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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

In a very limited period, mobile telecommunications have become an increasingly

needed service with a very high penetration rate in India. With the extensive

mobile telecommunications usage, the mobile services market is now recognized

as the most competitive part of the telecommunications sector. The issue of how

to improve customer satisfaction is very important for mobile communications

operators. Therefore, it is believed that customer satisfaction plays a significant

role in the telecommunications market competition.

retain its customers. Customer satisfaction is the primary determinant of customer

loyalty and subsequent relation of customer. This is true for goods as well as

services. Continued success rests on reinventing oneself in the eyes of ones

customers and adaptation to their evolving needs, firms must anticipate where

customer preferences are headed. Customer satisfaction holds the potential for

satisfaction is through customer service.

The concept of having sustainable interactions with customers is not new.

Companies, for ages, have been trying to establish interface with customers.

However, earlier the focus was always on selling the product/service instead of

retaining the customers. The current comparative post liberalisation scenario has

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compelled the marketers/organizations globally to adopt customer orientation and

leave behind the obsolete concept of product focus. No organization can afford to

Figure 1.1 :Product-Focused Approach to Customer-Focused Approach

Source: Customer Relationship Management, Urvashi Makkar and Harinder Kumar Makkar

Customer service varies by product, industry and customer. It however

assume important dimension in service delivery and sales of product. This is

because service firm such as telecommunication firms, have no inventory of

finished goods to buffer production from random demand variability (Dutta and

Roy, 2006). Nevertheless, it is demanded for corporation survival, profitability

and growth that service firm hold their own in competition. Customer Service is

the commitment to provide value added services to customers including

knowledge, technical support and quality of service in a timely manner .1

Telecommunications is one of the prime support services needed for rapid

growth of any developing country. Telecommunications is one of the fastest

developing sectors in India. The Indian government is concentrating more on this

sector, especially in recent years because of the enormous growth of Information

Technology (IT) and its significant impact on the rest of the economy.2

1 Oyeniyi, Omotayo and Abiodun Abolaji Joachi, Customer service in the retention of mobile

phone users in Nigeria, African Journal of Business Management Vol.2 (2), pp. 026-031, February, 2008.

2 CRM in Telecom Concepts and Cases, edited by : N M Shanthi ICFAI Book,2006.

Product Focus Customer Focus Changing Indian Market

Paradigm Shift

3

Here are some definitions3 of customer service in use today:

tha

yourself.

Customer service is an organization's ability to fulfill customers wants

and needs.

Customer Service is a phrase that is used to describe the process of taking

care of our customers in a positive manner.

Customer Service is any contact between a customer and a company that

causes a negative or positive perception by a customer

Customer service is a process for providing competitive advantage and

adding benefits in order to maximize the total value to the customer

Customer Service is the commitment to provide value added services to

external and internal customers, including attitude knowledge, technical support

and quality of service in a timely manner

Customer service is a proactive attitude that can be summed up as: I care

and I can do.

3 http://www.philgerbyshak.com/customer-service-is

Customer service is often seen as an activity, performance measurement and a philosophy.

4

The prime reason for existence of any enterprise is its customers.

Customers care is the process that seeks to acquire new customers, providing

appropriate services and therefore building customer loyalty.

The customer care system has three major stages listening, responding,

and improving.

Figure 1.2 : Customer-Care System

Source: Customer Relationship Management, Urvashi Makkar and Harinder Kumar Makkar

The relationship between customer service and customer satisfaction is a

vital one. It is a relationship in which both the business and the customer can

come out ahead if the relationship steadily builds over time, driving business

results, and subsequently inspiring a fierce loyalty of the customer to the brand.

When you consider that a person who has had a negative customer service

experience is more likely to share that negative experience with others than

someone who has had a positive experience, it almost behooves a business to go

out of its way to strive for exceptional customer service, if nothing else but to

avoid the pitfall from that one negative response. Customer satisfaction is born on

the front lines of the business, and it can impact the bottom line both positively

and negatively, depending upon the emphasis the business places on quality

customer service.4

The Indian Mobile telecommunication industry has witnessed significant

rise in competition in recent years largely due to the deregulation policy of

government and the advent of mobile telecommunication companies. Another

4 http://www.ehow.com/about_6684111_relationship-customer-service-customer-satisfaction.html

Listening Responding Improving

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complex dimension to the competitive trend in the Indian telecommunication

industry is the ease and rate at which products and services are duplicated in the

industry and multi-dimension nature of communication. This trend fosters a

scenario of continuous fight for customers share and an increasing the need to

Competitive

advantage is secured through intelligent identification and satisfaction of

satisfaction through better customer service tools.

Quality customer service, delivered with honest intentions, can lead to

some powerful effects in the marketplace. Quality customer service can create a

revolution in the marketplace by simply extending exceptional service to its

customer, providing more than just a product, but a feeling that its competitors

have failed to provide.

Customer satisfaction is central to the customer-centric paradigm shift, and

one of the crucial foci of strategic marketing management in business

organisations that have long-term perspective for growth. (Heskett et al., 1994;

Heskett et al., 1997; Reichheld and Sasser, 1990).5

In this regard, it is a fact that a very satisfied customer is nearly six times

more likely to be loyal and to re-purchase and/or recommend a product than a

customer who is just satisfied.

