeFree Airtime (month in Rs) 75 

(Local+STD)0 250

(Local+STD)499

(Local+STD)Within Gp Calling (CUG) 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10

Local & within J&K telecom circleto Aircel Mobile 0.50 0.25 0.25 1.00 0.50to Other Mobile 0.50 0.50 0.50 1.00 0.50to Landline 1.00 0.50 0.50 1.00 1.00STD (Outside J&K telecom circle)to Aircel Mobile 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00to Other Mobile 1.50 1.20 1.00 1.00 1.50to Landline 1.50 1.20 1.00 1.00 1.50International CallsAmerica, UK, France, Cyprus, Asia and Australia

6.40

Gulf, Africa, Rest of Europe, Equador, Phillipines and SAARC Countries and Rest of the world

9.19

Select Islands * 39.20INMARSAT 500.00Others CUG @ 10 paisa/min on minimum 3 connections Monthly

RentalSMS (Rs. / SMS)Local 1.00 0.50 0.50 1.00 1.00National 2.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 2.00International 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00

58

Page 59: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

**Advance Rental of Rs 699 for 6 months***Monthly Rental of Rs 150 to be charged after 6 months till subscriber again agrees for ARP package (Tariffs remaining the same)

Entry CostsActivation Charges (Rs.)(Inclusive of service tax)

Nil

Pulse in seconds 60

Security Deposits (Rs.)Plans

199/299/399/499Plan 699

Local 500 NilLocal+STD 500 NilLocal + STD + National Roaming 500 NilLocal + STD + ISD 1000 1000Local + STD + National Roaming + ISD 1500 1500Local + STD + ISD + NR + International Roaming

3000 3000

* List of Select Islands ISD CodeCuba 53Sao Tome and Principe 239Guinea Bissau 245Diego Garcia 246Nauru 674Solomon Island 677Vanuatu 678Cook Island 682Tuvalu 688Tokelau Island 690Norfolk Islands 6723Sakhalin 74242

As per TRAI formatMinutes of Usage Plan 199 Plan 299 Plan 399 Plan 499 ARP 699100 218 381 433 541 210200 302 437 433 541 294300 386 493 433 541 378400 470 550 433 541 462500 554 606 433 552 5461000 975 888 695 1084 966

59

Page 60: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Above calculations are based on the following call patterns :Fixed Mobile (A-A)

Aircel to Local 20% 59%*Aircel to STD 7% 14%**

* Split of Local Mobile is 45% for Aircel-Aircel calls & 14% for Aircel-Other Mobile calls** Split of STD Mobile is 7% for Aircel-Aircel calls & 7% for Aircel-Other Mobile calls

The call duration is measured with accuracy up to +/- 1 second as per TRAI Regulations.

Call charges are calculated based on the call units which are calculated by dividing call duration by the pulse rate defined in the Tariff Plan.

Note:· Rentals will be charged on a pro-rata basis.· No advance rental will be charged.· Minimum Group Size - 3 for CUG plans - which have an option of within group calling 

Terms & Conditions:· Service Tax and Educational Cess on Service Tax will be charged extra as applicable

Add on pack

Add on Pack

STD1 

Monthly Rental (Rs.) 35

Benefit Make all STD Calls at Re 1 per minute

SMS Monthly Rental (Rs.) 49Benefit 300 Local SMS free

Plan Name ISD Topping 29 ISD Topping 94ISD Topping Rental (Rs/month) Rs.29 Rs.94Call Charges (Rs./Min)ISD (Malaysia & Singapore) 3.50 3.00ISD (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar) 7.50 7.00ISD (Oman) 8.50 8.20ISD (Srilanka) 6.00 5.50ISD (China and South Korea) 4.50 4.00ISD (US/Canada except Alaska, Hawaii, 2.00 1.75

60

Page 61: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Guam)ISD (US Others) 6.00 5.00ISD (UK Fixed) 4.00 3.75ISD (Bangladesh) 4.00 3.75ISD (Nepal) 8.50 8.20ISD to other locations As per existing rate

The call duration is measured with accuracy up to +/- 1 second as per TRAI Regulations.

Call charges are calculated based on the call units which are calculated by dividing call duration by the pulse rate defined in the Tariff Plan.

Voice Station

» Voice Station (Call 55500)Aircel 55500 service offers you a host of never before services - from music on your mobile to tit-bits about celebrities. All you need to do is call 55500 from your Aircel mobile and follow the simple instructions to enter a world of information and entertainment. The service recognises your voice and gives information based on the command given by you.Music Messaging and RingtonesBrowse through the rich selection of music across the various categories and languages and listen to your favorites while on the go, also you can dedicate songs with a personal message to any Aircel number. You can download ringtones of these songs. 

