for print 2

A Seminar PaperOn

Factors Affecting Customer Satisfaction & Loyalty of Mobile Phone Operators in Bangladesh: A Study in Sylhet

Department Of Business AdministrationShahjalal University of Science & Technology, Sylhet-3114

Course Title: Seminar and Viva Voce

Course Code: BAN-100

Submitted To,

Chairman

1st year 2nd Semester examination committee

Session: 2012-2013

Department of Business Administration

Shahjalal University of Science & Technology, Sylhet

Supervised By,Nayeema Ahmed Assistant professor Department of Business Administration

Shahjalal University of Science & Technology, Sylhet.

Submitted By,

Name Registration No.Md. Jayed Husain 2012731011Abida Sultana 2012731012Soikot Sharma 2012731028Nabila Ahmed 2012731042Neehal Hasnain 2012731060

Date of Submission: 27/08/2014

LETTER OF SUBMITTAL

Date: 27/08/2014

To

Nayeema Ahmed,

Assistant Professor,

Department of Business Administration,

Shahjalal University of Science & Technology, Sylhet.

Subject: Letter of submittal.

Dear Madam,

We are given the topic, “Factors affecting customer satisfaction and loyalty of mobile phone operators in Bangladesh: a study in Sylhet” for writing a seminar paper for presentation, collection of primary data and secondary data. To do so, we sought the relevant information from books, newspapers and websites. We also went to people who are closely related with this entire process.

We tried to collect all possible information and make this paper acceptable to all but there can be still existing mistakes. So we like to request you to consider if any fault is found in this paper. Lastly, we would like to request you to accept our paper and permit us to present it before the panel of experts.

We are really grateful to you for your kind assistance and advice in this connection.

Yours obediently,

NAME REGISTRATION NUMBER SIGNATURES

Md. Jayed Husain 2012731011

Abida Sultana 2012731012

Soikot Sharma 2012731028

Nabila Ahmed 2012731042

Neehal Hasnain 2012731060

LETTER OF AUTHORIZATION

I am immensely pleased to declare that the students have been given as a seminar paper required

for the course BAN-100 entitled ‘seminar and viva voce’ with the topic “Factors affecting

customer satisfaction and loyalty of mobile phone operators in Bangladesh: a study in

Sylhet” for researching and preparing a seminar paper on this subject. They have researched this

matter, reviewed literature about this matter for collecting necessary data. I am glad to affirm

that the entire seminar paper has been conducted under my direct supervision.

After scrutinizing the final draft of the paper, now I am convinced to permit them to defend their

seminar paper before the respected panel of judges.

Finally, I certify that this paper is an original one and has not been submitted elsewhere

previously for publication in any form.

I wish all the best in their endeavor.

…………………………………….

Nayeema Ahmed

Assistant Professor


Shahjalal University of Science & Technology

Sylhet-3114

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all we would grateful to our Almighty for successfully completing our seminar paper on

“Factors affecting customer satisfaction and loyalty of mobile phone operators in

Bangladesh: a study in Sylhet”. A number of individuals have contributed to this project. To

name only a few of them would be a farce, instead, we express our sincere attitude to all of them.

We are grateful to all of the teachers of our department, as they have been invaluable in their

direct and indirect interaction with us.

We are thankful to Professor Dr. Md. Nazrul Islam, Head of Department of Business

Administration and Dean, School of Management and Business Administration, Shahjalal

University of Science & Technology, for his support regarding this seminar paper.

We would like to give special thanks to our research supervisor Nayeema Ahmed, Assistant

Professor, Department of Business Administration, Shahjalal University of Science &

Technology, Sylhet, for her valuable suggestion and close supervision to conduct and complete

our research work. She gave us the guidelines how to frame the total report. The suggestion of

our supervisor is the key contribution to prepare this paper.

We are very grateful to the persons who cooperated with us giving their precious time and helped

us gathering information concerning our research. Without their friendly co-operation it would

be very difficult to find out real data for this report. If we would fail to get this data, the paper

could be a lifeless and object. They depict in our mind the features of different mobile operators

of our country and along with the impact on them in the minds of customers.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The report contains various aspects of mobile phone operators and customers’ satisfaction about

the operators in Bangladesh such as descriptive discussion on the mobile phone operators of our

country, tables and graphs indicating customers’ attitude to their service etc. As the paper is done

on the direct observation of the customers’ choice and attitude about mobile phone operators in

Bangladesh specially in Sylhet region, so we had cast the topic named “Factors affecting

customer satisfaction and loyalty of mobile phone operators in Bangladesh: a study in

Sylhet”.

The main purpose of this paper is to evaluate the factors that determine customer satisfaction

about the service of the operators in Bangladesh. In this era of communication, being in touch

with people has become a matter of immense importance for any of us. Mobile phone is serving

largely in this regard. There are six leading mobile operators in our country and people are

choosing operators based on their purpose and also the specific features of these operators. A

customer will go for which operator depends on the service the operator is providing to him.

Before developing the research paper, studies have been made and primary and secondary data

and also other necessary information have been collected related to the topic. In this research

paper, factors have been identified based on which a customer may make choice among the

operators and find an operator satisfactory or suitable to him or her.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE: PRELIMINARY STUDIES

1.1 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………….2

1.2 Background of the study…………………………………………………………………..2

1.3 Objectives of the study………………………………………………………………….....3

1.4 Methodology of the study…………………………………………………………………3

1.4.1 Research design…………………………………………………………………......3

1.4.2 Types of data…………………………………………………………………… …..3

1.4.3 Sources of data…………………………………………………………….………..4

1.4.4 Sampling techniques………………………………………………………………..4

1.4.5 Questionnaire design………………………………………………………………..5

1.5 Limitations of the study…………………………………………………..………………5

CHAPTER TWO: THEORITICAL ASPECTS OF THE STUDY

2.3 Literature review ……………………………………………………………..7

2.2 Definition of mobile operator …………………………………………………….…...10

2.3 Definition of some related concepts…………………………………………………...11

CHAPTER THREE: MOBILE OPERATORS IN BANGLADESH

3.1 Grameen Phone………………………………………………………………………...14

3.2 Banglalink Limited…………………………………………………………………….18

3.3 Airtel Bangladesh……………………………………………………………………....22

3.4 Teletalk Bangladesh Limited…………………………………………………………..25

3.5 Citycell Bangladesh…………………………………………………………………....27

3.6 Robi Axiata Limited…………………………………………………………………...31

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

4.1 Data Analysis………………………………………………………………………….34

4.2 Findings………………………………………………………………………………..47

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUDING REMARKS

5.1 Recommendation……………………………………………………………………. 50

5.2 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………... 50

References……………………………………………………………………………….. 51

APPENDIX

Questionnaire for customers……………………………………………………………..52

LIST OF FIGURES & GRAPHS

5.1.1: Percentages of customers using different operators………………………………………34

5.1.2 & 5.1.3: Percentages of users of operators of different age groups……………………….34

5.1.4: Percentage of users of different operators according to their age……………………..35

5.1.5: Percentage of customers of different operators according to their profession………..36

5.1.6: Percentages of different factors for which customers mainly choose an operator……37

5.1.7: Percentages of customers of different operators on the basis of their opinion on network

satisfaction……………………………………………………………………………………..38

5.1.8: Percentages of customers of different operators on the basis of their opinion on call rate 39