5 S.G Nimako (2009). An Assessment and Analysis of Customer Satisfaction with Service delivery

of mobile telecommunication networks in Ghana. epubl.ltu.se/1653-0187/2009/037/LTU-PB-EX-09037-SE.pdf

6

1.2 Customer Requirements while Contacting a Customer

Service6

To feel welcome: Customers want recognition; this sense of

interest translates into a feeling that they have a right to be there

and to seek help.

To be taken seriously: Customers want to feel that customer care

executive will give considerate thought to their questions or issues

in all cases.

To feel comfortable: They need to feel that this is an environment

where confidentiality can be shared. They need to feel you care

about them and you can be trusted to help them.

To be understood:They might have trouble speaking the language;

they might not be able to put all the details of their situations

easily; they might be missing important facts about the situation;

they might have speech impediment or disability. Customers

expect service people to go the extra step to make sure they are

understood.

To feel important: Customers want to have full attention and all

To accomplish their objectives: Customers contact service

departments because they have a goal to be accomplished. When

the conversation is complete, they want to know they have attained

something tangible, even if it is not a full resolution of their issues.

6 B.N. Dastoor (2008). Customer Delight, the success mantra of the 21st Century, Excel Books,

and Subash Das (2008). Customer Relationship Management, Excel Books.

7

To be handled quickly: They expect customer service executive to

be efficient. They expect service executive to be knowledgeable

about their products and services and know how to resolve their

issues.

1.3 Development of Mobile Telecommunication7

Mobile Telecommunication refers to the exchange of information, ideas and

thoughts through the medium of a mobile phone or wireless network. According

to the World International Property Organisation a mobile communications

system/network refers generally to any telecommunications system which enables

wireless communication when users are moving within the service area of

the system.

According to Balasubramanian et al., (2002), the first transmission

involving a single mobile platform occurred in June 1898, when Marconi

transmitted a radio signal over 42 miles between a French naval vessel and the

Wimereux shore station. The first transmission between a mobile transmitter and a

mobile receiver occurred in July 1898 when aboard the Royal Navy warship Juno,

Marconi received messages from the warships Alexandra and Europa at ranges of

up to 45 miles.

The first mobile telephone call occurred in June 1946, when a truck driver

in St. Louis, Missouri, placed a telephone call using a handset from under his

dashboard. Utilities, truckers, and news reporters rapidly adopted this

technology and nearly 100 cities and highway corridors had access to mobile

telephone service by 1948. The technologies were very expensive then. The

7 S.G. Nimako (2009). An Assessment and Analysis of Customer Satisfaction with Service Delivery

of Mobile telecommunication Networks in Ghana. epubl.ltu.se/1653-0187/2009/037/LTU-PB-EX-09037-SE.pdf

8

cellular phone concept that currently supports the bulk of mobile communication

was developed in 1947 at Bell Laboratories.

Today there are many different types and kinds of mobile phones

that are used with supporting network for communication. These mobiles have

different features and powerful capabilities. Apart from the basic use of making

and receiving calls and messages; some can be used to play music, video, games,

store considerable amount of personal data, access banking services with internet

capabilities (e-mails, e-order/procurement etc), among other uses.

Mobile technology has rapidly developed from first generation (1G),

second generation (2G), third generation (3G) to beyond third generation (4G)

mobile technology that uses digital wireless technology that supports faster

display of multimedia and global roaming.

Table 1.1: History of Cellular Telephony in India

Year Development of Mobile Telecommunication

1992 Telecommunication sector in India liberalized to bridge the gap through government spending & to provide additional resourc Private players allowed to participate.

1993 The telecom industry gets an annual foreign investment Rs 20.6 million.

1994 License for providing cellular mobile services granted by the government of India for the Metropolitan cites of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata & Chennai. Cellular mobile service to be duopoly (i.e. not more than two cellular mobile operators could be licensed in each telecom circle), under a fixed license fee regime for 10 years.

1995 19 more telecom circles get mobile licenses.

1995(August) Kolkata became the first metro to have a cellular network.

1997 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is set up.

1998 Annual foreign investment in telecom stands at Rs 17,756.4 million.

1999 FDI inflow into telecom sector falls by almost 90% to Rs. 2126.7 million.

1999 Tariff rebalancing exercise gets initiated.

1999(March) National Telecom Policy is announced.

2000(June) FDI inflow drops further down to Rs 918 million coming.

2000 (January) Amendment of TRAI Act.

Source : Cellular Operators Association of India.

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After March 2000, the government became more liberal in making policies

and issuing licenses to private operators. The government further reduced licence

fees for cellular service providers and increased the FDI limit up to 74% and

recently the government of Indian has permitted 100% FDI in the telecom sector.

Because of all these factors, the service fees finally reduced and the call costs

were cut greatly enabling every common middle-class family in India to afford a

cell phone. Many private operators, such as Reliance Communications, Tata

Teleservices, Vodafone, Aircel, Uninor, Airtel, Idea etc., successfully entered the

high potential Indian telecom market.

After a number of proactive initiatives taken by regulators and licensors,

the total number of mobile subscribers has increased rapidly to over 929 million

subscribers as of May 2012.8

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

communications) and CDMA (code-division multiple access) technologies in the

mobile sector. In addition to landline and mobile phones, some of the companies

also provide the WLL service. With a subscriber base of more than 900 million,

the mobile telecommunications system in India is the second largest in the world

though it was thrown open to private players in the 1990s. GSM is comfortably

maintaining its position as the dominant mobile technology with 80% of the

mobile subscriber market, but CDMA seemed to have stabilised its market share

at 20% for the time being.

