Internship Report

Spring-2006

A RELATIONAL STUDY ON CONTROLLED COMMUNICATION, UNCONTROLLED COMMUNICATION, BRAND NAME AND

BRAND ATTITUDE IN THE CONTEXT OF BANGLINK™

by

Fida Habib ID: 0010126

An Internship Report Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree

Bachelor of Business Administration

INDEPENDENT UNIVERSITY, BANGLADESH April 2006

A RELATIONAL STUDY ON CONTROLLED COMMUNICATION, UNCONTROLLED COMMUNICATION, BRAND NAME AND

BRAND ATTITUDE IN THE CONTEXT OF BANGLINK™

by

Fida Habib

ID: 0010126

has been approved April 2006

________________________________

Mr. Sohel Islam Lecturer

School of business Independent University, Bangladesh

April 23, 2006

Mr. Sohel Islam

Lecturer, School of Business

Independent University, Bangladesh

Dear Sir,

It is a great pleasure and honor for me to submit my internship report “A relational study on

controlled communication, uncontrolled communication, brand name and brand attitude in the

context of Banglalink™. I am submitting this report as a part of my internship in Banglalink.

This report will help the organization to find out the factors which influences brand attitude.

This is the first time that I have done correlational study in a complete form, and I have tried

my level best to conduct this in a professional manner. It is true that, it could have been done in

a better way if there were not limitations.

I hope you will asses my report considering the limitations of the study. Your kind advice

will encourage me to perform better research work in future.

Yours sincerely,

Fida Habib

ID# 0010126.

Acknowledgement

In the preparation of this internship report, I would like to acknowledge the encouragement

and assistance given to me by a number of people. I am most grateful to the management of

Banglalink™ for giving me the opportunity to complete my internship in their organization.

I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Mr. Sohel Islam, for providing me

detailed feedback and support on this report. Without his contribution, it would not have been

possible for me to conduct this research work.

I would like to render my special thanks to Mrs. Rumana Reza, Director, Customer Care

Department of Banglalink™. I would also like to thank the supervisors of the Support Service

Unit Mr. Shibu Kanti Ghosh and Mr. Tanveer Shahed for providing me full support during my

internship. I am grateful to Mr. Mahmud Hasan and Mr. Tanvir Mahmud Sharif for helping me

in many different ways during my tenure in Banglalink.

Table of Contents

Page

Executive Summary

1.0 Introduction 1

1.1 Statement of the Problem 2

1.2 Purpose of the Study 2

1.3 Limitations 2

1.4 Research Timeline 3

2.0 Review of Literature 3

2.1 Controlled communication 3

2.2 Uncontrolled communications 4

2.3 Brand name 5

2.4 Brand Attitude 6

2.5 Relationship between controlled communication and brand attitude 7

2.6 Relationship between uncontrolled communication and brand attitude 7

2.7 Relationship between brand name and brand attitude 8

3.0 Operational definitions 9

3.1 Proposed Conceptual Framework 9

3.2 Research Questions and hypotheses 10

3.2.1 Research Questions 10

3.2.2 Hypotheses 11

4.0 Methodology 11

4.1 Research Design 11

4.2 Sampling method 12

4.3 Survey Instrument 12

4.4 Data Collection 14

4.5 Data Analysis 14

5.0 Results 14

5.1 Reliability and Descriptive statistics of the Instruments 14

5.2 Correlation Analysis 15

5.3 Stepwise Regression Analysis 16

6.0 Assessment of research hypothesis 18

7.0 Recommendations 19

8.0 Conclusion 20

References 21

Appendix 1 26

Appendix 2 28 Appendix 3 34

List of Tables

Page

1. Operational definitions of measured variables 9

2. Descriptive statistics, and Reliability Coefficients 15

3. Correlation Matrix 16

4. Stepwise Regression on Brand attitude 17

List of Figures

1. Conceptual Framework of Research Variables and their relationships 10

Executive Summary

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between controlled

communication, uncontrolled communication, brand name and brand attitude in the context of

Banglalink™ a GSM mobile telecom operator in the mobile telecommunications industry of

Bangladesh.

Sufficient literature review and discussions suggest that the avenues of communications

(controlled and uncontrolled) and the brand name influences the attitude that consumers have

regarding a brand (brand attitude).

The literature review and the data from the study suggest that correlation does exist between

the above mentioned study variables. Data was collected by distributing a total of 106

questionnaires to the subscribers of Banglalink™ that visited the Customer Care Center in

Gulshan. Collected data was analyzed using SPSS 12.0. Correlational analysis and stepwise

regression analysis were performed for testing the hypotheses and both provided full support in

proving the hypotheses.

The study showed that the attitude and perception that consumers in the mobile telecom

industry formulate about a brand are influenced by the messages that are communicated by

marketers together with information that they receive from other non-commercial sources and

also the name or familiarity of the brand.

The findings suggest that controlled communications, uncontrolled communication and brand

name are pivotal in establishing consumer expectations, thus brand attitudes. Therefore, these

types of advertising should be utilized to communicate realistic service experiences,

while brand names should reinforce consumer confidence, trust and safety in usage. Positive

WOM advocating proven reliability and consistency of the brand should be encouraged and

rewarded to encourage new usage and reusage behavior.

1.0 Introduction

In September of 2004 Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E. (“Orascom Telecom”) a leading

mobile telecommunications company operating in nine emerging markets in middle East , Africa

and South Asia acquired Sheba Telecom (Pvt) Ltd. at a cost of US $ 60 million. As Sheba

Telecom, the worst performing network operator in the industry, the company had only 30,000

subscribers. To dispel this image, OTH had re-branded Sheba as Banglalink™ in an attempt to

give it a completely new image.

The Bangladesh GSM mobile telecommunication industry is led by Grameen Phone with

over 6 million subscribers followed by Aktel with 4 million and Banglalink™. Banglalink™ is

currently ranked third by being the fastest growing mobile telecommunications company in the

world by increasing the 30,000 subscriber base of Sheba to 1.7 million Banglalink™ users and

expanding it’s network coverage to 61 districts in just over 1 year. The oldest mobile telephony

operator CityCell uses CDMA technology with a customer base of less than 1 million.

The socio economic condition of Bangladesh in a way limits expansive growth of the mobile

telephony industry and thus operators have to rely heavily on drawing competitor’s subscribers

in order to expand their own customer bases. So there is a need for studying the factors

attributing to the attitude of consumers towards a brand (Brand Attitude) in this case

Banglalink™, in order for Banglalink™ to get a clear understanding on how to gain and

maintain market share in the GSM telecommunications industry in Bangladesh.

