PROJECT REPORT

ON
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

UNDERGONE
AT
BLUMOUNT VENTURES (CORPORATE SALES ASSOCIATE OF
BHARTI CELLULAR LTD.), BANGALORE

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF MASTER OF

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT (MBA)
BY__________
(________)

BHARTI-HEXACOM TELE-VENTURES

"As we spread wings to expand our capabilities and explore the

New horizons, the fundamental focus remains unchanged: seek
out the best technology in the world and put it at the service of our
ultimate user: our customer."

_______________

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Any work of this magnitude requires the inputs, efforts and encouragement
of people from all sides. In this project report, I have been very fortunate in
having got the active co-operation of many people, whom I would like to
humbly thank.
The true credit of my completing the work successfully goes to my guide
____________Business Development Manager, who with his patience and
knowledge guided me through the project. He helped me to understand
telecom industry, markets, project objectives and execution.
I have been obliged to take value assistance and co-operation of a number of
eminent personalities, therefore I would like to express my deep sense of
thanks and sincere regards to all these members.
I owe special thank to all the respondents whom I approached with my
questionnaire and who took time off their busy schedules to answer them
patiently.

______________

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
About Bharti Group

GSM Technology

43

Research methodology

51

Findings and Conclusions

62

Annexure

65

Bibliography

69

About The Company

ABOUT THE BHARTI GROUP

Bharti Enterprises has been at the forefront of technology and has
revolutionized telecommunications with its world class products and
services.
Established in 1976, Bharti has been a pioneering force in the telecom sector
with many firsts and innovations to its credit. Bharti provides a range of
telecom services, which include Cellular, Basic, Internet and recently
introduced National Long Distance. Bharti also manufactures and exports
telephone terminals and cordless phones.
Bharti is the leading cellular service provider, with a footprint in 15 states
covering all four metros. It has over four million satisfied customers.

JOINT VENTURES
Bharti has many joint ventures with world leaders like Singtel (Singapore
Telecom); Warburg Pincus, USA; Telia, Sweden; Asian infrastructure find,
Mauritius; International Finance Corporation, USA and New York Life
International, USA.
Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited was incorporated on July 7, 1995 for
promoting investments in telecommunications services. Its subsidiaries
operate telecom services across India. Bharti Tele-Ventures is India's leading
private sector provider of telecommunication services based on a strong
customer base consisting of approximately 8.37 million total customers

which constitute, approximately 7.67 million mobile and approximately

704,000 fixed line customers, as of June 30, 2004.

MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE
The group has been structured to create functional and operational
specialization with a linear vision of business lines and functional areas.
The Company is headed by Chairman and Group Managing Director- Sunil
Bharti Mittal who is assisted by two Joint Managing Directors- Akhil Gupta
and Rajan Bharti Mittal. The Company also has two Presidents- President
Mobile Services and President Infotel Services, this responsibility includes
Fixed-line, Long Distance and Broadband Services. The Presidents report to
the Group Chairman and Managing Director. The head of units and Strategic
Business Units (SBU) report to the respective business's President.

BHARTIS VISION
To make mobile communications a way of life and be the
customers first choice.

BHARTIS MISSION
Meet the mobile communication needs of the customer through

1)

Error free service

2)

Innovative products and services and

3)

Cost efficiency.

4)

Unified messaging solutions

Airtel from Bharti Cellular Limited is a part of the biggest private

integrated telecom conglomerate, Bharti Enterprises.

CORE VALUE OF BHARTI

The core values of Bharti are:

Innoventuring
Generating and implementing entrepreneurial and innovative ideas, to
create new growth engines.

Customer First
Committed to delivering service beyond the expectations of the
customer.

Performance Culture
Benchmarking processes and performance against world-class
standards helps to distinguish between performers and non-performers
by valuing achievement at the individual as well as the team level.
The culture encourages and invites feedback, learning and ideas
sought and acted upon.

Valuing Partnership
Committed to building exemplary relationship with partners, which
stands on the principles of mutual trust and mutual growth.

Valuing People
Nurtures an environment where people are respected and their
uniqueness is valued. Firmly believing that people are key
differentiates.

Responsible Corporate Citizenship

Committed to making a positive and proactive contribution to the
community and as a responsible corporate citizen will contribute to
and abide by environmental and legal norms.

Ethical Practices
Will uphold the highest ethical standards in all internal and external
relationship and will not allow misuse or mis-representation of any
facts.

BUSINESS STRATEGY
Bharti Airtels strategic objective is:
To capitalize on the growth opportunities that the Company believes
are available in the Indian telecommunications market and consolidate
its position to be the leading integrated telecommunications services
provider in key markets in India, with a focus on providing mobile
services.
The Company has developed the following strategies to achieve its strategic
objective:

Focus on maximizing revenues and margins;

Capture maximum telecommunications revenue potential with

minimum geographical coverage;

Offer multiple telecommunications services to provide customers with

a "one-stop shop" solution;

Position itself to tap data transmission opportunities and offer

advanced mobile data services;

Focus on satisfying and retaining customers by ensuring high level of

customer satisfaction;

Leverage strengths of its strategic and financial partners.

Emphasis is laid heavily on human resource development to achieve

operational efficiencies.

MOBILE STRATEGY

Capture maximum telecommunications revenue potential with

minimum geographical coverage to maximize its revenues and
margins.

Build high quality mobile networks by deploying state-of-the-art

technology to offer superior services.

Use the experience it has gained from operating its existing mobile
networks to develop and operate other mobile networks in India and
to share the expertise across all of its existing and new circles.

Provide affordable tariff plans to suit each segment of the market with
a view to expand the reach, thereby increasing the mobile customer
base rapidly.

Attract and retain high revenue generating customers by providing

competitive tariffs, offering high quality customer services.

Competitive Strengths
1. Bharti Airtel believes that the following elements will contribute to
the Company's success as an integrated telecommunication services
provider in India and will provide the Company with a solid
foundation to execute its business strategy:

2. Nationwide Footprint - As of June 30, 2004, approximately 92% of

India's total mobile subscribers resided in the Company's sixteen
mobile circles. These 16 circles collectively accounted for
approximately 56% of India's land mass;
3. Focus on telecommunications to enable the Company to better
anticipate industry trends and capitalize on new telecommunicationsrelated business opportunities;
4. The strong brand name recognition and a reputation for offering high
quality service to its customers;
5. The Company's strong relationships with international strategic and
financial investors such as Singtel, Warburg Pincus, International
Finance Corporation, Asian Infrastructure Fund Group and New York
Life Insurance.
6. Quality management teams with vision and proven execution skills.

MOBILE DIVISION
The Indian mobile market, according to the (COAI), has increased from
approximately 1.2 million subscribers as of March 31, 1999 to
approximately 37.38 million subscribers as of December 31, 2004.
Despite this rapid growth, the mobile penetration rate in India, at
approximately 3.6% as of December 31, 2004, is significantly lower than the
average mobile penetration rate in other Asian and international markets.
The number of mobile subscribers in India is expected to show rapid growth
over the next four years, 2006 projected it at 50 million by COAI and 44
million by Gartner.
Bharti Tele-Ventures believes that the demand for mobile services in India
will continue to grow rapidly as a result of the following factors:

Lower tariffs and handset prices over time;

Growth in pre-paid customer category;
Greater economic growth and continued development;
Higher quality mobile networks and services; and
Greater variety and usage of value added services.

Bharti Airtel, through its subsidiary has the licenses to provide GSM
services in all the twenty-three telecom circles in India.
It proposes to consolidate all its subsidiaries providing mobile services under
Bharti Cellular Limited.

