comparative study of life time plans of different mobile operators in gurgaon

8/14/2019 comparative study of life time plans of different mobile operators in gurgaon

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2009

SUBMITTED TO:

Dr. Anjali

Malik

IILM Institute for Higher

Education, Gurgaon

A PROJECT REPORT ON COMPARITIVE

STUDY OF THE LIFETIME PLANS OF

THE CELLULAR COMPANIES IN

GURGAON

SUBMITTED BY:

Group No. 2

Section I

MEMBERS:

Abhay Singh

Amyn SayaniAnirban Das

Jasmeet Kaur

Jnana Ranjan Pati

Pratibha Sharma

Vikash Verma


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This Project has been made possible through the direct and

indirect Co-operation of various persons, who have inspired us at

every step of our work. It is a matter of pride for us to

acknowledge our profound gratitude to our respected teacher Dr.

Anjali Malik who always facilitates us in gaining practical

knowledge.

And above all, we all beholden to each of our group members for

their blessing and encouragement in completing this task.

Group No. 2


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PREFACE

The research provides an opportunity to students to demonstrate

application of his/her knowledge, skill and competencies required

during the technical session. Research also helps the student to

devote his/her skill to analyze the problem to suggest alternative

solutions, to evaluate them and to provide feasible

recommendations on the provided data.

The research is on the topic of COMPARITIVESTUDYOFTHELIFETIMEPLANSOFCELLULAROPERATORSINGURGAON.Although we have tried our level best to prepare this report anerror free report every effort has been made to offer the mostauthenticate position with accuracy.


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DECLARATION

We hereby declare that the following documented Project Report titledCOMPARITIVE STUDY OF THE LIFETIME PLANS OF CELLULAROPERATORS IN GURGAONis an authentic work done by us.

The Study was undertaken as a part of the course curriculum of MBA Full

Time Program of IILM GUGRAON

GROUP NO: 2SECTION-I


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CHAPTER-1


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INTRODUCTION

Comparative research, simply put, is the act of comparing two or more

things with a view to discovering something about one or all of the thingsbeing compared.This technique is often utilizes multiple disciplines in one study.

When it comes to method, the majority agreement is that there is nomethodology peculiar to comparative research. The multidisciplinary approachis good for the flexibility it offers, yet comparative programs do have a case toanswer against the call that their research lacks a seamless whole.

There are certainly methods far more common than others in comparativestudies, however. Quantitative analysis is much more frequently perusedthan qualitative, and this is seen in the majority of comparative studies can beuse quantitative data.

The general method of comparing things is the same for comparative researchas it is in our everyday practice of comparisons. Like cases are treated alike,and cases are treated differently; the extent of difference determines howdifferently cases are treated. The point here is that if one is able to sufficientlydistinguish two cases, comparative research conclusions will not be very

helpful.

Secondary analysis of quantitative data is relatively widespread incomparative research, undoubtedly in part because of the cost of obtainingprimary data for such large things as a countrys policy environment. A typicalmethod of comparing welfare state is to take balance their levels of spendingon social welfare.

In line with how a lot of theorizing has gone in the last century, comparative

research does not tend to investigate grandtheories such as Marxism. Itinstead occupies itself with middle-range theories theories that do notpurport to describe our social system in its entirely, but a subset of it. A goodexample of this is the common research programs that looks for differencesbetween two or more social systems, then look at these differences in relationto some other variable coexisting in those societies to see if it is related. Theclassic cases of this is Esping-Andersons research on social welfaresystems, and compared them based on there levels of deco modification of


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social welfare goods. He found that he was able to class welfare states in four types,based on their deco modification. She further theorized from this that deco modificationwas based on a combination of class collisions and mobilization, and regimelegacy.Here Esping-Anderson is using comparative research: he takes many westerncountries and compared their level of deco modification, then develops a

theory of the divergence based on his findings.

Comparativeresearch is a methodology in the social sciences that aims tomake comparisons across different countries and cultures. A major problem incomparative research is that the data sets in different countries may not usethe same categories, or define categories differently.


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OBJECTIVES

1. To find out the perception of the general people towards the

land line &

Mobile phone.

2. To find out the hidden information in lifetime plans of cellularservices.

3. To find out the consumer satisfaction towards the lifetimeplans.


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CHAPTER-2


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Telecom Industry in India

The Indian telecommunications industry is one of the fastest growing in the

world and India is projected to become the second largest telecom market

globally by 2010

India added 113.26 million new customers in 2008, the largest globally. In

fact, in April 2008, India had already overtaken the US as the second largest

wireless market. To put this growth into perspective, the countrys cellular

base witnessed close to 50 per cent growth in 2008, with an average 9.5

million customers added every month. According to the Telecom Regulatory

Authority of India (TRAI), the total number of telephone connections (mobile

as well as fixed) had touched 385 million as of December 2008, taking thetelecom penetration to over 33 per cent. This means that one out of every

three Indians has a telephone connection, and telecom companies expect

this pace of growth to continue in 2009 as well

- Much of the growth in Asia Pacific Wireless Telecommunication Market is

spurred by

the growth in demand in countries like India and China.

- Indias mobile phone subscriber base is growing at a rate of 82.2%.

- China is the biggest market in Asia Pacific with a subscriber base of 48%

of the total

subscribers in Asia Pacific. Compared to that Indias share in Asia Pacific

Mobile


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Phone market is 6.4%. Considering the fact that India and China have

almost comparable

populations, Indias low mobile penetration offers huge scope for growth.

History of Indian Telecommunications

Started in 1851 when the first operational land lines were laid by thegovernment near Calcutta (seat of British power). Telephone services wereintroduced in India in 1881. In 1883 telephone services were merged withthe postal system. Indian Radio Telegraph Company (IRT) was formed in1923. After independence in 1947, all the foreign telecommunicationcompanies were nationalized to form the Posts, Telephone and Telegraph(PTT), a monopoly run by the government's Ministry of Communications.Telecom sector was considered as a strategic service and the governmentconsidered it best to bring under state's control.