1.1 Statement of the Problem.

The growing competition in the mobile telephony industry in Bangladesh has meant that

subscribers now have more choices and can easily switch to the brand that appears favorable to

them. In order to thus gain and maintain market share Banglalink™ needs to understand the

factors attributing to the brand attitude of customers towards Banglalink™.

1.2 Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of two communication variables

(controlled communications, uncontrolled communications) and brand name on brand attitude.

By understanding their relationships we can better determine those avenues of communication

that exert the most influence on consumers and the significance that the name of a brand plays as

they make their decisions and formulate their attitude towards service brands. The findings will

enhance our existing knowledge of the relationships that exist between marketing

communications, brand name and decision making of service consumers, thus enhancing both

our practical and theoretical understanding of communication effects.

1.3 Limitations of the Study

The study was limited by a number of factors. Firstly the research was limited only in Dhaka

city. Secondly the sample size may be considered too small to represent the present scenario.

The time constraints for the study and also the limited knowledge of the researcher may be

considered as limitations.

1.4 Research Timeline

2006 February Research Proposal Writing.

2006 March Literature Review.

2006 March Development of conceptual framework.

2006 April Data collection procedure.

2006 April Data analysis and interpretation of the findings.

2006 April Submission of draft copy.

2006 April Submission of research paper.

2.0 Literature Review

2.1 Controlled communication

Controlled communication implies the messages that the marketer delivers to the consumers.

The marketer has full control on the message content, when and how the message will be

delivered and to whom it will be delivered. Advertising and other promotional activities

undertaken fall under this category. Issues related to the advertising of services have been at the

forefront of research in more recent times. Such research has focused on the examination of

services advertising in terms of intimacy theory (Stern, 1997), the difference between business-

to-business and consumer services advertisements (Turley and Kelley, 1997) and the effect of

services advertising on brand salience and brand image (Miller and Berry, 1998). In terms of

services, controlled communications such as advertising are argued to be an important tool used

to communicate the service. For example, service advertisements adopting a rational or

informational approach have been shown to reduce uncertainty and increase the likelihood of

future purchase intentions (Stafford and Day, 1995), while research concerning the advertising

of experience goods shows that advertising can

enhance perceived quality (Cobb-Walgren et al., 1995). While the objective of any controlled

communications, such as advertising, is to communicate information to consumers, we know

that it is the degree to which the information is meaningful to consumers that is important.

Therefore, the more favorable the consumer’s feelings and attitudes are towards the

communications; the more likely it is that the communications will be effective in transferring

relevant meaning about the brand. This being the case, it is the consumer’s attitude or feelings

towards the controlled communications that will ultimately influence their response to the brand,

as manifested by their satisfaction with, attitude towards or intentions to use the brand.

2.2 Uncontrolled communication Uncontrolled communication primarily consists of word-of mouth (WOM) behavior and non-

paid publicity. Largely derived from personal sources, WOM communications are an important

source of information for service consumers prior to patronage. For example, it has been shown

that WOM communications significantly affect consumer purchasing behavior (Mangold et al.,

1999) and influence both short-and long-term judgments (Bone, 1995). In the context of

services, it appears that WOM is particularly important, as consumers tend to rely on WOM to

reduce their level of perceived risk and uncertainty often associated with the purchase of

services (Mangold et al., 1999). In fact, Murray’s (1991) findings concerning personal sources

of information regarding goods and services support this claim, in that service consumers have

greater confidence in WOM and a greater propensity to purchase after engaging in WOM than

purchasers of goods.

Another form of uncontrolled communication comes in the form of non-paid public relations.

Often referred to as “publicity”, this form of message communication is similar to WOM in the

sense that negative publicity is said to have a greater influence on consumer response than

positive publicity. In a similar vein to WOM, publicity is also viewed as a credible source of

information that is more influential than marketer-driven communications (Ahluwalia et al.,

2000). Furthermore, Hauss (1993) advocates that, regarding the attitudes of people towards

political parties, there is not doubt that good and bad media coverage has a profound effect.

While adverse publicity can lead to negative perceptions, positive publicity can enhance

attitudes (Hauss, 1993).

2.3 Brand name

Brand names play an integral role in the marketing of goods and services, with a good brand

name being argued to create high levels of brand awareness, stimulate strong consumer

preference and contribute to the success of the product (Chan and Huang, 1997). In fact, many

have noted the importance of brand names in consumer evaluations of brands, in that, brand

names assist the consumer in recalling brand benefits (Janiszewski and van Osselaer, 2000), in

making product inferences and evaluations (Zinkhan and Prenshaw, 1994) and they play an

important role in reputation and choice (Holden and Vanhuele, 1999). Therefore, the argument

that brand names are a valuable source of information to consumers cannot be disputed. In fact,

Zinkhan and Martin

(1987, p. 170) found that “based on product name alone, customers form instant, non-neutral

attitudes about the product that may prove difficult to change through the use of

subsequent communications”. Degeratu et al. (2000) note that the brand name is weighted

as even more important when there is lack of available information, as the brand name becomes

a surrogate for attribute information that is missing. Given the nature of services where little

information is available to consumers in their pre-purchase evaluations, the brand name may

well prove to be an important source of information. In fact, Turley and Moore (1995) advocate

that due to the difficulty in service evaluation, the service brand name becomes a crucial

component of the brand and important source of information to the consumer. In fact, as

pointed out by Stern (1983, p. 53), “a good brand name can save millions of dollars over the

product’s life because it carries its own meaning, describes the product’s advantages, is instantly

recognized and serves to differentiate the product significantly from other competitors”. In

addition, in the context of services, brand names are argued to be a crucial component of the

brand and important source of information to the consumer because, in many cases, service

attributes are difficult to communicate via other means (Turley and Moore,1995). This being the

case, the brand name should be recognized for the more proactive role it plays in communicating

the brand, rather than simply being viewed as a component of the brand. Although it could be

argued that the brand name, in itself, represents a controlled communication, for the purpose of

this study, which examines different communication avenues (or means of information

transference), we argue that essentially the information transmitted by the brand name is not

completely controlled by the marketer. For example, with advertising and promotional

decisions, issues such as targeting, message creation, media selection and campaign evaluation

are completely controlled by the marketer. However, with the brand name, while its initial

inception and communication (via advertising) is under the control of the marketer, the meaning

that is attached to or transmitted by the mere mention of the brand name comes also from other

sources. For example, the consumers’ personal experiences and what is known of others’

experiences with the brand will result in information and meaning being attached to the brand

name in memory.

