A

PROJECT REPORT
ON

MARKET SEGMENTATION

OF

TELECOM SECTOR

Submitted in Partial fulfillment for Award of the Degree of

Master of Business Administration

GUIDED BY: SUBMITTED BY:

Miss PANKAJ DASILA
FACULTY MBA 4th SEM
MANAGEMENT DEPT. ENROLL. NO:09020500057
AIMCA
 STUDENT DECLARATION

The project has been undertaken as a partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award
of the degree of Master of Business Administration of Utrrakhand
TechnicalUniversity,

Further I declare this project is my original work and analysis and findings are for
academic purpose only. This project has not been presented at any seminar or
submitted elsewhere for the award of any degree or diploma.

Countersigned by: - Signature of student

(Supervisor)

MISS. PRIYANKA DHINGRA

FACULTY MANAGEMENT
DEPT. AIMCA
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The feeling of acknowledging something and expressing it in words are two different
things altogether. It is my weakness, but I honestly admit that when I truly wish to
express our warm gratitude and indebt ness towards Miss. Priyanka Dhingra (project
guide), I am always at a loss of words.

I gratefully take this opportunity to express my gratitude and indebt ness to my most able
guide Mr. Humanyu Zaheer (Channel Operating Manager - Idea, Kamoun) for his active
interest, timely encouragement, valuable suggestions and unceasing assistance And
creative criticism at every stage of this project.

I am also thankful to Mr. Sanjeev Tandoon (Channel marketing Associate - Idea,

kamoun) to find in me the capacity and capability to go through with this learning and
challenging project successfully.
 PREFACE

Progress is a continuous process. It is relative and absolute. We cannot stop at a certain

destination and declare that target has been achieved and we need not go further.

The winter training programmers are designed to give the manager the future of the
corporate happenings and work culture. These real life situations are entirely different
from the stimulated exercise enacted in an artificial environment inside the winter
training programmers and designed, so that the manager to tomorrow do not feel ill case
when the time comes to shoulder responsibilities.

I was privileged enough to Join “Idea cellular Ltd.” as a winter trainee. The experience
that I have gathered during this period has certainly provided me with an orientation
which, I believe, will help me to shoulder any assignment successfully in near future.
During this period, I have collected all the pertinent information though primary and
secondary data, which were available at the concerned office and outside of the company.

On the basis of my training programmed, I have tried my best to arrange the work in a
systematic and chronological way. However to cove

Detailed information of the organization in such a short period was not possible. Despite
the inherent shortcomings of the study, a genuine attempt was made on my part see that
the study was carried out in the right respective.
CONTENTS

Student Declaration
Acknowledgement
Preface

Chapter-1
Introduction
Need of the Study
Objectives of the Study
Period of the Study
Research Methodology
Tools of Analysis
Scope of Study
Chapter-2
Industry profile

Company profile

Data analysis and Interpretation

Introduction:

The project included Market Research of the mobile users in the Kumaun zone where I
interviewed young people, the Head of the Small Medium Enterprise and gathered the
information on the basis of the ADF (Acquisition Data Format) format.

The information gathered is being analyzed in terms of competitive strategies being used
by competitors. As IDEA is the biggest player in the U.P. West Circle, I compared others
and IDEA in terms of their strategies. I divided the respondents into 4 categories and into
Verticals such as Collage/ School going, young service class/ businessman, mature
businessman/service class and house wife & others. I visited surrounding Haldwani city
and covered total customer base of 200.

From the information gathered we analyzed the buying behaviour of the customers and
did a Vertical wise Analysis in terms of the factors considered before going for a CUG
connection. The factors for churn were considered before going for a CUF connection.
The factors for churn were also looked into and finally the recommendations are given as
to how Idea can improve the prevailing condition and come up as a Leader, for what it is
known.

We also did the feasibility study of Hills, and Villages near Haldwani for the expansion
of the network.