The first wind of reforms in telecommunications sector began to flow in1980s when the private sector was allowed in telecommunicationsequipment manufacturing. In 1985, Department of Telecommunications(DOT) was established. It was an exclusive provider of domestic and long-distance service that would be its own regulator (separate from the postalsystem). In 1986, two wholly government-owned companies were created:the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) for internationaltelecommunications and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) forservice in metropolitan areas.

In 1990s, telecommunications sector benefited from the general opening up

of the economy. Also, examples of telecom revolution in many othercountries, which resulted in better quality of service and lower tariffs, ledIndian policy makers to initiate a change process finally resulting in openingup of telecom services sector for the private sector. National Telecom Policy(NTP) 1994 was the first attempt to give a comprehensive roadmap for theIndian telecommunications sector. In 1997, Telecom Regulatory Authority ofIndia (TRAI) was created. TRAI was formed to act as a regulator to facilitatethe growth of the telecom sector. New National Telecom Policy was adopted


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in 1999 and cellular services were also launched in the same year.

Telecommunication sector in India can be divided into two segments: FixedService Provider (FSPs), and Cellular Services. Fixed line services consist ofbasic services, national or domestic long distance and international long

distance services. The state operators (BSNL and MTNL), account for almost90 per cent of revenues from basic services. Private sector services arepresently available in selective urban areas, and collectively account for lessthan 5 per cent of subscriptions. However, private services focus on thebusiness/corporate sector, and offer reliable, high- end services, such asleased lines, ISDN, closed user group and videoconferencing.

Cellular services can be further divided into two categories: Global Systemfor Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA).The GSM sector is dominated by Airtel, Vodafone-Hutch, and Idea Cellular,while the CDMA sector is dominated by Reliance and Tata Indicom. Opening

up of international and domestic long distance telephony services are themajor growth drivers for cellular industry. Cellular operators get substantialrevenue from these services, and compensate them for reduction in tariffs onairtime, which along with rental was the main source of revenue. Thereduction in tariffs for airtime, national long distance, international longdistance, and handset prices has driven demand.

Classification of Telecommunication services1. Basic services2. Cellular services

3. Internet Service Provider (ISP)

Cellular Service

Overview

1. There are five private service operators in each area, and an

incumbent state operator. Almost 80% of the cellular subscriberbase belongs to the pre-paid segment.2. The DoT has allowed cellular companies to buy rivals within the

same operating circle provided their combined market share did notexceed 67 per cent. Previously, they were only allowed to buycompanies outside their circle.


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Growth Drivers

Opening up of international and domestic long distance telephonyservices are growth drivers in the industry. Cellular operators nowget substantial revenue from these services, and compensate them

for reduction in tariffs on air time, which along with rental was themainsource of revenue. The reduction in tariffs for airtime, nationallong distance, international long distance, and handset prices hasdriven demand.

The Key players in the Telecom Market in India

Cellular Service provider:

1. BSNL

2. Airtel

3. Vodafone

4. Idea

5. Reliance

6. Tata indicom

7. Spice8. MTNL

Subscribers

Wireless subscribers crosses 342 million mark Tele density reaches 21.20%


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The total number of telephone subscribers has reached 347mnattheendof2008 as compared to 241.02( million in August 2007. The overallteledensity has increased to 34.50% in Jan 2009 as compared to 33.20% in

Dec 2008.In the wireless segment,15.41million at theendofJan2009 subscribershave been added in. The total wireless subscribers (GSM, CDMA & WLL (F))base reaches 362.30million at the end of Jan 2009.

The wire line segment subscriber base stood at 39.73 million with a decreaseof 0.16 million at the end of August 2008. Circle wise wire line subscriberbase of service providers is given at following chart..

Market Share of the Telecom Company in India


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INTRODUCTION


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OF

CELLULARCOMPANIES

Company Profile

INTRODUCTION

Bharti Airtel formerly known as Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited (BTVL) isamong India's largest mobile phone and Fixed Network operators. With morethan 60 million subscriptions as of 13th February 2008.[2] It offers its mobileservices under the Airtel brand and is headed by Sunil Mittal. The companyalso provides telephone services and Internet access over DSL in 14 circles.The company complements its mobile, broadband & telephone services with


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national and international long distance services. The company also has asubmarine cable landing station at Chennai, which connects the submarinecable connecting Chennai and Singapore. The company provides reliableend-to-end data and enterprise services to the corporate customers byleveraging its nationwide fiber optic backbone, last mile connectivity in fixed-

line and mobile circles, VSATs, ISP and international bandwidth accessthrough the gateways and landing station.

Airtel is the largest cellular service provider in India in terms of number ofsubscribers. Bharti Airtel owns the Airtel brand and provides the followingservices under the brand name Airtel: Mobile Services (using GSMTechnology), Broadband & Telephone Services (Fixed line, InternetConnectivity(DSL) and Leased Line), Long Distance Services and EnterpriseServices (Telecommunications Consulting for corporates).

Leading international telecommunication companies such as Vodafone and

SingTel held partial stakes in Bharti Airtel.

In April 2006 Bharti Global Limited was awarded a telecommunicationslicense in Jersey in the Channel Islands by the local telecommunicationsregulator the JCRA. In September 2006 the Office of Utility Regulation inGuernsey awarded Guernsey Airtel with a mobile telecommunicationslicense. In May 2007 Jersey Airtel and Guernsey Airtel announced the launchof a relationship with Vodafone for island mobile subscribers. In July 2007,Bharti Airtel signed an MoU with Nokia-Siemens for a 900 million dollarexpansion of its mobile and fixed network.[3] In August 2007, the companyannounced it will be launching a customized version of Google search engine

that will provide an 'array of services' to its broadband customers.

INTRODUCTION

As India's leading GSM Mobile Services operator, IDEA Cellular has licenses to

operate in 11 circles. With a customer base of over 17 million, IDEA Cellularhas operations in Delhi,Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, MadhyaPradesh, Chattisgarh, Uttaranchal, Haryana, UP-West, Himachal Pradesh andKerala. IDEA Cellular's footprint currently covers approximately 45% ofIndia's population and over 50% of the potential telecom-market.