2.4 Brand Attitude

Defined as “the consumer’s overall evaluation of a brand whether good or bad” (Low and

Lamb, 2000, p. 352), brand attitudes encapsulate the meaning that consumers attach to brands,

which in turn effects their purchasing behavior (Low and Lamb, 2000). Therefore, positive

brand attitudes are vital to the long-term success and sustainability of brands (Hoek et al., 2000).

2.5 Relationship between controlled communication and brand attitude

In terms of controlled communications, advertising has long been proclaimed as an important

avenue by which marketers can make their offerings to customers tangible. In fact, the

perceived risk associated with many service purchases emphasizes the importance of controlling

and transmitting messages that assist in reducing consumption apprehension (Grove et al.,

1997). However, in many cases, service consumers rely heavily on information from

commercial sources (advertising communications) in order to make their brand choices. In

terms of controlled communication, advertising has been consistently found to play an important

role in creating positive brand attitudes (Kempf and Smith, 1998).

2.6 Relationship between uncontrolled communication and brand attitude

In terms of uncontrolled communication, service consumers rely heavily on information from

personal sources (WOM communications) in order to make their brand choices. In fact, it is

argued that a single positive WOM communication can result in the formation of a favorable

attitude toward the brand (Swanson and Kelley, 2001) implying uncontrolled communications

can exert considerable influence on consumer brand decisions. Marketers expend considerable

effort on creating and maintaining positive attitudes towards their brands and this is usually

achieved through the brand’s communications. As uncontrolled communication, WOM and

non-paid publicity has been consistently found to play an important role in creating positive

brand attitudes (Swanson and Kelley, 2001). However, it appears that uncontrolled sources such

as WOM, while playing a significant role in enhancing positive brand attitudes, can just as easily

diminish brand attitudes through negative WOM and publicity (Ennew et al., 2000). Argued as

having an even stronger influence on brand attitudes are uncontrolled communications such as

WOM and non-paid publicity

(Swanson and Kelley, 2001). This is so because communications that are not marketer-driven

are perceived to be more credible (Mangold et al., 1999). In examining the effects of service

brand communications terms of uncontrolled communications, brand attitudes are enhanced

through positive WOM and publicity (Bansal and Voyer, 2000 ;) or diminished through negative

WOM or “bad” publicity (Ennew et al., 2000). With regard to the latter (negative WOM and

publicity), the effect on brand attitude, in many cases, is argued to be stronger than that resulting

from positive uncontrolled communications (Ennew et al., 2000).

2.7 Relationship between brand name and brand attitude

The ultimate goal of marketers, in satisfying customers and creating positive brand attitudes,

is to induce the desired behavioral response towards the brand. While much attention has

focused on advertising and WOM, the brand name is also a powerful communications tool that

can be utilized to create strong brand attitudes. The ability of brand names to evoke feelings

such as trust, confidence and the like indicates that brand names should not be overlooked as a

valid and useful avenue of communication in the creation of brand attitudes (Turley and Moore,

1995).

3.0 Operational Definitions

Summaries of the operational definitions of measured variables are given below in Table 1.

Table 1 Operational definitions of measured variables Measured Variables Operational definitions

Uncontrolled communication has been operationally defined

by Bansal and Voyer, 2000.

Controlled communication has been operationally defined

by Hallbrook and Batra, 1987.

Brand name has operationally defined

by Grace and O’Cass, 2005.

Brand attitude has operationally defined

by Yoo and Donthu, 2001.

3.1 Proposed Conceptual Framework

To give direction to the investigation, the researcher developed a conceptual framework

based on insights gain from the literature review. While a number of theories and issues

pertinent to the study were discussed in the literature review, the following concepts were

chosen as the basis of the analysis of the research problem. These were uncontrolled

communication, controlled communication, brand name and brand attitude. According to

Ticehurst and Veal (2000), “a conceptual framework indicates how researcher views the

concepts involved in a study - especially the relationships between concepts”. Greater clarity in

understanding the concepts addressed in this study indicated the relationships between the

studied variables (Cooper & Schindler, 1998; Kumar, 1997).

Uncontrolled Communication

Controlled Communication

Brand Attitude

Brand Name

Figure 1: Conceptual Framework of Research Variables and their relationships

Following the development of the conceptual framework, specific research questions and

hypothesis were established to address directly to the research problem In the following section

the research question and hypothesis are stated.

3.2 Research Questions and Hypotheses

3.2.1 Research Questions

1. Is there any significant relationship between uncontrolled communication and brand

attitude in the context of Banglalink™?

2. Is there any significant relationship between controlled communication and brand

attitude in the context of Banglalink™?

3. Is there any significant relationship between brand name and brand attitude in the context

of Banglalink™?

3.2.2 Hypotheses

1. There is a significant relationship between uncontrolled communication and brand

attitude in the context of Banglalink™.

2. There is a significant relationship between controlled communication and brand attitude

in the context of Banglalink™.

3. There is a significant relationship between brand name and brand attitude in the context

of Banglalink™.

4.0 Methodology

4.1 Research Design

The graphical presentation of the proposed framework (Figure 1) depicted the pattern and

structure of relationships among the set of measured variables. The purpose of the study was to

measure correlations among the variables.

This study intended to investigate the relationships of uncontrolled communication,

controlled communication, brand name and brand attitude in the context of Banglalink™. Here

uncontrolled communication, controlled communication, and brand name act as independent

variables, and brand attitude as a dependent variable. The researcher has conducted a

correlational study to investigate the existence of relationships between the measured variables.

When a researcher investigates the effects of measured variables and analyses the

relationships among the variables, the design is known as correlational. A correlational study

examines the extent to which differences in characteristics in variable are related to differences

in once or more other characteristics or variables. A correlation exists if, when one variable

increases, another variable either increases or decreases in a somewhat predictable fashion.

In correlational analysis, the researcher has no control over the values of the variables under

study. Instead the researcher merely observes how the variables of interest vary in the natural

environment. As the current study was carried out in the natural environment of the

organization, the researcher interfered minimally with the normal flow of the events. With this

in mind, the present study used correlational to discover or establish the existence of

relationship, association or interdependence between the measured variables. The researcher

also used step-wise regression analysis for identifying which independent variable(s)

individually and collectively provides a meaningful contribution towards the explanation of the

dependent variable.

4.2 Sampling method

In this study the researcher collected information from the subscribers of Banglalink™. The

sample frame for this study was the entry list of subscribers at the customer care centre in

Gulshan. Through non-probability convenience sampling a sufficient number (106) of

questionnaires were obtained to meet the requirements of the statistical techniques.