We have wide collection of music based on occasions like birthdays, valentines, Rakhi, Diwali, Holi, New Year and song collections on Latest hits, Classic, Romantic HitsPrayersPerform pooja from your Aircel mobile. Listen to an exhaustive collection of devotional songs like Supbrapatham, Bhajans, Amman Songs, Gayathri & Gurbani.Astrology ServiceYou can check your horoscope for the day, by entering your birth date. Astro info is updated every day.NewsGet the latest news updates. Information is available across Regional, State, National and International categories.

Calls to 55500 services will be charged at Rs.6/min. Conditions Apply.SportsGet the latest news and information about the happening in the sports world, like live commentary, scores, schedules etc.

61

Page 62: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

JokesSmile with us by listening to the jokes. We have exhaustive collection which will make you burst in laughter for sure.Call rates Rs. 6/min.

Subscription Services

Subscription Services

ServiceSubscription

KeywordSend To

Charges Alerts Time

News Headline + Breaking News

SUB NEWS 58000 Rs 7/week Twice a day10:30 & 16:40

Cricket NEWS & SCORES

SUB CRI 58000 Rs 7/weekBall by Ball update

9:00

Jokes Alert SUB JOKES 58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 13:30

Astro PackSUB ASTRO <SUNSIGN>

58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 13:00

Stock Alert SUB STOCK 58000 Rs 7/week Thrice a Day10:15 & 13:00 & 17:00

Though of the Day Alerts

SUB THO 58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 9:30

Mehfil-E-Timepass/Shayari

SUB SHAYARI

58000 Rs 7/week Twice A day13:00 & 14:55

Love Express SUB LOVE 58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day11:15 & 14:00

Beauty Tips Alerts

SUB BTIP 58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 13:45

Health Tips Alerts

SUB HTIP 58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 17:30

Receipe Tips Alerts

SUB RTIP 58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 15:20

Fun Unlimited Alerts

SUB FUN 58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day10:00 & 14:45

Regional News Alerts

SUB RNEWS 58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 14:50

62

Page 63: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Ayurvedic Tips Alerts

SUB ATIP 58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 7:30

Amazing Facts Alerts

SUB AF 58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 12:30

Numerlogy AlertsSUM NUM1 TO NUM9

58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 13:45

Guru Granth Sahib Alerts

SUB GURU 58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 7:00

Geeta Shloakas SUB Geeta 58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 6:40Holy Bible Alerts SUB BIBLE 58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 6:40Quran Alerts SUB QUR 58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 8:45Ram Charit Manas Alerts

SUB RAM 58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 8:45

Friendship Messages Alerts

SUB FRIENDS

58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 14:00

Career Guru Pack SUB CG 58000 Rs 7/week Twice a day10:00 & 14:00

Fundoo Pack SUB FNP 58000 Rs.30/month Twice a day11:00 & 16:00

Super Sports Pack

SUB SSP 58000 Rs.30/month Twice a day10:00 & 15:00

Word-a-Day SUB WORD 58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 9:35

Bihar NewsSUB NEWSBH

58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 11:40

News - BengalSUB NEWSBN

58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 11:40

News - KerelaSUB NEWSKER

58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 11:40

News - KernatakaSUB NEWSKK

58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 11:40

News - Maharashtra

SUB NEWSMAH

58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 11:40

News - NCRSUB NEWSNCR

58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 11:40

News - North East

SUB NEWSNE

58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 11:40

News - PunjabSUB NEWSPUN

58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 11:40

News - RajasthanSUB NEWSRAJ

58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 11:40

News - TNSUB NEWSTN

58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 11:40

63

Page 64: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

News - UPSUB NEWSUP

58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 11:40

News - GujratSUB NEWSGJ

58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 11:40

News - APSUB NEWSAP

58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 11:40

News - J&KSUB NEWSJK

58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 12:40

Aduilt Jokes SUB AJ 58000 Rs 7/week Once a Day 10:00To unsubscribe from any of the services please contact Aircel Customer Care.SMS Charges to 58000: Rs.3/SMS

Missed Call Alerts

Missed Call Alerts

Want to know who called you when your mobile was switched off or out of coverage area?

Just subscribe to the Aircel Missed Call Alerts service (MCA). There are two simple ways of doing it.

Monthly subscription

To register

Dial *999*1# or send SMS MCA < space > R to 58999 (Toll free) Subscription Charge: Rs. 15/month.To UnregisterDial *999*2# or send SMS MCA < space > D to 58999 (Toll free)

After subscribing to the monthly service, you will receive alerts on your mobile for all the missed calls at no extra cost. 

Pay as you use option You also have the option of not subscribing to the service. In this option you can get the missed call alerts for the every request you send.

