1.1) Introduction:

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 an estimated

contribution of nearly 1% to Indias GDP.

The Indian Telecommunications network with 110.01 million connections is the fifth

largest 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 unique opportunities

for U.S. companies in the stagnant global scenario. The total subscriber base, which has

grown by 40% in 2005, is expected to reach 250 million in 2007.

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.

1.2) Evolution of the Industry - Important Milestones:

Year Description

1851 First operational land lines were laid by the govt. 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 Communication Company(IRCC)

1947 Nationalization of all foreign telecommunication companies to form the Posts, Telephone and Telegraph(PTT), a monopoly run by the governments Ministry of Communication

1985 Department of Telecommunications (DOT) established, an exclusive provider of domestic and long-distance service that would be its own regulator (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

(Source: The Indian Telecom Industry by consulting club, IIM Calcutta)

INTRODUCTION

"Telecommunications is the backbone of our future economy. International

competitiveness increasingly depends on the development of a telecommunications

infrastructure that is compatible with international standards"

The cellular industry all over the world has been witnessing very high growth rates in

subscriber base in recent years. For developing countries in particular, cellular services

are becoming a very significant proportion of the overall telecom infrastructure. The

mechanics of competition within this market involve complex feedback effects between

individual service providers and with their operating environment, and these forces play

an important role in governing the growth of this industry.

The Indian telecommunications sector has undergone a major process of

transformation because of significant Government policy reforms during the recent

years. The New Telecom Policy, 1999 focused on creating an ideal environment for

investment, establishing communication infrastructure by leveraging on

technological development and providing affordable telecom services to all. These

objectives of the policies have resulted in rapid growth of subscribers and lower

tariffs. We believe that with these major initiatives of the Government, the mobile

market in India will have a promising future.

In a country like India which is not yet telephone-saturated and the ongoing changes in

related areas are resulting in a rapidly changing profile of users, providers and their

respective needs, continuous revision of the telecom policy is imperative. Given the

emerging new technologies and the integrating economies there must be fairness among

competitors.

The tele-density in India is about four per hundred people in respect of the fixed

telephones and a little less than one in respect of the mobile telephony. The low densities

are not because there is no need for a telephone but because of its high cost that many

cannot afford that one. The situation here is nothing but holding true of the law of

demand. Isnt it?

The cost for the companies can come down if the revenue share imposed on them as

a condition of license is abolished or drastically reduced. Today every telephone

company is bound to pay a share out of its revenue to the exchequer. These costs

are, however, not to be scheduled to take a step further in the development of the

telecom. In addition when we go through the telephone bill there is a 5 to 8% service

charge. This amount also does not go for the telecom development. If these external

cost are removed there can be seen a spurt in demand of not less then 40% as

expected.

While taking the side of suppliers a lot of new companies are coming into the battlefield

resulting in reduction of prices and hence a little less burdensome on to the customer. The

cost of interconnection with the incumbent is proving to be contributory to the high cost

of services provided by the competitors.

The delay in the interconnection disregards the quality of service and high cost will

detract from affordability. This is an area in which no consumer body can knowledgeably

contribute unless it has the assistant of experts or economists who alone can discover all

the relevant fact of all the contesting companies. It indicates the pre-eminent domain of

TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India).

As the driven down of the prices for long distance including international services

reduces the amount available for subsidizing the local service, the rental for local services

are being increased. Considering that about 90% of the long distance calls are made by

less than 20% of customers, 80% of customers are having to pay higher rental this

depresses the demand for telephones and affordability. The urban business subscribers

will be bearing the bond of the subsidies to be given to the rural private consumers.

1.1 History of Cellular Telephony in India:

The technology that gives a person the power to communicate anytime, anywhere - has

spawned an entire industry in mobile telecommunication. Mobile telephones have

become an integral part of the growth, success and efficiency of any business / economy.

The most prevalent wireless standard in the world today, is GSM. The GSM Association

(Global System for Mobile Communications) was instituted in 1987 to promote and

expedite the adoption, development and deployment and evolution of the GSM standard

for digital wireless communications.

The GSM Association was formed as a result of a European Community agreement on

the need to adopt common standards suitable for cross border European mobile

communications. Starting off primarily as a European standard, the Groupe Speciale

Mobile as it was then called, soon came to represent the Global System for Mobile

Communications as it achieved the status of a world-wide standard. GSM is today, the

world's leading digital standard accounting for 68.5% of the global digital wireless

market. The Indian Government when considering the introduction of cellular services

into the country, made a landmark decision to introduce the GSM standard, leapfrogging

obsolescent technologies / standards. Although cellular licenses were made technology

neutral in September 1999, all the private operators are presently offering only GSM

based mobile services. The new licensees for the 4th cellular licenses that were awarded

in July 2001 too, have opted for GSM technology to offer their mobile services.

1.2 Cellular Industry in India

The Government of India recognizes that the provision of a world-class

telecommunications infrastructure and information is the key to rapid economic and

social development of the country. It is critical not only for the development of the

Information Technology industry, but also has widespread ramifications on the entire

economy of the country. It is also anticipated that going forward, a major part of the GDP

of the country would be contributed by this sector. Accordingly, it is of vital importance

to the country that there be a comprehensive and forward looking telecommunications

policy which creates an enabling framework for development of this industry.

1.3 Cellular Market Structure in India

As in other countries, in India, the Cellular Mobile Service Providers (CMSPs) are

licensed to operate in designated geographical operating areas. The service areas include

four metro areas and 18 circles categorized as A, B and C. (The categorization is based

on the revenue Proceedings of the 36th Hawaii International Conference on System

Sciences).

The potential with category C circles in the lower end of the scale. For example the

metros account for 40% of the subscriber population, with Category-A, B and C

accounting for 33%, 23% and 4% respectively. The CMSPs had to pay an entry fee and

subsequently annual license fee as a percentage of their revenue to the Department of

Telecommunications.

The entry and license fees varied according to the service area, highest for metros and

lowest for Category-C circles. Some of the CMSPs could not fulfill their licensing

obligations and their licenses were revoked leading to a monopoly situation in certain

areas. Apart from these charges, each CMSP has to share the revenue with the long

distance operators for carrying inter-service area calls.

In profitable metros and circles, the competition is severe and the market is split between

the two operators. In a price-cap regulated market, the operators use appropriate pricing

strategy to win customers and win market share.

In highly price-elastic markets, such as in India, as the service provider reduces the price,

the subscriber base increases considerably, and so is the network traffic. The increased

network traffic decreases the performance and the quality of service, inviting customers

to switch. Being a new entrant in a metro area, the government operator reduced the

airtime charges to such an extent that the subscriber base increased suddenly leading to

poor network performance. The operator did not have enough network capacity to handle

calls leading to blocking of calls, with frustrated customers switching over immediately

to competitors.

The operators also have to resort to non-pricing competition strategies to win customers.

In India, CMSPs offer a variety of service plans as a means to attract new customers.

Different service plans include: pre-paid calling card schemes, discounted airtime rates

for evening and night time calls, discounted roaming charges, no or minimum activation

fees, and reduced mobile to mobile long distance call rates.

The service providers incur additional advertising and infrastructure cost for

implementing these plans. Short Message Service (SMS) and Wireless Application

Protocol (WAP) service are fast catching up. For example, in India, about 500,000 SMS

messages are being carried by a service provider in one metro area alone. When the

sector moves over to an oligopoly market, the operators have to provide improved quality

of service and value added services in order to survive and gain market share.

Larger operators who have experience and infrastructure may be able to provide a higher

quality of service and other value-added service at a lower price. They also have access to

larger project financing for enlarging their networks and services. For example, a single

large operator now has license to operate in 14 service areas in the country with the

largest footprint to cover most of the areas of the country. Mergers and acquisitions are

commonplace as the operators are consolidating their revenues to survive in the market

places.

Cellular subscribers and those with a propensity to go mobile in Delhi have never had it

so good. They now have four service providers to choose from, each offering an array of

both pre- and post-paid schemes. More importantly, average tariffs across plans have, by

some reckoning, dropped by at least 50 per cent in the last six months. The entry of

Vodafone saw a further drop in tariffs and the operators have come out with new schemes

to retain their subscribers and attract fresh ones.