4.3 Survey Instrument

Due to lack of secondary data (e.g. articles, journals, and telecom publications) in the case of

Banglalink™, it was required to investigate primary data’s for analyzing the problem. To

collect data from primary sources, a set of structured questionnaire ( 25 questions , 5 point likert

scale) were distributed among the subscribers when they visited the customer care center in

Gulshan for bill payment and other purposes. The questionnaire was a useful method to collect

data from subscribers for the following reasons:

1. The current study was about brand attitude, brand name, controlled & uncontrolled

communication and subscribers might feel reluctant to discuss these issues through a

time consuming interview specially when they have a problem to solve. In such a

situation, a questionnaire is the better choice as it ensures anonymity (Zikmund, 2000).

2. The researcher has conducted the survey on 106 respondents. To interview such a large

sample of subscribers would have been time consuming and difficult. For this reason the

survey was conducted through a structured questionnaire rather than direct interview.

3. The postal system of our country is very slow. Hence, mail survey would have been too

time consuming and difficult to be feasible for this country.

4. The internet facility is not widespread in our country. Therefore, online survey will also

be in-appropriate for this study.

5. In earlier studies on the measured variables previous researchers had used

questionnaires.

A structured questionnaire has been used in this research to collect data. Each of the

questionnaires had 4 sections. Controlled communications was measured by using 6 items

(Section 1, Question 1-6) developed by Hallbrook and Batra, (1987) and the reported reliability

of this variable was 0.92. Uncontrolled communication has been measured by using 10 items

(Section 2, Question 7-16) developed Bansal and Voyer, (2000) and the reported reliability of

this variable was 0.91. Brand name has been measured by using 5 items (Section 3, Question

17-21) developed by Debra Grace and Aron O’ Cass, (2005) and the reported reliability of this

variable was 0.92. Brand attitude has been measured by using 4 items (Section 4, Question 22-

25) developed by Yoo and Donthu, (2001) and the reported reliability of this variable was 0.94.

Since the instrument was measuring respondents brand attitude, brand name, uncontrolled

and controlled communication a 5 point Likert scale was used to determine how strongly

respondents agree or disagree with each item (1= strongly disagree and 5=strongly agree)

(Zikmund, 1997).

4.4 Data Collection

Due to lack of journals and telecom publications, it was required to analyze primary data to

investigate the research questions. The researcher used a 25 item, 5 point likert scale structured

questionnaire to collect data from primary sources.

4.5 Data Analysis

The proposed study was a correlational study. As a result, after collecting data from the

respondents the researcher used a correlational matrix to identify whether relationships exist

between the measured variable or not. Besides that, stepwise regression of all constructs were

calculated to identify the level of influence each has on the dependent variable (brand attitude).

For this research SPSS version 12 has been used as the statistical data analysis tool as it offers

greater flexibility in data analysis.

5.0 Results

5.1 Reliability and Descriptive statistics of the Instruments

The reliability coefficients, means and standard deviations of all the constructs in the

current study are displayed in Table 2. The coefficient alphas for the different constructs were

computed using the reliability procedure in SPSS (version 12.0). The most highly recommended

measure of internal consistency is provided by coefficient alpha (α) or Cronbach’s alpha (1951)

as it provides a good reliability estimate in most situations. The nearer the value of alpha (α) to

1, the better reliability. If the value is low, either there are too few items or there is very little

commonality among the items. Nunnally (1978) suggested that for early stages of any research

the reliability of .50-.60 is sufficient. The reliabilities of all the constructs in this study found to

be above the standard set by Nunnally (1978).

Table: 2 Descriptive statistics, and Reliability Coefficient of uncontrolled communication, controlled communication, brand name, and brand attitude. Scale No. of Items Alpha Mean SD

Controlled communication 6 0.68 4.15 0.49

Uncontrolled communication 10 0.82 4.03 0.57

Brand name 5 0.76 4.12 0.61

Brand attitude 4 0.74 4.18 0.61

Note: n= 106

Mean scores have been computed by equally weighting the mean scores of all items. On a

five point scale mean score for controlled communication is 4.15 (sd = .49). The mean score for

uncontrolled communication is 4.03 (sd = .57). The mean score for brand name is 4.12 (sd =

.61).

The mean score for brand attitude is 4.18 (sd =.61). It indicates that people’s attitude towards

brand (Banglalink) is favorably high.

5.2 Correlation Analysis

A correlation analysis was conducted on all the variables to explore the relationships between

the measured variables. In interpreting the strength of relationships between variables, the

guidelines suggested by Rowntree (1981) were followed. His classification of the correlation

coefficient (r) is as follows:

0.0 to 0.2 Very weak, negligible

0.2 to 0.4 Weak, low

0.4 to 0.7 Moderate

0.7 to 0.9 Strong, high marked

0.9 to 1.0 Very strong, very high

The bivariate correlation procedure was subject to a two tailed test of statistical significance at

two different levels highly significant (p<.001) and significant (p<.01) or (p<.05). The results of

the correlational analysis are shown in Table 3.

Table 3 Correlation Matrix for uncontrolled communication, controlled communication, brand name, and brand attitude. Con_com Uncom_com Bra_name Bra_att Con_com. .759** .590** .655**

Uncom_com .734** .736**

Bra_name .720**

Bra_att

Note: **p <.01

The result of correlation analysis for all the variables is shown in Table 4. It examines the

correlation among uncontrolled communication, controlled communication, brand name, and

brand attitude. The variables significantly correlated with brand attitude are controlled

communication (r= .65, p<.01), uncontrolled communication (r=.73, p<.01), and brand name

(r=.72, p<.01).

5.3 Stepwise Regression Analysis

Stepwise regression was conducted to asses the relationship between variables. Hanushek

and Jackson, (1977) suggested that stepwise regression is a useful procedure in determining

most significantly related variables in explaining the behavior in question and this procedure not

only gives an indication of how comprehensive the effect of the independent variable is, but

also details which aspects of a grossly defined variable have been differentially affected. Cohen

and Cohen, (1975) cautioned that, when an investigator has a large pool of potential independent

variables and very little theory to guide selection among them, he may be benefited by using

stepwise regression. The authors noted that in the use of stepwise regression analysis probably

the most serious problem arises when a relatively large number of independent variables are

used. If the researcher had selected both dependent and independent variabled based on

grounded theory, and the original independent variables (before stepwise selection) is not too

large in that case stepwise regression will work as a useful tool in testing hypothesis. The

selected variables for this study are based on strong grounded theories. Large numbers of

independent variables were not considered for this study. The effort to screen out redundant

variables during the model building process, and to provide a model in which all variables

individually and collectively, provide a meaningful contribution toward the expansion of the

response variable (dependent variable) can be accomplished by using a stepwise regression

analysis option (Mendenhall, Reinmuth, & Beaver, 1989).