As a leader in Value Added Services, Innovation is central to IDEA's VASFactory. It is the first cellular company to launch music messaging with


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'Cellular Jockey', 'Background Tones', 'Group Talk', a voice portal with 'SayIDEA' and a complete suite of Mobile Email Services.

Idea Cellular is a wireless telephony company operating in various states inIndia. It initially started in 1995 as a join venture between the Tatas, Aditya

Birla Group and AT&T by merging Tata Cellular and Birla AT&TCommunications.Initially having a very limited footprint in the GSM arena, the acquisition ofEscotel in 2004 gave Idea a truly pan-India presence covering Maharashtra(excluding Mumbai), Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,Chattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh (East and West), Haryana, Kerala, Rajasthan andDelhi (inclusive of NCR). The company has its retail outlets under the "Idea n' U" banner. Thecompany has also been the first to offer flexible tarrif plans for prepaidcustomers. It also offers GPRS services in urban areas.

Holding

Initially the Birlas, the Tatas and AT&T Wireless each held one-third equity inthe company. But following AT&T Wireless' merger with Cingular Wireless in2004, Cingular decided to sell its 32.9% stake in Idea. This stake was boughtby both the Tatas and Birlas at 16.45% each.

Tata's foray into the cellular market with its own subsidiary, Tata Indicom, aCDMA-based mobile provider, cropped differences between the Tatas and theBirlas. This dual holding by the Tatas also became a major reason for thedelay in Idea being granted a license to operate in Mumbai. This was

because as per Department of Telecom (DOT) license norms, one promotercould not have more than 10% stake in two companies operating in the samecircle and Tata Indicom was already operating in Mumbai when Idea filed forits license.

The Birlas thus approached the DOT and sought its intervention, and theTatas replied by saying that they would exit Idea but only for a good price.On April 10, 2006, the Aditya Birla Group announced its acquisition of the48.18% stake held by the Tatas at Rs. 40.51 a share amounting to Rs. 44.06billion. While 15% of the 48.14% stake was acquired by Aditya Birla Nuvo, acompany in-charge of the Birlas' new business initiatives, the remaining

stake was acquired by Birla TMT holdings Private Ltd., an AV Birla familyowned company.Currently, Birla Group holds 98.3% of the total shares of thecompany.Idea has successfully launched 3 more new circles (states) in India viz.Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and UP (East) to make itself a pan-India player.Recently, Idea got licenses to operate in Mumbai & Bihar. They are awaitingthe spectrum from DoT.


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INTRODUCTION

A DREAM COME TRUE


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The Late Dhirubhai Ambani dreamt of a digital India an India where thecommon man would have access to affordable means of information andcommunication. Dhirubhai, who single-handedly built Indias largest privatesector company virtually from scratch, had stated as early as 1999: Makethe tools of information and communication available to people at an

affordable cost. They will overcome the handicaps of illiteracy and lack ofmobility.

It was with this belief in mind that Reliance Communications (formerlyReliance Infocomm) started laying 60,000 route kilometres of a pan-Indiafibre optic backbone. This backbone was commissioned on 28 December2002, the auspicious occasion of Dhirubhais 70th birthday, though sadlyafter his unexpected demise on 6 July 2002.

Reliance Communications has a reliable, high-capacity, integrated (bothwireless and wireline) and convergent (voice, data and video) digital

network. It is capable of delivering a range of services spanning the entireinfocomm (information and communication) value chain, includinginfrastructure and services for enterprises as well as individuals,applications, and consulting.

Today, Reliance Communications is revolutionising the way Indiacommunicates and networks, truly bringing about a new way of life.

Reliance Communications (formerly Reliance Infocom), along with RelianceTelecom and Flag Telecom, is part of Reliance Communications Ventures(RCoVL). According to National Stock Exchange data, Anil Ambani controls

66.75 per cent of the company, which accounts for more than 1.36 billionshares of the company.[1]Reliance Infocomm is an Indiantelecommunications company. It is the flagship company of the Reliance-AnilDhirubhai Ambani Group, comprising of power (Reliance Energy), financialservices (Reliance Capital) and telecom initiatives of the Reliance ADA Group.Reliance Infocom is currently managed by Anil Dhirubhai Ambani. It usesCDMA2000 1x technology

HISTORY

Reliance Infocomm was founded by Dhirubhai Ambani. Between 1999 to2002 Reliance Infocomm built 60,000 km of fibre optic backbone in India.This network was commissioned on December 28, 2002.

FOOTPRINT


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At present, Reliance Telecom's GSM cellular services are available in 340towns within its eight-circle footprint. Reliance's CDMA services are availablein 19 states and cover about 65% of the country, state wise. RelianceInfocomm also offered for the first time in India, mobile data services throughits R-World mobile portal. This portal leverages the data capability of the

CDMA 1X network.

BUSINESS REVIEW

During the twelve months ended March 31, 2008, revenues of the Wirelessbusiness increased by 46% to Rs. 10,728 crore (US$ 2,489 million) from Rs.7,364 crore (US$ 1,709 million).

Wireless EBITDA increased to Rs. 3,984 crore (US$ 924 million) from Rs.2,250 crore (US$ 522 million). Margins expanded to 37% from 31%.

EBITDA of the Global business increased by 98% during the twelve monthsended March 31, 2008 to Rs. 1,271 crore (US$ 295 million). EBITDA marginsincreased to 24% from 12% last year.

In the same period, the Broadband business achieved revenue growth of123% to Rs. 1,144 crore (US$ 265 million), and EBITDA increased by morethan 6 times, to Rs. 519 crore (US$ 120 million). The EBITDA margin crossed45% in the twelve months ended March 31, 2008, from 15% in thecorresponding period in the previous year.