What does this mean for subscribers and for the cellular industry in Delhi? All the four

operators Essar Mobile Services Ltd., Bharti Celluar Ltd, MTNL and Idea Cellular

services are convinced that the market will only expand and the subscribers will benefit

even more. Their reasoning is that cellular penetration in Delhi, which traditionally

occupies the third position in other areas, is less than fifty per cent. Therefore, entry of

new players will only increase awareness about the facility, the companies say.

Moreover, the state-owned MTNL has also been playing with its cellular service for quite

some time. that, with the imminent launch of limited mobility using CDMA (code

division multiple access) technology by companies like Tata Tele Services will only add

to the subscriber base, probably result in further reduction of tariffs, and an even greater

widening of the cellular market, according to officials in four cellular companies now

servicing Delhi.

However, the companies also sound a note of caution any further drop in tariffs will

be harmful to the companies, points out one of the officials taking care of the Sales &

Marketing division of the, Essar Mobile Services Ltd, average tariffs in Delhi across

different plans have fallen by 30 per cent since December with launching of the CDMA

services.

Besides the fall in tariffs, what has really happened with the entry of CDMA is a

heightened awareness in the market. Mobile penetration in Delhi and its suburbs is

estimated to be less than twenty-five percent of the population and the cellular operators

believe that this number should definitely go up.

It is here that Vodafone decided to target the customers with what it believes are unique

products and features. Its emphasis has been on value proposition and brand building.

Mobility is not only about carrying voice, as per the reports from the marketing

department and adds that the unified messaging system for the post-paid customers of

(now Vodafone) is one such unique product.

Accordingly, Vodafone signed in its subscribers in lakhs from the year onwards it has

been launched in Delhi. Industry analysts say that a majority of them will be pre-paid

customers, whose loyalty to a particular brand is always in doubt. However, pre-paid for

the cellular is nothing but the engine for growth and there is always a possibility that

most of them will shift to post-paid once they are convinced of the quality of service

provided.

On the other hand the entry of a new operator lends more visibility to the service and

there is also increased trade activity that is the number of dealers will increase and

more people will be on the road trying to sell the service and product. There is also

greater consumer awareness of what cellular service can deliver and expectations go up

in terms of pricing or service standards or network availability.

1.4 The Churn in the Cellular Industry:

As like the other products Cellular industry has not been left untouched from the Churn

(switching over). During the survey this fact comes to the fore. According to the cellular

operators, there is a normal seven to eight percent churn in the customers, especially in

the pre-paid category. Among the post-paid customers, the Churn is much lower about

two-three percent.

They say that one significant change that has happened in the last few months, more so

since lowering of the tariffs, is that the bias in favour of incoming calls as far as call

charges are concerned incoming calls has been set free while they are charging

reasonably only for the outgoing ones has changed. A tariff re-balancing has definitely

taken place.

This means that the cellular operators are encouraging their subscribers to not just receive

calls, but also make calls increasing the usage of the service. With falling tariffs,

cellular operators are convinced that increasing usage is one way to ensure that average

revenue per user (ARPU) does not fall very low. The industry figure for ARPU is

believed to be about Rs.1,100 while it may vary from operator to operator. The operators

are also concentrating on introducing more value added services to the customers. Value-

added services have not really taken off. Only the SMS (short messaging service) has

really caught on, but operators like Bharti are bringing in services like music messaging

and concierge facility for its subscribers.

MOBILE SUBSCRIBER STATISTICS

Recently, mobile phone connections in India have crossed the 400-million mark, which

means over forty in 100 Indians have a phone. Adding on to this benevolent and happy

information, telecom companies are anticipating the number will nearly treble in the next

two years. According to a survey, by 2010, the cellular networks are expected to cover

4,50,000 (out of 6,07,000) villages, covering 550 million people.

Figure 1 Market Share of both mobile and wire line Service Providers in India

2.1 GSM Subscribers

The cumulative All India GSM subscriber base rose to 72.12 million in April

2006 from 69.19 million in March 2006 which is a growth of 4.23% for a month under

review [4]. Table I shows the subscribers growth rate for one month along with market

share of each provider with coverage

2.2 CDMA Mobile Subscribers

The total cumulative all India CDMA subscriber base rose by 0.97 million from 23.25

million in March 2009 to 24.22 million in April 2009, representing a growth of

4.2% in the month under review. A summary picture of the company wise

performance is given in Table II.

TELECOM IN RURAL INDIA

Table I. GSM Subscribers growth rate

Company No of Subscribers (in million) % Market

Share

Service AreasMarch 2009 April 2009

Bharti 19.57 20.68 28.7% 23BSNL 17.16 17.59 24.4% 21Vodafone 15.36 16.06 22.3% 16IDEA 7.37 7.64 10.6% 11Aircel 20.61 2.83 3.9% 7Reliance 1.90 2.01 2.8% 8Spice 1.93 1.98 2.7% 2.MTNL 1.94 2.02 2.8% 2BPL 1.34 1.31 1.8% 1Total 69.19 72.12 100%

India has an urban population of about 26.8% and rural population is about

73.2%. And there are over 600,000 villages in India. But a vast section of the rural sector

is still cut off from the benefits of telecom services. The rural population of around 700

million is waiting for its share of economic growth. Initially the big telephone companies

focused only on urban centres, which they felt were more profitable. However, this

mindset is gradually changing with the realisation that there is equal, if not bigger money

in rural areas.

Table II. CDMA Subscribers growth rate

Company (No.of

Subscribers,per

million)

(% in

Market

Share)

Service

Areas

March

2009

April

2009Reliance 18.307 18.809 77.65% 20TATA 4.851 5.323 21.98% 20HFCl 0.062 0.062 0.26% 1Shyam 0.027 0.028 0.11% 1Total 69.19 72.12 100%

It is estimated that a one per cent increase in rural connectivity can generate 0.5 per cent

economic growth. Thus a well-planned 10 per cent increase in rural connectivity can

propel India into double-digit growth and unprecedented prosperity.

Rural India possesses enormous potential in terms of economy and human resources.

Recent experiments have confirmed that ICT (information and communication

technology) helps improve the timeliness and efficiency of rural farm operations and

enhance income through producer-oriented markets. Hence the communication ministry

has requested the finance ministry for higher allocations from the USO Fund for

executing rural telephony network. The finance ministry has made a budgetary allocation

of 15 billion from the USO Fund. The rural telephony targets include, providing 50

million telephones by 2009(i.e. one phone per three rural households) and 80 million by

2012 (i.e. one phone per two rural households) and provisioning mobile access to all

villages with population more that 5,000 by 2009 and more than 1,000 by 2010.The

Government is confident that the Bharat Nirman Programme target of providing coverage

to remaining 41,000 villages would be met by March 2010 which will be much earlier

than a schedule of November 2010.

India plans to establish 0.25 million, village knowledge centres. The ICT industry can

establish rural call centres modelled on the Kisan Call Centre established by the Ministry

of Agriculture to provide domain knowledge in the services, agriculture and

manufacturing sectors. This spread will increase the volume of users and automatically

bring down bandwidth cost, with a spiralling effect on efficiency and economy.

Advanced telecom services are no longer considered a luxury but a necessity for all.

Thus, providing telecom services to every individual in a country like India is a huge

challenge, and at the same time holds immense opportunities for those in the telecom

industry.

7

1.3) Major Players:

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)

India's mobile telecom sector is one of the fastest growing sectors. Unlike in the 1990s

when the mobile phone was an elitist product, mobile operators now tap a mass market

with mass marketing techniques. "Unified licensing" rules allow basic and mobile

operators into each others territory, and have ushered in perhaps the final phase of

industry consolidation.

It seems that only companies with deep pockets can effectively compete as primary

operators mobile markets. Economies of scale, scope, and end-to-end presence in long-

distance as well as local telecom, are desirable.