A questionnaire was prepared to look in the market potential and finally the report was
submitted for the expansion of the Network.

Need of the Study

India is the fastest growing mobile telephony market in the world. The
telecommunication industry is growing at a neck break speed with leading players
lapping up mobile subscribers by millions. The country's telecommunication market is
the 4th largest in the world in terms of wireless subscribers and 5th largest in terms of
total telecom subscribers. Mobiles or Cell phones are now the de-facto status symbols for
younger generation in India. They will do anything to get the latest phone models,
however costly they may be.

Above mention statement indicate the craziness of mobile in Indian market which
develop the competition in between the service provider and this cut throat competition
inspire me to make a comparative analysis on communication industry so that it can be
helpful to define the gap between consumer presumption and company’s offering.

Objective of the Study:

 To Calculate Market share of Idea in mobile segment:

 To Calculate Percentage of Mobile Users:

 To Calculate Ratio between Land Line and Mobile .

 Popularity of various panes of different service provided:

Period of the Study:

This project was executed during the winter break after fifth semester the researcher was
associated with Idea Mobile Communication Ltd., Haldwani for this project from 01-02-
2009 to 31-03-2009).

(a) 4 Weeks adjusted to collect primary data.

(b) Three weeks adjusted to analysis the data and remaining project work.

Research Methodology

The approach to the research is considered in this chapter, from the theoretical
underpinning to the collection and analysis of the data. It begins with the extent of the
 research to provide the specific guidelines of studying. The next part is concerned
with the method of the research that refers to the data collection and analyzing which
is used in the research.

1. RESEARCH DESIGN
Exploratory type of research design was done.

2. DATA COLLECTION

PRIMARY DATA :
Date collection for this research was done primarily through ADF format. On the other
hand, official of different companies were also contacted personally to gather first hand
information regarding different schemes provided by different telecom companies.

AREAS COVERED
• Total Number of Institute/Govt. Org. Visited 20.

• TOTAL CUSTOMER BASE COVERED- 250.

• TOTAL CELLULAR USERS COVERED- 200.

ARPU OF IDEA – Rs. 585

3. SAMPLING:

Sampling unit was small organization and people more than 16 yrs around People
of Haldwani were examining deeply to understand the market.

(i) Sample Size

 Sample size of 200 consumers was taken together the information about
different companies.
(ii) Sampling Method
Convenience sampling was done.

SECONDARY DATA:

A large amount of secondary data has been collected from secondary sources. Some of
the sources are: -

 Reports on different schemes of different companies.

 Articles from newspapers and trade magazines.

 Various web sites of the telecom companies and related sites.

 Pamphlets of different schemes of different companies.

Tools of Analysis:

The Following methods are used to analysis the data’s: -

1. Various pie and bar charts are used among relative figures.
2. Probability methods are used to calculate the various ratios.

Pie Charts:

Pie charts are good when you are showing the relative proportion of numbers that add up
to a total. They are good for a single series of data. They are best when there are not too
many wedges, particularly too many small ones. They show a good qualitative view of
the data
Bar chart:

A bar chart, also known as a bar graph, is a chart with rectangular bars of lengths usually
proportional to the magnitudes or frequencies of what they represent. Bar charts are used
for comparing two or more values. The bars can be horizontally or vertically oriented.
Sometimes a stretched graphic is used instead of a solid bar.

Scope of the Study

The report can help full to designed marketing plan for:

Management staff, Distributors and analysts of companies operating in any area of the
Kamoun Zone. This study also helpful to understand the behavior and potential of
corporate customers or group customers , to develop or improve/ change the tariff / plan.