Table 4 Stepwise Regression on Brand attitude Variable B SEB β R2 ∆ R2

Step 1 .542

Uncon_com .779 .070 .736***

Step 2 .612 .07

Uncon_com .477 .096 .451***

Brand_name .387 .090 .389***

Step3 .628 .016

Uncon_com .329 .117 .311**

Brand name .373 .089 .375***

Con_com .244 .115 .198*

*p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001.

Table 4 depicts that in Banglalink™ uncontrolled communication (p <.01), controlled

communication (p <.05), and brand name (p <.001) has been found to be statistically

significantly related with brand attitude. These results provided full support for the research

hypothesis. These three predictor variables together explained 63% of the variance in brand

attitude. Uncontrolled communication, brand name and controlled communication explained

about 54%, 7% and 2% of the variance in brand attitude respectively.

6.0 Assessment of Research Hypotheses

Hypothesis 1:

There is a significant relationship between uncontrolled communication and brand attitude in

the context of Banglalink™.

The results of the correlational study depicts that uncontrolled communication is significantly

correlated (r=.73, p<.01) with brand attitude. So the results of correlational analysis have

provided full support for the research hypothesis.

The results of stepwise regression analysis depicts that in the context of Banglalink™

uncontrolled communication (p <.01) was found to be statistically significantly related with

brand attitude. Uncontrolled communication explained 54% of the variance in brand attitude The

result of the regression analysis provided full support to the research hypothesis

Hypothesis 2:

There is a significant relationship between controlled communication and brand attitude in

the context of Banglalink™.

The results of the correlational study depicts that controlled communication is significantly

correlated(r= .65, p<.01) with brand attitude. So the results of correlation analysis have

provided full support for the research hypothesis.

The results of stepwise regression analysis depicts that in the context of Banglalink™

controlled communication (p <.05) was found to be statistically significantly related with brand

attitude. Controlled communication explained about 7% of the variance in brand attitude. So the

results of regression analysis have provided full support for research hypothesis.

Hypothesis 3:

There is a significant relationship between brand name and brand attitude in the context of

Banglalink™.

The results of the correlational study depicts that brand name is significantly correlated

(r=.72, p<.01) with brand attitude. So the results of correlational analysis have provided full

support for the research hypothesis.

The results of stepwise regression analysis depicts that in the context of Banglalink™ brand

name (p <.001) was found to be statistically significantly related with brand attitude. Brand

name explained 7% of the variance in brand attitude. So the results of regression analysis have

also provided full support for the research hypothesis.

7.0 Recommendations

The study variables controlled communication, uncontrolled communication and brand name

are significantly related to brand attitude. The three independent variables clearly influence the

dependent variable brand attitude i.e. they all contribute to attitude that consumers have

regarding Banglalink™.

The marketers of Banglalink™ should work at advertising and other promotional activities in

order to convey realistic service experiences with the brand so that their messages highlight the

value of the brand Banglalink™. Developing high value offers and favorable rates can be a key

factor to retaining existing customers and attracting new ones.

The study has identified the high level of influence that informal communication modes and

word of mouth behavior have on brand attitude so the marketers of Banglalink™ should work

hard at encouraging this kind of behavior. Important way for doing this would be by improving

network quality and coverage, working at service recovery and overall service quality of

Banglalink™. This would create satisfied customers and promote favorable WOM

communications which in turn would influence a positive attitude towards the brand

Banglalink™.

The marketers should definitely work hard to promote the brand Banglalink™ so that the

name stands for high value, trust, consistency and reliability which would influence people to

form a very favorable attitude towards Banglalink™.

8.0 Conclusion

The study has shown that controlled communication, uncontrolled communication and brand

name are significantly related to brand attitude of consumers towards a brand. So we can see

that in order for Banglalink™ to induce a positive attitude of people towards the brand they

should pay careful attention to elements such as their advertising and other promotional

activities, encourage positive WOM behavior, strive to get favorable non-paid publicity and also

work to further enhance it’s name in the minds of people in Bangladesh.

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APPENDIX 1

A survey on Banglalink™

Are you willing to spend some time to answer the survey? We guarantee that your responses will be treated as strictly confidential. You are under no obligation to answer and you are free to terminate the interview at any time 1 . Strongly disagree. 2 Disagree 3. Neither disagree/ agree 4. Agree 5. Strongly Agree Controlled communications

1 I like the advertising and promotions of Banglalink

1 2 3 4 5

2 I react favorably to the advertising and promotions of Banglalink 1 2 3 4 5

3 I feel positive toward the advertising and promotions of Banglalink 1 2 3 4 5

4 The advertising and promotions of Banglalink are good 1 2 3 4 5

5 The advertising and promotions of Banglalink do a good job 1 2 3 4 5

6 I am happy with the advertising and promotions of Banglalink. 1 2 3 4 5

Uncontrolled communications

7 Publicity has been significant in affecting my views about Banglalink 1 2 3 4 5

8 Publicity revealed some things I had not considered about Banglalink 1 2 3 4 5

9 Publicity provided some different ideas about Banglalink 1 2 3 4 5

10 Publicity helped me formulate my ideas about Banglalink 1 2 3 4 5

11 Publicity influenced my evaluation of Banglalink 1 2 3 4 5

12 My friends/family have been significant in affecting my views about Banglalink. 1 2 3 4 5

13 My friends/family mentioned things I had not considered about Banglalink. 1 2 3 4 5

14 My friends/family provided some different ideas about Banglalink. 1 2 3 4 5

15 My friends/family helped me formulate my ideas about Banglalink 1 2 3 4 5

16 My friends/family influenced my evaluation of Banglalink 1 2 3 4 5

Brand Name

17 The brand name of Banglalink tells me a lot about what to expect 1 2 3 4 5

18 The brand name of Banglalink tells a lot about this service 1 2 3 4 5

19 The brand name of Banglalink means something to me 1 2 3 4 5

20 The brand name of Banglalink sends a message to me 1 2 3 4 5

21 The brand name of Banglalink tells me everything I need to know. 1 2 3 4 5

Brand Attitude

22 Overall, I think Banglalink is good 1 2 3 4 5

23 Overall, I think Banglalink is a nice service 1 2 3 4 5

24 Overall, I think Banglalink is very attractive 1 2 3 4 5

25 Overall, I think Banglalink is very desirable 1 2 3 4 5

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME

APPENDIX -2

Reliability of controlled communication

Warnings

The space saver method is used. That is, the covariance matrix is not calculated or used in the analysis.

Case Processing Summary N %

Valid 106 100.0Excluded(a) 0 .0

Cases

Total 106 100.0a Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure. Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's Alpha N of Items

.687 6

Reliability of uncontrolled communication Warnings

The space saver method is used. That is, the covariance matrix is not calculated or used in the analysis.