TATA TELESERVICES


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INTRODUCTION

Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) is part of the Tata Group of Companies, anIndian Conglomerate. It runs the brand name Tata Indicom in India in varioustelecom circles of India. The company forms part of the Tata Group's

prescence in the Telecommunication Industry in India, along with TataTeleservices (Maharashtra) Limited (TTML) and VSNL.

TTSL was incorporated in 1995 and was the first company to offer CDMAMobile services in India, specifically in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

In December 2002, the company acquired the erstwhile Hughes Telecom(India) Ltd. which was renamed Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited.

In September 2007, Tata Indicom launched the Talk World plan, anInternational Long Distance Plan.

Tata is the direct competitor with Reliance, both CDMA operators in India.The company provides unified telecommunication solutions including mobile,fixed wireless, fixed line and broadband. Other competitors are Vodafone,Airtel, Aircel, Idea, MTNL, BSNL providing GSM based mobile telephony.

The company was first in India to provide free intra network calling withincity limits. They launched a unique scheme providing lifetime rental freeconnectivity on its mobile and fixed wireless for a one time charge.

Tata Teleservices is part of the INR Rs. 119000 Crore (US$ 29 billion) TataGroup, that has over 87 companies, over 250,000 employees and more than2.8 million shareholders. With a committed investment of INR 36,000 Crore(US$ 7.5 billion) in Telecom (FY 2006), the Group has a formidable presenceacross the telecom value chain.

Tata Teleservices spearheads the Groups presence in the telecom sector.Incorporated in 1996, Tata Teleservices was the first to launch CDMA mobileservices in India with the Andhra Pradesh circle.

Starting with the major acquisition of Hughes Tele.com (India) Limited [nowrenamed Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited] in December 2002 thecompany swung into an expansion mode. With the total Investment of Rs19,924 Crore, Tata Teleservices has created a Pan India presence spreadacross 20 circles that includes Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Gujarat, Karnataka,Delhi, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Bihar, Rajasthan, Punjab,Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh (E), Uttar Pradesh (W), Kerala,Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.


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Having pioneered the CDMA 3G1x technology platform in India, TataTeleservices has established a robust and reliable 3G ready telecominfrastructure that ensures quality in its services. It has partnered withMotorola, Ericsson, Lucent and ECI Telecom for the deployment of a reliable,

technologically advanced network.

The company, which heralded convergence technologies in the Indiantelecom sector, is today the market leader in the fixed wireless telephonymarket with a total customer base of over 3.8 million.

Tata Teleservices bouquet of telephony services includes Mobile services,Wireless Desktop Phones, Public Booth Telephony and Wireline services.Other services include value added services like voice portal, roaming, post-paid Internet services, 3-way conferencing, group calling, Wi-Fi Internet, USBModem, data cards, calling card services and enterprise services.

Some of the other products launched by the company include prepaidwireless desktop phones, public phone booths, new mobile handsets and newvoice & data services such as BREW games, Voice Portal, picture messaging,polyphonic ring tones, interactive applications like news, cricket, astrology,etc.

Tata Indicom redefined the existing prepaid mobile market in India, byunveiling their offering Tata Indicom Non Stop Mobile which allowscustomers to receive free incoming calls. Tata Teleservices today has Indiaslargest branded telecom retail chain and is the first service provider in the

country to offer an online channel www.ichoose.in to offer postpaid mobileconnections in the country.

Tata Teleservices has a strong workforce of 6000. In addition, TTSL hascreated more than 20,000 jobs, which will include 10,000 indirect jobsthrough outsourcing of its manpower needs.

Today, Tata Teleservices Limited along with Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra)Limited serves over 21 million customers in over 4000 towns. With anambitious rollout planboth within existing circles and across new circles, Tata Teleservices offers

world-class technology and user-friendly services in 20 circles.


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INTRODUCTION

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (known as BSNL, India CommunicationsCorporation Limited) is a public sector communications company in India. Itis the India's largest telecommunication company with 25.14% market share

as on December 31, 2007. Its headquarters are at Bharat Sanchar Bhawan,Harish Chandra Mathur Lane, Janpath, New Delhi. It has the status of Mini-ratna - a status assigned to reputed Public Sector companies in India.

BSNL is India's oldest and largest Communication Service Provider (CSP).Currently BSNL has a customer base of 68.5 million (Basic & Mobiletelephony). It has footprints throughout India except for the metropolitancities of Mumbai and New Delhi which are managed by MTNL. As onDecember 31, 2007 BSNL commanded a customer base of 31.7 millionWireline, 4.1 million CDMA-WLL and 32.7 million GSM Mobile subscribers.BSNL's earnings for the Financial Year ending March 31, 2007 stood at INR

397.15b (US$ 9.67 b) with net profit of INR 78.06b (US$ 1.90 billion). Today,BSNL is India's largest Telco and one of the largest Public Sector Undertakingwith estimated market value of $ 100 Billion. The company is planning an IPOwith in 6 months to offload 10 % to public.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. formed in October, 2000, is World's 7th largestTelecommunications Company providing comprehensive range of telecomservices in India: Wireline, CDMA mobile, GSM Mobile, Internet, Broadband,Carrier service, MPLS-VPN, VSAT, VoIP services, IN Services etc. Within aspan of five years it has become one of the largest public sector unit in India.

BSNL has installed Quality Telecom Network in the country and now focusingon improving it, expanding the network, introducing new telecom serviceswith ICT applications in villages and wining customer's confidence. Today, ithas about 47.3 million line basic telephone capacity, 4 million WLLcapacity, 20.1 Million GSM Capacity, more than 37382 fixedexchanges, 18000 BTS, 287 Satellite Stations, 480196 Rkm of OFCCable, 63730 Rkm of Microwave Network connecting 602 Districts,7330 cities/towns and 5.5 Lakhs villages.

BSNL is the only service provider, making focused efforts and planned

initiatives to bridge the Rural-Urban Digital Divide ICT sector. In fact there isno telecom operator in the country to beat its reach with its wide networkgiving services in every nook & corner of country and operates across Indiaexcept Delhi & Mumbai. Whether it is inaccessible areas of Siachen glacierand North-eastern region of the country. BSNL serves its customers with itswide bouquet of telecom services.