MOBILE FOOTPRINT
The map below depicts the location of, and provides certain information for,
Bharti Airtels existing mobile circles in India:

All India
AIRTELs Position
Chennai - 4,055,704
Delhi - 2,468,016
Mumbai - 1,823,532
Kolkata - 1,852,838
Maharashtra & Goa - 4,345,945
Gujarat - 3,004,824
Andhra Pradesh - 6,516,332
Karnataka - 7,316,500
Tamil Nadu - 4,218,705
Kerala - 1,703,298
Punjab - 3,239,200
Haryana - 1,067,990
Uttar Pradesh (West) - 1,624,001
Uttar Pradesh (East) - 3,897,278
Rajasthan - 4,242,006

Madhya Pradesh - 3,084,776

West Bengal & Andaman and Nicobar - 2,106,163
Himachal Pradesh - 809,829
Bihar - 4,912,900
Orissa - 1,911,070
Assam - 939,746
North Eastern States - 585,213
Jammu & Kashmir - 1,100,069

The key demographics of Bharti Airtel's mobile circles are set forth below.

Bharti as % of All India

Number of circles
22
16
73%

Area of the circles (in '000 sq. km)(1)

3,278
1,848
56%

Population in the licensed areas (in Mn)(2)

1,027
593
58%
Market Mobile subscribers in the licensed areas (in Mn) (3)
37.38
36.31
97%

Market DELs in the licensed area (in Mn) (4)

37.7
30.7
81%
Number of vehicles in the licensed areas (in '000s)(5)
36,132
29,025
80%

(1)

Area estimates are from National Census, 2001.

(2)

Population estimates for all the circles other than the metropolitan
areas are as per National Census, 2001 and are as of March 1, 2001.
Population estimates for the Uttar Pradesh (West) circle is 37% of the

total

(3)

population

of

the

state

of

Uttar

Pradesh.

Based on data released by the COAI on the total number of mobile

subscribers in the circles as of December 31, 2004.

(4)

DELs as on March 31, 2002. Based on data released questions and

Government statistics as per The Financial Express dated June
10,2002.

(5)

Vehicles comprise four wheeler and two wheeler non-commercial.

(6)

Vehicles and are derived from data released by the Motor Transport
Statistics of India as of March 31, 1997 in its most recent report.

BHARTI OVER THE YEARS

The organization is designed to ensure identical businesses are run along
similar lines and best resources in any functional field, be tapped to serve the
best interests of the entire group. With its experience and expertise it has
totally empowered to manage respective companies and are fully responsible
for business operations to build world-class organizations with a high degree
of customer focus.

1995

Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited incorporated on July 7, 1995

Bharti Cellular launched mobile services Airtel in Delhi

1996

Bharti Telenet launched mobile services in Himachal Pradesh

1997

Bharti Telenet obtained a license for providing fixed-line services in

Madhya Pradesh circle

Bharti Telecom formed a joint venture, Bharti BT, for providing

VSAT services.

1998

Bharti Telecom formed a joint venture, Bharti BT Internet for

providing Internet services

First Indian private fixed-line services launched in Indore in the

Madhya Pradesh circle on June 4, 1998 by Bharti Telenet thereby
ending fixed-line services monopoly of DoT (now BSNL)

1999

Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired an effective equity interest in Bharti

Mobile (formerly JT Mobiles), the mobile services provider in
Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh circles.

Warburg Pincus (through its investment company Brentwood

investment Holdings Limited) acquired equity interest in Bharti
Televentures.

Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired an effective equity interest in Bharti

Mobile (formerly JT Mobiles), the mobile services provider in
Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh circles.

2000

New York Life Insurance Fund, or NYLIF, acquired equity interest in

Bharti Cellular.

Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired an effective equity interest in Bharti

Mobinet (formerly Skytel Communications), the mobile services
provider in Chennai.

Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired equity interest of Telecom Italia and

Bharti Telecom in Bharti Telenet thereby making Bharti Telenet a
100% subsidiary of Bharti Tele-Ventures.

Singtel (through its investment company Pastel Limited) acquired

STET's equity interest in Bharti Tele-Ventures.

Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired an additional effective equity interest in

Bharti Mobile resulting in Bharti Tele-Ventures holding an effective
74% equity interest in Bharti Mobile.

2001

Bharti Telesonic entered into a joint venture, Bharti Aquanet, with

Singtel for establishing a submarine cable landing station at Chennai.

Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired NYLIF's equity interest in Bharti

Cellular.

Bharti Cellular acquired a 100% equity interest in Bharti Mobile

(formerly Spice Cell), the mobile services provider in Kolkata.

Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired equity interest in Bharti Cellular from

British Telecom, thereby making Bharti Cellular its 100% subsidiary.

Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired an additional equity interest in Bharti

Mobinet from Millicom International and BellSouth International.

Punjab license restored to Bharti Mobile by the DoT and migration to

NTP- 1999 accepted.

Bharti Cellular entered into license agreements to provide mobile

services in eight new circles following the fourth operator mobile
license bidding process.

Bharti Telenet entered into license agreements to provide fixed-line

services in the Haryana, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka circles.

Bharti Telesonic has entered into a license agreement with DoT to

provide National Long Distance Services in India and has been the
first service provider to start service in the country.

Bharti Aquanet, Bharti Telesonic and Bharti Cellular have entered into
license agreements with the DoT to provide ISP services in India.

2002

Bharti launched mobile services in Gujarat, Haryana, Kerala, Madhya

Pradesh circle, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar
Pradesh (West) circle. Bharti listed on the National stock Exchange,
Bombay Stock Exchange and the Delhi Stock Exchange on February
18, 2002.

Bharti entered into a license agreement with the DoT to provide

international long distance services in India.

Bharti launched fixed-line services in the Delhi, Haryana, and

Karnataka and Tamil Nadu license areas.

Bharti became the first private telecommunications services provider

to launch international long distance services.

2003
Bharti to invest Rs. 150 crores in its mobile business in Tamil Nadu
state.
AirTel Magic launches pre-paid international roaming for all its
customers.
AirTel to add six new towns-Satna, Katni, Hoshangabad, Itarsi,
Morena.
AirTel announces exciting national initiatives to expand the mobile
market.

2004
Bharti Teletech introduces new standards of cordless telephony in
India.
Airtel launches WI-FI service in Mumbai .
Blackberry Launch: Airtel unveils another first in global business
mobile communication with the launch of Blackberry - the most
powerful instant e-mail mobile innovation.
Airtel adds another first becomes the first private sector mobile
service to launch operations in J&K.

2005
Airtel Becomes The First GSM Operator In The Country To Cross
The 10 Million-Customer Milestone.
Sunil Bharti Mittal Inducted To The Global GSM Association Board.
Bharti Launches Airtel In North East & Assam.

2008
Airtel and Research In Motion launch the BlackBerry 8700g - the first
EDGE-enabled BlackBerry device in India.
Results of Postal Ballot for change of company name from Bharti
Tele-Ventures Limited to Bharti Airtel Limited.

2009
Airtel brings the Highly-Anticipated BlackBerry 8800 Smartphone to
India.

2010
Airtel Partners with SingTel to Offer Free Incoming Calls while on
International Roaming in Singapore.
Airtel makes its television debut - Set to redefine home entertainment
with Airtel digital TV.

 Airtel adds to the joy of festive season launches digital TV.

1999
Pre-4th License
Post-4th License
Number of Mobile Circles
2
5
20
Number of Fixed-Line Circles
1
1
6
Population covered in our licensed area (%)
2%
16%
58%
Area covered in our licensed areas (%)
2%
16%
56%
Wireless Coverage Area(% of Mobile Customers covered)
16%

38%
97%

1) Comprises the circle of Delhi and Himachal Pradesh.

2) Comprises the circle of Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Andhra
Pradesh.
3) Comprises the circle of Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh and Chennai.
4) Comprise the sixteen operational circles of Bharti Tele-Ventures.
5) Based on data released by the COAI on the total number of persons
subscribing to mobile services in our licensed areas.