5.1.9: Percentages of different operators’ attractiveness of packages to users……………… 40

5.1.10: Percentages of opinion about good FNF facility provided by operators……………. 41

5.1.11: Percentages of users’ opinion on the basis of internet tariff………………………… 42

5.1.12: Percentage on the opinion of customers about the fast internet speed of their respective

operators………………………………………………………………………………………..43

5.1.13: Percentages of opinion on customers about satisfactory customer care service….. 44

5.1.14: Percentages of customers on the basis whether they find their operator available to others

with whom they interact……………………………………………………………………… 45

5.1.15: Percentages of customers on the basis of their willingness of using the same operator in

future………………………………………………………………………………………….. 46

CHAPTER ONE: PRELIMINARY STUDIES

1.1) Introduction

1.2) Background of the Study

1.3) Objectives of the study

1.4) Methodology of the Study

1.5) Limitations of the Study

1.1. Introduction:

A mobile network operator (MNO) is a telecommunications service provider organization that

provides wireless voice and data communication for its subscribed mobile users. Mobile network

operators are also known as carrier service providers, mobile phone operator and mobile network

carriers.

In Bangladesh six mobile network operators Grameen Phone, Airtel, Banglalink, Citycell, Robi,

and Teletalk are providing this service. These operators are independent communication service

providers that own the complete telecom infrastructure for hosting and managing mobile

communications between the subscribed mobile users with users in the same and external

wireless and wired telecom networks.

1.2. Background of the Study:

In the present world, importance of communication is rising high. Mobile communication has

taken a huge part in everyone’s life. And the mobile operators are playing a vital role in mobile

communication system. Different operators are launching innovative features to attract

customers and gain customer satisfaction. They are not only growing profit and raising business

but also facilitating faster communication system with their services.

The main reasons for taking initiative to do the study are:

Mobile operators are playing a vital role in mobile communication system.

They are independent communication service providers who are playing a dominant part

in the telecom business.

Different operators are delivering innovative features and services to attract and to gain

larger number of subscribers.

1.3. Objectives of the study:

The study work of the seminar paper has been undertaken with the following objective views:

To analyze the nature and scope of different mobile operators of our country that are

vitally important for conducting telecom business activities and the survival and growth

of mobile communication facilities.

To build up an idea of current situations of these operators in our country as mass people

are becoming more aware of this.

To present a contrast between the services of different mobile network operators.

To find out the criteria or factors based on which people are choosing operators and

finding the operator satisfactory.

1.4. Methodology of the Study:

1.4.1 Research design:

To do a seminar project in this specific sector is not only interesting but also complex and

challenging. The seminar is based on some documents and also some practical observations.

Both primary and secondary data are used in this report. We have studied different mobile

operators to generate an idea about their present characteristics and condition. We have

conducted survey on the opinion of people about their service. In order to make the report more

meaningful and presentable, two sources of data and information have been used widely.

1.4.2 Types of data:

The data of this study is consisted of both primary and secondary sources. Majority of the

information was collected from secondary sources.

Primary data

We collected primary data through questionnaire. The primary source also includes

interviews with subscribers of different operators.

Secondary data

The secondary sources of data are the general reports and articles on mobile operators and

information available on the net.

The seminar paper is both qualitative and quantitative. It is qualitative because there is

theoretical analysis. It is quantitative because various quantitative data are presented through

table, graph etc.

1.4.3 ‘Population’ of the research:

The total number of people from whom information is taken is the ‘population’ of the study.

1.4.4 Sampling techniques:

In selecting central area for the implementation of the study, we selected convenience sample as

our sample area because of convenient elements. ‘Population’ is selected on the basis of

proximity and convenience for understanding current services of mobile operators towards

subscribers. This sampling process is also least time consuming, accessible, easy to measure and

cooperative.

Sample size:

We collected data from 100 users of different mobile operators.

1.4.5 Questionnaire design

In our questionnaire we mainly used ‘Likert Scale’ method to collect information.

The types of information we wanted to obtain through our questionnaire are classified as:

1. Identification information

2. Classification information

3. Basic information

1.5. Limitations of the Study:

Limitations of the seminar work are various in shapes and dimensions. The constraints that limit

fulfillment and total accomplishing of the research objectives are:

1. We had no experience working on such type of topic before.

2. Respondents were sometimes reluctant to fill the questionnaire, which has impeded the

preparation of the report.

3. Validity of the report is subject to the reply of the respondent.

4. Because of the resource/budget constraint survey as per the sample size was not possible

which has restricted the accuracy of the result.

5. Lack of enough knowledge.

6. Lack of enough research papers on this topic.

CHAPTER TWO: THEORITICAL ASPECTS OF THE STUDY

2.1 Review of Literature:

For any mobile operator, achieving customer satisfaction is an important issue. To get a clear

idea about the factors which act as a determinant of customer satisfaction towards the services of

different operators, the definite area is the deep analysis of the obtained information from books,

newspapers, journals, articles, individuals’ research and internet. Basically any type of study,

thesis or research is made on the basis of acquired information from two main sources. They are-

primary and secondary sources. In case of our research about “Factors determining customer

satisfaction and loyalty of mobile operators in Bangladesh: a study in Sylhet”, we studied

relative journals and newspaper reports and so on. On the other hands, information and data are

collected from people using different operators. Websites, research paper related this topic,

various journals, newspapers, prospects are used as secondary sources. In order to make the

study effective and meaningful, sufficient numbers of graphs are added thereon.

Any company in telecommunication business focuses mainly on their profit margin and long

term customer relationship. To establish a long term relationship with customers, it is always

important to provide a positive customer experience to the customers and finally to create a

brand loyalty to their mindset. To begin with customer satisfaction is such a term that customers

avail from a product or service and if it is positive than then it adds value to a company or a

brand. Customer satisfaction is how customers engage with company and brand throughout the

entire arc of being a customer. Loyalty is now determined mostly by a company’s relations with

its customers’ needs and wants. Changing SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) card or

switching operator may not be so difficult or costly for customers but it can be boundless loss for

an operator. Pricing for availing telecommunication service is a crucial factor for both the

customers and the company. A company can give positive customer experience towards their

customers’ by providing a considerable pricing, distinctive network, flexible variation in service,

appropriate customer service and last but not the least value added service.

On that collected papers, we find out various information about different mobile operators of our

country, some related information, the factors on which customers emphasize when choosing

their operators etc. Based on our research and reviews, we find some determinants of customer

satisfaction such as the network and call rate as the core factors and some other important factors

like internet facilities, FNF facilities, avaibility, packages and many others.

2.2 Definition of mobile operator:

A mobile network operator or MNO, also known as a wireless service provider, wireless

carrier, cellular company or mobile network carrier, is a provider of wireless

communications services that owns or controls all the elements necessary to sell and deliver

services to an end user including radio spectrum allocation, wireless network infrastructure,

billing, customer care, provisioning computer systems and marketing and repair organizations.

Mobile network operators create a network of high-end telecommunication devices, specialized

software and client-end subscriber identity modules to provide end-to-end communication

between wired and wireless telecom end-user devices.