The country is divided into multiple zones, called circles (roughly along

state boundaries). Government and several private players run local and long

distance telephone services. Competition has caused prices to drop and calls

across India are one of the cheapest in the world. The rates are supposed to go

down further with new measures to be taken by the Information Ministry. In

8 Wikipedia. Communications in India, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_in_India.

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September 2004, the number of mobile phone connections crossed the number of

fixed-line connections and presently dwarfs the wireline segment by a ratio of

around 20:1. The mobile subscriber base has grown by a factor of over a hundred

and thirty, from 5 million subscribers in 2001 to over 900 million subscribers till

date.

1.3.1 Service Quality and Mobile Phone Services

Telecom services are recognized world-over as an important tool for the socio-

economic development of a nation. It is one of the prime support services essential

for rapid growth and modernization of various sectors of the economy. In India

too, the telecommunication sector has revolutionized the way we communicate

and share information, thereby helping over 900 million Indians stay connected.9

In the last ten years, the mobile revolution has truly changed the socio-

economic landscape of India and played a pivotal role in the growth and

development of the economy. The success of telecommunication industry depends

on prudent efforts and feasible investments. It is necessary for the service

providers to meet the consumers requirements and expectations in terms of

service quality (Melody, 2001). The positive relationship of service quality with

customer satisfaction (Danaher and Mattsson, 1994; Kim et al., 2004), customer

preference (Ranaweera and Neely, 2003), profitability (Fornell, 1992; Danaher

and Rust, 1996), competitiveness (Rapert and Wren, 1998), is well proven in the

academic literature.10

Customers everywhere in the world expect operators to resolve their issue then

and there. Mobile operators that can achieve a high-level of service will be in a 9 Rajkumar Paulrajan and Harish Rajkumar. Service Quality and Customers preference of

Cellular Mobile Service Providers./ http://www.jotmi.org/index.php/GT/article/view/625 10 Journal of Technology Management & Innovation, J. Technol. Manag Innov. 2011,Volume 6,

Issue I p.38-45.

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great position to win market share away from low-cost competitors. Great

customer service is the key to retain existing customers.

Nowadays cellular mobile is a very necessary product for our daily

communication. Customers mainly purchase this product for instant

communication and various services provided by the companies. Services mainly

depend on some factors and customers always try to buy that product which has

many factors or attributes fulfilling their desire. Recently the concept of customer

satisfaction has received much attention.

In cellular mobile market, customers bring higher expectations for

communication from its service providers and if companies are not able to meet

these expectations, the customers will take their business elsewhere. The

consumers want and expectations are altering all the time, this directs to a

condition where customers create ever higher benchmarks. Applying customer

satisfaction approach means recognizing customers, and then finding their wants

and expectations, and to end with their perceptions. A company s most important

success factor is the ability to deliver better customer value than competitors do,

and the objective of this strategy is to deliver value to the customers in order to

provide required returns to the shareholders and employees.

Service providers try to provide innovative service offerings in the hope

that customers perceive their services as superior and leading in the mobile service

sector. In order to attract new subscribers and as well to retain the current

customers, mobile services provider need to understand the relationship between

customer services and customer satisfaction/loyalty so that steps can be

undertaken to keep these customers.

Effective customer-oriented relationship marketing tactics may help

marketers to acquire customers, keep customers, and maximize customer

profitability and finally build up customer loyalty.

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The competition is also becoming more and sharper. In order to obtain

sustainable competitive advantage, telecommunication firms are forced to

make innovation and do the best for customer satisfaction. Due to this,

customer relationship marketing plays an important role in telecommunication

industry. It demands a relationship oriented strategy in marketing.

1.3.2 Mobile number portability (MNP) and its Impact on Service

Providers11

The Mobile Number Portability (MNP) was launched in India in January 2011. It

allows the user to retain the existing number while giving him an option to change

the subscriber. Singapore was pioneer in introducing MNP in 1997; thereafter the

service was introduced in different countries like Hong Kong, Australia, Europe,

Japan, New Zealand and UK. Number portability is of three types; operator,

location and service portability. However, most of the countries have adopted the

operator portability due to its ability to promote fair competition amongst the

operators.12

India is the fastest growing mobile market in the world. With the rapidly

expanding mobile subscriber base, network and quality of service of the operators

became the basis for selection of operator and thereby accentuated the

implementation of MNP. For most subscribers the idea of changing mobile

number was a dreadful thought. Due to the numerous personal and professional

contacts that our number is circulated in and the hassles associated with conveying

the change in number to these contacts was the biggest barrier to change the

operator over the years. However, with MNP in place, this scenario is rapidly

changing.

11 Mobile Number Portability: A Telecom Revolution www.dnb.co.in/News_Press.asp?pid=723. 12 www.business-standard.com/.../mobile-number-portability-a-telecom-rev.

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Number portability is a pre-requisite to support fair competition in a

telecommunications market. The service has immense benefits that can usher in a

new revolution in the telecom market with consumers being the biggest

beneficiary. The subscribers, who have ported in their numbers in India so far,

cited the poor network/coverage, poor customer care services and tariff issues as

primary reasons for porting the mobile numbers. Thus, the introduction of MNP

will compel the operators to improve the quality of service to the subscribers,

offer attractive promotional packs, improve network coverage and introduce value

added services to retain customers.