ACHIVEMENTS

The largest private sector in integrated telecommunications services

group in India in terms of the number of customers.

Largest Mobile footprint in India, covering 20 of the 23 licensed

areas.

Proven track record of managing growth - both organic as well as by

way of acquisitions.

Existing foreign shareholders have acquired direct and indirect equity

interests in the Company for a total consideration exceeding US$1
billion.

First and largest private telecommunications services company

offering fixed-line services in India.

First private telecommunications company to launch long distance

services.

First off the block to launch fixed-line services in all the four circles
of Delhi, Haryana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

FIRST AMONGST

FIRST operator to revolutionize the concept of retailing with the

inaugurations of connects (exclusive showrooms) in 1995.
FIRST mobile communication service provider in India to be certified for
ISO9001: 2000.
FIRST in world certified by British Standards Institution for mobile
Communication.
FIRST to expand its network with the installation of second mobile
switching centers in 1997.
FIRST TO introduce the intelligent network platform first to provide
retail subscribers by forming an association called World 1 Network.
FIRST to provide roaming facility in USA.
FIRST to introduce a wide array of value added services like Smart mail,
fax facility, call waiting, Web-messages, information services etc. to
enhance the convenience of its subscribers.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Bharti Tele-Ventures, its subsidiaries and management have received several
awards and recognitions, including:

Bharti Airtel crosses the 60 million customer mark in feb. 2008.

Bharti Airtel enhances empowerment, strengthens business roles in

2007.

Bharti Enterprises announces new Apex level Strategic Organization

Structure in 2007.

Indias Most Famous Icons Fight For Supremacy in 2005.

Airtel Becomes The First GSM Operator In The Country To Cross

The 10 Million-Customer Milestone in 2005.

Bharti, Indias leading telecom conglomerate, declared countrys bestmanaged company by Asiamoney in 2004.

Airtel wins the World Communications Best Brand Award in 2004.

Bharti makes it to the Hewitt top 25 Best Employers in 2003.

Bharti moves ahead in the creation of a single power brand in 2003.

Bharti gets international long distance service licence in 2002.

Sunil Mittal is 'Businessman of the Year 2002'

Sunil Bharti Mittal awarded the Dataquest IT Man of the Year 2002

Bharti was recognized as one of the "Leading Lights of Telecom" in

Asia in November 2001 in the Asian edition of the "tele.com"
magazine with analytical inputs from research consultants Frost
&Sullivan.

The leading telecommunications service provider in India in a survey

of Indian companies conducted by Business World in association with
Indian Marketing Research Bureau in September 2001.

The Techies award from Information Communications World, an

international business magazine, for four consecutive years (1997 to
2000) for brand excellence, network quality, customer service and
value added service in our Delhi mobile circle.

Golden Peacock National Training Award 1999 to Bharti Cellular

for our Delhi mobile operations from the Institute of Directors, a nonprofit

association

in

India

committed

to

improving

the

competitiveness of Indian business by focusing on development of

business leaders, for the best human resources and training practices.

Ascent Times of India and Sodexho Pass award in 1999 from the
Asia Pacific HRD conclave to Bharti Cellular for corporate excellence
in the category of most innovative human resource practices.

Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal (Chairman and Group Managing Director)

was honored as " One of the Top Entrepreneurs Worldwide" for the
year 2000 and "Stars of Asia" for the year 2001 by international
business magazine, Business Week.

Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal was selected as the "Businessman of the year
2002" by Business India.

Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal was awarded the Dataquest IT man of the
year 2002.

Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal was selected the "CEO of the year 2002" by
World HRD congress.

Mr. Akhil Gupta (Joint Managing Director) was adjudged as the Chief
Financial Officer for year 2001 for Mergers & Acquisitions activities
by EIU.

CELLULAR ANALOGY
Introduction to telecomm technologies:
There are two types of telephone service infrastructure
Fixed wired (standard telephones using copper or fibre cables) and
wireless (cordless analogue and DECT digital)
Mobile cellular analogue and digital (GSM), and satellite
The technologies used by these services may be analogue, or in the case of
newer technologies, digital. Most can be used for more than simple voice
telephony, for example to transmit faxes and to transfer files including data,
audio and video.

Fixed telephony
POTS the standard (or "plain old") telephone service, an analogue
system using copper wires.
ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network. ISDN uses the same
copper wires as POTS, but by (at its simplest) providing two channels
per physical line can be thought of as the equivalent of two lines. In

larger installations one physical line can carry up to 30 voice or data

channels.
ADSL Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line. ADSL, which also
uses existing copper wires, is a fast and permanent "always on"
connection to the Internet, which includes one phone line or voice
channel which can be used at the same time.
Cable modems use the hybrid fiber coax (HFC) networks of the
cable companies. Shared bandwidth means speeds 5-10 times as fast
as single channel ISDN, similar to ADSL. ADSL and cable modem
connections are referred to as Broadband.
Fixed wireless fixed base station and wireless DECT type handsets
are gaining in popularity for voice telephony. Wireless LAN systems
using a base station and cards with aerials inserted into computers are
on the market and becoming more popular. These wirelesses LANs
are also appearing in shared working spaces although there are some
concerns about security of such networks. They are referred to as
WiFi or 802.11 networks. An associated technology called Mesh
turns each wireless appliance into a repeater station so spreading the
range of the network.

Mobile telephony
GSM unlike cellular (analogue) mobile phones, GSM is a digital
service. It can provide e-mail/text messaging and WAP Internet
connectivity, but at a relatively low bandwidth, and therefore slow or
restricted functionality.
GPRS a new data network which offers an "always on" connection
to the Internet, and increases the speed at which data is transferred
over mobile phones. A GPRS device, such as a desktop/laptop/palm
top computer, can be permanently connected to the network through
an internal card or external box, with an aerial for Internet and other
services. Starting bandwidth is up to 28 or 56kbps depending on
strength of signal, with plans to increase this to 128kbps. At the higher
bandwidth the service could be a viable, always-on alternative to
ISDN.
Third generation (3G) mobile or UMTS (Universal Mobile Telephone
Service) will provide fast Internet access, which will in practice
enable data transfer and network applications to be used from laptop,
notebook and handheld computers.
Satellite phones are bulky and expensive but can be used most
anywhere in the world.
At the basic level, mobile phones are either analog or digital. Some are both.
Today's mobile phones are primarily digital, especially in India and run on

different technologies such as CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) and

GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications). Code Division Multiple
Access (CDMA) is a very new concept in wirelesses communications,
which has lead to improve both; the system capacity as well as the service
quality.
CDMA is a form of spread-spectrum, a family of digital communication
techniques that have been used in military applications for many years. The
core principle of spread spectrum is the use of noise-like carrier waves,
which have bandwidths much wider than that required for simple point-topoint communication for the same data rate.

GSM Technology

The development of GSM started in the early 1980s. It was the mainstay of
the plans for Europes mobile communication infrastructure for the 1990s.
Today, GSM and its DCS 1800 and PCs 1900 versions have spread far
beyond Western Europe with networks installed across all continents.
The story begins in 1982 when the European Conference of Posts and
Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT), consisting then of the
telecommunication administrations of twenty-six nations made two very
significant decisions. The first was to establish a team with the title "Groupe
Spciale Mobile" (hence the term "GSM", which today stands for Global
System for Mobile Communications) to develop a set of common standards
for a future pan-European cellular network. The second was to recommend
that two blocks of frequencies in the 900 MHz band be set aside for the
system.
The CEPT made these decisions in an attempt to solve the problems created
by the uncoordinated development of individual national mobile
communication systems using incompatible standards. The impossibility of
using the same terminal in different countries whilst traveling across Europe
was one of these problems; another was the difficulty of establishing a
Europe-wide mobile communications industry that would be competitive in
world markets due to the lack of a sufficiently larger home market with
common standards .By 1986 it was clear that some of these analogue
cellular networks would run out of capacity by the early 1990s. As a result, a
directive was issued for two blocks of frequencies in the 900 MHz band,
albeit somewhat smaller than recommended by the CEPT, to be reserved
absolutely

for

pan-European

service

to

be

opened in

1991.