Case Processing Summary N %

Valid 106 100.0Excluded(a) 0 .0

Cases

Total 106 100.0a Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure.

Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's Alpha N of Items

.829 10

Reliability of Brand Name

Warnings

The space saver method is used. That is, the covariance matrix is not calculated or used in the analysis.

Case Processing Summary N %

Valid 106 100.0Excluded(a) 0 .0

Cases

Total 106 100.0a Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure

Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's Alpha N of Items

.764 5

Reliability of Brand Attitude Warnings

The space saver method is used. That is, the covariance matrix is not calculated or used in the analysis.

Case Processing Summary N %

Valid 106 100.0Excluded(a) 0 .0

Cases

Total 106 100.0a Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure

Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's Alpha N of Items

.744 4

Correlations Correlations Con_com Uncon_com Brand_name Bra_att

Pearson Correlation 1 .759(**) .590(**) .655(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) . .000 .000 .000

Con_com

N 106 106 106 106 Pearson Correlation .759(**) 1 .734(**) .736(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 . .000 .000

Uncon_com

N 106 106 106 106 Pearson Correlation .590(**) .734(**) 1 .720(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 . .000

Brand_name

N 106 106 106 106 Pearson Correlation .655(**) .736(**) .720(**) 1 Bra_att

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .

N 106 106 106 106 ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Regression

Variables Entered/Removeda

Uncon_com .

Stepwise(Criteria:Probability-of-F-to-enter<= .050,Probability-of-F-to-remove >= .100).

Brand_name .

Stepwise(Criteria:Probability-of-F-to-enter<= .050,Probability-of-F-to-remove >= .100).

Con_com .

Stepwise(Criteria:Probability-of-F-to-enter<= .050,Probability-of-F-to-remove >= .100).

Model1

2

3

VariablesEntered

VariablesRemoved Method

Dependent Variable: Bra_atta.

Model Summaryd

.736a .542 .537 .41724

.782b .612 .604 .38595

.793c .628 .617 .37952

Model123

R R SquareAdjustedR Square

Std. Error ofthe Estimate

Predictors: (Constant), Uncon_coma.

Predictors: (Constant), Uncon_com, Brand_nameb.

Predictors: (Constant), Uncon_com, Brand_name,Con_com

c.

Dependent Variable: Bra_attd.

ANOVA(d)

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Regression 21.402 1 21.402 122.938 .000(a)

Residual 18.105 104 .174

1

Total 39.508 105 Regression 24.165 2 12.082 81.111 .000(b)

Residual 15.343 103 .149

2

Total 39.508 105 Regression 24.816 3 8.272 57.430 .000(c)

Residual 14.692 102 .144

3

Total 39.508 105 a Predictors: (Constant), Uncon_com b Predictors: (Constant), Uncon_com, Brand_name c Predictors: (Constant), Uncon_com, Brand_name, Con_com d Dependent Variable: Bra_att Coefficients(a)

Model Unstandardized

Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t Sig.

B Std. Error Beta 1 (Constant) 1.042 .287 3.635 .000 Uncon_com .779 .070 .736 11.088 .0002 (Constant) .665 .279 2.384 .019 Uncon_com .477 .096 .451 4.988 .000 Brand_nam

e .387 .090 .389 4.306 .000

3 (Constant) .308 .322 .957 .341 Uncon_com .329 .117 .311 2.819 .006 Brand_nam

e .373 .089 .375 4.206 .000

Con_com .244 .115 .198 2.126 .036a Dependent Variable: Bra_att

Excluded Variables(c)

Collinearity Statistics

Model Beta In t Sig. Partial

Correlation Tolerance Con_com .227(a) 2.275 .025 .219 .424 1 Brand_name .389(a) 4.306 .000 .391 .462

2 Con_com .198(b) 2.126 .036 .206 .422 a Predictors in the Model: (Constant), Uncon_com b Predictors in the Model: (Constant), Uncon_com, Brand_name c Dependent Variable: Bra_att

APPENDIX 3

An overview of Banglalink™

Banglalink™ is the latest addition to the GSM family of Orascom Telecom Holdings, an

Egyptian company operating in nine emerging markets in the Middle East, South East Asia and

Africa. Naguib Sawiris, Chairman and CEO of OTH, announced the acquisition of Sheba

Telecom (Pvt.) Limited with a cost of US$60m in September of 2004.

The company aims to make a difference in the lives of the people. Its vision is to “understand

people's needs best and will create and deliver appropriate communication services to improve

people's life and make it easier”. Their mission is, therefore, to reduce the total cost of

ownership of buying and using a mobile phone. Moreover, to achieve this vision, the company

has established some values that it tries to instill in its employees. They want their employees,

and the company as a result, to be straight forward, reliable, innovative and, above all,

passionate.

As Sheba Telecom, the worst performing network operator in the industry, the company had

only 30,000 subscribers. To dispel this image, OTH had re-branded Sheba as Banglalink™ in

an attempt to give it a completely new image.

With that kind of a reputation at its disposition, the Banglalink™ management has placed one

of the highest priorities on improving its network. In this respect, they have installed state-of-

the-art equipment from Siemens and Huawei and brought in over 1,000 people, including

experts, from 15 countries around the world to set up the required infrastructure. The system

took a record four months (less than half the normal time) to build. In 2005 alone, Orascom

invested $120 million, earmarking close to another $300 million for future investments.

While Banglalink™ started out quite small, it has increased its coverage from 9 to 61 districts

in just over one year. Moreover, in less than one year, it now has more than 1.5 million

subscribers from a mere 30,000 in February 2005 before the launch.

Functional Departments

There are approximately eight functional departments in the organization. The functions of

these departments are described in the following sections:

Sales

One of the most important links in the chain, the sales department is responsible for all the

sales activities of the organization. The department, led by Mr. Hassan Samy, Director Sales, is

divided into four divisions: Direct Sales, Corporate Sales, Distribution Sales and Sales Support.

Distribution Sales

This is the largest team in the department. Consisting entirely of male employees, this

department is responsible for managing the activities and ensuring that sales targets are met by

the company’s six distributors (Lipro, Asimpex, Butterfly, Propel, Deens & Deshlink). They are

also responsible for ensuring that these distributors and all the dealers operating under them are

following the policies of the company with regard to promotions, package offerings, branding,

pricing etc. Hence, the team works mostly outdoors and report to the office in the evening or

early morning for completion of any paperwork.