The introduction of MNP was expected to eat away at profit margins and

increase competition in addition to provide the operators with an opportunity to

increase subscribers and gain market share. Moreover, for new operators, MNP

provides a golden opportunity to lure away dissatisfied consumers from

established players thus gaining a foothold in the Indian telecom market. In

summary, with the introduction of MNP, quality of services is key to growth

going forward.

margins as they are trying to retain the subscribers by offering competitive tariffs

and improving quality of services. MNP has increased the churn rate that leads to

greater customer acquisition and retention costs and also put pressures on the

Globally, MNP has been a catalyst in improving the service quality of the

operators. In India too, it has compelled to improve the operator service quality

apart from intensifying the competition and giving customers a wider choice.

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1.3.3 Players and Role of Mobile Telecommunication

Mobile communication network providers, in delivering services to customers,

operate in an environment that involves purposeful relationships and interactions

between several actors in many activities and with different resources. Therefore it

appears that any mobile telecom network needs to have several key players along

its value chain in delivering services to its customers.

Mobile telecommunication plays a major role in information

technology-driven world of business. Nigel Scott et al., (2004) observed that one

might expect most calls to be related to economic issues; research confirms that at

present in India, it is social uses that drive phone use amongst the poor .

Chatting and keeping in touch are the most common use of phones. This is

of value because it strengthens social capital through improved networking

with friends and family.13

Some of the roles played by mobile telecommunication are:

It is an enabler of mobile commerce and promotes dissemination

of useful information to entrepreneurs and enhancing business

creation (Adjei Boadi R. & Gause Shaik A.2006; Sahlfeld M.

2007; Nodh & Nodh 2007).

It is a source of employment for many people whose jobs are

created and/or facilitated directly or indirectly by the existence of

mobile telecommunication (Adjei Boadi R. & Gause Shaik A.

2006).

13S.G Nimako (2009). An Assessment and Analysis of Customer Satisfaction with Service Delivery

of Mobile Telecommunication Networks in Ghana. epubl.ltu.se/1653-0187/2009/037/LTU-PB-EX-09037-SE.pdf

15

It is a significant source of revenue not only for its business

operators but also to governments through taxes paid by income

earners in the mobile telecom industry (Adjei Boadi R. & Gause

S. A. 2006).

It is a cheap means of communication and therefore cost-effective

since it reduces the cost of travel. (Nodh & Nodh 2007)

It enhances the convenience of instantaneous communication.

Mobile phones were introduced so we could communicate when

on the move and the capabilities have now expanded beyond

their initial function for talk: you can now use mobile phones to

access/receive a range of information wherever you are. A mobile

phone allows you to be accessible at all times, wherever you are.

It can help improve communication between staff and customers,

particularly business to business customers that may involve

travelling (Adjei Boadi R. & Gause Shaik A. 2006).

Some of the arguments raised against the use of mobile phones are that:

It elicits more unwanted calls as a result of being accessible

from anywhere in the country.

There is a potential cost of using a mobile phone for business.

This is a potential danger, particularly when employees are

using business mobiles, as there is a risk that some employees

could misuse the phone raising bills massively.

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Table 1.2 : Mobile Phone Service Providers of India

Rank Operator Subscribers (in millions)

Ownership

1 Airtel 188.79 (April 2013) Bharti Enterprises (64.76%) Singapore Telecommunications (32%) Vodafone (4.4%)

2 Reliance Communications

154.11 (September 2012)

Reliance ADAG (67%) Public (26%) Others (7%)

3 Vodafone 153.77 (April 2013 Vodafone (100%)

4 Idea 122.89 (April 2013 Aditya Birla Group Axiata Group Berhad (19.1%)

5 BSNL 97.17 (April 2013 State-owned

6 Tata DoCoMo (GSM & CDMA) Virgin Mobile (GSM & CDMA) Talk24/T24 (GSM)

90.09 (August 2012) Tata Teleservices (74%) NTT DoCoMo (26%)

7 Aircel 60.08 (April 2013) Maxis Communications (74%) Apollo Hospital (26%)

8 Uninor 31.84 (April 2013) Unitech Wireless Telenor (67.25%) Unitech Group (32.75%)

9 MTS 14.01 (October 2011) Sistema (73.71%) Shyam Group (23.79%)

10 Videocon 2.13 (April 2013) Videocon

11 MTNL 4.71 (April 2013) State-owned

12 Loop Mobile 3.02 (April 2013) Essar Group (8.0%) Santa Trading Pvt Ltd (85.75%) Others (6.25%)

13 Ping Mobile 1.15 (October 2011) HFCL Infotel Limited

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/mobile_network_operators_of_india

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1.4 Overview of Mobile Service Providers in U.P. (East) Circle14

1.4.1 Bharti Airtel Limited

Airtel is a brand of telecommunication services in India operated by Bharti Airtel.

Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading integrated telecommunications company with

operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi,

India, the company ranks amongst the top 5 mobile service providers globally in

terms of subscribers.

In India, the company s product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G services,

fixed line, high speed broadband through DSL, IPTV, DTH, enterprise services

including national & international long distance services to carriers.