The digital system would offer improved spectrum efficiency, better quality
transmission and new services with enhanced features including security. It
would also permit the use of Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI)
technology, which would lead to smaller, and cheaper mobiles, including
hand held terminals. Finally, a digital approach would complement the
development of the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) with which
GSM would have to interface. GSM initially stood for Group Spcial
Mobile, the CEPT (Conference of European Posts & Telegraphs) formed the
group to develop a Pan-European cellular system to replace the many
systems already in place in Europe that were all incompatible.
The main features of GSM were to be International Roaming ability, good
sound quality, small cheap handsets and ability to handle high volumes of
users. GSM was taken over in 1989 by the ETSI (European
Telecommunications Standards Institute) and they finalized the GSM
standard in 1990. GSM service started in 1991. It was also renamed this year
to Global System for Mobile communications (GSM).
Today there are approx. 105 countries with GSM networks or planned
networks and many more are planned with around 32 million subscribers
worldwide

on

the

139

networks.

The

MoU

"Memorandum

of

Understanding" has over 210 members from 105 countries, this organization
meets ever three to four months to look at new or better implementations to
the GSM system.

Home Location Register (HLR)

A Home Location Register (HLR) is a database that contains semipermanent mobile subscriber information for wireless carriers' entire

subscriber base. HLR subscriber information includes the International

Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), service subscription information,
location information (the identity of the currently serving Visitor Location
Register (VLR) to enable the routing of mobile-terminated calls), service
restrictions and supplementary services information.
The HLR handles transactions with both Mobile Switching Centers (MSCs)
and VLR nodes, which either request information from the HLR or update
the information contained within the HLR. The HLR also initiates
transactions with VLRs to complete incoming calls and to update subscriber
data.
Traditional wireless network design is based on the utilization of a single
Home Location Register (HLR) for each wireless network, but growth
considerations are prompting carriers to consider multiple HLR topologies.

Visitor Location Register (VLR)

A Visitor Location Register (VLR) is a database which contains temporary
information concerning the mobile subscribers that are currently located in a
given MSC serving area, but whose Home Location Register (HLR) is
elsewhere.
When a mobile subscriber roams away from his home location and into a
remote location, SS7 messages are used to obtain information about the
subscriber from the HLR, and to create a temporary record for the subscriber
in the VLR. There is usually one VLR per MSC.

International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) Number

The IMSI is a unique non-dialable number allocated to each mobile

subscriber in the GSM system that identifies the subscriber and his or her
subscription within the GSM network. The IMSI resides in the Subscriber
Identity Module (SIM), which is transportable across Mobile Station
Equipment (MSE). The IMSI is made up of three parts
1 (1) The mobile country code (MCC) consisting of three digits,
2 (2) The Mobile Network Code (MNC) consisting of two digits,
(3) The Mobile Subscriber Identity Number (MSIN) with up to 10
digits.

Mobile Subscriber ISDN (MSISDN) Number

The MSISDN is the dialable number that callers use to reach a mobile
subscriber. Some phones can support multiple MSISDNs - for example, an
U.S.-based MSISDN and a Canadian-based MSISDN. Callers dialing either
number will reach the subscriber.

Mobile Station Equipment (MSE) Subscription Services

GSM carriers typically order Mobile Station Equipment (MSE) (or GSM
phones) from their suppliers (Nokia, Motorola, Sony, etc.) in large quantities
(e.g. 1000 Units). After receiving an order, the equipment supplier will
program the ordered MSE SIMs with a range of IMSI numbers.
Once the range of IMSI numbers has been determined, the HLR can be
populated with the new IMSI records that will be configured and activated at
a future date by authorized sales or service subscription representatives. The

fact that the HLR can be populated with ranges or blocks of IMSI numbers
creates efficiencies in the storage and retrieval of routing information.
The wireless carrier distributes the Mobile Station Equipment to Sales
Outlets that sell GSM subscription services. When a new subscriber orders a
GSM phone at one of the outlets, the service representative will create a
Service Order (SO) to enter the new subscriber's service subscription
information, including the MSISDN number.
The key to the Service Order is the IMSI that is programmed in the SIM.
The SO is sent to the HLR, where the IMSI record is created. It can either be
set to an active state immediately, allowing the new subscriber to send and
receive telephone calls or it can be activated at a future date.

GSM Call Routing

Mobile Subscriber Roaming
When a mobile subscriber roams into a new location area (new VLR), the
VLR automatically determines that it must update the HLR with the new
location information, which it does using an SS7 Location Update Request
Message. The Location Update Message is routed to the HLR through the
SS7 network, based on the global title translation of the IMSI that is stored
within the SCCP Called Party Address portion of the message. The HLR
responds with a message that informs the VLR whether the subscriber
should be provided service in the new location.

Mobile Subscriber ISDN Number (MSISDN) Call Routing

When a user dials a GSM mobile subscriber's MSISDN, the PSTN routes the
call to the Home MSC based on the dialed telephone number. The MSC
must then query the HLR based on the MSISDN, to attain routing
information required routing the call to the subscribers' current location.
The MSC stores global title translation tables that are used to determine the
HLR associated with the MSISDN. When only one HLR exists, the
translation tables are trivial. When more than one HLR is used however, the
translations become extremely challenging, with one translation record per
subscriber (see the example below). Having determined the appropriate HLR
address, the MSC sends a Routing Information Request to it.
When the HLR receives the Routing Information Request, it maps the
MSISDN to the IMSI, and ascertains the subscribers' profile including the
current VLR at which the subscriber is registered. The HLR then queries the
VLR for a Mobile Station Roaming Number (MSRN). The MSRN is
essentially an ISDN telephone number at which the mobile subscriber can
currently be reached. The MSRN is a temporary number that is valid only
for the duration of a single call.
The HLR generates a response message, which includes the MSRN, and
sends it back across the SS7 network to the MSC. Finally, the MSC attempts
to complete the call using the MSRN provided.

Adding a Second HLR to the GSM Network

As a GSM wireless carrier's subscriber base grows, it will eventually
become necessary to add a second HLR to their network. A service
subscription record storage capacity issue, or perhaps an SS7 message

processing performance issue might prompt this requirement. It might

possibly be prompted by a need to increase the overall network reliability.
Typically, when new subscribers are brought into service, the second HLR
will be populated with blocks of IMSI numbers that are allocated when new
MSE equipment is ordered.
Much more complicated SS7 message routing Global Title Translations are
required for Routing Information Request transactions between the MSCs
distributed over the entire wireless carrier serving area and the two or more
HLRs. MSC Routing Information Requests are routed to the appropriate
HLR based on the dialed MSISDN and not the IMSI.
Unlike the IMSI numbers, the MSISDN numbers can not easily be arranged
in groups to reside within a single HLR and therefore, the MSC must contain
an MSISDN to HLR address association record for every mobile subscriber
homed on each of the MSCs. As the example illustrates, the MSC routing
tables quickly grow much more extensive than the STP tables. The network
administration becomes increasingly complex and prone to error.

PERFORMANCE CULTURE
. We benchmark our processes and performance against world-class
standards. We distinguish between performers and non-performers by
valuing achievement at the individual as well as the team level. Ours is

a culture of inclusively where feedback, learning and ideas are actively

encouraged, sought and acted upon.