Mobile network operators install a number of base stations, while mobile subscribers use a

circuit-like chip in their cell phones to access network services when they are in the range or

coverage cell of a base station. Besides providing voice dialing and receiving capabilities, MNOs

also provide data communications through text messages and Internet connectivity and are now

providing video communications as well.

In addition to obtaining revenue by offering retail services under its own brand, a mobile

operator may also sell access to network services at wholesale rates to mobile virtual network

operators. A key defining characteristic of a mobile network operator is that an MNO must own

or control access to a radio spectrum license from a regulatory or government entity. A second

key defining characteristic of an MNO is that an MNO must own or control the elements of the

network infrastructure necessary to provide services to subscribers over the licensed spectrum.

A mobile network operator typically also has the necessary provisioning, billing and customer

care computer systems and the marketing, customer care and engineering organizations needed

to sell, deliver and bill for services, however, an MNO can outsource any of these systems or

functions and still be considered a mobile network operator.

2.3 Definition of Some Related Concepts:

2.3.1 Mobile Phone: A mobile phone is a wireless handheld device that allows users to make

calls and send text messages, among other features. The earliest batch of mobile phones could

only make and receive calls. Today’s mobile phones, however, are packed with a lot of

additional features such as Web browsers, games, cameras, video players and even navigational

systems. A mobile phone may also be known as a cellular phone or simply cell phone.

2.3.2 Customer Satisfaction: Customer satisfaction measures how well the expectations of a

customer concerning a product or service provided by your company have been met. Customer

satisfaction is an abstract concept and involves such factors as the quality of the product, the

quality of service provided, the atmosphere of the location where the product or service is

purchased, and the price of the product or service.

2.3.3 Network: A mobile phone network works using a series of cells, each served by a base

station which receives and sends radio signals to the mobile phone handsets. Without the

network of base stations to send and receive the signals, mobile phones would not work as they

are intended.

2.3.4 Mobile Internet Service: The mobile internet refers to access to the World Wide Web i.e.

the use of browser-based internet services, from a handheld mobile device, such as

a smartphone or a feature phone, connected to a mobile network or other wireless network.

Traditionally, access to the Web has been via fixed-line services on laptops and desktop

computers. However, the Web is becoming more accessible by portable and wireless devices.

2.3.5 SMS: Abbreviation of SMS is Short Message Service – a system used for sending text

messages to and from mobile phones. SMS is a message service offered by the GSM digital

telephone system.

2.3.6 Package: When different types of services offering in a packet or bundle is a Package.

Every mobile operator has many packages for their customers. Often these packages are being

informed through sms. Among packages there are talk time package, sms package, internet

package etc.

2.3.7 Call Rate: Charged amount of balance for using for connecting as well as calling is call

rate. Call rate vary from operator to operator. Further it may differ time to time within 24 hours a

day & it may fluctuate in pick hours.

CHAPTER THREE: MOBILE OPERATORS IN BANGLADESH

3.1) Grameen Phone

3.2) Banglalink Limited

3.3) Airtel Bangladesh

3.4) Teletalk Bangladesh Limited

3.5) Citycell Bangladesh

3.6) Robi Axiata Limited

3.1. Grameen Phone

Grameenphone, widely known as GP, is the leading telecommunications service provider in

Bangladesh. With more than 46.04 million subscribers (as of September 2013) Grameenphone is

the largest mobile phone operator in the country. It is a joint venture enterprise between Telenor

and Grameen Telecom Corporation, a non-profit sister concern of the internationally acclaimed

microfinance organization and community development bank Grameen Bank. Telenor, the

largest telecommunications company in Norway, owns 55.8% shares of Grameen phone,

Grameen Telecom owns 34.2% and the remaining 10% is publicly held.

Grameenphone was the first company to introduce GSM technology in Bangladesh. It also

established the first 24-hour Call Centre to support its subscribers. With the slogan Go Beyond,

Grameenphone promises its customers to bring the best of communication technologies so that

they can Go Beyond.

History

The idea of providing universal mobile phone access throughout Bangladesh, including its rural

areas, was originally conceived by Iqbal Quadir, who is currently the founder and director of the

Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at MIT. He was inspired by the

Grameen Bank microcredit model and envisioned a business model where a cell phone can serve

as a source of income. After leaving his job as an investment banker in the United States, Quadir

travelled back to Bangladesh, after meeting and successfully raising money from New York

based investor and philanthropist Joshua Mailman, and worked for three years gaining support

from various organizations including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus of Grameen

Bank and the Norwegian telephone company, Telenor. He was finally successful in forming a

consortium with Telenor and Grameen Bank to establish Grameenphone. Quadir remained a

shareholder of Grameenphone until 2004. Grameenphone received a license for cellular phone

operation in Bangladesh from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications on November 28,

1996. Grameenphone started operations on March 26, 1997, the Independence Day in

Bangladesh. Grameenphone originally offered a mobile-to-mobile connectivity (widely known

as GP-GP connection), which created a lot of enthusiasm among the users. It became the first

operator to reach the million subscriber milestone as well as ten million subscriber milestone in

Bangladesh.

According to Grameenphone, it has so far invested more than BDT 107 billion (USD 1.6

billion) to build the network infrastructure since 1997. It has invested over BDT 31 billion

(USD 450 million) during the first three quarters of 2007 while BDT 2,100 crore (USD 310

million) was invested in 2006 alone. Grameenphone has built the largest cellular network in

the country with over 10,000 base stations in more than 5700 locations. Presently, nearly 98

percent of the country's population is within the coverage area of the Grameenphone

network. The entire Grameenphone network is also GPRS /EDGE enabled, allowing access

to dial-up quality speed Internet and data services from anywhere within the coverage area.

There are currently nearly 3 million GPRS /EDGE users in the Grameenphone network. Also

has 3G network at most of the urban and sub-urban area. Products offered Mobile telephony

Grameenphone was the first operator to introduce the prepaid mobile phone service in

Bangladesh in September 1999.

Prepaid and postpaid services:

It offers the pre-paid subscription under the name Easy Prepaid which is currently called

Nishchinto, Amontron, Shohoj, Bondhu, Aapon, Smile, Spondon, Business Solution prepaid.

Grameenphone also offers a youth based mobile to mobile connectivity within Bangladesh

named djuice '.

Grameenphone also offers postpaid mobile service. Xplore Postpaid is the name of its postpaid

service. Grameenphone also provides several other packages which can be selected based on the

type of tariff or features like pulse, sms , internet. Detailed information about packages provided

by Grameenphone can be found dialing 121 from your Grameenphone number and can also be

found using the official Grameenphone android app available for free download on Google Play

Store.

Other services:

Internet: Grameenphone provides internet service in its coverage area. As it has EDGE/ GPRS

enabled network, any subscriber can access to internet through this network. Grameenphone was

the first mobile operator in Bangladesh to offer EDGE services to its subscribers.

Bill Pay: A service to enable users to pay their utility bills Electricity/Gas through mobile.

Cell Bazaar: It is a service to enable users to sell or buy products through mobile or internet.

Various other services like Stock Information, Instant Messaging, SMS Based Alerts/ Services,

Voice-based Services, Downloads, Music, Cricket Updates, Web SMS, Mobile Backup etc.