Limitations of the Study

1. Refusal on part of the corporate customers to give any type of information at all.

2. The respondents are not willing to disclose information related to Offers and
schemes.

3. Inadequate time to complete the project.

4. The data collected is not very extensive to draw an accurate conclusion

-
 Industry Profile:

Technological changes in the telecom and computers have radically changed the
business scenario. In turn, the new demands of business have spurred many telecom
based technological innovations. In order to exploit these innovations for competing
in global markets, business community the world over has been putting pressure on
governments to revise the policy, regulation and structure of the telecom sector.
Several countries across the world have responded by restructuring the state
controlled telecom service provider, increasing private participation, and deregulating
service provision. The emergent organizations have attempted to be more responsive
to the business needs and have evolved mechanisms to remain competitive even
under tremendous pressures.

Over the past several years, developing countries have also recognized the important role
a responsive, business oriented and technologically advanced telecom sector plays in the
growth of the economy. Many developing countries now accept the limitations of a
monolith state monopoly in responding to the twin challenges of spurring internal growth
and competing in an increasingly global economy.

Past experience of reform across many countries suggests that the fundamental
underlying issue that must be addressed in telecom reform is introduction of competition
for efficiency. Competition is considered to be an important factor than ownership in
introducing efficiency.

India's 21.59 million-line telephone network is one of the largest in the world and the 3 rd
largest among emerging economies (after China and Republic of Korea). Given the low
telephone penetration rate India offers vast scope for growth. It is therefore not surprising
that India has one of the fastest growing telecommunication systems in the world with
system size (total connections) growing at an average of more than 20 percent over the
last 4 years.

The industry is considered as having the highest potential for investment in India. The
growth is demand for telecom services in India is not limited to basic telephone services.
India has witnessed rapid growth in cellular, radio paging, value-added services, internet
and global mobile communication by satellite (GMPCS) services. This is expected to
soar in the next few years.

Recognizing that the telecom sector is one of the prime movers of the economy, the
Government's regulatory and policy initiatives have also been directed towards
establishing a world class telecommunications infrastructure in India. The telecom sector
in India therefore offers an ideal environment for investment.

The telecommunications initiative in the country is lead by Ministry of Communications

through the Department of Telecommunication & Department Telecom Services and its
undertakings for provision of basic telephone services, national and international long
distance communications, manufacture of complete range of telecom equipment, research
and development and consultancy services. The Telecom Commission performs the
Executive and Policy making functions. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
performs the functions of an independent regulatory body.

SERVICE OFFERED
Telephone Services NSD/ISD Services, Computerized Trunk Services, Pay Phoners,
National & International Leased Lines Circuits, Telex, Telegraph

Services (Manual & Automatic), X-25 based Packet Switched Data Network (INET),
Gateway Packet Switched Data Service (GPSS), Gateway Electronic Data Interchange
Service (GEDIS), Gateway E-Mail and Store & Forward FAX Service (GEMS-400),
Concert Packet Service (CPS), Satellite-based Remote Area Business Message Network,
Electronic Mail, Voice Mail, Audio-Text, Radio Paging, Cellular Mobile Telephone,
Public Mobile Radio Trunked Service, Video-Tex, Video Conferencing, V-SAT, Internet,
ISDN, INMARSAT Mobile Service, INMARSAT Data Service, Home Country Direct
Service, Intelligent Network (IN) Services.

HISTORY OF INDIAN TELECOM SECTOR:

Telecom sector was a state monopoly until the mid eighties when the liberalization
process started. The department of telecommunication (DoT), under the Ministry of
Communication administered telecom services. The planning commission, an apex level
body, allocated funds for telecom development from government resources. The telecom
sector, therefore, competed with other developmental priorities of the government for a
share in resource allocation. Planning, engineering, installation, maintenance,
management, and operations of telecom services for the whole of India was managed by
the DoT, which also lay down and monitored adherence to technical standards and
managed frequency usage.