Sales Department

Sales Support Distribution Sales Corporate Sales Direct Sales

Figure 1b: Sales Department

Corporate Sales

Corporate Sales is a relatively small team compared to direct and distribution sales. They are

yet to launch any packages, although they have recently started selling to public call offices

(PCO) through Flora Computer Systems.

Direct Sales

This is the largest team in the department, consisting of more than 20 employees. The direct

sales division operates two sales booths, run by its own employees. The first booth is located in

Gulshan 2, on the 4th Floor of Land View Complex, while the second booth in Chittagong. The

purpose of these booths is to sell directly to its customers, alongside its distributors/dealers. It

helps the company stay in close touch with its customers and get faster and more reliable

feedback from the sales force.

The booths were originally established with the idea that people prefer to purchase their cell

phones from reliable sources and no one can be more reliable than the company itself. Thus,

they provide another mechanism by which the company can meet and satisfy its consumers

communication needs, swiftly and completely.

It is the only on of its kind in the industry. All the other operators sell their products solely

through their dealers, and more recently some have added selling activities to their Customer

Care activities, but are yet to make it a separate entity similar as is in Banglalink™.

Sales Support

This team is the smallest of all the four teams. Nevertheless, they form an integral part of the

department by providing logistical support to the other three teams. Thus, they have to maintain

liaison with the Procurement Department; Kallol Group, our scratch card distributors; the

warehouse, where all POSM and handsets are stored; the Ring and OrasInvest (wholly owned

subsidiaries of OTH who provide the company with SIM cards, SAF and other logistical

support.

Marketing

The Marketing team also consists of several teams, which includes PR & Communications,

VAS, Loyalty & Retention and International Roaming. The teams all report to Omer Rashid,

the Marketing Director.

The Loyalty & Retention team is responsible for the designing of the special offers launched

from time to time in an attempt either to increase customer base or to increase ARPU.

The VAS division is responsible for the continuously adding valuable services to provide a

complete solution to existing customers, for example, for making conference calling & ring

tone/logo downloads possible. These two teams together are in charge of making the customers

experience with our network more satisfying.

PR & Communication is responsible for designing and developing all promotional materials

for the marketing of any new product/package and any other activities. They coordinate and

work directly with the advertising agency and other vendors. While other companies have an

entire department for promotions and branding, at Banglalink™ this division, consisting of only

a handful of people is responsible for this task.

Banglalink™ offers International Roaming facility for post-paid subscribers only.

Human Resources

Aside from recruiting and training employees, the HR department is also responsible for

disseminating internal communication to all users and in the process of developing

compensation packages for its employees, such as medical insurance under the group plan, life

insurance and running several activities such as the Vaccination Program for all.

Training activities are continuously taking place to develop and hone the skills & knowledge

of the personnel, such as the English Language & MS Project Courses for selected employees

and conducting a GSM Orientation session for all employees, especially the Sales, Marketing &

Customer Care Departments who have to deal with customers.

Customer Care

Rumana Reza, the only female director in the organization, is the head of the Customer Care

department. This too is segmented, consisting of the Customer Care Centers, Care Line, Credit

Management Unit and the Support Services Unit. They are responsible for handling customer

queries and providing solutions to any problems faced by the subscribers.

The Customer Care Centers are located in motijheel and gulshan while the other departments

are all located in the headquarters (Tigers Den) in Gulshan ,

IT & Billing

The IT & Billing department, as is evident from the name, is in charge of all the hardware,

software and program requirement of the other departments. They also generate the bills for the

company subscribers (post-paid).

Administration

Apart from the Administration division, the department also consists of the Legal division

and the Project Management Office.

Finance

The finance department is the largest department at the head office with an entire floor

devoted to their needs. They consist of the Procurement & Cash Management divisions among

many others.

Technical

The technical people are all located at Hosna Tower in Gulshan – 1, but many work off site,

taking care of BTS or BSCs. The various divisions of this particular department include Access

Network, Core Access, O&M, Roll-out & CTO.

MMAARRKKEETTIINNGG MMIIXX

Product offering & Pricing

Banglalink™ currently has five packages in the market. When the company started out,

government regulations had prevented it and other telecom companies from selling SIM cards

alone, but rather had to bundle them with a handsets. However, this policy has been withdrawn

ever since BTRC’s Teletalk itself started selling SIM cards alone to the public.

In fact, according to customer feedbacks, Banglalink™ packages are all attractive, since the

connections and monthly line rents are some of the lowest in the industry, and would have

attracted a lot more customers, if only the network could be improved.

All the pre-paid packages are classed under two different tarrif profiles. Ladies First and Be

Linked (Misti Komola). Each has its own attributes and subscribers can choose which profile

they want to belong to according to their convenience.

Pre-paid M2M

This package Banglalink™ consists of a M2M sim which can only make and receive calls

from mobile phones. There is no BTTB connectivity or NWD and ISD facilities. The package

is priced at Tk. 150 ( Boishakhi promotion price)

Pre-paid M2M+

This package Banglalink™ consists of a M2M sim which can make and receive calls from

mobile phones and also receive calls from BTTB. The package is priced at Tk. 350 ( Boishakhi

promotion price)

Pre-paid Standard

The Standard SIM allows a subscriber to make and receive local, BTTB, NWD and ISD calls. It

costs Tk.350 (Boishakhi Promotion price),

Post-paid M2M

The post-paid M2M SIM is similar to the pre-paid one; the difference lies in the fact that the

subscriber can his/her bill after usage rather than before. The difference between Banglalink™’s

post-paid lines and its competitors is that our SIMs do not cost anything. Subscribers just have to

pay a certain security deposit, which is also lower than its counterparts, and can avail the

facility. For an M2M connection the deposit amount is merely Tk. 500. The Banglalink™

connections also allow subscribers 125% credit limit where all other counterparts allow only

100%.

Post-paid M2M+

Similar to an M2M connection, customers have to pay only Tk. 500 security deposit to

become an M2M+ subscriber. Subsribers pay a monthly line rent of Tk. 150

Post-paid Standard (Upper Class)

The standard connection offers subscribers two options. They can either pay only Tk. 1,000

security deposit and get a connection with T&T incoming & outgoing, and NWD facilities. For

the other option, subscribers pay Tk. 2,500, which would allow them to make ISD calls in

addition to the other facilities. The monthly line rent is Tk. 150 only.

Upper Class 600 and Upper Class 1200 are two packages under the postpaid category . Here

customers have to pay a fixed monthly sum of Tk. 600 or Tk.1200 and enjoy free minutes and

are charged only after the mnutes have been used up.

Commercial User (PCO)

This is another package under the postpaid category where the customer pays a set Tk. 6500

for a set bundle of minutes and are then charged Tk. 2 per minute for any additional usage. This

phone is used widely in Phone & Fax shops all over Bangladesh.