64

Page 65: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

To get the details of missed calls, send SMS GET to 5899903

SMS Charges to 5899903: Rs. 3/SMS

Dialer Tunes

Dialer TunesAircel introduces Dialer Tunes! Get rid of boring Tring Tring and make your callers listen to latest tunes. Dial 56565, Registration Rs.30/month, call Rs.6/min & Rs.15/song.. Song validity is for a period of 90 days. 

Live Astrology

Live Astrology

Astrology service on short code 55315 is a voice based LIVE SERVICE, where AIRCEL customers can call at Rs. 9/min and talk to formally trained & experienced ASTROLOGERS.Details of charges :Live Astrology service on 55315 – Rs. 9/min (60 second pulse).

Doctor On call

65

Page 66: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

‘Doctor-on-call' provides access to quality medical advice from the comfort of your home/ office. Gets instant advice on medical/ health and wellness queries from a panel of doctors specializing in various fields.Details of charges :Doctor on Call service on 54887 – Rs. 9/min (60 second pulse).

F) FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF THE COMPANY

66

Page 67: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Revenue for the Dishnet Wireless limited in India for year 2007- 2008

Quarter Revenue(In cr.)

% Change over previousQuarter

Oct.-Dec.(2007) 488.18 Cr. 6%Jan.-Mar.(2008) 543.40 Cr. 11.31 %Apr.-June (2008) 588.75 Cr. 8.34 %July-Sep. (2008) 571.99 Cr. - 2.85 %Oct.-Dec. (2008) 617.18 Cr. 7.90 %

6%

11.31%

8.34%

-2.85%

7.90%

-4%

-2%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

% Change over previous

Oct.-Dec.(2007) 488.18Cr.

Jan.-Mar.(2008) 543.40Cr.

Apr.-June (2008) 588.75Cr.

July-Sep. (2008) 571.99Cr.

Oct.-Dec. (2008) 617.18Cr.

From the table it is clear that aircel communication is regularly increasing their revenue quarter by quarter. From the figure it is clear that the company increased their revenue in first quarter of year 2008 by 11.31 % as compared to previous quarter in year 2007. in the second quarter of 2008, the company increased the revenue by 8.34 % as compared to previous quarter. But in third quarter of year 2008, the company revenue falls down by 2.85% as compared to previous quarter. At the end of year the company came back with highest revenue of the year 2008 in four quarter with the increase of 7.90% as compared to third quarter of the year. The company is regularly performing well by increasing revenue and no. of subscribers in the country. Now the company has 18 million subscribers in the country.

Revenue for the Dishnet Wireless limited in J&K for year 2007- 2008

67

Page 68: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Quarter Revenue(In cr.)

% Change over previousQuarter

Oct.-Dec.(2007) 13.29 Cr. 8.71%Jan.-Mar.(2008) 16.83 Cr. 27 %Apr.-June (2008) 18.42 Cr. 9.45%July-Sep. (2008) 20.21 Cr. 9.74%Oct.-Dec. (2008) 29.30 Cr. 44.98%

8.71%

27%

9.45%9.74%

44.98%

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

45.00%

% Change over previous

Oct.-Dec.(2007) 13.29Cr.

Jan.-Mar.(2008) 16.83 Cr.

Apr.-June (2008) 18.42Cr.

July-Sep. (2008) 20.21Cr.

Oct.-Dec. (2008) 29.30Cr.

From the table it is clear that aircel communication is regularly increasing their revenue in J&K. From the figure it is clear that the company increased their revenue in first quarter of year 2008 by 27 % as compared to previous quarter in year 2007. In the second quarter of 2008, the company increased the revenue by 9.45 % as compared to previous quarter. In third quarter of year 2008, the company revenue increased by 9.74 % as compared to previous quarter. At the end of year the company got the highest revenue of the year 2008 in four quarter with the increase of 44.98 % as compared to third quarter of the year. The company is regularly performing well by increasing revenue and no. of subscribers in J&K and also in the country.

G) FUTURE PROSPECTS/ PLANS OF DISHNET WIRELESS

68

Page 69: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

LIMITED

With over 16 million customers in the country, Aircel, the fastest growing telecom company in India, has revved up plans to become a full-fledged national operator by end of 2009.Aircel communication would expand its operations in various states in India:-

Punjab Haryana Rajasthan Gujarat Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Karnataka Kerla Andhra Pradesh Uttar Pradesh

3) OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:-

69

Page 70: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

“Good better best, never let it rest till your good is better and your better is best”.

The objectives of the study are as follows:-

To study and analyze the consumer perception regarding the pocket internet in Aircel communication.

To study the factors that plays the most important role in a consumer’s choice of buying internet connection.