Corporate social responsibility: Grameenphone has several projects related to social

responsibility. These include:

1. Safe Motherhood & Infant Care Project- More than 1.7 million free primary healthcare

services to underprivileged pregnant mothers & their infants.

2. Free eye care support for around 28,780 people- 3,458 eye sights restored so far.

3. Awareness building on varied national issues- AIDS, National Immunization Day.

4. Information boats with digitized livelihood contents and internal access for remote riverine

communities.

5. Economic freedom for more than 400,000 Village Phone Operators.

6. More than 500 Community Information Centers- connecting life and learning.

7. Proud sponsor of Bangladesh Special Olympics team.

8. Proud sponsor of Bangladesh National Cricket team.

9. Employment opportunity to acid survivors.

10. Scholarship for underprivileged meritorious students.

11. Blood donation camps for underprivileged Thalassaemia patients.

12. Establishment of Blood Bank at Bogra for underprivileged patients.

13. Emergency relief effort in natural calamities.

A Grameenphone Center (GPC) serves as a "one stop solution" for customers, with all

telecommunications products and services, under a single roof. Grameenphone center also sells

phones from vendors like Nokia, Samsung, Motorola and Benq. EDGE /GPRS modems and

accessories such chargers and headphones are also sold at GPCs. As of February 2013, there are

85 GPCs and they are strategically located at all major locations of the country is operated by

Grameenphone. As of late most of the newly opened GPC's are franchised, most of these

franchised outlets are in non-metropolitan areas. The GPCs also provide the flexiload service

without charging extra for small denominations unlike many retailers in the country. Every once

a while, the GPCs tie up with handset manufactures and start a nationwide marketing scheme by

selling the specific vendors products at a price lower than the market's or in bundle with a

Grameenphone connection loaded with free minutes.

Awards:

1. Grameenphone received the GSM in the Community Award at the global GSM Congress held

in Cannes, France in February 2000 for its Village Phone initiative.

2. In 2002, Grameenphone was adjudged the Best Joint Venture Enterprise of the Year at the

Bangladesh Business Awards.

3. Grameenphone was presented with the GSM Association's Global Mobile Award for ‘Best use

of Mobile for Social and Economic Development' under Bridging the digital divide category at

the 3GSM World Congress held in Singapore, in October 2006, for its Community Information

Centre (CIC) project.

4. In the next year, 2007, Grameenphone was again presented with the same award for its

`Health Line Service' at the 3GSM World Congress held in Barcelona , Spain, in February.

Criticism:

Illegal VoIP operations:

In October, 2007 the Government of Bangladesh fined Grameenphone USD 24.5 million for

illegally depriving the government of revenue by ignoring laws requiring private operators to use

the state-owned BTTB land phone network for international calls by its subscribers, when they

used Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) to receive such calls. It soon emerged that GP was

making a bigger business out of VoIP operations than initially stated. They were providing a host

of ISPs and operators services that enabled VoIP. In December 2007, Grameenphone's corporate

office was raided by government agencies and documents were confiscated. This was in

connection to Grameenphone providing VoIP equipment and services to an ISP, AccessTel. This

fact was not disclosed by Grameenphone when it was fined just two months ago. Grameenphone

representatives commented “some additional irregularities were found” regarding Grameenphone

providing special services to illegal VoIP operators. In January 2008, Bangladesh

Telecommunication Regulatory Commission has filed a case against GP's two former CEO's and

other officials for involvement in illegal VoIP business. Bangladesh Telecommunication

Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has fined Grameenphone Tk 2500 Million for illegal VoIP

business, the second time the country's largest mobile phone operator has been penalized for

such rogue activities.

4.2. Banglalink Limited

Banglalink is the second largest cellular service provider in Bangladesh after Grameenphone. As

of June 2013, Banglalink has a subscriber base of 27 million with 25.7% market share. It is

wholly owned subsidiary of Telecom Ventures Limited of Malta which is owned by Global

Telecom Holding. Banglalink had 1.03 million connections until December, 2005. The number

of Banglalink users increased by 257 per cent and stood at 3.64 million at the end of 2006,

making it the fastest growing operator in the world of that year. In August, 2006, Banglalink

became the first company to provide free incoming calls from BTTB for both postpaid and

prepaid connections. On August 20, 2008, Banglalink got past the landmark of 10 million

subscriber base.

History

Sheba Telecom (Pvt.) Limited was granted license in 1989 to operate in the rural areas of 199

Upazilla. Later it obtained GSM license in 1996 to extend its business to cellular mobile, radio

telephone services. It launched operation under the brand name Sheba in the last quarter of 1997

as a Bangladesh- Malaysia joint venture. Tigers' Den (Banglalink headquarters) at Gulshan . In

July, 2004, it was reported that Egypt based Orascom Telecom is set to purchase the Malaysian

stakes in Sheba Telecom through a hush-hush deal, as Sheba had failed to tap the business

potentials in Bangladesh mainly due to a chronic feud between its Malaysian and Bangladeshi

partners. An agreement was reached with Orascom worth US $25 million was finalized in secret.

The pact has been kept secret for legal reasons, considering financial fallout and because of the

feud. The main reason for the undercover dealing was the joint venture agreement between the

Bangladeshi and the Malaysian partners, which dictates that if any party sells its Sheba shares,

the other party will enjoy the first right to buy that.

Integrated Services Ltd. (ISL), the Bangladeshi partner, was being ‘officially’ shown as

purchasing the shares held by Technology Resources Industries (TRI) of Malaysia for US$15

million. ISL then paid another US$10 million to Standard Chartered Bank to settle Sheba's

liabilities. In September, 2004, Orascom Telecom Holdings purchased 100% of the shares of

Sheba Telecom (Pvt.) Limited. It was acquired for US$60 million. Sheba had a base of 59,000

users, of whom 49,000 were regular when it was sold. Afterward it was re-branded and launched

its services under the Banglalink brand on February 10, 2005.

In March, 2008, Sheba Telecom (Pvt.) Limited changed its name as Orascom Telecom

Bangladesh Limited, matching its parent company name. In July, 2013, Banglalink changed its

company name as Banglalink Digital Communications Limited after the merger between

Orascom Telecom and VimpelCom Ltd.

Prepaid packages

Banglalink currently offers two prepaid plans. All the prepaid plans come in two phases—

Standard (T&T incoming and outgoing with NWD and ISD) and M2M. All connections provide

GPRS to subscribers.

Desh, with the slogan Ek Desh Ek Rate! (Means one country one rate! ), is one of the cheapest

prepaid plans in the country by tariff. Users of Desh can call any mobile operator at 0.45 taka

(excluding VAT) during 12 AM to 5 PM. It also has three FnF numbers. Desh was launched on

September 14, 2006.

Desh Rang is launched as a brand extension to enrich the brand of Desh. Rang is a Bengali word

which means colour. It is introduced with the catch phrase —Rangiye Din Apnar Jeebon (Means

colour your life.). This package is beneficial for customers who mainly make calls to their own

network and are heavy SMS users. It offers four on-net FnF numbers, but no off- net FnF

number.

Former Packages:

Regular prepaid was the first package Banglalink had to offer. It is currently unavailable in the

market.

ladies, first! , with the slogan Shomporker Network (means network of relationships), was

tailored for women. It was launched on September 3, 2005. It had introduced 1 second pulse for

the first time in the prepaid market. It offered four FnF numbers. It is currently unavailable in the

market.