Valuing Partnership

. We are committed to building exemplary relationship with our

partners, which stand on the principles of mutual trust and mutual
growth.
. Valuing People
. We nurture an environment where people are respected and their
uniqueness is valued. We believe that people are our key differentiators.

Responsible Corporate Citizenship

. We are committed to making a positive and proactive contribution to

the community. As a responsible corporate citizen we will contribute,
to and abide by environmental and legal norms.

ETHICAL PRACTICES
We will uphold the highest ethical standards in all internal and external relationship. We will not allow
misuses or misrepresentation of any kind.

AirTel Services
Airtel welcomes you to a vibrate new world of unlimited opportunities. More exciting, innovative yet
simple new ways to not just through words but ideas, emotions and feelings. To give you the unlimited
freedom to reach out to your special people in your special way.

What is AirTel services?

Its a menu on your SIM card that allows you to access a host of
information services and cool downloads on your phone in just a few
clicks. so now no need to remember key words/short codes to access
information. For eg. instead of typing and sending an SMS of short
code AST, NEW, CRI, MOV to access information on horoscope,
news, cricket, movies etc on India times, you could now scroll in your
menu and reach the information in just a few clicks This menu already
has the key words pre-coded in your SIM card, allowing you to get
information. easily & swiftly.

What are the various services available on the AirTel

Services?
With AirTel Services, you can now get the latest news, download
ringbones and logos, check the status of you train ticket or the Jet

Airways flight schedule or surf to get the latest movie reviews on your
AirTel.

Services

Description

Ringers

Download the latest ring tones

Fun

Download logos or send flashing messages

Messages
India times

Get the latest on news, cricket, travel, jokes

India Today

Get the latest on news, stocks, astro-forecast

Infotainment

Movie review, top songs, top movies

Star peep

Get an interactive astro-forecast

Jet mobile

know your flight status and set alerts

Railways

Get your PNR status, train schedules

Stocks

Get the latest IPo news, status of gainers and losers at

BSE

You could select any of the services mentioned above and get further
information options on each of the services. So, for example if you
elect 'news' under India times, you will then have the option of
choosing from the following i.e. latest news, world news, business
news, entertainment news or sports news.

TARIFF PLANS
" Airtel Postpaid connection is a service recommended for regular
users. This connection allows you pay for your usage on a monthly
basis. You need to apply for this service with complete personal details.
Airtime Tariff Plan
Unique needs, unique tariff plans
We recognize that each' individual has a unique usage pattern based
.upon a unique need. And indeed your tariff plan must reflect your
specific need. Which is why we have 4 unique tariff plans that are
simple and cost effective... and will deliver the highest value to you?
AirTel declares India a 'Free incoming' nation
AirTel welcomes you to a vibrant world of unlimited opportunities.
More exciting, innovative yet simple new ways to communicate, just
when you want to, not just through words but ideas, emotions and
feelings. We give you the unlimited freedom to reach out to your
special people in your special way. AirTel introduces four unique Post
Paid tariff plans. Going mobile has never been so easy.

PAID TRAIFF PLANS

Experience complete freedom

Airtel welcomes you to a vibrant world of unlimited opportunities.

More exciting, innovative yet simple new ways to communicate, just
when you want to, not just through words but ideas, emotions and
feelings. To give you the unlimited freedom to reach out to your special
people in your special way.
Airtel One Plan
ONE TIME CHARGES
Activation Charges

Rs.500

Membership Fee

NA

Security Deposit

Rs.500

MONTHLY CHARGES
(FIXED)
Bill Plan Charge

NA

Monthly Rental

Rs.150(the first bill will carry an advance

rental of Rs.149 for subsequent month)

CLIP

Rs.50 per month

LOCAL RATES
STD RATES

Airtel

Other
GSM

Rs.1

Rs.2

Landline/CDMA

Rs.2

50-200 KM

(Re.2 to
(Re.2 to
Rs.2.4
Mumbai)& Mumbai)&
Rs.2.4
Rs.2.4

200-500 KM

(Re.2 to
(Re.2 to
Rs.2.4
Mumbai)& Mumbai)&
Rs.2.4
Rs.2.4

500+ KM

(Re.2 to
(Re.2 to
Rs.2.4
Mumbai)& Mumbai)&
Rs.2.4
Rs.2.4

ISD
USA, Canada, Europe
Rs.7.2
(Fixed Line), Australia,
Singapore, Hong Kong,
Thailand, Malaysia,
Indonesia, New Zealand.
Gulf, Europe (Mobile),
Rs.9.99
SAARC countries, Africa
& Rest of the world
Cuba, Sao Tome &
Principe, Guinea Bissau,
Diego Garcia, Nauru,
Solomon Islands,
Vanuatu, Cook Islands,
Tuvalu, Tokelau, Norfolk
Island, Sakhalin

Rs.40.00 (Sakhalin, Sao Tome & Principe,

Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Tokelau,
Tuvalu, Cook Island, Diego Garcia, Cuba,
Guinea Bissau, Nauru, Norfolk Island)

SMS
Local

Rs.1

National

Rs.2

International

Rs.5

VAS

VAS SMS - Rs.3/message (inclusive Airtel

Services) VAS 646, Voice Portal-Rs.6/min

APPROXIMATE FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS.

Monthly minutes of use

Approx Total Monthly Bill

100 Minutes

Rs 418

200 Minutes

Rs.450

300 Minutes

Rs. 592

400 Minutes

Rs 790

500 Minutes

Rs.990

1000 Minutes

Rs.1978

Assumption : Pls Note: The Estimated Monthly bill is arrived on the

assumption that 80% of the calls are local calls while 20% comprise of
STD calls. The estimated monthly bill arrived includes the monthly
rentals and service tax of 10.2%.
Calculation
Roaming Rentals:
Regional Roaming Rental - Rs.49/month
National Roaming Rental - Rs.49/month
International Roaming Rental - Rs.149/month
Refundable Deposits:
STD Deposits - Nil
ISD Deposit (Includes STD)- Rs.4000
National Roaming Deposit(Includes STD)- Nil
International Roaming Deposit (Includes ISD & STD)
Voice Mail Charges: Mobile to Mobile local call rate

Terms & Conditions:

1. All the above charges are applicable in Maharashtra & Goa Circle
Only & service charges and other taxes would be charged as applicable.
2. Monthly Rentals would be charged in advance for the subsequent
month.
3. Optional Pack calling rates are applicable only in Maharashtra &
Goa Circle & additional monthly rentals towards the same would be
chargeable
4. Family & Friends Pack will be applicable on landline, GSM or WLL
no. only where local tariffs are applicable.
5. The company reserves the right to withdraw / modify this plan at any
time in the event of any policy changes without any prior intimation.
STD Pack
This pack gives you the benefit of making all STD calls at a flat
discounted rate of Rs.2. Additionally M2M local calls will be charged
Rs.1 only.
Monthly Rental:Rs.75
All M2M local calls @ Rs.1 & All STD calls at Rs.2./Mumbai Calling Pack
Get the Mumbai calling pack benefit of calling any Mumbai mobile
number at @1 only
Monthly Rental of Rs.25 only
M2M calls to Mumbai @ Rs.1/New Family Pack
.30paise rate for calling within the group
Group of min 3 to maximum 10 people.
Rs.50 will be charged per month per number within the group
.30paise (applicable only in Mah & Goa circle)/SMS Pack

Avail of SMS pack @ of Rs.49 per month rental wherein local sms will
be charged @ .50 paise
.50 paise (applicable for local sms only)/Local M2M Pack
Get the benefit of calling any local mobile number at a discounted call
rate of Rs.1. Monthly rental of Rs.49 only
Rs.1.00 (Mobile to Mobile local calls)/Airtel 100 Celebration
ONE TIME CHARGES
Activation Charges

Rs.500

Membership Fee

Security Deposit

Rs.500(Refundable after 12 months on the

network)

MONTHLY
CHARGES (FIXED)
Bill Plan Charge

NA

Monthly Rental

Rs. 100 month ( An advance rental for one

month i.e 100/- will be charged in the first
bill)

CLIP

Rs. 50/ month

LOCAL RATES

Airtel

Other
GSM

Landline/CDMA

Re.1/min

Re. 1/min

Rs.1.2/min

STD RATES
50-200 KM

(Re.1 to Mumbai) &

Rs. 2/min

(Re.1 to Mumbai)
& Rs. 2/min

Rs.2.40/
min

200-500 KM

(Re.1 to Mumbai) &

Rs. 2/min

(Re.1 to Mumbai)
& Rs. 2/min

Rs.2.40/
min

500+ KM

(Re.1 to Mumbai) &

Rs. 2/min

(Re.1 to Mumbai)
& Rs. 2/min

Rs.2.40/
min

ISD
USA, Canada, Europe (Fixed Line), Australia,
Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia,
Indonesia, New Zealand.