To study the impact of advertisement on consumer choice of buying internet connection.

To study the consumer satisfaction level regarding the pocket internet of aircel communication.

To study about the Value added services (VAS) of Aircel communication.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research methodology is a design to systematically solve the problem. In

research methodology, we not only talk of research methods but also consider the logic

behind the methods. The purpose of the methodology section is to describe the research

procedure. It includes the overall research design, the sampling procedures, the data

collection method, the field methods and analysis procedures.

Characteristics of Research Methodology:-

Research-is-directed-towards-a-solution-of-problem.-It-may-attempt-to-answer-a-

question-or-to-determine-the-relation-between-two-or-more-variables.

Research-involves-gathering-new-data-from-primary-or-first-hand-source-or-

using-existing-data-for-new-purpose.

Research-is-based-on-observation-experienced-or-empirical-evidence.

Research-strives-to-be-objective-and-logical-applying-every-possible-test-to-validate-

the-processed-are-employed-the-data-collected-and-conclusion-research.

70

Page 71: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

RESEARCH SITE

The research was conducted in MADURAI and the respondents were chosen on the basis of their usage of Internet.

RESEARCH DESIGN:-

Exploratory and descriptive research design. The data is analyzed in a tabular form and in

well and easy to understand manner.

SAMPLING DESIGN

The data was collected from various customers by the use of sample survey method. The

following factors have to be decided within the scope of sampling plan: -

Universe: The universe comprises of customers who use internet.

Sampling unit: A sampling unit is the basic unit containing the elements of the

population to be sampled. Here this is the customers using internet and living in Jammu

city.

Sample Size: It indicates the number of units to be surveyed. Though a large sample

gives more reliable results than a small sample . So to get the more reliable results the

sample size is 500 customers.

Sampling Procedure: This refers to the procedure by which the respondents should be

chosen. The respondents were selected on the basis of non-probability convenience

sampling.

Research Instrument: For the purpose of research, a structured questionnaire for

respondents containing close-ended /open ended questions was developed.

71

Page 72: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

DATA COLLECTION

Research has collected necessary information to fulfill this report through primary data

and secondary data.

Primary Data:- The primary data are those, which are collected afresh

and for the first time, and thus happen to be original in character. There

are several methods of collecting primary data, particularly in surveys and

descriptive researches.

This data has been collected from the field work i.e. approaching the

customers through the questionnaire. The questionnaires were filled by the

respondents.

Field Work for Primary Data: - The actual fields work as preceded by

market study in different areas in MADURAI city.

The data has been also collected from the distributors and retailers of

Aircel communication.

Secondary Data: - The secondary data are those which have already been

collected by someone else and which have already been passed through the

statistical process. In case of secondary data the nature of data collection work is

merely that of compilation.

Secondary data includes history of company. It also includes journal and books on the

topic under study. To get information about industry and company, many web sites were

also visited. To get the secondary data our primarily focused on:-

History of Aircel Communication.

Products and services of Aircel Communication.

Overview of the telecom industry.

Theories of the consumer behavior.

Major players in the market.

72

Page 73: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

TOOLS OF ANALYSIS:-

Data collected would be analyzed by method of percentages

To analyze the data obtained with the help questionnaire following tools would be used:

Percentage, Graphs and Pie-Charts.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:-

Although full efforts have been made in this study, still because of following limitations a

more detailed research is required to reach to the effective conclusion.

The element of personal because can not be avoided.

Senior officers of the company were very busy in their routine schedules and so it

was very difficult to get the information regarding the organization.

As I did my summer project in the month of July that was the time of summer vacations in schools and colleges. My topic was related to internet and the students are the important source to get the information regarding the internet. So it was very difficult to get the accurate information from other people in the market because many of the people were not aware of pocket internet of Aircel communication.

Background of the study

The Internet has grown tremendously during the past years. It radically changes the way people live, work and consume. It represents a tremendous opportunity as well as threats. Internet usage in India continues to grow at a slow but steady pace, both in breadth and depth, with the overall internet-using population in urban India reaching 30.32 million - a

73

Page 74: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

growth of 28% from April 2006 to April 2007. The penetration of the internet among urban Indians stands at 9% now, assuming the total urban population at 336 million. Unlike the '70s and '80s when business-related travel was not seen much, the '90s, particularly the dawn of the twenty-first century, has witnessed intensive business travels, and this is gaining momentum with time. India too is on the move and wants to stay connected anytime, anywhere-whether on a train or bus, in a hotel or conference hall, within India or abroad. Meeting this need of business travelers are data cards, USB modems and pocket internet that have become the preferred solution, even before wireless mobile broadband is introduced in the country. At present, there are 10 mn data cards, USB modems, and Internet enabled mobile phones in the Indian market. With India on the move, the mobile internet market is flourishing even as low, inconsistent speed remains an issue. In this already competitive market, it becomes essential for Internet providers to understand the different factors that affect people using the pocket Internet as a new product for internet connection There are many benefits that attract people to choose pocket internet for access to the internet as convenience, time saving, wireless connectivity and possibly affordable , however, many people are often hold back as fear of low speed, high usage charges and using issues in relation to internet usage.