Be linked! was launched on November 16, 2005. It was later taken over by Desh package as all

the Be linked! customers were automatically migrated to Desh.

Postpaid packages:

Currently there are three postpaid plans from Banglalink for its tail customers. These packages

are known as enterprise personal, which is a subset of much larger Banglalink enterprise. All

packages come with T&T local, NWD, ISD and e-ISD connectivity.

Former Packages:

Upper class, a postpaid platform, was launched on July 31, 2005. [11] It was mainly targeting

slightly upscale consumers. It had numerous packages under two different tariff plans—tailor

made and made to measure.

In addition to those, it introduced a hybrid product named call and control designed to offer the

value of postpaid with the control of prepaid. Later enterprise personal took control of upper

class.

Banglalink customer care:

Banglalink delivers customer care using its call centers and customer care networks. Currently

Banglalink provides customer care services through: Banglalink sales & care centres Banglalink

points.

Criticisms and penalty:

In October, 2007, BTRC fined Banglalink Tk. 1.25 billion for its involvement in illegal VoIP or

call termination business. The then BTRC chairman major general (retd.) Manzurul Alam

confirmed Banglalink involvement in the illegal trade. Banglalink, however, in a statement said

the company has agreed to make a onetime fixed payment of Tk. 1.25 billion to the government

as compensation for its loss in revenues.

4.3. Airtel Bangladesh:

Airtel Bangladesh Ltd. formerly known as Warid Telecom is a GSM and 3G based cellular

operator in Bangladesh. Airtel is the sixth mobile phone carrier to enter the Bangladesh market,

and originally launched commercial operations under the brand name Warid on May 10, 2007.

In 2010, Bharti Airtel bought out majority share of the company. This is Bharti Airtel’s second

operation outside of India after launching its mobile services in Sri Lanka in January, 2009.

Bharti Airtel made a fresh investment of US$ 300 million to rapidly expand the operations of

Warid Telecom and have management and board control of the company in 2010. This is the

largest investment in Bangladesh by an Indian company. The new funding is being utilized for

expansion of the network, both for coverage, capacity, and introduction of innovative products

and services. As a result of this additional investment, the overall investment in the company

moved to US$ 1 billion.

As of August 2013, Airtel Bangladesh gained 7.97 million subscribers with 7.3% of market

share.

History:

In December 2005, Warid Telecom International LLC, an Abu Dhabi based consortium, paid

US$ 50 million to obtain a GSM license from the BTRC and became the sixth mobile phone

operator in Bangladesh.

In a press conference on August 17, 2006, Warid announced that its network would be activated

two months ahead of schedule, in October, 2006. Again in October, 2006 Warid Telecom put off

the launch of its cell phone services in Bangladesh until April, 2007 after its major supplier

Nokia walked out on an agreement over a payment dispute.

On May 9, 2007, Warid in an advertisement in some daily newspaper stated that it would be

launching publicly on May 10, 2007. However, neither call rate nor any package details were

revealed. The advertisement included an announcement for the people interested to buy Warid

connections to bring the documents like ID card etc. to the designated franchise and customer

care centres.

On July 19, 2007, the company crossed the 1 million customers mark in the first 70 days of

operation. On October 1, 2007, Warid Telecom expanded its network to five more districts

raising total number of districts under Warid coverage to 56, said a press release. Mymensingh,

Jamalpur, Sherpur, Rajbari and Narail towns were covered by Warid network. On November 10,

2007, 61 districts under Warid network coverage. On June 10, 2008, Warid Telecom expanded

its network to 3 more districts Bandarban, Khagrachhari and Rangamati.

In 2010, Warid Telecom sold a majority 70% stake in the company to India's Bharti Airtel

Limited for US$300 million. The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission

approved the deal on Jan 4, 2010. Bharti Airtel Limited took management control of the

company and its board, and rebranded the company's services under its own Airtel brand from

December 20, 2010.

On December 21, 2011, Airtel Bangladesh launched "Airtel Circle of Friends", the first ever

Interactive Commercial in Bangladesh, created and executed by Digimarka. In March, 2013,

Warid Telecom sold its rest 30% share to Bharti Airtel’s Singapore-based concern Bharti Airtel

Holdings Pte Limited.

On September 8, 2013, Airtel Bangladesh received 5 MHz 3G spectrum with 1.25 million US$.

Numbering scheme:

Airtel Bangladesh uses the following numbering scheme:

+880 16 N1N2N3N4N5N6N7N8

Where, 880 is the ISD code for Bangladesh and is needed only in case of dialing from outside

Bangladesh. 16 is the prefix for Airtel Bangladesh as allocated by the government of

Bangladesh.

Products offered:

Airtel provides both post-paid and pre-paid connection plans. The post-paid plan is branded and

marketed across the country under the name Airtel Postpaid; the pre-paid segment is branded

and marketed as Airtel Prepaid. The Airtel Prepaid category is divided into eleven segments:

Dosti

Hoichoi

Man Utd Pack

Adda

Super Adda

Shobai

Golpo

Kotha

Foorti

Dolbol

Hoichoi

The Airtel Postpaid category is divided into three segments:

Airtel Exclusive

Airtel Classic

Airtel Advantage

Airtel Postpaid and Airtel Prepaid users enjoy various value added services (VAS), such as SMS,

MMS, GPRS, Corporate packages for product advertising via SMS and a host of other features.

However, International Roaming is available only to postpaid users.

Customer care:

Airtel has seven customer care centers around the country, which are known as "Airtel

experience centers" (AECs), located at key locations. These centers are directly run by Airtel

itself.

Airtel has another 77 dealer outlet spread across Bangladesh, the largest chain of retail outlets in

the country, which is further backed up by a chain of sub-dealers, affinity partners & distributors.

Dealer outlets of Airtel are known as "Airtel relationship centers" (ARCs). SIM cards, scratch

cards, and sometimes mobile sets are sold at these outlets. Bill collection for post-paid users and

Zem top up for pre-paid users can also be availed at the franchises. These franchises directly

appoint dealers and sub-dealers in their designated areas.

4.4. TeleTalk Bangladesh LimitedTeletalk Bangladesh Limited brand name "Teletalk" is a GSM based state-owned mobile phone

company in Bangladesh. TeleTalk started operating on 29 December 2004. It is a Public Limited

Company of Bangladesh Government, the state-owned telephone operator. TeleTalk provided

GPRS and EDGE internet connectivity and from 14 October 2012 HSDPA/3G which is the latest

cellular information service. Teletalk is the first operator in the country that gave BTTB (now

BTCL) incoming facility to its subscribers.

The mission statement of Teletalk is "Desher Taka Deshey Rakhun" ("Keep your Money in your

Country") Teletalk is the 6th mobile phone operator in Bangladesh with more than 1.897 million

subscribers as of May 2013.