Rs.7.2/min

Gulf, Europe (Mobile), SAARC countries,

Africa & Rest of the world

Rs. 9.99/min

Cuba, Sao Tome & Principe, Guinea Bissau,

Diego Garcia, Nauru, Solomon Islands,
Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Tuvalu, Tokelau,
Norfolk Island, Sakhalin

Rs. 40/min

SMS
Local

.50paise/per sms

National

Rs.1/per sms

International

Rs. 5/sms

VAS

VAS SMS (incl Airtel Services)Rs. 3 / message VAS

646 Voice Portal Rs. 6 / minute

APPROXIMATE FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS.

Monthly minutes of use

Approx Total Monthly Bill

100 Minutes

Rs.312

200 Minutes

Rs.456

300 Minutes

Rs.600

400 Minutes

Rs.743

500 Minutes

Rs.887

1000 Minutes

Rs.1605

Assumption : Pls Note: The Estimated Monthly bill is arrived on the

assumption that 80% of the calls are local calls while 20% comprise of
STD calls. The estimated monthly bill arrived includes the monthly
rentals and service tax of 12.24%.
Calculation
Roaming Rentals:
Regional Roaming Rental - Rs.49/month
National Roaming Rental - Rs.49/month
International Roaming Rental - Rs.149/month
Refundable Deposits:
STD Deposits - Nil
ISD Deposit (Includes STD)- Rs.4000
National Roaming Deposit(Incudes STD)- Nil

International Roaming Deposit (Includes ISD & STD)-Rs. 6,500

Voice Mail Charges:Mobile to Mobile local call rate

Terms & Conditions:

1. All the above charges are applicable in Maharashtra & Goa Circle
Only & service charges and other taxes would be charged as applicable.
2. Monthly Rentals would be charged in advance for the subsequent
month.
3. Optional Pack calling rates if any are applicable only in Maharashtra
& Goa Circle & additional monthly rentals towards the same would be
chargeable
4. Family & Friends Pack will be applicable on landline, GSM or WLL
no. only where local tariffs are applicable.
5. The company reserves the right to withdraw / modify this plan at any
time in the event of any policy changes without any prior intimation.

Full Value 299 Plan

ONE TIME CHARGES
Activation Charges

Rs.500

Security Deposit

Rs.500

MONTHLY
CHARGES (FIXED)
Bill Plan Charge

NA

Monthly Rental

Rs.299/month (the first bill will carry an

advance rental of Rs.299 for the subsequent
month)

CLIP

Rs.50 per month

Airtel

Other GSM

Landline/CDMA

Re.1/min

Re.1/min

Re.1/min

50-200 KM

Rs.2/min

Rs.2.40/min Rs.2.40/min

200-500 KM

Rs.2/min

Rs.2.40/min Rs.2.40/min

500+ KM

Rs.2/min

Rs.2.40/min Rs.2.40/min

LOCAL RATES

STD RATES

ISD
USA, Canada, Europe (Fixed Line),
Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand,
Malaysia, Indonesia, New Zealand.

Rs.7.2/min

Gulf, Europe (Mobile), SAARC countries,

Africa & Rest of the world

Rs.9.99/min

Cuba, Sao Tome & Principe, Guinea Bissau,

Diego Garcia, Nauru, Solomon Islands,
Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Tuvalu, Tokelau,
Norfolk Island, Sakhalin

Rs.40/min

SMS
Local

(Airtel to Airtel .50 paise) (Airtel to Other

Rs.1)

National

Rs.2

International

Rs.5

VAS

VAS SMS (incl Airtel Services)Rs. 3 /

message VAS 646 Voice Portal Rs. 6 /
minute

APPROXIMATE FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS.

Monthly minutes of use

Approx Total Monthly Bill

100 Minutes

Rs.442

200 Minutes

Rs.493

300 Minutes

Rs.544

400 Minutes

Rs.618

500 Minutes

Rs.759

1000 Minutes

Rs.1461

Assumption : Pls note that the estimated bills for the said plan assumes
that 80% of all calling would be local and 20% calls would be STD
calls. The calculations have been arrived considering the new service
tax rate i.e 12.24%
Calculation
Other Benefits:
The Plan offers the subscribers the benefit of
Rs. 299/month of local Free Airtime
Pls Note
Regional/National Roaming Rentals would be charged at Rs. 49/month.
International Roaming Rentals would be charged at Rs. 149/month.
Refundable ISD Deposit would be charged at Rs. 4000.
Refundable International Roaming Deposit would be charged at Rs.
6500.
Voice Mail Charges would be as per the local M2M rates.
SMS charges for VAS including Airtel Services would be Rs. 3 per
SMS.

ROW1:
America, Europe, SAARC, Asia & Oceanic countries(excluding
countries in ROW 2)

ROW2: Sakhalin, Sao Tome & Principe, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu,

Tokelau, Tuvalu, Cook Island, Diego Garcia, Cuba, Guinea Bissau,
Nauru, Norfolk Island
Terms & Conditions:
1. All the above charges are applicable in Maharashtra & Goa Circle
Only & service charges and other taxes would be charged as applicable.
2. Monthly Rentals would be charged in advance for the subsequent
month.
3. Optional Pack calling rates if any are applicable only in Maharashtra
& Goa Circle & additional monthly rentals towards the same would be
chargeable
4. Family & Friends Pack will be applicable on landline, GSM or WLL
no. only where local tariffs are applicable.
5. The company reserves the right to withdraw / modify this plan at any
time in the event of any policy changes without any prior intimation.
299 Free local Airtime
Subscribers of this plan can avail of free local airtime worth Rs. 299
per month

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

CRM enables companies to provide excellent real time customer
services by developing a relationship with each valued customer

through the effective use of individual account information. Based on

what the company knows about each customer, company can CRM
customize market offerings, servings, services, programs, messages,
and media.
Customer relationship Management holds that major driver of company
profitability is the aggregate value of the company's customer base.
Winning companies are more productive ion acquiring, keeping, and growing customers. These companies
improve the value of their customer base by excelling at the following customer strategies.

Suspect
Reducing the rate of customer defection.
Increase the longevity of the customer relationship.
Enhancing the growth potential of each customer through
Disqualified
Prospect
"share-of-wallet",
cross-selling, and up selling.
Prospect

Making low profit customer more profitable.

Focusing disproportionate effort on high value customer.

Effective
C.R.M

First
time
Custome
r
Repeat
customers

Effective
Customer Development Process:
C.R.M

Effective
C.R.M

Active
Membe
r
Active
Builder

Ineffective
C.R.M

Inactive
custome
rs

The aim of customer relationship management is to produce high customer equity. Rust, Zeithaml,
and Lemon distinguish three drivers of customer equity: Value equity, brand equity and relationship equity.