There are, besides, new challenges. Operators have to find new growth drivers for the

wire line business. There are problems of getting broadband to take off, of technology

choice, of when to introduce new technologies, and of developing a viable business

model in an era of convergence.

1.4) Growth of mobile technology:

India has the fastest growing mobile markets in the world. The mobile services were

commercially launched in August 1995 in India. In the initial 5-6 years the average

monthly subscribers additions were around 0.05 to 0.1 million only and the total mobile

subscribers base in December 2002 stood at 10.5 millions. However, after the number of

proactive initiatives taken by regulator and licensor, the monthly subscriber additions

increased to around 2 million per month in the year 2003-04 and 2004-05.

Although mobile telephones followed the New Telecom Policy 1994, growth was tardy

in the early years because of the high price of hand sets as well as the high tariff structure

of mobile telephones. The New Telecom Policy in 1999, the industry heralded several

pro consumer initiatives. Mobile subscriber additions started picking up. The number of

mobile phones added throughout the country in 2003 was 16 million, followed by 22

millions in 2004, 32 million in 2005 and 65 million in 2006. The only countries with

more mobile phones than India with 156.31 million mobile phones are China 408

million and USA 170 million.

India has opted for the use of both the GSM (global system for mobile communications)

and CDMA (code-division multiple access) technologies in the mobile sector.

The mobile tariffs in India have also become lowest in the world. A new mobile

connection can be activated with a monthly commitment of US$ 5 only. In 2005 alone 32

million handsets were sold in India. The data reveals the real potential for growth of the

Indian mobile market.

1.5) Cellular Service Providers:

As on Apr 2007 India has 167 million mobile phone subscribers. Out of this 125 million

are GSM users and 41 million CDMA users. BSNL, Bharti Airtel, Hutch, Idea, Aircel,

Spice and MTNL are the main GSM providers in India. Reliance Communications and

Tata Indicom are the main CDMA providers in India.

Bharti Airtel

Airtel is providing cellular services in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Andhra

Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala,

Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, UP and

West Bengal. Airtel is the No.1 cellular service provider in India using GSM technology.

Airtel has 23% market share in India with a total subscriber base of 38 million.

Reliance Communications

Reliance has both CDMA and GSM networks and total subscriber base of 29 million or

17% market share. It has GSM network in Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Kolkata,

North East, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal. Reliance has CDMA networks in

other states and cities.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)

BSNL is a state owned telecom company which has GSM presence in almost every cities

and towns. BSNL has 27 million subscribers with a market share of 16%.

Vodafone

Vodafone is another emerging GSM provider in India with coverage in Kerala, Mumbai,

Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Punjab with a total

subscriber base of 27 million.

Tata Indicom

Tata Indicom is a main CDMA provider in India with 16 million subscribers all over

India. Tata Indicom has presence in almost every state and cities in India.

2.1) Introduction:

Vodafone is a mobile network operator headquartered in Berkshire, England, UK. It is

the largest mobile telecommunications network company in the world by turnover and

has a market value of about 75 billion (August 2008). Vodafone currently has operations

in 25 countries and partner networks in a further 42 countries.

The name Vodafone comes from Vo ice da ta fone , chosen by the company to "reflect the

provision of voice and data services over mobile phones."

As of 2006 Vodafone had an estimated 260 million customers in 25 markets across 5

continents. On this measure, it is the second largest mobile telecom group in the world

behind China Mobile.

In the United States, Vodafone owns 45% of Verizon Wireless.

2.2) Mission:

Vodafone is primarily a user of technology rather than a developer of it, and this fact is

reflected in the emphasis of our work program on enabling new applications of mobile

communications, using new technology for new services, research for improving

operational efficiency and quality of our networks, and providing technology vision and

leadership that can contribute directly to business decisions.

2.3) Vision:

Our Vision is to be the worlds mobile communication leader enriching customers

lives, helping individuals, businesses and Communities be more connected in a mobile

world.

2.4) History:

In 1982 Racal Electronics plc's subsidiary Racal Strategic Radio Ltd. won one of two UK

cellular telephone network licenses. The network, known as Racal Vodafone was 80%

owned by Racal, with Millicom and the Hambros Technology Trust owning 15% and 5%

respectively. Vodafone was launched on 1 January 1985. Racal Strategic Radio was

renamed Racal Telecommunications Group Limited in 1985. On 29 December 1986

Racal Electronics bought out the minority shareholders of Vodafone for GB110 million.

In September 1988 the company was again renamed Racal Telecom and on 26 October

1988 Racal Electronics floated 20% of the company. The flotation valued Racal Telecom

at GB1.7 billion On 16 September 1991 Racal Telecom was demerged from Racal

Electronics as Vodafone Group.

In July 1996 Vodafone acquired the two thirds of Talkland it did not already own for

30.6 million. On 19 November 1996, in a defensive move, Vodafone purchased Peoples

Phone for 77 million, a 181 store chain whose customers were overwhelmingly using

Vodafone's network. In a similar move the company acquired the 80% of Astec

Communications that it did not own, a service provider with 21 stores.

In 1997 Vodafone introduced its Speech mark logo, as it is a quotation mark in a circle;

the O's in the Vodafone logotype are opening and closing quotation marks, suggesting

conversation.

On 29 June 1999 Vodafone completed its purchase of AirTouch Communications, Inc.

and changed its name to Vodafone Airtouch plc. Trading of the new company

commenced on 30 June 1999. To approve the merger, Vodafone sold its 17.2% stake in

E-Plus Mobilfunk. The acquisition gave Vodafone a 35% share of Mannesmann, owner

of the largest German mobile network.

Vodafones original logo used until the introduction of the speech mark logo in 1998.

On 21 September 1999 Vodafone agreed to merge its U.S. wireless assets with those of

Bell Atlantic Corp to form Verizon Wireless. The merger was completed on 4 April

2000.

In November 1999 Vodafone made an unsolicited bid for Mannesmann, which was

rejected. Vodafone's interest in Mannesmann had been increased by the latter's purchase

of Orange, the UK mobile operator. Chris Gent would later say Mannesmann's move into

the UK broke a "gentleman's agreement" not to compete in each other's home territory.

The hostile takeover provoked strong protest in Germany and a "titanic struggle" which

saw Mannesmann resists Vodafone's efforts. However, on 3 February 2000 the

Mannesmann board agreed to an increased offer of 112bn, then the largest corporate

merger ever. The EU approved the merger in April 2000. The conglomerate was

subsequently broken up and all manufacturing related operations sold off.

On 28 July 2000 the Company reverted to its former name, Vodafone Group Plc. In April

2001 the first 3G voice call was made on Vodafone United Kingdom's 3G network. In

2001 the Company took over Eircell, then part of eircom in Ireland, and rebranded it as

Vodafone Ireland. It then went on to acquire Japan's third-largest mobile operator J-

Phone, which had introduced camera phones first in Japan.

On 17 December 2001 Vodafone introduced the concept of "Partner Networks" by

signing TDC Mobil of Denmark. The new concept involved the introduction of Vodafone

international services to the local market, without the need of investment by Vodafone.

The concept would be used to extend the Vodafone brand and services into markets

where it does not have stakes in local operators. Vodafone services would be marketed

under the dual-brand scheme, where the Vodafone brand is added at the end of the local

brand. (i.e., TDC Mobil-Vodafone etc.)

In February 2002 Finland was added into the mobile community, as Radiolinja is signed

as a Partner Network. Radiolinja later changed its named to Elisa. Later that year the

Company rebranded Japan's J-sky mobile internet service as Vodafone live! and on 3

December 2002 the Vodafone brand was introduced in the Estonian market with signing

of a Partner Network Agreement with Radiolinja (Eesti). Radiolinja (Eesti) later changed

its name to Elisa.

On 7 January 2003 the Company signed a group-wide Partner agreement with mobilkom

Austria. As a result, Austria, Croatia, and Slovenia were added to the community. In

April 2003 Og Vodafone was introduced in the Icelandic market and in May 2003

Vodafone Italy (Omnitel Pronto-Italia) was rebranded Vodafone Italy. On 21 July 2003

Lithuania was added to the community, with the signing of a Partner Network agreement

with Bit.