Numbering scheme

Teletalk uses the following numbering scheme for its subscribers:

+880 15 N1N2N3N4N5N6N7N8

Services

1. Prepaid packages

Shadheen66

Standard

Shadheen

Shapla (1 Second pulse)

Bijoy (1 Second pulse)

Agami (Special pre-paid package for GPA 5 holders in S.S.C and H.S.C examinations)

Ekush

Youth ( 5 sec pulse)

2. Postpaid packages

Standard/Rajanigandha

Shapla

3. Corporate service

Prepaid packages

Postpaid packages

4. Mobile internet service

EDGE/ 2G Mobile Internet

3G Mobile Broadband, Speed: 256kbit/s-4Mbit/s

Other:

Terminal based recharge service: TeleTalk introduces terminal based recharge or paywell

service.

TeleTalk Youth Package: Teletalk has launched Youth package for 2G and 3G subscribers on

dated 28 September 2013 with lowest call rate, data services and also other facilities.

High speed internet data service: Based on 3G services, Teletalk has launched the Dongle Plan

in commercial basis for High Speed Internet Data Service.

Online telecharge portal, Paypoint: Teletalk introduces online telecharge through VISA,

MASTER & DBBL Nexus Cards.

Teletalk Service Point (TSP): Teletalk has introduced TSP. Subscribers can easily replace their

SIM card and any other service.

Achievements

Teletalk is the only operator in Bangladesh (Owner: 100% Bangladesh Government) with 100%

native technical and engineering human resource base. Teletalk has launched 3G for the first

time in Bangladesh on 14 October 2012.

Criticism

TeleTalk is often criticized by users for slower internet speed (notably in 2G network).

4.5. Citycell Bangladesh:Citycell (Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited) is the first mobile communications company of

Bangladesh. It is the only CDMA network operator in the country. As of August 2013, Citycell's

total mobile subscriber base is 1.338 million. Citycell is currently owned by SingTel with 45%

stake and the rest 55% owned by Pacific Group and Far East Telecom.

History:

In 1989 Bangladesh Telecom Limited (BTL) was awarded a license to operate cellular, paging,

and other wireless communication networks. Then in 1990 Hutchison Bangladesh Telecom

Limited (HBTL) was incorporated in Bangladesh as a joint venture between BTL and Hutchison

Telecommunications (Bangladesh) Limited. HBTL began commercial operation in Dhaka using

the AMPS mobile technology in 1993 and became the 1st cellular operator in South Asia. Later

that year Pacific Motors bought 50% of BTL. By 1996 HBTL was renamed as Pacific

Bangladesh Telecom Limited (PBTL) and launched the brand name "Citycell Digital" to market

its cellular products.

By the end of 2007 Citycell had refurbished its old brand identity and introduced a new logo and

corporate identity; the new logo is very reminiscent of the old logo. However the slogan

"because we care" has remained unchanged.

2010 reshuffle

In early 2010 Citycell's senior management was reshuffled. A new CEO, Mehboob Chowdhury

was brought in as well as a COO, David Lee. In February Chowdhury took office. He is an

experienced executive, as he has had involvement with Aktel (now Robi), Warid (Now Airtel),

Banglalink (Chief Commercial Officer 2005-2006) and Grameenphone (Director of Sales and

Marketing 1998-2005)

Numbering scheme:

Citycell uses the following numbering scheme for its subscribers:

+88011N1N2N3N4N5N6N7N8

where, 880 is the International Subscriber Dialing Code for Bangladesh and is needed only in

case of dialing from outside Bangladesh. 11 is the prefix for Citycell as allocated by the

government of Bangladesh

Products offered:

Citycell offers prepaid, postpaid and fixed phone plans. Since Citycell operates in CDMA, RIMs

are usually sold with a phone mostly cheap Chinese set produced by ZTE, Huawei, Samsung,

and Alcatel. Citycell currently has the cheapest Handset + Connection package at 1399 BDT.

Prepaid

The current only prepaid plan is branded as Citycell One. Citycell started offering prepaid plans

from 2003. In 2005, it launched the Aalap Call Me plan- the first phone plan with negative tariff

in the country. In this plan customers get credit added to their balance when they receive calls

from other Citycell subscribers. In the same year, Citycell launched Aalap Super plan.

Subscribers of this plan could make free calls to other Citycell subscribers during late night

hours. This espoused numerous copycat products from its competitors. Later that year the

national telecoms regulator ordered all phone companies to cease offering free call facility. In

2006, Citycell launched Hello 0123 plan. The name 0123 signified tariff of Tk. 0 for calls to one

Citycell number of the subscriber's choice, Tk 1 for calls to two other Citycell numbers, Tk. 2 for

calls to all other Citycell numbers and Tk. 3 for calls to all other networks. This plan was

followed up with a string of other spinoff plans that continued into 2007.

Instant Load:

As advertised in June 2008, Citycell became the first mobile operator to sign up for Instant Load.

Instant Load is a joint effort from Dutch Bangla Bank and Citycell that lets pre-paid account

holders top up their phone through SMS anytime, without the need to visit any store or purchase

any minutes. This service is being offered free-of-charge and it is the first service of its type in

Bangladesh.

After receiving the SMS, Citycell automatically withdraws the desired amount from the bank

account instantly. It is not known if the service is applicable for post-paid users.

Postpaid:

The postpaid plan is branded as Citycell One. The Postpaid subscribers enjoy 4 FnF numbers to

other operators, 30 sec pulse applicable for all outgoing, Zoom Data service etc. in additional.

Recently in Int. Tread fair 2009, Citycell Introduced a new postpaid service called VOICE-

DATA plan with cheaper tariff voice call and sms on any operator and BTTB (NWD) and 0.25

Tk/minute voice call and sms on any Citycell Number.

Citycell zoom:

Citycell Zoom is a data plan where the customer receives an internet dongle to surf the web

where ever the Citycell network is present. Customers have a choice of Citycell Zoom and

Citycell Zoom Ultra. Zoom comes with a choice of prepaid or postpaid. Zoom comes with either

one of two models, Huawei EC321 or ZTE MG880+. ZTE Ultra Modem AC2726 is the dongle

given with Zoom Ultra. Citycell Zoom along with Grameenphone's version of this technology is

regarded as the best in the portable internet service section in Bangladesh.

Customer care center

There are 6 Customer care centers of Citycell in the country. One for each division and there are

another 500 Customer care Points scattered around the country.

Performance

World operator rank by connections: 258th

Market Share: ≈4.5%

Market Penetration: ≈1.1%

Criticism and penalty

Citycell Zoom internet service is criticized for slow speed and Citycell has not adopted the faster

3G connection yet.

Citycell has been fined Tk. 1.5 billion by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory

Commission for its involvement in illegal VoIP or international call termination. Citycell's

involvement in illegal VoIP was discovered in May 2007 during a raid in the company's

Mohakhali office by the BTRC.

4.6. Robi Axiata Limited

Robi Axiata Limited, DBA Robi formerly known as AKTEL, is a joint venture between Axiata

Group Berhad, Malaysia (92%) and NTT DoCoMo Inc, Japan (8%).

Robi is the third largest mobile phone operator in Bangladesh with more than 20 million

subscribers as of August 2012. Robi boasts of the widest international roaming service in the

market, connecting over 500 operators across 207 countries. It is the first operator in the country

to introduce GPRS. Robi uses GSM 900/1800 MHz standard and operates on allocated 12.8

MHz frequency spectrum.