An overview of internet and wireless connectivity

Definition of internet

The Internet is a worldwide, publicly accessible series of interconnected computer networks that transmit data by packet switching using the standard Internet Protocol (IP). It is a "network of networks" that consists of millions of smaller domestic, academic, business, and government networks, which together carry various information and services, such as electronic mail, online chat, file transfer, and the interlinked web pages and other resources of the World Wide Web (WWW).

Common uses of the Internet

E-mail

World Wide Web

Remote Access

Collaboration

Streaming Media

File Sharing

Voice Telephony

74

Page 75: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

The Deterrents

All players are competing with each other to give affordable tariff rates for their data cards. But still the rates are very high when compared to countries like the UK. In the UK, wireless broadband connection through 3G technology costs about £10 per month and that too with a data download speed faster than 256 Kbps. International travelers who have used internet with faster speed are not satisfied with internet services offered in India. So, in India, mobile internet means accessing a bare minimum net connectivity only for a sizable population. That is why it is said that mobile internet have not exactly taken off in India.

Aircel Pocket Internet

Aircel is offering to his subscribers a new product pocket internet on which they can downloads Wallpaper of their favorite stars', latest Polyphonic Ringtones, MP3 tones, True tones, Music Videos, Movie videos, Themes, Movie Themes and Mobile games only on Aircel pocket internet. 

What’s more, activating this service is free and browsing the portal is charged just @10p/10Kb.

Tariff Plans:Service Rate (Rs.)

Astro 5Wall Papers 15Polyphonic Ring tone 15

75

Page 76: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

True Tones 20Mp3 Tones 20Animation 15Videos 30Themes 50Movie Themes 30Games 50 / 99 / 150

4) ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

1. Study of age wise distribution of the respondents.

Table 4.1 Age wise distribution of the respondents

76

Page 77: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Age No. of respondents % of respondents

Below 17 43 8.6 %

17-22 151 30.2 %

22-27 223 44.6 %

Above 27 83 16.6 %

Figure 4.1 Age wise distribution of the respondents.

No. of respondents

9%

30%

44%

17%

Below 17

17-22

22-27

Above 27

Analysis and Interpretation: - From the above Table and figure it is clear that the

people between age group of 22-27 are the main purchasers of internet connection.  They

account for more then 40% of the respondents surveyed.

2. Study of gender wise distribution of respondents.

Table 4.2 Gender wise distributions of respondents

Gender No. of Respondents % of Respondents

77

Page 78: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Male 367 73.4

Female 133 26.6

Figure No. 4.2 Gender wise distribution of respondents

Gender wise distributions of respondents No. of Respondents

Male73%

Female27%

Male

Female

Analysis and Interpretation: - From the above data it is clear that Males are good

purchasers of internet connection than females. As 73.4% of the respondents are males

who were interested to use internet than females who were 26.6%.

3. Study of Occupation wise distribution of respondents.

Table 4.3 Occupation wise distributions of respondents

Occupation No. of Respondents % of Respondents

78

Page 79: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Student 173 34.6 %

Employee 91 18.2 %

Professional 147 29.4 %

Businessmen 72 14.4 %

Housewife 17 3.4 %

Figure No. 4.3 Occupation wise distribution of respondents

No. of Respondents

Student36%

Employee18%

Professional29%

Businessmen14%

Housewife3%

Student

Employee

Professional

Businessmen

Housewife

Analysis and Interpretation: - From the above data it has been interpreted that majority

of the students are using the internet. As 36% of the respondents are students using the

internet services followed 29% of professional and 18% of employee used the internet. It

is clear from the survey that most of the people are students and professionals used the

internet for large time.

4. Study of respondents who know about pocket internet earlier.

 

Table No. 4.4 Respondents who know about pocket internet earlier

Particulars % of Respondents No. of Respondents

Yes 78.2 % 391

79

Page 80: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

No 21.8 % 109

Figure No. 4.4 Respondents who know about pocket internet earlier

% of Respondents

Yes78%

No22%

Yes

No

Analysis and Interpretation: - From the above data it has been interpreted that about

78% of the respondents who know about pocket internet earlier through advertisement

and other sources and only 21 % are those who don’t know about pocket internet earlier.