The DoT was a monolithic entity, with a huge work force managing the telecom
operations of the entire country. The bureaucratic approach and the slow acceptance and
induction of new technologies with very little customer orientation were perceived as
barriers to growth. Consequently, two new public sector corporations – Mahanagar
Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) and Videsh Sanchar

Nigam Limited (VSNL) – were set up under the DoT. MTNL was carved out of the DoT
and took over the operation, maintenance, and development of telecom services in
Mumbai and New Delhi. VSNL was set up to plan, operate, develop, and accelerate
international telecom services in India. The government created the corporate
organizations in order to allow decision making autonomy and flexibility and facilitate
public borrowings which would not have been possible under a government framework.
However, policy formulation, regulation and several key decision areas remained with
the DoT. A new organization, the Telecom Commission, was created with a wide rang
eof executive, administrative and financial powers to formulate and regulate policy and
prepare the budget for the DoT. The Telecom Commission had four full time members
managing technology, production, services, and finance and four part time members
representing the planning commission, department of finance, department of industry,
and department of electronics.

The key driver for change in the sector was the National Telecom Policy announced in
May 1994. It boldly specified its major objectives as telephone demand, achievement of
universal service obligation and ensuring world class service to subscribers. This policy
also paved the way for private sector participation in telecom services. Objectives of NTP
(1994) were

• Telecom for all the telephone in reach of all.

• Provision for certain basic telecom service at affordable and reasonable price.

• World class quality of telecom service.

• India to emerge as a major manufacturing base and exporter of telecom

equipment.

Telecom services were categorized into domestic basic (which included basic telephony,
telex and fax), domestic value-added services (VAS) which covered all other services
such as paging, cellular, data services, VSAT and international basic and VAS. Telecom
service liberalization started in 1984, with private sector being allowed to manufacture
customer premise equipment. In 1992, service provision was opened for private sector.
At this stage government also unbundled basic and VAS. Private operators were allowed
to participate in provision of VAS such as cellular and paging services. Subsequently,
basic services in the local lop were opened for private operators. Basic service provision
had been planned as a duopoly between the DoT and a selected service provider. Several
service providers, one for each of the twenty "circles" into which the entire country had
been divided would compete with the DoT for basic services. the bidders were valued
both on financial and technical parameters. Permissible network technologies were
specified and basic service providers were required to base their services on fiber-optic
cable and wireless in the local loop as far as possible. Licenses had been granted for an
initial period of 15 years and could be extended by another 10 years. Private Service
operators were allowed to provide intra-circle long distance service which contributed to
almost 60% of the total calls.

The government had mandated that all private basic service operators had to provide 10%
of all new lines in rural areas. A weight age of 15% for service provision in rural areas
was given at the time of bid selection. A penalty on a per day basis for each telephone not
installed sought to prevent companies from
delaying meeting rural targets. At the same time, the government encouraged new
emerging technologies including local loop wireless, cellular telephony and satellite
based communication systems that could help develops rural telecom in a cost effective
manner.

Inter-circle communication remained under the DoT. VSNL maintained an exclusive

license for international services for at least until 2004. Advanced communication
services like cellular, paging, e-mail, fax, data transmission over telephone and leased
circuits were increasingly being made available by private operators. However,
Electronic Data Interchange standards and its adoption had not made much progress
largely due to the problems in long distance communication, lack of coordination for
adopting standards, and unclear policies in the various departments involved in national
implementation.

HIGHLIGHTS:

The telecom muddle is growing murkier and murkier by the day. In addition, so are the
claims of the great Indian telecom revolution.

• 5th largest network in the world, second largest among emerging economies (after
China).

• Annual growth rate of 22% in basic telephone service and over 100% for cellular
and Internet services.

• Private participation allowed in all types of telecom and IT enabled services.

License granted on non-exclusive basis for basic, national long distance,
international long distance, Internet, V-Sat services etc.

• Foreign equity participation permitted in the telecom service sector.

• Huge market for all types of telecom equipments for both wire line and wireless,
Internet, call centres, etc.

• Foreign direct investment of up to 100% permitted for the manufacturing of

telecom equipment.

• Investment potential across a wide spectrum of telecom service.