History

Robi Axiata Limited is a joint venture company between Axiata Group Berhad, Malaysia and

NTT DOCOMO INC, Japan. It was formerly known as Telekom Malaysia International

(Bangladesh) which commenced operations in Bangladesh in 1997 with the brand name AKTEL.

On 28 March 2010, the service name was rebranded as ‘Robi’ which means Sun in Bengali.

Products offered

Robi offers an array of different packages. In addition to offering the fundamental pre-paid and

post-paid mobile services, it offers a wide range of value- added products and services such as,

SMS, GPRS, EDGE, international roaming, Mobile Banking, SMS banking, Caller Ring Back

Tone, MMS, Voice Greetings, Welcome Tunes, Call Blocking on 4 August 2008, which give

subscriber to control which call he or she receive or not and Bengali SMS. Robi has got the

widest international roaming coverage among all the operators in Bangladesh.

Prepaid packages:

Robi offers the most flexible and affordable mobile experience in Bangladesh with Robi’s

Prepaid Packages. They are:

1. Tarunno 26

2. Ananna 27

3. Muhurto 31

4. Chomok 32

5. Robi club 34

6. Nobanno 37

7. Shasroyee 38

8. Shorol 39

Postpaid packages: Postpaid packages include Simple plan and Normal plan.

Robi Internet Packages:

1. Pay-Per-Use

2. 20/20 Internet Pack

3. Daily Browsing Pack

4. Volume Based Pack

5. Monthly Unlimited Internet

6. Night Browsing Plan

Customer care:

Robi has 21 Customer Care Centers and 430 'Robi Care Points'.

CHAPTER 5: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINDS

5.1) Data analysis

5.2) Findings

5.1) Data Analysis

Customers’ percentages of using different operators:

41%

20%

19%

15%

5%

GP

Airtel

Robi

Banglalink

Others ( citycell and teletalk)

Figure- 5.1.1: Percentages of customers using different operators

In this figure, most of the people are using GP, second majority of people are using Airtel.

Percentages of users of operators of different age groups:

19%

8%

9%

4% 1%

Female 41%

GPAirtelRobiBanglalinkOthers

Figure- 5.1.2 Figure-5.1.3

Percentage of customers of different operators according to different age groups:

22%

12%

10%

11%

4%

Male 59%


20-30 year 30-40 year 40-50 year 50 year and above

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

25%

55%

40%

20%

50%

30%

15%

5%

36%

30%

26%

8%

30%32%

25%

13%

30%

20%

35%

15%


Figure 5.1.4: Percentage of users of different operators according to their age.

Figure 5.1.4 shows that people aged 20-30 years are using mostly Airtel. People of 30-40 years, 40-50 years and 50 years and above are using GP the most.

Percentage of customers of different operators according to profession:

Student Businessman Hosewife Others0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

32% 34%

17% 17%

75%

15%

5% 5%

48%

22%

15% 15%

60%

8%

26%

6%

50%

30%

20%

0%


Figure-5.1.5: Percentage of customers of different operators according to their profession.

Figure 5.1.5 shows that the operator the students are using the most is Airtel. Housewives prefer

the Banglalink. On the other hand, businessmen and people of other professions are using GP the

most.

The main factors of choosing operators:

35%

30%

12%

15%

8%

Customer's choosing factors

NetworkCall rateInternet facilitiesPackagesOthers

Figure-5.1.6: Percentages of different factors for which customers mainly choose an operator.

Figure-5.1.6 shows that maximum number of customers chooses his or her operators mainly for

Network and Call rate facility.

Customer’s opinion on whether they are finding their operator’s network satisfactory:

GP Airtel Robi Banglalink Others0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

5%

15%

10%

14%

0%

12%

50%

22%20%

40%

8%5%

10%

6%

0%

51%

20%

48%

54%

50%

24%

10% 10%

6%

1%

Strongly disagreeDisagreeNeutralAgreeStrongly Agree

Figure-5.1.7: Percentages of customers of different operators on the basis of their opinion on

network satisfaction.

Figure-5.1.7 shows that maximum GP, Robi and Banglalink and other operators’ users find their

operators’ network satisfactory. The Airtel users are less satisfied about their network facility.

Customer’s opinion on whether they are enjoying a low call rate:


10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

39%

10% 10%

6%

0%

25%

20%

27%

15%

20%

13%

5%

10%

6%

20%17%

55%52%

60% 60%

10% 10%9%

13%

0%

Strongly disagreeDisagreeNeutralAgreeStrongly Agree

Figure-5.1.8: Percentages of customers’ of different operators on the basis of their opinion on

call rate.

Figure-5.1.8 shows that maximum GP users are dissatisfied about their operator’s call rate.

Maximum Airtel, Robi and Banglalink users are finding their operators’ call rate satisfactory.

Customers’ opinion on whether they are finding their operators’ packages

attractive:

Gp Airtel Robi Banglalink Others0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

5% 6%

11%

4%

15%

40%

18%

34%

9%

40%

13%

10%

16%

10%

28%

23%

45%

29%

57%

19%21%

10%

20%

2%

Strongly disagreeDisagreeNeutralAgreeStrongly agree

Figure-5.1.9: Percentages of different operators’ attractiveness of packages to users.

Figure-5.1.9 shows that Banglalink and Airtel users find their operators packages more attractive

than GP, Robi and other operators.

Customers’ opinion on good FNF facility of their operator:


5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

2% 3%

28%

2%

11%

30%

8%

36%

9%

43%

11%13%

19%

15%

26%

20%

46%

13%

43%

18%

37%

30%

4%

31%

2%


Figure-5.1.10: Percentages of opinion about good FNF facility provided by operators.

Figure-5.1.10 shows that Airtel and Banglalink users receive good FNF facility than GP, Robi

and Others operator users.

Customers’ opinion on whether they are enjoying a low internet cost:


10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

1%

13%

28%

2%

11%

3%

34%36%

9%

41%

9%

18% 19%

15%

26%

55%

23%

13%

43%

18%

32%

12%

4%

31%

2%


Figure-5.1.11: Percentages of users’ opinion on the basis of internet tariff.

Figure-5.1.11 shows that GP and Banglalink users think that they are enjoying a low internet

tariff. On the other hand, users of Airtel, Robi and other operators are finding their internet tariff

costly.

Customer opinion on whether they are enjoying fast internet speed:


10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

29%

10%5% 7%

0%

15%

35%

42%

6%

0%

10%

25% 26%

13%

20%

41%

15%

21%

47%

60%

5%

15%

6%

27%

20%

Strongly DisagreeDisagreeNeutralAgreeStrongly Agree

Figure-5.1.12.: Percentages on the opinion of customers about the fast internet speed of their

respective operators.

Figure-5.1.12: shows that maximum GP, Banglalink and users of other operators agree about

their operators fast internet speed. Most of the Airtel and Robi users are dissatisfied about their

operators’ internet speed.

Customer opinion on whether they are getting satisfactory customer care service:


5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

10% 10%

5%

10%

0%

15%

40%

20%

6%

30%

10%

25%

45%

50%

40%41%

15%

25%

10% 10%

24%

10%

5%

24%

20%


Figure 5.1.13: Percentages of opinion on customers about satisfactory customer care service.

Figure 5.1.13 shows that only most of the customers of Grameenphone are highly satisfied with

their operators’ customer care service. Most of the Airtel customers are dissatisfied. Other

operator users have given a neutral opinion. Grameenphone is ahead because they have huge

numbers of customer care centres than others.