BSNL is numero uno operator of India in all services in its license area. The


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company offers vide ranging & most transparent tariff schemes designed tosuite every customer.BSNL cellular service, CellOne, has more than 17.8 million cellular customers,garnering 24 percent of all mobile users as its subscribers. That means thatalmost every fourth mobile user in the country has a BSNL connection. In

basic services, BSNL is miles ahead of its rivals, with 35.1 million BasicPhone subscribers i.e. 85 per cent share of the subscriber base and 92percent share in revenue terms.

BSNL has more than 2.5 million WLL subscribers and 2.5 million InternetCustomers who access Internet through various modes viz. Dial-up, LeasedLine, DIAS, Account Less Internet(CLI). BSNL has been adjudged as theNUMBER ONE ISP in the country.

BSNL has set up a world class multi-gigabit, multi-protocol convergent IPinfrastructure that provides convergent services like voice, data and video

through the same Backbone and Broadband Access Network. At presentthere are 0.6 million DataOne broadband customers.The company has vast experience in Planning, Installation, networkintegration and Maintenance of Switching & Transmission Networks and alsohas a world class ISO 9000 certified Telecom Training Institute.

Scaling new heights of success, the present turnover of BSNL is morethan Rs.351,820 million (US $ 8 billion) with net profit to the tune ofRs.99,390 million (US $ 2.26 billion) for last financial year. Theinfrastructure asset on telephone alone is worth about Rs.630,000 million (US$ 14.37 billion).

BSNL plans to expand its customer base from present 47 millions lines to 125million lines by December 2007 and infrastructure investment plan to thetune of Rs. 733 crores (US$ 16.67 million) in the next three years.

The turnover, nationwide coverage, reach, comprehensive range of telecomservices and the desire to excel has made BSNL the No. 1 Telecom Companyof India.

History

The foundation of Telecom Network in India was laid by the Britishsometime in 19th century. The history of BSNL is linked with the beginning ofTelecom in India. In 19th century and for almost entire 20th century, theTelecom in India was operated as a Government of India wing. Earlier it waspart of erstwhile Post & Telegraph Department (P&T). In 1975 theDepartment of Telecom (DoT) was separated from P&T. DoT was responsiblefor running of Telecom services in entire country until 1985 when MahanagarTelephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) was carved out of DoT to run the telecom


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services of Delhi and Mumbai. It is a well known fact that BSNL was carvedout of Department of Telecom to provide level playing field to privatetelecoms.Subsequently in 1990s the telecom sector was opened up by theGovernment for Private investment, therefore it became necessary toseparate the Government's policy wing from Operations wing. The

Government of India corporatised the operations wing of DoT on October 01,2000 and named it as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).BSNL operatesas a public sector.

What is prepaid mobile service?

Prepaid cellular services are getting very popular these days. Many peoplenow prefer prepaid services since they offer a variety of advantages relatedto lifestyle and cost control that simply are not available through post-paidcontract based services.

Prepaid cell phones have a distinct advantage over regular subscriptions.They offer cost control with a fixed price per minute, control over costs withcell phones distributed by parents, no credit check and increased anonymity.

Get you own cell phone with no credit check!It's today's safe, convenient, and flexible way to manage your spending oncellular phones.Prepaid cell phones are convenient and easy to get because there are:

* no contracts* no credit checks* no deposits* no monthly bills* no activation or early termination fees

You will be safer and more secure when you own a prepaid cell phonewithout paying hefty monthly fees.

Great Cost Control with No surprises!

Increasing consumer demand for prepaid cellular phones

Prepaid cellular services are currently the fastest-growing segment of thewireless phone market, perhaps because wireless service can be started upwith no subscription fee for well under $100. More and more people are usingthis service to control spending than to get around credit problems.


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In Europe, already more thatn 60 % of subscribers are on a prepaid wirelessplan, while in the United States, only 8 to 10 percent of users have chosenthat system. But it's growing fast: in Canada, for example, some providerssee their prepaid subscribers base increase 50% faster than those of anordinary monthly billed service.

Prepaid cellular phones are ideal in the following situations:

* If you want to budget your cell phone use, or* If you want a phone for occasional use but don't want to pay a monthly

service fee or enter a long-term agreement, or

* If you have no credit history or past credit problems, or* If your usage varies from month to month, or* If you want to buy your children a phone for emergency use but restrict

the amount of calls they can make, or* If you are looking for a gift. or* If you don't feeling comfortable providing information for a carrier credit

check, or* If you want to learn about your usage patterns before committing to a

long-term monthly billing wireless contract.


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What is lifetime validity?

Lifetime prepaid means that your cell-phone connection remains valid forlife. You also get a minimal talktime, ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 100 .The goodpart is that all subsequent recharges give you full talk time. There will be noprocessing charges, something that is a big turn-off for prepaid customers.For instance, out of the Rs 335 an Airtel prepaid customer in Delhi pays torecharge his connection for 30 days, Rs 150 go into processing fees. AnotherRs. 31 goes to the government as tax and he gets airtime worth only Rs 154.If he takes the lifetime validity offer, the same Rs 335 recharge will give himtalk time worth Rs 302 and thats for life. By saving on the Rs 150processing fee, he will recover the one-time charge for lifetime validity in afew months.

Lifetime plans allow pre-paid subscribers to have lifetime validity for aone-time payment. The user can then continue to receive calls withouthaving to recharge.


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Life time plans of the cellular

companiesThe Life Time Plan of Airtel

Airtel Presents Rs. 295 Lifetime Prepaid with 1 Rupee OutgoingLocal Tariff

Slashes local outgoing call rate by 50% for Rs. 295/- Lifetime Prepaid users

Local outgoing tariff reduced to Re. 1/- for life to all networks (mobile &

landline) from Rs. 1.99/- for Rs. 295/- Lifetime Prepaid customers.

All existing customers of Rs. 295/- Lifetime Prepaid to be migrated to Re. 1/-call rates, without any extra charges.