In February 2004 Vodafone signed a Partner Network Agreement with Luxembourg's

LuxGSM and a Partner Network Agreement with Cyta of Cyprus. Cyta agreed to rename

its mobile phone operations to Cytamobile-Vodafone. In April 2004 the Company

purchased Singlepoint airtime provider from John Caudwell (Caudwell Group) and

approx 1.5million customers onto its base for 405million, adding sites in Stoke on Trent

(England) to existing sites in Newbury (HQ), Birmingham, Warrington and Banbury. In

November 2004 Vodafone introduced 3G services into Europe.

In June 2005 the Company increased its participation in Romania's Connex to 99% and

also bought the Czech mobile operator Oskar. On 1 July 2005 Oskar of the Czech

Republic was rebranded as Oskar-Vodafone. Later that year on 17 October 2005

Vodafone Portugal launched a revised logo, using new text designed by Dalton Maag,

and a 3D version of the Speech mark logo, but still retaining a red background and white

writing (or vice versa). Also, various operating companies started to drop the use of the

SIM card pattern in the company logo. (The rebranding of Oskar-Vodafone and Connex-

Vodafone also does not use the SIM card pattern.) A custom typeface by Dalton Maag

(based on their font family InterFace) formed part of the new identity.

On 28 October 2005 Connex in Romania was rebranded as Connex-Vodafone and on 31

October 2005 the Company reached an agreement to sell Vodafone Sweden to Telenor

for approximately 1 billion. After the sale, Vodafone Sweden became a Partner

Network. In December 2005 Vodafone won an auction to buy Turkey's second-largest

mobile phone company, Telsim, for $4.5 billion. In December 2005 Vodafone Spain

became the second member of the group to adopt the revised logo: it was phased in over

the following six months in other countries.

In 2006 the Company rebranded its Stoke-on-Trent site as Stoke Premier Centre, a centre

of expertise for the company dealing with Customer Care for its higher value customers,

technical support, sales and credit control. All cancellations and upgrades started to be

dealt with by this call centre. On 5 January 2006 Vodafone announced the completion of

the sale of Vodafone Sweden to Telenor. On February 2006 the Company closed its

Birmingham Call Centre. In 1 February 2006 Oskar Vodafone became

Vodafone Czech Republic, adopting the revised logo and on 22 February 2006 the

Company announced that it was extending its footprint to Bulgaria with the signing of

Partner Network Agreement with Mobiltel, which is part of mobilkom Austria group.

On 12 March 2006 former chief, Sir Christopher Gent, who was appointed the honorary

post Chairman for Life in 2003, quits following rumours of boardroom rifts. In April

2006 the Company announced that it has signed an extension to its Partner Network

Agreement with BITE Group, enabling its Latvian subsidiary "BITE Latvija" to become

the latest member of Vodafone's global partner community. Also in April 2006 Vodafone

Sweden changed its name to Telenor Sverige AB and Connex-Vodafone became

Vodafone Romania, also adopting the new logo. On 30 May 2006 Vodafone announced

the biggest loss in British corporate history (14.9 billion) and plans to cut 400 jobs; it

reported one-off costs of 23.5 billion due to the revaluation of its Mannesmann

subsidiary. On 24 July 2006 the respected head of Vodafone Europe, Bill Morrow, quit

unexpectedly and on 25 August 2006 the Company announced the sale of its 25% stake

in Belgium's Proximus for 2 billion. After the deal, Proximus was still part of the

community as a Partner Network. On 5 October 2006 Vodafone announced the first

single brand partnership with Og Vodafone which would operate under the name

Vodafone Iceland and on 19 December 2006 the Company announced the sale of its 25%

stake in Switzerland's Swisscom for CHF4.25 billion (1.8 billion). After the deal,

Swisscom would still be part of the community as a Partner Network. Finally in

December 2006 the Company completed the acquisition of Aspective, an enterprise

applications systems integrator in the UK, signaling Vodafone's intent to grow a

significant presence and revenues in the ICT marketplace.

Early in January 2007 Telsim in Turkey adopted Vodafone dual branding as Telsim

Vodafone and on 1 April 2007 Telsim Vodafone Turkey dropped its original brand and

became Vodafone Turkey. On 1 May 2007 Vodafone added Jersey and Guernsey to the

community, as Airtel was signed as Partner Network in both crown dependencies. In June

2007 the Vodafone live! Mobile Internet portal in the UK was relaunched. Front page

was now charged for and previously "bundled" data allowance was removed from

existing contract terms. All users were given access to the "full" web rather than a Walled

Garden and Vodafone became the first mobile network to focus an entire media

campaign on its newly launched mobile Internet portal in the UK. On 1 August 2007

Vodafone Portugal launched Vodafone Messenger, a service with Windows Live

Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger.

On 17 April 2008 Vodafone extended its footprint to Serbia as VIP mobile was added to

the community as a Partner Network and on 20 May 2008 the Company added VIP

Operator as a Partner Network thereby extending the global footprint to Macedonia. In

May 2008 Kall of the Faroe Islands rebranded as Vodafone Faroe Islands.

On 30 October 2008, the company announced a strategic, non-equity partnership with

MTS group of Russia. The agreement adds Russia, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and

Uzbekistan to the group footprint.

VODAFONE:

Today, in India, becomes Vodafone. Now, the pink color logo of Hutch is replaced

by Vodafone Essars corporate red colored one.

In 2005-06, the Orange brand in Mumbai was phased out to introduce (now Vodafone).

The company also changed the colors of its logo from orange to pink and then red.

After acquiring 67 per cent of stake (around Rs. 250 crores) in ison Essar from Hong

Kong-based ison Whampoa, Vodafone Essar is expecting to touch over 35 million

customers across 400,000 shops and thousands of s own employees along with

employees of its business associates.

Vice chairman, Ravi Ruia, Vodafone Essar, said Weve had a good innings as in

India and today marks a new beginning for us, not as a departure from the fundamentals

that created , but an acceleration into the future with Vodafones global expertise.

Vodafone CEO, Marten Pieters of the Vodafone Essar will be landing in India for the

meeting that would discuss branding exercise, expansion plans, spectrum requirements

for its expanding subscriber base and future plans.

Vodafone offers a host of premier value added services (VAS) including national and

international roaming in over 70 countries in over 160 networks, Wireless Application

Protocol (WAP), short message service, voice mail service, auto roam, fax and data,

cricket updates, M-banking, general information, tarot line, etc. The company launched

WAP in Delhi in October 2000, much before its rival Bharti. It has 5000 WAP customers,

as in December 2000. The company has been a prime mover in introducing these value-

added services in the Delhi circle.

The values are stated simply. To be fair and transparent in what they do and how they do

it. To provide the quality services with more customer friendly practices. To make ones

communications experience simple, pleasurable and fun. Where he doesn't simply get

technology - but technology that is relevant. Where solutions are not just promised in the

future - but delivered in the present.

CORE VALUES :

We shall uphold the dignity of the individual.

We shall honor all commitments.

We shall be committed to Quality, Innovation and Growth in every

endeavor .

We shall be responsible corporate citizens.

Vodafone Logo

Accomplishments:

- Over the years, Vodafone Essar, under the Hutch brand, has been named the

Most Respected Telecom Company, the Best Mobile Service in the country

and the Most Creative and Most Effective Advertiser of the Year.

- Vodafone is the worlds leading international mobile communications group with

approximately 315 million proportionate customers as at 30 June 2009.

- Vodafone currently has equity interests in 31 countries across five continents and

around 40 partner networks worldwide

- The Essar Group is a diversified business corporation with a balanced portfolio

of assets in the manufacturing and services sectors of Steel, Energy, Power,

Communications, Shipping Ports & Logistics, and Projects.

- Essar employs more than 50,000 people across offices in Asia, Africa, Europe and

the Americas.

- The company now has operations across the country with over 78.68 million

customers.

Services:

Staying connected becomes a lot easier with Vodafone. We have a wide range of services

you can access right from your Vodafone phone. From cell banking to flight updates to

call management services, get all that you want, instantly.