Value Equity: Is the customer's objective assessment of the utility

of an offering based on perception of its benefits relative to its
costs. The sub driver of value equity is its quality, price and

convenience. Each industry has to define the specific factor

underlying each sub driver in order to find programs to improve
value equity. An airline passenger might define quality as seat
width; a hotel may define quality as room size. Value equity
makes the biggest contribution to the customer when products are
differentiated and when they are more complex and need to be
evaluated. Value equity specially drives customer equity in the
business market.
Brand Equity: It is the customer's subjective and intangible
assessment' of the brand, above and beyond its objectively
perceived value. The sub drivers of brand equity are customer
brand awareness, customer attitude toward brand, and customer
perception of brand ethics. Companies use advertising, public
relation, and other communication tools to effect these sub
drivers. Brand equity is more important than other divers of
customer equity where products are less differentiated and have
more emotional impact.
Relationship Equity : It is the customer's tendency to stick with
the brand, above and beyond objective and subjective assessment
of its worth. Sub driver of relationship equity includes loyalty
program, special treatment and treatment program, community
building program, and knowledge building program. Relationship
equity is especially important where personal relationship count

for a lot and where customer tends to continue with the supplier
out of habit or inertia.

THREE ADDITIONAL P'S

(People, Physical Evidence & Process)
The Traditional four P's marketing approaches work well for goods, but
additional elements require attention in service business. Booms and
Bitner suggested three additional p's for services marketing: People,
Physical evidence and Process. Because people provide most services,
the selection, training and motivation of employees can make a huge
difference in customer satisfaction. Ideally, employees should exhibit
competence, a caring attitude, responsiveness, initiative, problem
solving ability and goodwill. Service companies such as FedEx and
Marriott empower their frontline personnel to spend. up to 100 dollar to
resolve a customer problem.
Companies also tried t6 demonstrate their service quality through
physical evidence and presentation. A hotel will develop a look and
style of dealing with customers that realize its intended customer value
proposition, whether it is cleanliness, speed or some other benefit.
Finally, service companies can choose among different processes to
deliver their service. Restaurant have developed such different formats
as cafeteria style, fast food, buffet and candle light' service.
Service, encounter are affected by several elements. Consider a
customer visiting a departmental store to purchase a shampoo. The
customer sees other customer waiting for this and other services. The

customer also sees physical environment consisting of building,

interior, equipment and furniture. He or she sees departmental store
personnel and deals with an employee of departmental store. Not
visible is a whole "back room" production process and organization
system that supports the visible business thus the services outcome, and
whether or not people will remain to services provider is influenced by
host variables.
The Service Business as a System

Customer A

Service Business
Internal
Organization
System

Physical
Environment
Service X
Contact
Personnel

Not Visible

Visible

MANAGING SERVICE QUALITY

MSQ
Customer form service expectation from past experiences, word of
mouth and advertising. Customers compare the perceived service with
the expected service. If the perceived service falls below the expected
service, customers are disappointed. if the performance falls short of
expectations, the customer is dissatisfied.' If the performance matches
the expectations, the customer is satisfied. If the performance exceeds
expectations the customer is highly satisfied or delighted.
Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry formulated a service quality model that highlight main requirement for
delivering high service quality. The model identifies five gaps that cause unsuccessful Delivery

Gap between expectation management consumer perception:

Management does not allow correctly perceive what customer
want. Hospital administrator may think that patients want better
food,

but

patient

may

be

more.

Concern with nurse

responsiveness.
Gap between management perception and service quality
specification:

Management might correctly perceive customer wants, but not

set a performance standard. Hospital administrators may tell the
nurses to give "fast service" without specifying it in minutes.
Gap between service quality specification and service delivery:
Personnel might be poorly trained, or incapable or unwilling to'
meet the standard; or they may be held to conflicting standard,
such as taking time to listen to customer and serving them fast.
Gap between service delivery and external communication:
Consumer expectations are affected by statement made by

company representative and add.

If a hospital brochure shows a beautiful room, but the patient arrive and find the room to be cheap
and tacky looking, external communications have distorted the customers expectation.

Gap between perceived service and expected service:

This gap occurs when the consumer misperceives the service
quality. The physician may keep visiting the patient to show care,
but the patient may interpret this as an indication that something
really is wrong.

Service Quality Model

Word of Mouth
Past
Personal
Experience
Needs
Communication

Expected Service

GPA 5
Consumer

Perceived Service

External GAP 4
Service Delivery
Marketer
Communication
(Including post contact)
to consumers
GAP 3
Translation of Perception into servicequality Specification

GAPGAP
1 2
Management perception of Consumer
expectation

Various studies have shown that well-managed service companies

share the following common practices: a strategic concept, a history of
top management commitment to quality, high standard, system for
monitoring service performance and customer complaints, faster and
better delivery and an emphasis' on employee satisfaction.
Strategic concept : Top service companies are "customer
obsessed". They have a clear sense of their target customer and
their needs.
Top management commitment : Companies such as Marriot,
Disney, and McDonald's have a through commitment to service
quality. Their management looks not only at financial
performance on monthly basis, but also at service performance.
Ray Kroc of McDonald's insisted on continually measuring each
McDonald's outlet on its conformance to QSCV: quality, service,
cleanliness and value. Some companies insert a reminder along
with employee pay cheques: brought to you by customer.
High standers: The best service provider sets high servicequality standards. Citibank aims to answer to phone call within
10 seconds and customer letter within 2 days. The standard must
be appropriately high. A 98 percent accuracy standard may sound

good, but it would result in FedEx losing 64000 pages a day, 6

misspelled words on each page.
One can distinguish between those companies offering "merely good" service and those offering
"breakthrough" services, aimed at being 100 percent defect free.

System for monitoring service performance:

Top firms audit service performance, both of their own and their
competitors. They collect voice of the customer satisfied and
dissatisfied. They use comparison shopping, customer survey,
suggestion and complaint forms. Citibank checks continuously
for measures of ART [accuracy, responsiveness and timeliness].
The Chicago bank employs a monthly Performance Measurement
Program charting its performance on large number of customer
sensitive issues. A typical chart to track the bank speed in
answering the customer service phone inquiries. It will take
action whenever bank performance fall below the minimum
acceptable level. It also raises performance goal over time.
Satisfying customer complaint: Studies of customer satisfaction
shows that customers are dissatisfied with their purchase about
25 percent of the time but that only about 5 ' percent complain.
The other 95 percent either feel complaining is not worth the
effort, or they do not know how or whom to. Complain Of the 5
percent who complain, only about 50 percent report a satisfactory
complain resolution. Yet the need to resolve a customer problem

in a satisfactory manner is critical. On average a satisfied

customer tells three people about a good product experience, but
the average dissatisfied customer grips to 11 people. If each of
them tells stills other people, the number of people exposed to
bad word of mouth may grow exponentially.
Customers whose complaints are satisfactorily resolved often
become more company loyal then customer who were never
dissatisfied. About 34 percent of customer who register major
complaint will buy again from the company if their complaint is
resolved, and this number rises to 52 percent for minor
complaint. If the complaint is resolved quickly, between 52
percent (major complaint) and 95 percent (minor complaint) will
buy again from the company.

SCOPE OF INTERNAL CUSTOMER

SATISFACTION

EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION

ES
It is important to audit employee job satisfaction regularly. Rosenbluth
and Peters, in the (external) Customer comes second, go so far as to
say that the companies employees, not the companies customer, have to
be made number one if the company hopes to truly satisfy its
customers.
Best-in-business organizations track employee satisfaction through the
use of employee satisfaction surveys and/or through predictive
indicators, such as:
Employee satisfaction survey results
Attrition rates of employees
Training hours in customer service per employee
When they feel they are rewarded fairly for the work they do.
Consider employee responsibilities, the effort they have put forth,
the work they have done well, and the demands of their jobs.
Minimum politics at the work place.
When service is good, the organization's culture encourages

Teamwork, both customers, and employees are happy.