Bharti Airtel, Indias leading telecom service provider, today announced theRs. 495/- Lifetime Prepaid offer for its customers in Delhi & NCR circle andslashed all local outgoing calls (mobile and landline) to Re. 1/- from theexisting Rs. 1.99/- per minute call rate.

Bharti Airtel, which was also the first service provider to introduce the

Lifetime Prepaid in India, announced this revolutionary tariff cut forcustomers that was earlier applicable to only the Rs. 999/- Lifetimecustomers. With effect from february 15, 2008, all Rs. 295/- Lifetime Prepaidcustomers will be able to make local outgoing calls (Mobile & Landline) at Re.1/- per minute and all existing customers will be migrated to the revised tariffplan without any extra charges. Customers will have to recharge with aminimum amount of Rs. 200/- at least once in every 180 days to enjoy thelifetime validity and tariff benefits.


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Airtel ka Super Lifetime Validity

Pulse Rate 60 sec

Price of Pack (Rs.) 295

Free Airtime on Pack (Rs.) 150

Incoming Calls (Rs.) -

Airtel GSM /

CDMA

(10 Digit)

Landline /

WLL

LOCAL RATES (Rs./min) 1 (night tarifffrom 11pm to

7 am @ 10

paise)

1 1

STD RATES (Rs./min) 2.65 2.65 2.65

ISD (Rs./min)

USA, Canada, Europe (FixedLine), Australia, Singapore,

Hong Kong, Thailand,

Malaysia, Indonesia, NewZealand.

6.40

Gulf, Europe (Mobile),

SAARC countries, Africa &

Rest of the world

9.20

Cuba, Sao Tome & Principe,Guinea Bissau, Diego Garcia,

Nauru, Solomon Islands,

Vanuatu, Cook Islands,

Tuvalu, Tokelau, NorfolkIsland, Sakhalin

40


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SMS (Rs.)

Local 1

National 2

International 5

Other Details

PF on subsequent talktime recharges to be as per bands specified i.e. Rs 1-100: 25%, Rs

101-199: 15%, Rs 200 & above: NIL. This is waived for the first 90 days from 25th Feb

08. Min recharge condition of Rs 200/- in 180 running day

Idea - Lifelong Validity Recharge Voucher

IDEA ka Lifelong Validity offer

Pulse Rate 60 sec

Price of Pack (Rs.) 195 (sim charges exclude)


Incoming Calls (Rs.) - free for lifelong

idea GSM /

CDMA

(10 Digit)

Landline /

WLL

LOCAL RATES (Rs./min) 1 1 1

STD RATES (Rs./min) 2.75 2.75 2.75ISD (Rs./min)

USA, Canada, Europe (Fixed

Line), Australia, Singapore,


Malaysia, Indonesia, NewZealand.

Rs.6.99



Rest of the world

Rs.9.99



Vanuatu, Cook Islands,Tuvalu, Tokelau, Norfolk

Island, Sakhalin

Rs.39.99


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SMS (Rs.)

Local 1

National 2

International 5

Promotional Offer

For NewActivations*

All new customers taking 195 rs recharge on the date of activation, will

get Full TT in all recharges of Rs. 125/-(Till 30th April,2008.) Total TT-111.25. Online TT-86.25, Offline TT-25 Rs. (within 48 hrs.)

Reliance Sath Zindagi Bhar Ka(lifetime)offer

RComs new gambit is Rs 199 lifetime prepaid

Reliance Communications, the code-division multiple access major, whichwas the first to launch the lifetime plan almost two years ago at a one-timecost of Rs 999, plans to announce a similar scheme at one-fourth the price- Rs 199.

For making outgoing calls, the standard local tariff will be 99 paise perminute. Various other calling tariff options will also be available to the users,depending on the trend of ones usage.

RComs move looks like a replay of 2006, when mobile telephony playerswere intensely competing with each other over lifetime pre-paid schemes.

Spectrum war, however, kept the operators busy all through 2007, and onedidnt hear about lifetime plans at all.


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Rcoms SATH ZINDAGI BHAR KA plan

Pulse Rate 60 sec

Price of Pack (Rs.) 195 (sim charges exclude)



Rel. GSM /

CDMA(10 Digit)

Landline /

WLL

LOCAL RATES (Rs./min) 0.99 0.99 0.99

STD RATES (Rs./min) 2.75 2.75 2.75

ISD (Rs./min)

USA, Canada, Europe (Fixed

Line), Australia, Singapore,Hong Kong, Thailand,

Malaysia, Indonesia, New

Zealand.

Rs.6

}17


SAARC countries, Africa &Rest of the world


Nauru, Solomon Islands,Vanuatu, Cook Islands,

Tuvalu, Tokelau, Norfolk

Island, Sakhalin

SMS (Rs.)


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Local 1

National 2

International 5

BSNLs Excel ANANT plan

BSNLs Excel Anant plan

Pulse Rate 60 sec

Price of Pack (Rs.) 495 (sim charges include)



BSNL GSM /

CDMA

(10 Digit)

Landline /

WLL


STD RATES (Rs./min) 2.75 2.75 2.75

ISD (Rs./min)



Malaysia, Indonesia, New

Zealand.

Rs.7.20

Gulf, Europe (Mobile),SAARC countries, Africa &

Rest of the world

Rs.9.60

Cuba, Sao Tome & Principe,

Guinea Bissau, Diego Garcia,Nauru, Solomon Islands,



Rs.12.00


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SMS (Rs.)

Local 1

National 2

International 5 In case of Anant, the Life Time Validity means theLicense Period of theOperator. The License Period for Cellular Services of BSNL is 20 years w. e. f.29.02.2000. However, the License is understood to be renewable further on itsexpiry.

TATA Indicoms GO LIFE plan

TATA indicoms GO LIFE plan

Pulse Rate 60 secPrice of Pack (Rs.) 489


Incoming Calls (Rs.) - free for lifetime

indicom GSM /

CDMA

(10 Digit)

Landline /

WLL


STD RATES (Rs./min) 2.75 2.75 3.00

ISD (Rs./min)



Malaysia, Indonesia, NewZealand. }Rs. 17.20



Rest of the world






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SMS (Rs.)