Airtel is the largest cellular service provider in India in terms of number of

subscribers. It has presence in all the circles of the country. Leading international

telecommunication companies such as Vodafone and SingTel held partial stakes

in Bharti Airtel. This is because Singapore-based Asian telecom major Singtel,

which owns a little over 30% in Bharti Airtel, is a major player in the 3G space as

it has already third generation networks in several markets across Asia.

The Company Bharti Airtel is in India the biggest integrated and also the

1st telephone service provider in the private sector, which has footprint in all the

telecom circles. Bharti Airtel Limited has been since its very beginning using the

latest technology and thus the company has paved the way for the telecom sector

in India with its world-class services and products.

14Source : websites of respective service providers.

18

The Company Bharti Airtel is divided into 4 business units that are:

1. Broadband & Telephone (B&T) services

2. Enterprise services

3. Mobile services

4. Digital TV services

1.4.2 Reliance Communications

The Late Dhirubhai Ambani dreamt of a digital India an India where the

common man would have access to affordable means of information and

communication. Dhirubhai, who single- handedly built Indi s largest private

sector company virtually from scratch, had stated as early as 1999:

tools of information and communication available to people at an affordable

It was with this belief in mind that Reliance Communications (formerly

Reliance Infocomm) started laying 60,000 route kilometers of a pan-India fibre

optic backbone. This backbone was commissioned on 28 December 2002, the

auspicious occasion of Dhirubhai s 70th birthday, though sadly after his

unexpected demise on 6 July 2002.

It has established a pan-India, high-capacity, integrated (wireless and

wireline), convergent (voice, data and video) digital network, to offer services

spanning the entire infocomm value chain including infrastructure and services-

for enterprises as well as individuals, applications, and consulting.

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It is the flagship company of the Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group,

comprising of power (Reliance Energy), financial services (Reliance Capital) and

other initiatives of the Reliance ADA Group.

Network reach

o Over 800 global, regional and domestic carriers

o Over 2,100 Indian and Multinational corporations

o Providers of cutting edge connectivity to over 850 of top

1000 companies in India

o Connecting 2.5 million individual overseas customers

o 190,000 kms of fiber optic connecting over 1 million

building across 44 cities with over 1.4 million access lines

o 9 data centre with data storage space of over 6.5 lakh sq. ft.

Scalability

RCOM uses fibre-to-the-building approach helping in creating a

network with unlimited capacity and ability to support gigabit per

second bandwidth services for customers.

Network architecture

Architecturally the network is generations ahead of other

incumbent networks in India. A ring protected FTTB architecture

that gives an enhanced uptime.

End-to-end owned infrastructure

Only RCOM has a fully end-to-end owned infrastructure with last

mile access, nationally as well as internationally, thereby keeping

things under one control.

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Today, Reliance Communications is revolutionizing the way India

communicates and networks, truly bringing about a new way of life.

1.4.3 Tata Teleservices Limited

billion already committed. The Group's objective is to provide end-to-end

telecommunications solutions for business and residential customers across the

nation and internationally. The Group's communications activities are currently

spread primarily over four companies-Tata Teleservices Limited, its associate

Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited, Tata Communications (erstwhile

VSNL) and Tata Sky. Together, these companies cover the full range of

communications services, including:

Telephony Services: Fixed and Mobile

Media & Entertainment Services: Satellite TV

Data Services: Leased Lines, Managed Data Networks, IP/MPLS

VPN, Dial-up Internet, Wi-Fi and Broadband

Value-added Services: Mobile and Broadband

Content/Applications, Calling Cards, Net Telephony and Managed

Services

Infrastructure Services: Submarine Cable Bandwidth, Terrestrial

Fiber Network and Satellite Earth Stations and VSAT Connectivity

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Tata Teleservices Limited, along with Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra)

Limited, serves over 85 million customers in more than 450,000 towns and

villages across the country, with a bouquet of telephony services encompassing

the GSM, CDMA and 3G platforms, offering Mobile Services, Wireless Desktop

Phones, Public Booth Telephony and Wireline Data Services across one unified

and integrated brand-Tata DOCOMO.

Tata Teleservices Limited (TTL) spearheads the Tata Group's presence in

the telecom sector. Incorporated in 1996, TTL is the pioneer of the CDMA 1x

technology platform in India and embarked on a growth path after the acquisition

of Hughes Telecom (India) Limited [renamed Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra)

Limited] by the Tata Group in 2002. It launched mobile operations in January

2005 and today enjoys a pan-India presence through existing operations in all of

India's telecom Circles. The company is also the market leader in the fixed

wireless telephony market and also enjoys leadership position in the enterprise

space.

Tata DOCOMO arises out of the Tata Group s strategic alliance with

Japanese telecom major NTT DOCOMO in November 2008.

Tata Teleservices Limited was also the first Indian private telecom

operator to launch 3G services in India under the brand name Tata DOCOMO,

with its 3G launch in all the nine telecom Circles where it bagged the 3G license

in November 2010.

TTL also has a strategic partnership agreement with retail giant Future

Group to offer mobile telephony services under the brand name-T24-on the GSM

platform.

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1.4.4 Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (abbreviated BSNL) is an Indian state-owned

telecommunications company headquartered in New Delhi, India. BSNL is India s

oldest and largest communication service provider. It has footprints throughout

India except for the metropolitan cities of Mumbai and New Delhi, which are

managed by Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL).