Prepaid services(latest):

- Vodafone Essar, one of Indias leading cellular service providers announced a

new Bonus Card 25 for its prepaid customers in Punjab. With this new bonus card,

Vodafone customers can enjoy the benefit of unlimited national SMS at just

20paisa/SMS. The new bonus card comes with 30 days validity.

Rajiv Kohli, Chief Executive Officer, Vodafone Essar - Punjab said, We have

always aimed to provide value offering to our customers. The new Bonus Card 25

facilitates Vodafone customers to stay connected with their loved ones across India at

an economical rate.

- Has introduced two new Bonus Cards. Bonus Card 17 and Bonus Card 27 come

with one month validity and are priced at Rs 17 and Rs 27 respectively. All

Vodafone prepaid customers including the lifelong customers in Kolkata and rest

of Bengal can enjoy the new Bonus Cards offer available across Stores and

Ministores.

- Lifelong Prepaid @Rs.46 plan for its prepaid customers in Kerala. This new

prepaid offer comes with lifetime validity and a talk time of Rs.5. Vodafone

customers can make local calls to all Vodafone numbers, other mobiles and

landlines at Re 1 per minute and all STD calls are at Rs1.50 per minute.

Customers need to recharge with Rs 200 cumulative in 180 days to stay

connected.

Postpaid services(latest):

- Vodafone Essar, one of Indias leading cellular services providers has launched

three new monthly rental plans - Budget 500, Budget 750 and Budget 1000 - for

its postpaid customers in Kolkata and West Bengal. These Budget plans offer

combinations of free minutes over local and STD calls along with free local SMS.

This offer is valid for new and existing customers.

Sridhar Rao, Chief Executive Officer, Vodafone Essar East Limited, said

These budget plans will specially appeal to customers with high usage who can now

manage their mobile bills without compromising on talktime or SMS volume.

- Announced a special offer for its customers in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Customers can now avail free VIP numbers with every new post paid connection.

The VIP numbers provide customers an option to choose a number of their

preference from a range of special Golden numbers that usually comes with a

huge price tag.

Value added services:

Vodafone Essar, one of Indias leading cellular services providers, has announced a

special offer for Zoozoo fans across India. Vodafone customers can now get special

Zoozoo DVDs from a Vodafone Store and watch these adorable characters from

Vodafone Essars recent television commercials as they live lifes little moments in their

inimitable style. Vodafone Prepaid customers can get the DVD through a recharge of

above Rs 300 at the Vodafone Store. Vodafone Postpaid customers can enroll for Direct

Debit or activate Callertune or Vodafone Alerts at the Vodafone store to get the Zoozoo

DVD.

Dial 600 to activate:

To activate these values added services on your Vodafone phone simply dial 600 and

access our Interactive Voice Response system.

SMS:

Message your family and friends through Vodafone SMS Services. It's convenient and

affordable. Communicate with cell phone users in over 100 countries and anywhere in

India - by sending and receiving text msg.

Pay just Rs. 1.50 per message for sending SMS anywhere across the country.

SMS Chat:

Now, you can chat on your Vodafone phone with as many people as you

want. Its fun and as simple as sending an SMS. Your identity will remain

anonymous as your phone number is never displayed during the chat. You

can have your own profile and chat name.

You can also create your own chat rooms or chat in the different rooms that

already exist including: Teens, 20s, 30s, Office, Bollywood, Delhi.

All you have to do is type in your messages and send them to 2428. You will

be charged Rs. 2 per outgoing message. Incoming messages are free.

Vodafone Online:

Get all the useful information you need directly on your Vodafone phone - with

Vodafone Online. Including cricket, finance, entertainment, weather, astrology and more.

Simply go to the Vodafone Online menu on your Vodafone phone. If you do not see

the Vodafone Online menu on your phone, send HELP to 123. We will send you the list

of keywords.

Scroll to the topic on which you need information.

Select the information and key input as requested on the screen.

You will be charged Rs. 2 per outgoing message. Incoming messages are free.

MTNL Directory:

With this facility you can get to know the address and telephone no. of MTNL users.you

will be charged Rs.2 per outgoing message.

STD / ISD Codes:

You don't need to look up your diary or a phone directory to find out STD and ISD codes.

You can find it directly through your Vodafone phone.

Ringtones & Logos:

Now you can change the ringtone on your Vodafone phone according to your moods.

You can download logos as well. With the Vodafone and Yahoo! tieup you have

hundreds of tunes and logos to choose from.

For every ringtone downloaded, you will charged Rs. 7.00 (including the cost of SMS

sent). For every logo/picture message downloaded, you will charged Rs. 3.00 (including

the cost of SMS sent).

Flash & Blink

Vodafone now offers you two exciting ways to send messages. You can make

your message flash directly on your recipients screen instead of the inbox.

You can also highlight the important parts of your message through blinks.

So your text messages become not only more visible, but more effective too.

You will be charged Rs. 2 per outgoing message. Incoming messages are

free.

Dial-in Services

Vodafone brings you more conveniences at your fingertips. Use our Dial-in-Services to

check cricket scores, horoscope, up-to-the minute news and other relevant information on

services that touch your everyday life.

All Dial-in-Services carry a flat charge of Rs 6 per minute (1 min pulse).

Here's a shortlist of services you can access

Service Number

NDTV Online 123

Info Line 301

Dial-n-Deliver 306

Cricket Online 123

Tarot Line 314

Cell Rashi 315

Dial-a-Pizza 303

Dial-a-Cab 335

Voice Response Service 123

There are occasions when you may not want to take a call, or your Vodafone phone

maybe busy or simply unreachable. By paying a nominal monthly access fee, you can

now retrieve your messages at your convenience. Even if you are roaming, you can

retrieve your messages from your voice mailbox through a fixed line, anywhere on earth.

Your Vodafone voicemail can

Hold up over 17 messages at a time.

Receive a message that lasts up to 90 seconds.

Store a message for as long as you want.

You can also record your voice signature and welcome message.

Calling Line Identification

You can check your caller's telephone name and number on your phone screen whenever

you receive a call. This gives you the flexibility to either accept or reject an incoming

call. This service is also helpful in identifying your missed calls

You can access this service by just paying Rs. 49 per month, if you are a postpaid

customer. This service is absolutely free if you are a Vodafone Prepaid customer.

Itemized Billing

As a Vodafone Postpaid customer, you can choose to receive an itemized bill at the end

of each month. This is a detailed billing statement which helps you keep track of all your

calls. Your itemized bill includes:

Origin of the call

Destination of the call

Duration of the call

Toll charges

Airtime and total charge

Get your itemized bill.

Via post: Pay a monthly rental of 49 only.

Via e-mail: Pay just Rs. 19 per itemized bill.

Fax & Data Services

This service enables you to constantly keep in touch with your office, colleagues and

information sources. You can send or receive faxes and transmit data using your

Vodafone phone anytime, anywhere. Whether you are operating from home,

Hotels and airport lobbies.

At speeds of up to 9600 bps within the network or while roaming. You can even access

the Internet.

All you need is a handset compatible data card (PC Card) or a GSM Software, and a data

chord cable with a PC to set up a mobile office.

You can also opt for either Vodafone Fax or Vodafone Data services independently.

Your Vodafone fax number can help you differentiate between incoming voice calls and

fax transmissions. You can also send and receive faxes anywhere on earth with your

Vodafone phone

By opting for the Vodafone Data Services you can access e-mail, databases and the

Internet. All on your single incoming data number.

Charges to activate the Vodafone Fax and Data service, you just need to pay a one-time

activation fee of Rs 500. To access the Fax service, the fee is Rs. 250. The usage charges

are nominal at Re 1 per minute.

Call Management Services

There may be occasions when you need to conference with up to six people at a time or

talk to just two. Or you are speaking to someone and want to forward an incoming call to

another phone. With your Vodafone phone, you can do this and more. Vodafonehelps

you manage your calls effortlessly so that you stay in control of your conversations,

always.