So it is clear from the survey that majority of customers know about pocket internet. It

means that company has well in its advertisement and publicity.

5. Study of sources through which respondents know about pocket internet.

Table 4.5 Sources through which respondents know about pocket internet

Sources

Number of

Respondents % Respondents

80

Page 81: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

TV Advertisement 153 39.13 %

Print Advertisement 107 27.36 %

Outdoor media 79 20.20 %

Retailer 35 8.95 %

N.P Insertions 17 4.35 %

Here the sample size is 391

Figure 4.5 Sources through which respondents know about pocket internet

Sources through which respondents know about pocket internet Number of Respondents

40%

27%

20%

9%4%

TV Advertisement

Print Advertisement

Outdoor media

Retailer

N.P Insertions

Analysis and Interpretation: - From the above data, it is interpreted that most of the

respondents know about pocket internet through TV advertisement. As 40% of

respondents know about pocket internet through TV advertisement followed by 27% of

respondents through print advertisement and 20% through outdoor media.

6. Study of factors that are considered by the respondents while purchasing internet

connection.

Table 4.6: factors that are considered by the respondents while purchasing internet

connection

Factors Number of Respondents % of Respondents

81

Page 82: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Price 147 29.4 %

Easy handling 86 17.2 %

Net Speed 111 22.2 %

Signal Strength 94 18.8 %

Availability in store 62 12.4 %

Figure No. 4.6: factors that are considered by the respondents while purchasing

internet connection

factors that are considered by the respondents while purchasing internet connection Number of Respondents

Price30%

Easy handling17%

Net Speed22%

Signal Strength19%

Availability in store12% Price

Easy handling

Net Speed

Signal Strength

Availability in store

Analysis and Interpretation: - From the above data, it is interpreted that most of the respondents giving importance to price and net speed. As 30% of respondents give preference to price followed by 22% of customer preferred net speed and 19% preferred signal strength. So marketer should put more focus of highlighting these main attributes.

7. Study of the satisfaction level of respondents regarding the 14/98 product(pocket

internet).

Table 4.7 Satisfaction level of respondents regarding the 14/98 product

Particulars No. of Respondents % of Respondents

82

Page 83: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Excellent 33 6.6 %

Good 137 27.4 %

Fair 182 36.4 %

Not interesting 51 10.2 %

Not relevant for prospect 97 19.4 %

Figure 4.7 Satisfaction levels of respondents regarding the 14/98 product

No. of Respondents

Excellent7%

Good27%

Fair37%

Not interesting10%

Not relevant for prospect

19% Excellent

Good

Fair

Not interesting

Not relevant for prospect

Analysis and Interpretation: - It has been interpreted from the above data that most of

the respondents rated the pocket internet (14/98) as fair or an average product. From the

figure it is clear that about 37% of respondents found it as fair product followed by 27%

found it as good product for them. It is also clear from the figure that very few

respondents treated it as excellent product. It means product has some limitations.

8. Study of respondents who are using GPRS enabled handset.

Table No. 4.8 Respondents who are using GPRS enabled handset

Particulars No. of Respondents % of Respondents

83

Page 84: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Yes 336 67.2 %

No 164 32.8 %

Figure No. 4.8 Respondents who are using GPRS enabled handset

No. of Respondents

Yes67%

No33%

Yes

No

Analysis and Interpretation: - The above data shows that the most of respondents are

using the GPRS enabled handset. From the figure it is clear that about 67 % of the

customers are using the handsets which are compatible with GPRS. So it’s a great

opportunity for the company to promote their product in this big market.

9. Study of respondents who convert to buying the product instantly.

 

Table No. 4.9 Respondents who convert to buying the product instantly

Particulars No. of Respondents % of Respondents

84

Page 85: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Yes 83 16.6 %

No 417 83.4 %

Figure No. 4.9 Respondents who convert to buying the product instantly

No. of Respondents

Yes17%

No83%

Yes

No

Analysis and Interpretation: - From the above data it is interpreted that most of the

respondents was not ready to buy the product instantly. It is clear from the figure that

about 83% of respondents are not ready to buy the product.

10. Study of the reasons for which instant purchase was not done.

Table 4.10 Reasons for which instant purchase was not done.

Reasons No. of Respondents % of Respondents

Low net speed 107 25.66 %

Setting problems 79 18.94 %

85

Page 86: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Difficult to connect with PC 48 11.51 %

Costly 13 3.12 %

Not relevant for prospect 86 20.62 %

Not easily available in store 35 8.39 %

Handset is not GPRS

enabled

49 11.75 %

Here the sample size is 417

Figure 4.10 Reasons for which instant purchase was not done.