The Harvard Business review reports that a 5 percent increase in

retention results in a 10 percent decrease in costs and productivity
increases ranging from 25 percent to 65 percent. In view of these
complexities, Christian Gronroos has argued that service marketing
requires not only external marketing, but also internal and interactive
marketing.
External marketing : It describes the normal work to prepare, price,
distribute and promote the service to customer.
Internal marketing : It describes the work to train and motivate
employees to serve customer well.

Analysis of Data Analysis

Frequency of Visit
Twice
Thrice
More
Total

Percentage
29
63
08
100

Frequency of Visit

Twice
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

Thrice

More

Courtesy of Staff
Excellent
Very good
Good
Average
Poor
Total

Percentage
0
4
22
57
17
100

Courtesy of Staff
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Excellent

Very good

Good

Resolution of Complaints
10 min
1 Hrs.
5 hrs.

Average

Poor

Percentage
33
10
41

More than 5 hrs.

Total

16
100

Resolution of Complaints
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
10 min

1 Hrs.

5 hrs.

More than 5 hrs.

Customer Expectation
Exceeds Expectation
Meets Expectation
Close to Expectation
Below Expectation
Total

Percentage
7
19
45
29
100

Customer Expectation

50
40
30
20
10
0
Exceeds Expectation
Close to Expectation

Meets Expectation
Below Expectation

Research Design

REASERCH METHODOLOGY
Definitions:
1. Research is the systematic investigation to establish facts or collect
information on a pre-decided subject.
2. Methodology is the specification of the system of principles and
techniques used in a particular discipline
Define the problem and research objective

Develop the research plan

Collect the information

Analyze the information

Finding & Recommendations

REASERCH PROCESS

RESEARCH DESIGN
Research design involves a general plan of how to go about answering the
research questions set keeping in mind the research objective.

SOURCES:
SECONDARY SOURCES:
For the completion of the research it was important that the secondary data
should be supplemented by primary data originated specifically for the
research in hand. The primary data was gathered through questionnaires. My
research findings are based on information collected from filled
questionnaires. The main sources of secondary data were: -

Internal Data:
Some previous market studies provided by the guide.
Reports and database of AIRTEL provided by guide.

PRIMARY SOURCES:
Method used to collect primary data is:
Questionnaire
Questionnaire Method: For the purpose of the study survey was
conducted across different areas of Jaipur city. The Questionnaire (a sample
copy is attached) was prepared according to the objectives of the project and

was administered accordingly. The data gathered through this exercise

became the primary data.

SAMPLING ERRORS:
While interpreting the results I kept in mind the potential errors.
Two sources of errors are random sampling error, which arises due
to the fact that the sample may not be a true representative of the
population, and non-sampling error which comes up because of
faulty coding, untruthful responses, respondent fatigue etc.
LIMITATIONS IN RESEARCH:
All research papers have its own limitations in terms of methodology and the
resources available for its conduct. This study is no exception to it and has
been carried under following limitation:
Some of the respondents were not forthcoming with information as
they thought it to be a waste of time.
A number of respondents were biased towards a particular brand,
which was giving them better returns.
Some of the respondents were not available so, contacted person was
not able to present a fair view.
Respondents lack of time to give information and their casual attitude
was a big hindrance in the study.

QUESTIONNAIRE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

In order to gather primary data, I used structured questionnaires, prepared in
advance

to elicit

the necessary

response

from the respondents.

Questionnaires help to facilitate communication and know the perceptions of

the respondents clearly. The following points were kept in mind while
structuring the questionnaire.
Content of the questions: the questions had been framed keeping in mind
the objective of the research.
Type of questions: the questionnaire consists of open-ended, closed-ended,
dichotomous and multiple-choice questions. Further I made use of likert
scale to get a more vivid response.
Wording of the questions: the questions are such that they are easy to
understand and the respondents do not have any hesitation in answering the
questions.
Note: - A sample questionnaire is enclosed with the report in Annexure- I at
the end.

CALL TARIFFS OF AIRTEL

CLARITY OF VOICE OF AIRTEL

OVERALL SATISFACTION WITH AIRTEL

WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECOMMEND AIRTEL TO A

FRIEND OR RELATIVE

Findings and Conclusion

FINDING AND CONCLUSION

India is the one of the largest telecom market in the world and one of fastest
growing market also. Indian telcos are netting up around 8 million telecom
subscriber monthly which is second only to China.
India has been divided into 23 telecom circles geographically. Separate
licenses are issued for operating in these circles.
Airtel is the first telecom company, who has launched mobile service in
India. It is the most faithful company in India. The network and service
provided by Airtel is the best in the Indian telecom sector.
Airtel has the largest telecom company in India on the basis of number of
customer with approx. 7.5 crores.
Airtel introduced in Rasthan in 2003. Airtel has 73,16,500 customers in
Rasthan till October, 2009. Airtel has approx 12.5% customers of total
population in Rasthan.

Major finding from customer satisfaction survey:

Airtel is having largest number of customer in Bangalore.
Connectivity and network coverage by airtel is very good.
Call tariffs are bit high, but customers are satisfied because of service
provide by the company
Clarity of voice of Airtel is very good.
Overall customers of Airtel are very much satisfied.
Customers of airtel would like to recommend a friends or relatives.

Annexure

QUESTIONNAIRE ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

1. Name : ____________________________________________________
2. Address : ___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
3. Age : _____________________
4. Gender : ___________________
5. Phone / Mobile : _____________________________________________
6. E-mail : ____________________________________________________
7. Occupation :
Professionals
Student
Self-employed/Own Company
Other

8. Which mobile services do you use?

Airtel

Vodafone

BSNL

Tata
Indicom

9. Which type of services do you use?

Prepaid

Postpaid

10. How long have you been using these services?

Reliance

Spiece

Any
Others

Less Than 6 Months

6 Months-1 Year

More Than 1 Year

11. What is your monthly expenditure in terms of your mobile usage?

Less Than Rs. 200

Rs. 200 to Rs. 500

Rs. 500 to Rs. 1000

More Than Rs. 1000

12. How do you rate your services provider in terms of connectivity and area of
network coverage?
Good

Bad

13. What do you feel about the call tariff linked with the connection you are currently
using?
Very Economical

Cheap

Normal

Expensive

14. Service provider in terms of clarity of voice.

Very Bad
Bad
Neither Good Nor Bad
Good
Very Good

15. Attitude of sales executive :

Very Bad
Bad
Neither Good Nor Bad
Good
Very Good

16. Way of communication of our sales executive :

Very Bad
Bad
Neither Good Nor Bad
Good
Very Good

17. How would you rate your level of overall satisfaction :

Extremely Satisfied
Satisfied
Neither Satisfied Nor Dissatisfied
Dissatisfied
Extremely Dissatisfied

18. Would you like to recommend AIRTEL to a friend or relative?

Yes

No

Signature:
__________________

Bibliography

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
Kothari C.R., Research methodology and Techniques, New Delhi,
Wishwa prakashan, 1990

Magazines
Business World 7 May 2008, Clash of Titans: Airtel V/S Reliance,
S. Nagrajan, P. Ramamurti, p 36-41

Newspapers
Ashok V. Desai, Are Cartels Back The Economic Times, July 26,
2008, p-14
B. Leeladhar, Bharti: The Next Jump, The Economic Times, June
17, 2008,

p-12

Websites
www.airtel.in
www.wikipedia.org
www.google.com