Voice Response

Get your Vodafone phone to respond directly to your commands. Custom designed to

recognize Indian voices and accents, the Voice Response service makes your life more

convenient. You can get the latest updates on news, stocks, cricket and your horoscope.

Airtime charges will be Rs.6 per minute (1 minute pulse).

Voice Messaging

Voice Messaging has become even more affordable. You can now send voice messages

to cellular phones as well as fixed telephone lines in USA or Canada for just Rs.3.95 per

min* (as against Rs.4.95 per min earlier).

Voice messages within India across select networks will cost you Rs. .95 per min only.

Also, recipients of the cellular Voice Messaging service have the option of replying back

to the messages, which get returned back as return Voice Mail messages, facilitating two-

way (though not simultaneous) voice communication.

Yahoo! Messenger For SMS

You do not have to wait to get a PC to use the Yahoo! Messenger. With the exclusive

Vodafone-Yahoo! tie-up, you can easily get connected through your Vodafone

phone.This unique messenger comes with a lot of exciting features. You can connect with

all Yahoo! Messenger users, send, receive and reply to instant messages, view and

manage your friend list and also manage authorization requests. All this and more just by

using SMS. You will be charged Rs. 2 per outgoing message. Incoming messages are

free.

Cell Banking

Vodafone now puts the bank in your pocket with Cell Banking. Access your bank

account and transact directly on your Vodafone phone by sending text messages.

The first of its kind in India, this service enables you to conduct your banking without

having to visit the bank or making a call.

You can do Cell Banking from over 90 countries worldwide.

You will be charged Rs. 2 per outgoing message. Incoming messages are free.

Roaming

Now you can always stay connected, no matter where you are. With the Vodafone

Roaming facility, you can use your Vodafone phone in over 100 countries worldwide and

over 1000 cities, towns and highways across India. Vodafone Roaming makes life easy

and convenient for you.

- Vodafone Essar, one of Indias leading cellular services providers, today

announced significant reduction in international roaming rates for its Postpaid

customers traveling to South Africa during the upcoming DLF Indian Premier

League (IPL) cricket tournament. Vodafone Essar is the official partner to DLF

IPL 2009

One number across the globe

Your Vodafone phone number and PIN number remains the same whether you are in

Delhi, Chandigarh, London, Paris or anywhere else in the world.

National and International Roaming on Vodafone Prepaid

Roaming on Vodafone Prepaid gives you the most extensive coverage in over 1000 cities,

towns and highways across India, and in over 100 countries around the world. Enjoy

Roaming on your Vodafone Prepaid card and stay in touch wherever you go.

Yahoo! Mail For SMS

You can now directly access your email account on Yahoo! Mail on your

Vodafone phone. Whats more, you do not need a WAP enabled handset for

this service as it is based on SMS. So gain freedom from your PC and access

your Yahoo! mails anytime, anywhere on your Vodafone phone. You will be

charged Rs. 2 per outgoing message. Incoming messages are free.

WAP

With WAP, you can have the Internet directly in your pocket. So if you are looking for

quick and easy delivery of information and services, your Vodafone phone can show it

all. Use it to check out news, finance, shopping, entertainment, travel, entertainment and

city service information etc. To access this service all you need is a WAP enabled

handset and WAP services activated on your Vodafone phone. This service comes to you

at a nominal charge of Re. 1 per minute (1 min pulse).

Group Messaging

Party invitations, movie outings, festive greetings... whatever be the occasion, you can

send your message to all your friends at one go!

With Group Messaging from Vodafone, you can thus save yourself the bother of

painstakingly sending your message to one person at a time whether you are on Vodafone

Prepaid or Postpaid.

Vodafone4help

Vodafone4help now lets you take advantage of a lot more services than before. You can

connect to the nearest fire brigade or mechanic or florist or even order a pizza. If you are

stranded in the middle of the road, or if you you need immediate medical attention or if

you are looking for a police station close by, Vodafone4help gives you instant access to

your nearest source of help, anywhere in Delhi or the NCR.

All the help services are charged@Rs.6/min. while for police and fire help only local

airtime charge is applicable.

2.5) VODAFONE ESSAR

2.5.1) Introduction:

Vodafone Essar, previously Hutchison Essar is a cellular operator in India that covers 21

telecom circles in India. Despite the official name being Vodafone Essar, its products are

simply branded Vodafone. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone

coverage throughout India and is especially strong in the major metros.

Vodafone Essar provides 2G services based on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz digital GSM

technology, offering voice and data services in 22 of the country's 23 licence areas.

2.5.2) Ownership:

Vodafone Essar is owned by Vodafone 52%, Essar Group 33%, and other Indian

nationals, 15%.

On February 11, 2007, Vodafone agreed to acquire the controlling interest of 67% held

by Li Ka Shing Holdings in Hutch-Essar for US$11.1 billion, pipping Reliance

Communications, Hinduja Group, and Essar Group, which is the owner of the remaining

33%. The whole company was valued at USD 18.8 billion. The transaction closed on

May 8, 2007.

2.6) Previous brands:

In December 2006, Hutch Essar re-launched the "Hutch" brand nationwide, consolidating

its services under a single identity. The Company entered into agreement with NTT

DoCoMo to launch i-mode mobile Internet service in India during 2007.

The company used to be named Hutchison Essar, reflecting the name of its previous

owner, Hutchison. However, the brand was marketed as Hutch. After getting the

necessary government approvals with regards to the acquisition of a majority by the

Vodafone Group, the company was rebranded as Vodafone Essar. The marketing brand

was officially changed to Vodafone on 20 September 2007.

On September 20, 2007 Hutch becomes Vodafone in one of the biggest brand transition

exercises in recent times.

Vodafone Essar is spending somewhere in the region of Rs 250 crores on this high-

profile transition being unveiled today. Along with the transition, cheap cell phones have

been launched in the Indian market under the Vodafone brand. There are plans to launch

co-branded handsets sourced from global vendors as well.

A popular daily quoted a Vodafone Essar director as saying that "the objective is to

leverage Vodafone Group's global scale in bringing millions of low-cost handsets from

across-the-world into India."

While there is no revealing the prices of the low-cost Vodafone handsets, the industry is

abuzz that prices might start at Rs 666, undercutting Reliance Communications' much-

hyped 'Rang Barse' with cheap handsets beginning at Rs 777.

Meanwhile, Vodafone Essar sources said there would be no discounts or subsidized

handset offers -- rather handset-bundled schemes for customers.

Incidentally, China's ZTE, which is looking to set-up a manufacturing unit in the country,

is expected to provide several Vodafone handsets in India. Earlier this year, Vodafone

penned a global low-cost handset procurement deal with ZTE

Customer Satisfaction

3.1) Introduction:

Customer satisfaction, a business term, is a measure of how products and services

supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. It is seen as a key

performance indicator within business and is part of the four perspectives of a Balanced

Scorecard.

In a competitive marketplace where businesses compete for customers, customer

satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator and increasingly has become a key element of

business strategy.

There is a substantial body of empirical literature that establishes the benefits of customer

satisfaction for firms.

3.2) Measuring customer satisfaction

Organizations are increasingly interested in retaining existing customers while targeting

non-customers; measuring customer satisfaction provides an indication of how successful

the organization is at providing products and/or services to the marketplace.

Customer satisfaction is an ambiguous and abstract concept and the actual manifestation

of the state of satisfaction will vary from person to person and product/service to

product/service. The state of satisfaction depends on a number of both psychological and

physical variables which correlate with satisfaction behaviors such as return and

recommend rate. The level of satisfaction can also vary depending on other options the

customer may have and other products against which the customer can compare the

organization's products.