High Value User (HVU)

This is a package that consists of sets of multiples of 4 connections and the customer is charged

a minimum of Tk 24,000 fixed per month @ Tk. 1.6 per minute and charged additionally if the

usage exceeds the prescribed sum.

Apart from the sale of connections, Banglalink™ dealers and the Direct Sales team sell

scratch cards for their pre-paid subscribers and also handsets, as long as it is sold with a

connection since the copmany does not earn any profit from the sale of handsets alone.

The scratch cards are of 4 denominations: Tk. 50,150, 300 & 600 with varying validities. The

range of handsets is also very limited. There are sets from Motorola, Alcatel, Siemens, LG,

Panasonic and most recently Nokia. There are plans to add several more handsets from these

and other manufacturers to extend the product line, depending on consumer choise and

affordability of our target market.

Place

While Banglalink™ started out quite small with network coverage in only 9 districts the

number has been increasing regularly and now there is coverage in 61 districts.

Distribution of handsets takes place via six authorized distributors: Lipro, Asimpex,

Butterfly, Deshlink, Deens & Propel. The distributors have more than a hundred dealers

working for them, with the number increasing regularly.

Sales also takes place from the DS Booth attached to the Customer Care Center. Currently

there are are only two booths, one with Chittagong CC and the other with the Dhaka CC. These

booths are run and managed by the employees of the company itself.

Packaging

The logistical companies do the packaging completely. The Ring provides the company with

the SIM cards sealed within CD covers and SAF forms. OrasInvest is also involved in the

packaging process.

Similar to GrameenPhone’s packaging, Banglalink™ also has a distinctive packaging.

Smaller and more petite in size, the Banglalink™ insignia occupy most of the space. Many

people can be seen carrying around Banglalink™ packages in their hands on their way to offices

and other places these days.

Promotion

With product offerings becoming almost similar amongst the network operators, most now

compete in terms of special offers. Telecom companies all have stepped up their marketing

activities and are pushing for aggressive promotions, far more aggressive than they had been in

the past and far more aggressive than companies of other industries.

While the chapter on competition analyzes the special offers of Banglalink™ against its

competitors, the following section discusses only the offers of the company and its relative

attractiveness.

Special Offers

Launch Offer

The initial offer with which the copmany launched its operation was the Tk. 3,400 hundred

package. The package contained one pre-paid M2M connection, six scratch cards worth Tk.

1,800 and a handset. The offer came as a bang in the mass market. While people had expected

something big from the time OTH announce the purchase of Sheba Telecom, this offer was big

and exceeded many expectations. People would start lining up from early morning and stayed as

long as necessary to get the connection. Often the line would extend all the way from the 4th

floor, where the DS booth is located, on the 2nd floor. Daily average sales had been around 350-

400 connections per day at the booth.

The offer had been in line with the company’s mission to reduce the total cost of owning a

mobile, which it had identified as the biggest barrier today impeding the development of an

emerging market. Thus, the attractiveness came from the price of the handset, which came to

somewhere around Tk. 1,500 and had nothing to the actual product itself, i.e. the SIM card.

Since network problems still existed, many customers, more often than not, threw away the SIM

or gave it away and just used the handset.

Current Offer

The Boishakhi Promotion is currently in place where the prepaid connections ( M2m, M2M+

and Standard) are being sole at extremely low rates ( Tk. 150, Tk. 350 and Tk. 550 respectively)

Value Added Services

As mentioned earlier, the industry is on the road to a price war. Most of the operators are

competing to bring down their prices below that of others and thus induce customers to switch

operators. However, the low cost of switching is also causing more customers to switch

operators frequently based on the special offers available at that time and reducing brand equity.

Nevertheless, once people get tired of special offers, operators have to turn back to their

basic product and compete at that level. Moreover, since networks can be improved with just a

little bit of time and a lot of investment, most operators would sooner or later be competing in

terms of the value added services they have to offer.

Like all the other subsidiaries of OTH, Banglalink™ also places a high importance in adding

newer and more unique value added services to its operation. The various VAS available to

customers are described in Table 1

Table1. Value Added Services (VAS).

VAS Description Charge

Call

Forwarding/Diverting

This allows subscribers to divert their calls to

another number of their choice, when they

cannot either answer the phone themselves or

their SIM is taken out of the mobile and another

Free

one put in, in its place

Call Waiting/Holding This service allows subscribers to accept calls

from a caller while talking to another. Free

Call Barring

Callers can choose to have certain numbers

barred which would prevent the caller from

coming through the line. The service is provided

upon request by a subscriber.

Tk. 3001

CLIP

This feature allows subscriber to see the

identification of the caller on the display before

answering. This is a standard feature provided

by all operators.

Free

Itemized Bill

Banglalink™ can provide its post-paid

subscribers with an itemized bill, either monthly

or on demand.

Tk. 1002

(monthly) &

Tk. 115 (on

demand)

Voice Mail Service

This acts as an answering machine when a

subscriber is:

• Unreachable

• Engaged in another call

• Not in the mood to answer

Normal

Airtime

Charge

Short Messaging

Service

It allows subscribers to send text messages to

other subscribers of Banglalink™,

GrameenPhone & AKTEL.

Tk.

2/message

SMS Push-Pull Subscribers can receive the latest jokes, quotes,

cricket & weather updates, horoscopes,

Tk.

2/message

All charges are exclusive of 15% VAT

emergency numbers, send for taxi cabs through

their Push-Pull services.

Premium SMS Subscribers can download ringtones and logos

by sending an SMS to 444

Tk.

9/download

T-Adda/Conference

Calling

Through this service, subscribers can talk to

more than one caller (connect up to 10 callers,

depending on handset) at the same time. It is

similar to having a group conference, just this is

on the phone instead of face-to-face.

Normal

Airtime

Charge for

each person

connected

SMS Adda

This is similar to chatting online, where a

subscriber can enter a chat or adda room and

send messages to all the people in the room or to

one person in the room.

Tk.

2/message

SMSemail

With an unique ID, such as

0191xxxxxx@banglalinkgsm.com, the

subscriber can send & receive e-mails from

anywhere and any address in the world.

Tk.

2/message

International SMS A subscriber can send SMS to 171 countries &

640 operators around the world

Tk.

2/message3

In terms of innovation, the company has introduced Call Conferencing, SMS Adda &

SMSemail as a part of the service they offer. Quite recently, the CEO of the company, Lars P.

Richelt also unveiled several emergency recharging systems (“an ER for mobiles”) around the

city that would allow consumers to recharge their handset, regardless of the operators they use,

free of cost in public places such as hospitals, universities,etc.