BSNL has installed Quality Telecom Network in the country and now

focusing on improving it, expanding the network, introducing new telecom

services with ICT applications in villages and wining customer s confidence.

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

initiatives to bridge the Rural-Urban Digital Divide ICT sector. In fact there is no

telecom operator in the country to beat its reach with its wide network giving

services in every nook & corner of country and operates across India except Delhi

& Mumbai. BSNL offers vide ranging & most transparent tariff schemes designed

to suite every customer.

BSNL has set up a world class multi-gigabit, multi-protocol convergent IP

infrastructure that provides convergent services like voice, data and video through

the same Backbone and Broadband Access Network. The company has vast

experience in planning, installation, network integration and maintenance of

switching & transmission networks and also has a world class ISO 9000 certified

Telecom Training Institute.

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1.4.5 Vodafone

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

telecom circles in India. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone

coverage throughout India. It is among the top three GSM mobile operators of

India.

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

nationals 15%. On February 11, 2007, Vodafone agreed to acquire the controlling

interest of 67% held by Li Ka Shing Holdings in Hutch-Essar for US$11.1 billion,

piping Reliance Communications, Hinduja Group, and Essar Group, which is the

owner of the remaining 33%. The whole company was valued at USD 18.8

billion.The transaction closed on May 8, 2007.

In December 2006, Hutch Essar re-launched th

nationwide, consolidating its services under a single identity. The Company

entered into agreement with NTT DoCoMo to launch i-mode mobile Internet

service in India during 2007.

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

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

getting the necessary government approvals with regards to the acquisition of a

majority by the Vodafone Group, the company was rebranded as Vodafone Essar.

The marketing brand was officially changed to Vodafone.

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1.4.6 Idea Cellular Limited

It is an Aditya Birla Group Company. Idea is a pan-India integrated global system

for mobile communication (GSM) operator and has its own national long distance

(NLD) and international long distance (ILD) operations. During the fiscal year

ended March 31, 2012, the Company operates across all service areas with second

generation (2G) services and third generation (3G) services are being

progressively rolled out to cover over 3,000 towns.

penetration in non-urban & rural markets. It has the highest share of rural

subscribers as a percentage of total subscribers, amongst other GSM players. In

fact, 2 out of every 3 new Idea subscribers come from rural/ semi-urban India.

The company has received several other national and international

recognitions for its path-breaking innovations in mobile telephony products &

services.

The Economic Times Corporate Excellence Awards 2009. IDEA Cellular also

received the pres

rator of the Year Award

As part of a socially responsible corporate group, Idea has and continues

to adopt policies, and business strategies to effectively integrate emerging

environmental, social and economic considerations.

25

With a subscriber base of more than 10 crore, Idea has an opportunity to

influence a large mass of people by promoting green initiatives through our

various communication programs and customer service initiatives.

It w Use Mobile, Save Paper

the minds of millions of mobile users in India, with its aggressive yet thought

provoking campaign. Idea designed the campaign to highlight numerous ways of

saving paper, and thereby saving the green cover necessary for the health of the

planet, by using a range of mobile based value added services in day-to-day

activities to replace paper.

1.4.7 Aircel Group

The Aircel Group is a result of alliance between Maxis Communications Berhad

of Malaysia (74% equity) and Sindya Securities & Investments Private Limited

(26% equity).

The Aircel Group, formed in 1994, offers affordable and outstanding

mobile services to a vast subscriber base in India. Aircel commenced operations in

1999. In the first decade of its operations, it concentrated on building its

foundations in the southern part of the country, and soon emerged as the regional

market leader.

Aircel successfully bid for 3G licenses/ spectrum in 13 states, (Andhra

Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kolkata, Kerala, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh (East),

West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir, Bihar, Orissa, Assam and North East),

with BWA licenses/spectrum also obtained in 8 of these states.

has been the fastest roll out ever in the Indian Telecom Space.

26

In 2006, Aircel was acquired by

communications service provider Maxis (Maxis Communication Berhard) and is a

joint venture with Sindya Securities & Investments Pvt Ltd - Maxis holds 74%

equity in the company.

Aircel was also adjudged the by Aon Hewitt in 2011.

acquiring, nurturing and retaining highly

talented people by providing them with an inclusive and dynamic working

environment. It has also set up the Aircel Academy, a 25,000 square foot facility

in Gurgaon (HQ) to provide learning and specialized development for employees.

Being a caring and responsible corporate, Aircel is involved in initiatives

like Save Our Tigers , an effort to save and grow the dwindling population of

tigers in India. Another initiative by Aircel is the a+, initiative which aims to

bridge the digital divide. Through ; Aircel provides underprivileged

youth from rural areas access to computers and internet for educational and

developmental purposes.

1.4.8 Uninor

Uninor is an Indian mobile network operator based in Gurgaon, India. The

company holds Unified Access Service (UAS) licences to offer mobile telephony

services in 21 of these (excluding Delhi). Following a Supreme Court order, it

closed its operations in Mumbai in February 2013.

The company is a joint venture between Telenor Group, a

telecommunications company headquartered in Oslo, Norway, and Unitech

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Group, an Indian real estate company. Telenor owns a controlling majority stake

in the company (67.25%), which has been branded Uninor in the Indian market.