Local 1

National 2

International 5Lifetime validity is subject to the license period till of Tata Teleservices ltd. d.Connections with no usage (incoming, outgoing or recharge) for a continuousperiod of 180 days will be churned/deactivated.

Comparison of lifetime plans of all cellularcompanies

Cellular co.s LifetimeplanRs.

Charges ( call rates )(Rs.)

Ownnetwork

Othernetwork

STD International SMSL/N/I

Airtel 295 1 1 2.65 6.4/9.2/40 1/2/5

BSNL 495 1 1.40 2.75 7.2/9.6/12 1/2/5

Rcom 199 0.99 0.99 2.99 6/17 1/2/5

TataIndicom

489 1.50 2 2.75 17.20 1/2/5


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service (download of film clip, ring tone and the like) or entry to aninteractive service (such as a game) must be provided before the customercommits to use the service.

CHAPTER-3


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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Definition of Research

The word research is derived from the Latin word meaning to know. It is a

systematic and a replicable process, which identifies and defines problems,

within specified boundaries. It employs well-designed method to collect the

data and analyses the results. It disseminates the findings to contribute to

generalize able knowledge. The characteristics of research presented below

will be examined in greater details later are:

Systematic problem solving which identifies variables and tests

relationships between them,

Collecting, organizing and evaluating data.

Logical, so procedures can be duplicated or understood by others

Empirical, so decisions are based on data collected

Reductive, so it investigates a small sample which can be

generalized to a larger population

Replicable, so others may test the findings by repeating it.

Discovering new facts or verify and test old facts.


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Developing new scientific tools, concepts and theories, this would

facilitate to take decision.

For the proper analysis of data simple statistical techniques such as

percentage were use. It helps in making more generalization from the dataavailable. The data which was collected from a sample of population, wasassumed to be representing entire population was interest. Demographicfactors like age, income and educational background was used for theclassification purpose.

Sample size

For carrying out any research or study on any subject it is very difficult tocover even 10% of the total population. Therefore the sample size has to bedecided for a meaningful conclusion. For designing the sample size, it wasthought proper to cover a very small percentage of population in various agegroups.

The method used for sample technique was nonprobabilityconveniencesamplingmethod. This method is used because it is known previously as towhether a particular person will be asked to fill the questionnaire.Convenientsampling is used because only those people will be asked to fillthe questionnaires who were easily accessible and available to theresearcher.

Considering the constraints, it was decided to conduct the study based on

sample size of 100 people in specific age groups. Scientific method is notadopted in this study because of financial constraints and also because oflack of time; also the basic aim of doing the research is academic, hencemost convenient way is selected.


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TYPES & TECHNIQUES

The study conducted is a conclusive descriptive statistical study; theresearcher comes to the decision which is precise and rational. The study isconclusive because after doing the study the researcher comes to aconclusion regarding the position of the brand in the minds of respondents ofdifferent firms groups. The study is statistical because throughout the study

all the similar samples are selected and group together. All the similarresponses are taken together as one and their percentages are calculated.

Thus, this, conclusive descriptive statistical study is the best study for thispurpose as it provides the necessary information which is utilize to arrive at aconcrete decision.


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TOOLS USED

To know the response we have used the questionnairemethod in samplesurvey. If one wishes to find what people think or know, the logical procedureis to ask them. This has lead marketing researchers to use the questionnairetechnique for collecting data more than any other method.

In this method questionnaire were distributed to the respondents and theywere asked to answer the questions in the questionnaire. The questionnaireswere structured non-disguised questionnaire because the questions,which the questionnaire contained, were arranged in a specific order besidesevery question asked were logical for the study, no question can be termedas irrelevant.

The questionnaire, were non-disguised because the questionnaire wereconstructed so that the objective is clear to the respondent. The respondentswere aware of the objective. They knew why they asked to fill thequestionnaire.


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LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The research will be conducted in a limited area.

The internet information can be irrelevant.

Time will be a major constraint.

The respondent will be limited so cannot be treated as a whole population.

The respondent may be biased.

Due to language problem it is possible that the respondents are not beable to understand the questionnaire and can cause misleading results.


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DATA ANALYSIS&INTERPRETATION

DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

Q1. Which telecom service do you use?

Options Percentage of respondents

Mobile 55

Landline 5

Both 40


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Q2. Which cellular service do you use?

Tata indicom 5


Airtel 34

idea 28

Reliance 17

BSNL 16


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Q3. Which service you r using?


Prepaid 95Postpaid 5

Q4. Are you using lifetime or general plan?

Option Percentage of respondents

Lifetime 73

General 27


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Q5. Are you satisfied with the call rates of the Lifetime plan?


Yes 64

No 36

Yes

64%

No

36%

0%0%

Q6. Which facility attracts you most in the lifetime plan?


Call rates 15

Massage Tariff 1

Night Tariff 1


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Validity

83

Q7 Are you satisfied with the lifetime plan which you are using?


Yes 78

No 22

YES

78%

No

22% 0%0%

Q8. Rate of the satisfaction level with the services of your present lifetimeplan?


Fully satisfied 14

Satisfied 47

Average 27

Dissatisfied 8


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Highly dissatisfied 2

Q9. Why you chose lifetime plan?


For incoming purpose only 23

For money saving 48

For the facilities provided in the plan 29

For incomingpurpose only

23%

For money saving

48%

For the facilitiesprovided in the plan

29%

0%

Q10. Do you know about the license of the cellular companies?


Yes 24

No 76


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CHAPTER-5

OBSERVATION & FINDINGS

55% of the people use only mobile, and 40% of respondents use boththe services & only 5% people use the telephone service. It shows thepopularity of cellular phone services.