Customers’ opinion on the availability of same operator when they interact with others:


10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

0%5%

12%

2%

12%

0%

10%

58%

15%

65%

12%

20%

2%5%

20%

60%

40%

25%

73%

3%

28%25%

3% 5%0%


Figure 5.1.14: Percentages of customers on the basis whether they find their operator available to

others with whom they interact.

Figure 5.1.14 focuses on an important issue that is the availability of same operator when

customers want to interact with others .In this regard GP, Airtel and Banglalink users think their

operator is available to others with whom they are always interacting. Users of Robi and others

(Citycell and Teletalk) are less satisfied in this regard.

Customers’ opinion on whether they will continue using the same operator in future or not:


10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90% 85%

60%56% 59%

12%15%

40%44% 41%

75%

YesNo

Figure 5.1.15: Percentages of customers on the basis of their willingness of using the same operator in future.

Figure 5.1.15 shows that the percentage is the highest among GP users, which means most of the GP users want to continue the same operator. Most of the Airtel, Robi and Banglalink users have also given positive response though the percentage is less than GP. On the other hand, users of other operators (Citycell and Teletalk) have given a negative response.

5.2) Findings

We had assumed that the key informants should be interviewed in the form of questionnaire in

order to asses first track information. So we prepared questionnaire, which is given in the last

part of this report. After analyzing all the data & opinions, we came to know these important

information:

Most of the people are using GP, second majority of people are using Airtel.

59% users of different operators are male and 41% are female users.

People aged 20-30 years are using mostly Airtel. People of 30-40 years, 40-50 years and

50 years and above are using GP the most.

The operator the students are using the most is Airtel. Housewives prefer the Banglalink.

On the other hand, businessmen and people of other professions are using GP the most.

Maximum number of customers chooses his or her operators mainly for Network and

Call rate facility.

Maximum GP, Robi and Banglalink and other operators’ users find their operators’

network satisfactory. The Airtel users are less satisfied about their network facility.

Most of the GP users are dissatisfied about their operator’s call rate. Maximum Airtel,

Robi and Banglalink users are finding their operators’ call rate satisfactory.

Banglalink and Airtel users find their operators packages more attractive than GP, Robi

and other operators.

Airtel and Banglalink users receive good FNF facility than GP, Robi and Others operator

users.

GP and Banglalink users think that they are enjoying a low internet tariff. On the other

hand, users of Airtel, Robi and other operators are finding their internet tariff costly.

Maximum GP, Banglalink and users of other operators agree about their operators fast

internet speed. Most of the Airtel and Robi users are dissatisfied about their operators’

internet speed.

Most of the customers of Grameenphone are highly satisfied with their operators’

customer care service. Most of the Airtel customers are dissatisfied. Other operator users

have given a neutral opinion.

GP, Airtel and Banglalink users think their operator is available to others with whom they

are always interacting. Users of Robi and others (Citycell and Teletalk) are less satisfied

in this regard.

Most of the GP users want to continue the same operator. Most of the Airtel, Robi and

Banglalink users have also given positive response though the percentage is less than GP.

On the other hand, users of other operators (Citycell and Teletalk) have given a negative

response.

CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUDING REMARKS

6.1) Recommendation

6.2) Conclusion

6.1. Recommendations:

The mobile operators of our country are providing more or less quality service to their

subscribers. But to hold on customers’ interest and build a long term relationship with customers,

the operators should focus on some aspects. Following are some thoughtful recommendation for

consideration of the mobile operators to achieve larger customer satisfaction:

Most GP users are dissatisfied with the existing call-rate, so GP should initiate a flat call

rate. At the same time, the reduced call charge should be applied for all operators, not

only GP to GP, but also GP to other operators.

GP should provide more FnF number facilities with GP to GP and other operators.

SIM replacement (in case of lost or damaged) charge should be reduced.

Operators should increase their network facilities.

Operators should cut-down their internet tariff to some extent as the use of internet is

rising.

Operators should provide 3G facilities at a lower rate.

Consistency should be maintained in between operators’ service and subscribers demand.

Customer Care has turned out to be one of the most focused points in the telecom

industry. Survey results show subscribers are not satisfied with it and would appreciate

special care facilities.

6.2) Conclusion:

To begin with customer satisfaction is such a term that customers avail from a product or service

and if it is positive than then it adds value to a company or a brand. Loyalty is now determined

mostly by a company’s relations with its customers’ needs and wants. No doubt, to achieve

strong position mobile operators of our country should provide their service in such way which

meets customers’ needs and satisfy them. Moreover, if proper consistency is maintained in

between operators’ service and subscribers’ demand, it will surely facilitate our communication

system in the long run.

References:

Bolton, R.N., A dynamic model of the duration of customers’ relationship with a continuous

service provider: The role of customer satisfaction, Journal of Marketing, vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 5-9,

1998.

Camp, L. J., & Anderson, B. L. Deregulating the local loop: The telecommunications regulation

path less chosen as taken by Bangladesh’, International Journal of Technology, Policy and

Management, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 100-114,2001.

Hasan Mahmud, Mobile phone operators in Bangladesh, The Daily Star, 7 January, 2008.

Heinonen, K. and Anderson, P. Swedish mobile market: Consumer perceptions of mobile

services, Journal of Service Marketing, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 33-36, 2003.

Khalil, M., Ministerial support for mobile: Middle East Times’, Journal of European Business

Management, vol.25, no.2, pp.54-81, 2000.

Khan, M. A. S., Privatization in the telecommunication sector: An overview of comparative,

2003

Mahmud, K. and Chowdhury, S. M. R., Prospects of mobile learning for digital Bangladesh,

2010.

www.wikipedia.org

www.muthofon.com .

www.mobilephonebd.com

www.cellular-news.com

http://www.cellular-news.com/

http://www.mobilephonebd.com/

http://www.muthofon.com/

http://www.wikipedia.org/

Appendix:

Questionnaire for customers

RESEARCH QUESTION FOR THE RESPONDENT


Shahjalal University of Science & Technology, Sylhet

Research topic: Factors determining customer satisfaction and loyalty of mobile operators in

Bangladesh (Study of Sylhet)

(All the information will be used only for the research as well as confidentially)

Name: …………………………………………………………………………….

Age: a) 20-30 year b) 30-40 year c) 40-50 year d) 50 year and above

Gender: a) male b) female

Address: ……………………………………………………………………………

Occupation: ………………………………………………………………………..

1. The mobile operator I prefer is………………………………………

2. The main reason of choosing it is-

a) Network b) Call rate c) Internet facility d) packages e) others

3. It has a low SIM card price.

a) Strongly disagree b) disagree c) neutral d) agree e) strongly agree

4. The network of this operator is very satisfactory.


5. It provides low call rate.


6. The packages it provides are very attractive.


7. It gives good FnF facilities.


8. It has lowest internet tariff.


9. I use it because of its fast internet speed.


10. It provides an easy available account recharge service.


11. It provides a satisfactory customer care service.


12. This operator is largely available to others with whom I interact.


13. I am satisfied with this operator and will continue using it in future.

a) Yes b) No ( Thank you for completing the questionnaire)

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