Uninor services are commercially available in 13 circles across India. With

value for money

communities within the Indian mass market.

As of December 2011, Uninor has 36 million customers and a total

workforce of 17,500 people. The company has more than 22,000 partners in India.

Uninor products and services are available from a more than 375,000 retail outlets

serviced by 1,900 distributors all over the country.

Key Milestones

October 2008: Telenor announces its plans to enter the Indian

mobile market.

September 2009: Unitech Wireless is rebranded as Uninor.

September 2009: Uninor team reaches 1,000 people.

December 2009: Uninor launches commercial mobile services in 7

circles, reaching up to 600 million people in UP West, UP East,

Bihar & Jharkhand, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and

Kerala.

December 2009: Uninor enters the market targeting the new, young

Ab Mera Number Hai

February 2010: Uninor recieves fourth and final round of equity

investment from the Telenor Group. The Telenor Group takes

ownership to 67.25% of the joint venture.

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April 2010: Uninor launches Dynamic Pricing in the three circles

of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The offering is

subsequently expanded pan-India.

October 2011: Uninor crosses 30 million subscribers

Pay Less. Talk More

across India

November 2011: Internal employee survey shows 92% of

employees are proud to work with Uninor

1.4.9 Mobile TeleSystems

Mobile TeleSystems or simply MTS India is an Indian subdivision of Russian

Mobile TeleSystems telecommunication Company, headquartered in New Delhi,

India. It provides wireless voice, broadband Internet, messaging and data services

in India. MTS India is a subsidiary of Russian conglomerate Sistema and operates

across India with over 16 million customers.

The largest public diversified corporation in Russia and the CIS - Sistema

acquired a 10% stake in Shyam Telelink for a total cash consideration of US$ 11.4

million at the end of September 2007.

Shyam Telecom along with their partner Sistema had applied for UASL

license in 22 telecom circles of India. In August 2008, they became the first new

mobile operator to get a pan-India start-up spectrum to start their mobile service

operations in the country. They are providing mobile services based on CDMA

technology under the brand name MTS India. Shyam Telecom has given project

to ZTE and Huawei for network expansion.

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1.5 Role of TRAI15

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was established in 1997

through an Act of Parliament, viz., the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

protected and at the same time to nurture conditions for growth of

telecommunications, broadcasting and cable services in a manner and at a pace

which will enable India to play a leading role in the emerging global information

society. For achieving these objectives, the Authority issues from time to time

regulations, directions, orders or guidelines with focus on providing consumer

with adequate choice, affordable tariffs and high quality of service.

TRAI has recently issued new regulations on consumer protection,

complaint redressal system, unsolicited commercial communications and mobile

number portability. TRAI has laid down the standards of quality of service to be

provided by the service providers to create conditions for consumer satisfaction by

making known the quality of service, which the service provider is required to

provide and the user has a right to expect.

Even though the TRAI Act does not envisage dealing with individual

complaints by the Authority, complaints received in TRAI help the Authority to

gauge the performance of the sector and take further regulatory measures to

address the issues. In fact many a regulations, directions and orders issued by

TRAI can trace its roots to the complaints received in TRAI from the consumers.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, is an independent legal entity,

was established to regulate the telecommunication services and discharge the

various functions, two of them are as follows :-

15 Handbook on Telecommunications (English-New) www.trai.gov.in/WriteReadData/

userfiles/file/.../TRAI-Handbook12.pdf.

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To ensure compliance of terms and conditions of license which

includes customer service, Quality of Performance, Tariff also

apart from other conditions;

To lay down the standards of quality of service to be provided by

the service providers and to ensure the quality of service and to

conduct the periodical survey of such service provided by the

service providers so as to protect interest of the consumers of

telecommunication services.

TRAI has notified the various Directions/Regulations/Guidelines to the

service providers to address the major issues related to consumers including but

not limited to the following:

Telecom Consumers Protection and Redressal of Grievances

Regulation, 2007 on 4th May 2007 which provides for speedy,

effective and inexpensive redressal of grievances of consumers by

the services provider.

Quality of Service (code of practice on metering and billing

accuracy) Regulation, 2006 on 21st March 2006; for protecting the

interest of consumers relating to metering and billing.

Quality of Service (time period of resolution of billing complaints,

refund of dues/security deposits to consumers, rectification of calls,

rebate in rent for delayed rectification of faults etc.) of Basic and

Cellular Mobile Telephone Services, Regulations on 1st July 2005

and reviewed thereafter on 20th March 2009.

Direction on 16th September 2005 regarding not to

offer/market/advertise in a manner that is likely to mislead the

consumers.

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Guidelines to Telecom Service Providers regarding Collection of

dues by outsourced agencies engaged by them on 16th November

2007; for addressing the concerns of consumers relating to

collection of dues.

The compliance of above Directions / Regulations is monitored by TRAI.

Whenever deficiencies/violation of TRAI Orders / Directions / Regulations are

noticed, TRAI takes up the issue with the concerned Service Provider for remedial

action. However, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act 1997 does not

envisage redressal of individual complaints by TRAI.

1.6 Problem Statement

The problem statement, describes the content for the study and it also identifies

the general analysis approach, or is the issue that exists in the literature, theory, or

practice that leads to a need for the study and when stated effectively should

answer the question: why does this research need to be conducted?