34% of respondents are using the Airtel services, which is the highestpercentage of users of cellular phone. Idea takes 2nd place in Gurgaon


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with 28% of users. Then comes reliance and BSNL, and tata indicomhaving least customers in the Gurgaon.

Prepaid service is most popular in the cellular services with 95% ofcustomers. The remained uses postpaid services.

In current situation 73% of respondents are using lifetime plans, wherethe rest are using general plan of the cellular companies.

64% of respondents are satisfied with the call rates of the lifetimeplans, it is because telecom companies have slashed their call ratesfew months ago. Still in this situation 36% of respondents did notsatisfy with the call rates which service they are using.

In the lifetime plan of cellular companies most of the respondents areusing this service because of its validity period with 83% of answer.

Where 15% of people like this services because of its call rates.

78% of customer satisfied with the lifetime plans of cellular companies,and which are not satisfy with the service they are mostly BSNL andTATA indicom users.

Most of the people are using lifetime services because of moneysavings with the percentage of 48. Where 29% of people like thisservice because of the facilities provided by the operators. And 23% ofpeople are using this service because of incoming only.

When it was asked to the respondents that did they know about thelicense of the cellular company, then most of the people replied NO. itmeans people are not aware about the license related bound of thecellular companies which is implemented by TRAI, that cellularcompanies can deliver their services until their license have validity,they have to renew it for providing further service.

CONCLUSIONS


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In Gurgaon it is found that Airtel is the market leader in the lifetime plansegment. People like the lifetime plans provided by the companies. And Ideahaving 2nd highest customers in Gurgaon.

TATA indicom having least customers in Gurgaon, where Reliance and BSNL

having almost equal percent of customer

But they are not aware about the bound of cellular companies with TRAI, thatcellular companies can deliver their services till their license have validity,they have to renew it for providing further service.


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SUGGESTIONS

In the lifetime plans, cellular companies should reduce the call rates.

They should provide other facilities like massage and minimum callrates in the same network.

They should make aware the customers that they have limited licenseperiod.

They should not take other hidden charges.

There should not be any compulsion that customer have to rechargetheir card in 180 days with certain amount. This is the main drawbackof the lifetime validity plan.


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BIBLOGRAPHY

Books:

Philip Kotler, marketing management prentice Hall of India Pvt. Ltd. NewDehli.

C. R. Kothari Research methodology, vishwa publication, New Delhi.

Saxena Rajan marketing management Tata Mcgraw-hill publicating Co.Ltd. New Delhi.

H. V. Verma marketing of services Global business press, New Delhi.

Business today magazine of February issue,2008.

Web Resources:

www.trai.gov.in

http://www.tataindicom.com/t-aboutus-ttsl-organization.aspxhttp://www.rcom.co.in/webapp/Communications/rcom/Aboutus/aboutus_home.jsp

http://www.ideacellular.com/IDEA.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=IDEA_Page_AboutIdea

http://www.bsnl.co.in/about.htmhttp://www.bsnl.co.in/service/tariff_excel_pre.htm

http://210.212.144.243/utility/tariff.htm

http://www.trai.gov.in/trai/upload/PressReleases/15/pr16jan06.pdfwww.airtel.in

www.totalnetwork.co.in .

http://www.rcom.co.in/webapp/Communications/rcom/index.jsp
http://www.tataindicom.com/t-aboutus-ttsl-organization.aspxhttp://www.rcom.co.in/webapp/Communications/rcom/Aboutus/aboutus_home.jsphttp://www.ideacellular.com/IDEA.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=IDEA_Page_AboutIdeahttp://www.bsnl.co.in/about.htmhttp://www.bsnl.co.in/service/tariff_excel_pre.htmhttp://210.212.144.243/utility/tariff.htmhttp://210.212.144.243/utility/tariff.htmhttp://www.trai.gov.in/trai/upload/PressReleases/15/pr16jan06.pdfhttp://www.airtel.in/http://www.airtel.in/http://www.airtel.in/http://www.airtel.in/http://www.rcom.co.in/webapp/Communications/rcom/index.jsphttp://www.tataindicom.com/t-aboutus-ttsl-organization.aspxhttp://www.rcom.co.in/webapp/Communications/rcom/Aboutus/aboutus_home.jsphttp://www.ideacellular.com/IDEA.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=IDEA_Page_AboutIdeahttp://www.bsnl.co.in/about.htmhttp://www.bsnl.co.in/service/tariff_excel_pre.htmhttp://210.212.144.243/utility/tariff.htmhttp://www.trai.gov.in/trai/upload/PressReleases/15/pr16jan06.pdfhttp://www.airtel.in/http://www.rcom.co.in/webapp/Communications/rcom/index.jsp


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ANNEXURE

Questionnaire

Name -


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Age - 1)18-40 2)41-70 3)70 above

Sex - 1) Male 2) Female

Education- 1) Under graduate 2) Graduate 3) Post graduate4) Other

Occupation- 1) Job 2) Business 3) Self employ

Income- 1) 10K 2) Above10k 3) 20k

4) Above 20k

Address- 1) Rural 2) Urban

Q1. Which telecom service do you use?

a) Mobile b) Landline c) Both

Q2. Which cellular service do you use?a) Airtel b) idea c) Reliance d) BSNL e) Tata indicom

Q3. Which service you r using?a) b) Postpaid

Q4. Are you using lifetime or general plan?a) Lifetime b) General

Q5. Are you satisfied with the call rates of the Lifetime plan?a) Yes b) No

Q6. Which facility attracts you most in the lifetime plan?a) Call rates b) Massage Tariff c) Night Tariffd) Validity

Q7 Are you satisfied with the lifetime plan which you are using?

a) Yes b) No

Q8. Rate of the satisfaction level with the services of your lifetime plan?a) Fully satisfied b) Satisfied c) Average d) Dissatisfied e) Highly dissatisfied

Q9. Why you chose lifetime plan?a) For incoming purpose only b) For money saving


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c) For the facilities provided in the plan

Q10. Do you know about the license of the cellular companies?a) Yes b) No

comparative study of life time plans of different mobile operators in gurgaon

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