No. of Respondents

25%

19%

12%3%

21%

8%

12%

Low net speed

Setting problems

Difficult to connect withPC

Costly

Not relevant for prospect

Not easily available instore

Handset is not GPRSenabled

Analysis and Interpretation: - From the above data it is interpreted that most of the

respondents did not purchase the product instantly due to low net speed. It is clear from

the figure that about 25% of respondents didn’t purchase the product due to low speed

followed by 21% of respondents have no use of internet and 19% of customers have

setting problems with their PC or laptops.

11. Study of the respondents perception regarding the overall service of the Aircel.

Table 4.11 Respondents perception regarding the overall service of the Aircel

Particulars No. of Respondents % of Respondents

Excellent 158 31.6 %

86

Page 87: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Very Good 169 33.8 %

Fairly Good 133 26.6 %

Average 40 8 %

Figure 4.11 Respondents perception regarding the overall service of the Aircel

No. of Respondents

Excellent32%

Very Good33%

Fairly Good27%

Average8%

Excellent

Very Good

Fairly Good

Average

Analysis and Interpretation: - From the above data it has been interpreted that majority

of customers of Aircel rated the Aircel services as very good. According to figure it is

clear that about 33% of customers rated Aircel as very good service provider followed by

32% rated it as excellent and 27% rated as fairly good. Very less customers about 8%

rated Aircel services as poor or average. It means company is good in its services and

customers are very much satisfied.

5) CONCLUSION:-

Telecom sector is a growing sector in our country. Aircel communication is also a

leading company in the country. It has the widest range of products and the services.

87

Page 88: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

As I did summer project for eight weeks in Dishnet Wireless Limited, Jammu. Aircel

introduced its product pocket internet in the market. This is a great experience for me to

understand the consumer behavior regarding the purchase of internet connection. In this

time span I tried my best to understand the consumer behavior, gathering the information

and data from the sources available to come at a solid conclusion on the basis of the

analysis. After the survey following points have come into light at the end.

Most of the people know about pocket internet earlier.

Majority of the respondents know about pocket internet through TV advertisement and print advertisement.

Majority of the respondents prefer cheap and good net speed as two important factors for buying internet connection.

Most of buyer rated Aircel pocket internet (14/98) as a fair product and many people rated it as a good product.

Majority of the respondents are not using the pocket internet.

Most of the respondents were using GPRS enabled handset.

Majority of the respondents were not interested to buy the product instantly.

Most of the respondents were not interested to buy the product due to low net speed as compared to other competitors in the market.

Most of the consumers were satisfied with the services provided by Aircel.

RECOMMENDATIONS:-

On the basis of conclusions drawn & enumerated in previous pages, an attempt has been

made to suggest the following recommendations.

Pocket internet had the big limitation of not being able to be used with laptop or

88

Page 89: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

PC. This is a big reason that customers are not using pocket internet. So the

company should try to solve this problem by making discussion with technical

department.

The second reason for less customers using pocket internet is related to cost

factor.

10 paisa/10KB i.e. 10Rs /1MB and 10,000 Rs /1GB. The charges were very high in

comparison to competitors like BSNL that provides unlimited browsing @200

Rs/month and Vodafone 5 paisa/10kb.

The company should introduce some new tariff plans so that customers can use the

aircel internet services at cheaper rates. The company should introduce plans like

BSNL such as unlimited browsing at some fixed amount.

On introduction of internet @98 Rs the customers were in confusion that whether

there would be additional down load charges or not. The aircel website has not

been up dated till this date to give right information. Websites should have been

updated well in advance to avoid confusions.

Settings for internet usage on mobile brands such as fly, asus, Chinese sets and

intex were not delivered and Customers with such brands were not able to use

pocket internet. We need to include support for mobile brands like fly, intex so

that aircel net can work on these mobile sets.

Many customers who opted for internet@ 98 Rs were unable to run it even on

phone. Call center executives need to be trained in a better way because at present

customers complaint that they are not able to help them properly.

Majority of the customers said they need internet only for 5-6 days in a month. So

that customers demanded for pocket internet@14 Rs. But it was found that this

product is not available in the market. So the company should focus on introduce

this product in the market as early as possible.

Many customers were receiving repeated sms congratulating them for activation

89

Page 90: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

of net but net was not working at all. Employees at aircel outlet were also not

trained to handle those problems.

Many retailers of aircel are not much aware about the plans of pocket internet. In

the survey there were very less respondents who know about pocket internet

through retailer. So the company should focus on motivate the retailer to sell the

pocket internet by giving some gift items like one air conditioner with the sale of

1000 vouchers of pocket internet in one month, one washing machine with the

sale of 500 vouchers of pocket internet in one month one microwave oven with

the sale of 250 vouchers of pocket internet in one month.