Because satisfaction is basically a psychological state, care should be taken in the effort

of quantitative measurement, although a large quantity of research in this area has

recently been developed. Work done by Berry, Brodeur between 1990 and 1998 defined

ten 'Quality Values' which influence satisfaction behavior, further expanded by Berry in

2002 and known as the ten domains of satisfaction. These ten domains of satisfaction

include: Quality, Value, Timeliness, Efficiency, Ease of Access, Environment, Inter-

departmental Teamwork, Front line Service Behaviors, Commitment to the Customer and

Innovation. These factors are emphasized for continuous improvement and organizational

change measurement and are most often utilized to develop the architecture for

satisfaction measurement as an integrated model. Work done by Parasuraman, Zeithaml

and Berry between 1985 and 1988 provides the basis for the measurement of customer

satisfaction with a service by using the gap between the customer's expectation of

performance and their perceived experience of performance. This provides the measurer

with a satisfaction "gap" which is objective and quantitative in nature. Work done by

Cronin and Taylor propose the "confirmation/disconfirmation" theory of combining the

"gap" described by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry as two different measures

(perception and expectation of performance) into a single measurement of performance

according to expectation. According to Garbrand, customer satisfaction equals perception

of performance divided by expectation of performance.

The usual measures of customer satisfaction involve a survey with a set of statements

using a Likert Technique or scale. The customer is asked to evaluate each statement and

in term of their perception and expectation of performance of the organization being

measured.

3.3) Vodafone had highest customer satisfaction index in 2007

Lisbon, 25 August 2008 - Vodafone obtained the highest customer satisfaction index in

the telecommunications sector in 2007, according to annual results published by Anacom.

Vodafone achieved a satisfaction index of 74.4 (on a scale of 0 to 100), the highest score

of all the companies in the Portuguese telecommunications market and considerably

above the sector average of 67.6.

In the report published by Anacom, Vodafone is ranked in first place in all the indicators

included in the survey: Satisfaction with the operator, Image that customers have of the

operator, Customer Expectations, Perceived Quality of the operator's network and

services, Perceived Value for Money, Complaints received and their handling, and

Loyalty of customers to their operator.

In the Perceived Quality indicator, Vodafone obtained a score of 8.3 points for overall

quality, way ahead of the scores of the other two operators (both obtained 7.7 points).

Vodafone comes top in all the indicators for perceived quality of network and services:

technical quality of the network (8.2 points); customer service and advice capability (7.6

points); quality (8.2 points), diversity (8.0 points) and reliability (7.9 points) of products

and services offered; clarity and transparency of information supplied (7.8 points);

network coverage (7.9 points) and clarity and transparency of price plans (7.9 points).

Similarly, in the indicators measuring the Image of mobile operators, Vodafone comes

top in the five categories analyzed (on a scale of 1 to 10): 'It is a reliable company in

terms of what it says and what it does' (8.1 points); 'It is stable and well established in the

market' (8.8 points); 'It contributes positively to society' (7.5 points); 'It cares about its

customers' (7.6 points); and 'It is innovative and forward looking' (8.5 points).

The methodology used in the ECSI Portugal 2007 survey (ECSI European Customer

Satisfaction Index) is similar to that used by the European Commission to survey

customer satisfaction in 25 Member States, enabling comparisons to be made between the

results obtained in each country.

The ECSI Portugal 2007 Communications survey was carried out by the Higher Institute

of Statistics and Information Management at Lisbon's New University in partnership with

the Portuguese Quality Institute and the Portuguese Quality Association, with

sponsorship from Anacom.

SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths,

Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It

involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the

internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieving that

objective. The technique is credited to Albert Humphrey, who led a research project at

Stanford University in the 1960s and 1970s using data from Fortune 500 companies.

Internal

Strengths Weaknesses

Leadership Position

Global Brand Strength

High Geographical reach

Centralized Control Low

Flexibility

High Consumer churn rates

External

Opportunities Threats

Expanding marketing boundaries

Growth through 3G

Strategic Alliances

Increased Competition

Market saturation in Europe

Emergencies of Low cost

Brands

SWOT analysis of Vodafone

4.1) Strengths:

The main strength of Vodafone within the telecommunications market lies in its

brand image and recognition. Vodafone, having established a global presence and having

invested highly in marketing a differentiated image by promoting a Vodafone life style,

currently enjoys a differentiating advantage that, if exploited properly, can offer a lead in

competition. The presence of Vodafone in numerous countries within Europe as well as

in all part of the world enhances this image. It allows customers to travel and enjoy easily

the services of their home country operator. In the few countries that Vodafone is not

physically present (e.g. Norway) it has well established strategic alliances which allow

for a better service of mobile clients.

4.2) Weaknesses:

The expansion of Vodafone has been completed at the expense of direct control of

its operations. The company grew through a process of acquisitions of national

telecommunications companies (e.g. the acquisition of the third biggest Czech mobile

phone operator, Cesky mobile) rather than organic growth. This increased its subscribers

base quickly, offering direct market knowledge and immediate additions of customer

bases at the expense of direct effective control of the subsidiaries. At the same time

though, it implicitly imposed a centralized operational structure for the group, nominating

the UK headquarters as the leading business unit running a much centralised marketing

and handset procurement at group level. This has resulted in the neglect of local markets

and local differences, allowing market share to be gained by smaller local competitors.

Due to the highly saturated Western European market this has resulted in an increase in

the price elasticity of demand, with consumers becoming continuously price oriented.

This has resulted in high customer churn rates reaching the level of 32.8% in the UK

compared to O2s 24%.

4.3) Opportunities:

The telecommunications market, even though highly saturated in some regions

offers great potential due to the ageing population and the sophistication of the

consumers. It offers great opportunities through a careful market segmentation and

exploitation of particular profitable segments. Different strategies should be pursued

simple phones and simplified pricing plans to the ageing population and more updated,

sophisticated solutions for younger generations. The expanding Boundaries of the market

could provide further opportunities by allowing Vodafone to enter more aggressively into

fixedline service and to better enjoy the benefits of its high investment in 3G technology. Moreover the company has undertaken its first steps in establishing strategic alliances to

develop customized solutions for endusers: Vodafone recently announced two new partnerships, one with supermarket group ASDA to launch an ASDA branded mobile

service in the UK, and another with electrical retailer DSG International to provide

mobile solutions to small businesses. This could further be enhanced to avoid being a

lateentrant in this new method of distribution which offers access to a wide potential customer base.

4.4) Threats:

The European part of Vodafones market is characterized by existing high levels

of competition. Major brands such as O2 and TMobile are exploiting the price sensitivity of customers and in this way they are building a stronger image and presence

in the market. Indirect competition is also increasing further, through the presence of

Skype and other related (not only voice) Internetbased services. This combined with the upcoming European legislative measures is expected to limit further the tariffs for the

network providers imposing further need for price cuts which could harm the bottom line

profitability of the company.

5.1) Introduction:

Marketing research means the systematic gathering, recording, analyzing of data

about problems relating to the marketing of goods and services

Marketing research has proved an essential tool to make all the need of marketing

management. Marketing research therefore is the scientific process of gathering and

analyzing of marketing information to meet the needs of marketing management. But

gathering of observation is must be systematic. The systematic conduct of research

requires:

Orderliness, in which the measurements are accurate.

Impartiality in analysis and interpretation.

All of research can be categorized into basic and applied.

1. BASIC RESEARCH : - Basic Research is that intended to expand the body of

knowledge for the use of others.

2. APPLIED RESEARCH : - Applied Research is one, which is carried out to find

the solution for a particular problem or for guiding a specific decision. It is

usually private in nature.

My research on Vodafone is carried on for guiding specific decisions and its

results are useful only to Vodafone for taking particular decision regarding product

quality, staff and security. Hence the nature of my research study is APPLIED

RESEARCH .

5.2) Objective of Study:

Following are the main objective to study about the customer satisfaction on

Vodafone.

To study telecommunication industry.

To study the company profile of Vodafone.

To study customer satisfaction of Vodafone.

To study various Marketing activities provided by Vodafone.

To study the various services provided by Vodafone.

To know the expectation of Vodafone Customers.

5.3) Benefits of study:

There are many benefits related to take this study. Some of the benefits of taking

this study are as follows:

By analyzing this information, the company would be able to better design

schemes & services & target right prospects needs & wants.

More people will get aware about Vodafone that will increase profit level of

Vodafone.

This study helps to identify the behavior of consumer when there are no offers &

schemes from Vodafone.