The problem of this study is propelled by the need to empirically

measure customer satisfaction with various dimensions of customer care services

of mobile telecommunication networks in U.P. (East) Circle. This growth trend

could not be attributed to customer satisfaction; it is fundamentally due to the

substantial growth in investment and expansion of network access during the last

decade. This seems a success story, and there are high hopes that the service

quality delivered by the telecommunication service providers meet customer

expectations but there are numbers of complaints of mobile phone subscribers

related to effectiveness of the network, call charges and value added/multimedia

services offered by the companies.

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So the growth trend in the mobile telecom industry in India and

particularly U.P (East) Circle does not provide empirical support for the claim

that customers are satisfied with the service delivery of the service providers.

In order to solve their problems, customers approach to their respective

customer care centres but it is important to evaluate the performance of service

providers on this aspect. For service providers, it is the important to understand

the impact of effectiveness of customer care services on overall satisfaction of

their subscribers so that they can formulate customer centric strategies specially

after the introduction of MNP in the year 2011. Mobile number portability (MNP)

gives the freedom to mobile phone subscribers to choose a telecom service

different from their existing one if they find that the services offered by existing

one is not up to their expectations.

The purpose of this study to understand the needs and expectations of the

mobile phone subscribers and to evaluate the current status of customer services

offered by various mobile telecommunications companies as well as the impact of

the such services on the satisfaction level of the subscribers and to analyse the

role, MNP is playing in this competitive market.

1.7 Objectives of the Study

1. To identify the various issues related to customer service and its

quality.

2. To analyse and compare the services offered by the mobile phone

service providers.

3. To explore various complaints of the customers and to advocate

customer centric strategies for service providers.

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4. To identify the gaps between expectations of the subscribers and

the performance of the service providers.

5. To study and analyse the impact of customer care services on the

customer satisfaction.

6. To identify the reasons for switching intention of mobile phone

subscribers.

1.8 Importance and Scope of the Study

Mobile telecommunication companies are continuously competing for customers.

The -

centric strategies to sustain in the market in the long-run i.e. there is an increasing

Loyal customers, from cost perspective tend to stay longer with the preferred

providers, buy more and generate favourable word of mouth effect that may

further benefit the service provider but considering the competitive battle in the

mobile telecommunications industry, customers may leave their service provider

irrespective of retention efforts. Hence, this study empirically examines the

potential construct of customer intention from customer satisfaction perspective.

Recently introduced Mobile Number Portability (MNP) system facilitates cellular

subscribers to change their service provider while retaining their existing mobile

number by shifting from one mobile network operator to another. The unique

benefit of the system is that the subscriber can migrate to a new mobile service

provider without inconvenience or disruption to friends, family or business

contacts.

The study is immensely significant in diverse ways to business/marketing

practitioners, policy makers and stakeholders.

34

This research is equally important for the academicians as the results from

and maintain their relationship with their mobile service provider.

To the management of mobile phone service providers, the findings and

results of this study provides a more reliable, scientific measure and perspective

for describing and evaluating the subscribing satisfaction level with the services

they deliver.

It essentially includes dimensions of service quality that customers

networks. This will provide empirical support for management strategic decisions

in several critical areas of their operations, and above all, provide a justifiably

valid and reliable guide for designing workable service delivery improvement

strategies for creating and delivering customer value, achieving customer

satisfaction and loyalty, building long- term mutually beneficial relationship

with profitable customers and achieve sustainable business growth in U.P.(East)

Circle.

To policy makers such as the Ministry of Communications and Telecom

Regulatory Authority of India, the findings and results of this study provides

invaluable insights and a more reliable guide to evaluate performance of service

providers with special reference to customer care services. It will also help the

TRAI to ensure that these operators are responsive to customer and community

To stakeholders like investors, shareholders, employees, pressure groups,

consumer associations, etc., the study provides invaluable information that will

allow them to provide useful suggestions to the improvement in service delivery

of their respective mobile network operators in U.P. (East) Circle.

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1.9 Structure of Thesis

The study is organised into six chapters

Chapter 1 - Introduction Chapter 2 - Review of Literature

Chapter 3 - Background of the Study

Chapter 4 - Research Methodology Chapter 5 - Data Analysis & Interpretation

Chapter 6 - Conclusion and Recommendations

First Chapter - Introduction y in nature and it covers

Concepts and theoretical framework, Development of Telecommunications in

India, Objectives, Scope and importance of the study.

Second Chapter - Review of Literature

the study and the results of various studies are summarized.

Third Chapter - Background of the Study s the concept of

Relationship Marketing, Customer Care and Service Quality with special

reference to Mobile Phone services.

Fourth Chapter - Research Methodology consists the details regarding

various sources used for data collection, sampling and its plan, hypotheses and

statistical tools applied to fulfill the study objectives.

Fifth Chapter- Data Analysis & Interpretation

collected data by using various statistical tools and interpretations are done to

expose relations and processes that underlie.

Sixth Chapter- Conclusion and Recommendations concludes the study

with major findings, conclusion and recommendations.

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1.10 Conclusion

This chapter covered the conceptual and theoretical framework of the study,

overview of mobile service providers in U.P. (East) Circle, development of

telecommunications in India, objectives, scope and importance of the study, role

of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), structure of thesis and overall

provided a context and justification for the study. On these foundations, the thesis

proceeds with a detailed review of literature to identify the major research gaps.