Many customers are not using the internet services of aircel because of low net

speed as compared to other competitors in the market. So the company needs to

maintain the good net speed as compared to other competitors to increase the

users of internet.

One customer who himself was running computer shop managed to run aircel net

and was very satisfied with the speed. We need to maintain this speed even when

more people buy and run aircel internet @ 98.

Majority of the respondents are using the GPRS enabled handset. But still

majority of respondents are not using the pocket internet. This is due to reasons

that some of them have never used internet nor they are willing to use it as they

are not to comfortable with technology, some are not educated enough to use

internet, some are not aware of internet. So the company should try to aware that

people about the pocket internet by making calls through call centers executives

and try to motivate them for the use of internet.

Suggestions for value added services:-

I did not find a single customer knowing about value added services like doctor-

on-call, subscription services, voice station. There are boards in various aircel

outlets advertising about calling plans but not a single board advertising VAS like

90

Page 91: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

doctor-on-call, subscription services, and voice station. Therefore people do not

even know such services exist. We need to advertise these VAS, so people may

come to know about them and use them.

Few people do know about vas live astrology and internet but these should also be

advertised to educate more people about them.

Many customers use dialer tones but most of them want more variety of songs.

So to get the profit in this competitive scenario there is need to more focus on services

(value added services) more than product.

Some other important suggestions for aircel communication:-

Billing system in case of post paid need to be made more customers friendly.

Itemized bills should be provided to customers on demand.

Online bill payment and recharge facilities should be provided.

Repeated alerts to recharge when balance is low annoy many customers.

Disconnection on slight delay on bill payment really disappoints customers and

something should be done so that they get more time to clear bill before

disconnection.

Customers want some discount for family using more than four aircel Sim cards.

So there is need to give some offer/discounts to these kinds of customers to

motivate them.

Verification delays and activation delays presently in some cases extend more

than month such delays should be reduced or eliminated.

More billing centers need to be raised to decrease the time gap for amount

received from the customers and convert it into cash for the company.

6) APPENDIX

QUESTIONNAIRE

POCKET INTERNET - Its time to move on…

91

Page 92: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

“Consumer buying behavior with a focus on perception of pocket internet in Aircel

communication”.

Name of prospect: - ___________________

Contact No.: - _______________________

Q.1 Age group: -

(a) Below 17 yrs

(b) 17-22 yrs

(c) 22-27 yrs

(d) Above 27 yrs

Q.2 Gender: -

(a) Male (b) Female.

Q.3 Occupation:-

(a) Student(b) Employee(c) Professional(d) Businessmen(e) Housewife

Q.4 Did the surveyed prospect know about PI earlier? (a)Yes (b) No

Q.5 If yes through what source?

(a) TV Advt. (b) Print Advt. (c) Outdoor media (d) N.P Insertions (e) Retailer

Q.6 What is the important factor that you consider in purchasing internet connection?

92

Page 93: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

(a) Price (b) Easy handling (c) Net Speed (d) Signal strength (e) Availability in store

Q.7 How did the prospect find the 14/98 PI Product?

(a) Excellent (b) Good (c) Fair (d) Not interesting (e) Not relevant for prospect

Q.8 Was the prospect handset GPRS Enabled?

(a)Yes (b) No

Q.9 Did the prospect convert to buying the product instantly?

(a)Yes (b) No

Q.10 If instant purchase was not done what were the reasons?

(a) Low net speed(b) Setting problems(c) Difficult to connect with PC(d) Costly(e) Not relevant for prospect(f) Not easily available in store(g) Handset is not GPRS enabled

Q.11 How you will rate the overall services of aircel communication?

(a) Excellent(b) Very Good(c) Fairly Good(d) Average

93

Page 94: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

THANK YOU

7) Bibliography/Reference

Books

C.R .Kothari Research Methodology

94

Page 95: 50067616-Aircel-project-report

Dr. Sontakki C.N Marketing management.

L.M Prasad Fundamental Of Market Research

Philip Kotler Marketing management.

Websites

www.aircel.co.in www.Aircelbusinesssolution.com http://www.newstrolls.com/news/dev/CJ/

100899.htm http://www.alacrastore.com/deal-snapshot.htm http://buad307.com/PDF/ResearchMethods.pdf [email protected] www.coai.in http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily.htm http://www.siliconindia.com/magazine/prnt.php.htm http://www.telecompaper.com www.WirelessFederation.com/news http://buad307.com/PDF/ResearchMethods.pdf

Magazines and Journals

Journal of Consumer Marketing 24(7), 2008)

Loudon, D.L., Consumer Behavior: Concepts and Applications, McGraw Hill, London.

95