5.4) Process of Marketing Research:

The marketing research is done in systematic process. The Researcher has

pursued the below process of marketing for my study at Vodafone:

Problem Identification

Research Design

Data Collection

Data Analysis & Interpretation

Research Report & Presentation

5.4.1) Problem Identification:

The first and the most important step of marketing research is properly defining

the problem. In order to identify the research problem two categories of problem should

be carefully noticed.

Here the researchers problems are:-

A number of customers are not satisfied with services, new schemes and offers.

A number of customers are not satisfied with the network coverage.

A number of customers are not satisfied with the current call rates of Vodafone.

A number of customers are not satisfied with the Free SMS schemes.

A number of customers are not satisfied with the service of customer care of

Vodafone.

5.4.2) RESEARCH DESIGN:

Research design indicates the methods and procedure of conducting research

study. Research design can be done in following three types:-

1 Exploratory Research:-

Exploratory research focuses on the discovery of new ideas and is generally

based on secondary data.

2 Descriptive Research:-

Descriptive research is undertaken when the researcher want to know the

characteristics of certain groups.

3 Causal or Experimental Researches:-

An experimental research is undertaken to identify causes and effect relationship

between two variables.

The Research Design is: Descriptive Research Design

5.4.3) Data Collection and Sampling:

A) Sources of Data Collection:-

Basically there are two types of data i.e. secondary and primary:

I) Primary Data Collection:-

Primary data collection contains the following four types of methods: -

1 Observation Method:

It contains Causal observation, Systematic observation, direct observation and

contrived observation.

2 Survey Method:

It contains Personal Interview, Telephone Interview and Mail Interview.

3 Experimental Method.

4 Panel Method.

II) Secondary Data Collection: -

It can be collected from internal as well as external sources

1 Internal Source:

Various internal sources like employee, books, sales activity, stock availability,

product cost, etc.

2 External Sources:

Libraries, trade publications, literatures, etc are some important sources of

external data.

The Researcher has used primary data for the core purpose of the project and this

primary data has been gathered by survey method. The researcher has also used

secondary data

B) Data collection Tools:

To conduct a survey, the Researcher has selected a structured questionnaire as an

instruction for gathering valuable information from the customers. Questionnaire, which

is used for the survey, is consisting of questions and checklist questions to check the

customer feedback.

C) Sampling Plan:

The researcher has design a sampling plan that is consist of five decisions.

I) Sampling unit :

Who is to be surveyed?

The Researcher has selected youngsters, businessmen, and housewives, employees to

conduct survey and to measure satisfaction level.

II) Sampling types:

There are two types of sampling i.e. Probability Sampling and Non probability

Sampling.

i) Probability Sampling : -

Probability sampling means each unit of the universe has equal chance of getting

selected. The most frequently used probability sampling methods are as below:

a) Simple Random Sampling.

b) Stratified Random Sampling.

c) Multi-stage Random Sampling.

d) Cluster Sampling.

e) Multi phase Sampling.

f) Replicated Sampling.

ii) Non Probability Sampling:-

Non Probability sampling contains following methods:-

a) Judgment Sampling.

b) Convenience Sampling.

c) Panel Sampling.

d) Quota Sampling

For this purpose the researcher has used non probability convenience sampling.

III) Sample Size:

Sample size means limited numbers of respondents covered under the research

study from a population and the researcher has taken a survey of 100 respondents to

know the satisfaction level of customer.

IV) Sampling Area:

The researchers area for survey was:

The S.P.B. College of Business Administration, Udhna.

Vodafone Store, Ghod Dod Road.

Outside Big Bazaar, Piplod.

V) Sampling Unit:

Here the researcher has randomly selected the respondents of the Surat city.

Data Analysis and Interpretation

After all the above steps are completed now the important step is data analyzing

and interpretation. For this there are various analytical and statistical tools. Some of these

tools are Percentage, Average, Dispersion, Co-relation, Co-efficient, etc.

Q1) Do you have a mobile phone?

Purpose:

The main purpose of this question is to know how many respondents use mobile

phone.

Interpretation:

93% of the respondents are have a mobile phone while 7% of the respondents do

not have a mobile phone.

Suggestions Yes No

No. of respondents 93 7

Q2) Are you aware about telecommunications services?

Purpose:

The main purpose behind this question is to know about the awareness of

respondents regarding different telecommunications services and also to know about

which telecommunication(operators) service they use.

Interpretation:

95% of the

respondents are

aware about

telecommunications services while 5% are not aware.

Which operators

service do you use?

Suggestions Yes No

No. of respondents 95 5

Operators service name No. of respondents

Vodafone 87

Airtel 29

Idea 17

Reliance 21

BSNL 5

Tata Indicom 3

Interpretation:

Major respondents using mobile are enjoying Vodafone services. 16% of the

respondents use Airtel, 6% respondents use Idea while 12%, 4% and 2% respondents use

Reliance, BSNL and Tata Indicom respectively.

Q3) Are you aware about Vodafone?

Purpose:

The purpose behind this question is to know about the awareness of Vodafone

among all the respondents.

Interpretation:

Here 100% of respondents are aware about Vodafone Services.

Suggestions Yes No

No. of respondents 87 0

Q4) From which source you came to know about Vodafone?

Purpose:

The purpose behind this question is to know from which source the respondents

came to know about Vodafone.

Interpretation:

36% of the respondents are aware about Vodafone through Advertisements, 29% are aware because of Hoardings while 20% and 15% of the respondents are aware

because of Newspapers and Mouth Publicity respectively.

Sources No. of respondents

Advertisements 63

Hoardings 52

Newspapers 35

Mouth Publicity 26

Q5) Since how long you are using Vodafone Services?

Purpose:

The purpose behind this question is to know about the usage time of Vodafone

customers i.e. since how long they are using Vodafone services.

Interpretation:

Major Respondents using Vodafone are old customers. 39% of the respondents use Vodafone services from past more than 1 year while the lowest is 14% respondents

using Vodafone services less than 1 month.

Time period No. of respondents

Less than 1 month 12

2-6 months 19

6-12 months 22

More than 1 year 34

Q6) Which of the following services do you use of Vodafone?

Purpose:

The purpose behind this question is to know which services do the Vodafone

customer use, Pre-Paid or Post-Paid.

Interpretation:

84% of the respondents use pre-paid services while only 16% of the respondents use post-paid services.

Services No. of respondents

Pre-Paid 73

Post-paid 14

Q7) Which services are more helpful to you while using Vodafone

Services?

Purpose:

The purpose behind this question is to know which services are more helpful to the respondent while using Vodafone.

Interpretation:

Here major Respondents are youngsters so they mainly use SMS services of Vodafone. 37% of the respondents use Vodafone for SMS services while only 14% of the respondents use Vodafone for Value Added Services.

Q8) Do you call at customer care?

Services No. of respondents

Call Rates 27

SMS Rates 48

Network 36

Value Added Services 19

Purpose:

The purpose of this question is to know how many times and how often the respondents call at customer care of Vodafone.

Interpretation:

87% of the respondent calls at customer care while 13% respondents do not call at

customer care.

If yes, how often you call at customer care?

Suggestions Yes No

No. of respondents 76 11

Interpretation

Major respondents here call customer care occasionally. 31% respondents respondents call customer care once a month while 16% and 7% of respondents call once

a week and daily respectively.

Q9) For what reason you call at customer care?

Time Period No. of respondents

Daily 5

Once a week 12

Once a month 24

Occasionally 35

Purpose:

The main purpose of this question is to know the reason of the respondents regarding calling at customer care.

Interpretation:

34% of respondents call at customer care for complaining purpose while 30%,

19% and 17% of respondents call customer care for other queries, information regarding

new schemes and value added services respectively.

Q10) Rate the following on the basis of your satisfaction.

Reasons No. of respondentsValue Added Services 21Information regarding new schemes 23Complaining 42Other queries 36

Services Excellent Very Good Fairly Good Average Poor

Network 31 29 17 7 3

SMS Rates 6 19 35 24 3

New schemes

and offers

3 14 27 33 10

Customer Care 6 32 29 15 5

Recharge

Outlets

12 28 31