TELECOM STATISTICS:
June'06 July '06 August '06
Total subscribers 98.08mn 100.15mn 102.5mn
Tele-density 90.08 9.26 9.46
Fiex line 45.90mn 46.50mn 47.11mn
Additions during the month 0.36mn 0.59mn 0.61mn
Mobile 52.17mn 53.65mn 55.36mn
0.73mn 1.44mn 1.70mn
Total additions during the
month 1.24mn 1.09mn 1.225mn
GSM additions (0.52) mn 0.35mn 0.475mn
CDMA additions

STRONG GROWTH CONTINUES:

Growth in telephony continued in May as the subscriber base reached the 102.5 mn
mark. Tele density in May 2005 improved to 9.46% from 9.26% in April 2006.
During May 2006, 2.31mn subscribers were added as against 2.03mn subscribers

in April 2006. In the fixed segment, a total of 0.61mn subscribers were added during
May 2006, taking the subscriber based of fixed line services to 47.11mn. In the
mobile segment, total additions during the month summed up to 1.7mn out of which
1.225mn subscribers were added in the GSM segment and the remaining 0.475mn
were added in the CDMA segment.

Mobile telephone subscriber base witnessed a healthy growth of 1.7mn in May 2005, a
strong start to the new financial year. The segment subscriber base grew 3.22% mom to
55.38mn. Bharti remained the overall market leader in both the CDMA and the GSM
segments.
 COMPANY CIRCLES
Aircel Digilink India Haryana, Rajasthan, U.P. (East)
Limited
Aircel Limited Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Bharti Cellular Limited Delhi (Metro), Mumbai (Metro), Kolkata (Metro), Chennai
(Metro), Andhra Pradehs, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal
Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra & Goa, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan,
Tamil Nadu, UP (West), UP (East), West Bengal
BPL Cellular Limited Mumbai (Metro), Kerala, Maharashtra & Goa, Tamil
Nadu
Vodafone Group Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Gujarat, Andhra
Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab

Idea Cellular Limited Andhra Pradehs, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh,

Kerala, Haryana, U.P. (W), Madhya Pradesh
Reliance Telecom Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Kolkata, Madhya
Limited Pradesh, North East, Orissa, West Bengal
Spice Communications Karnataka, Punjab
Limited

MTNL-2.23%
Market Share May 2006
HFCL-0.10%
Shyam-0.05%
Reliance-20.38%
Bharti-21.50%
BSNL-17.99%
Vodafone-14.19%
IDEA9.77%
BPL-4.73%
Spice-2.67%
Aircel-3.25%
Tata-2.41%

GSM subscriber base grew 2.91% mom to 43.35mm in May 2005. MTNL continued
to witness the highest growth in subscriber additions, driven by strong growth in both
Mumbai and Delhi circles. Reliance, IDEA and Bharti followed MTNL in mom
growth. Bharti maintained its leadership position with 27.2% of the market share, and
contributed 34% to the total GSM additions for the month.
GSM SUBSCRIBERS:
Group Subscribers as of Additions in Subscribers as on (%) Growth
Company June'06 July July'06
Bharti 11,389,370 415,540 11,804,910 3.65
BSNL 9,683,687 194,302 9,877,969 2.01
Vodafone 7,957,297 230,776 8,188,073 2.90
idea 5,153,483 210,505 5,363,988 4.08
bpl 2,591,969 2,405 2,594,374 0.09
Spice 1,449,110 16,230 1,465,340 1.12
Aircel 1,769,643 16,448 1,766,091 0.93
Reliance 1,165,318 62,581 1,227,699 5.37
mtnl 961,619 76,423 1,038,042 7.95
Total 42,121,496 1,225,210 43,346,706 2.91

The country is divided into 23 Service Areas consisting of 19 Telecom Circle Service
Areas and 4 Metro Service Areas for providing Cellular Mobile Telephone Services
(CMTS).
In terms of old licensing scheme of NTP-1994, 8 licensees for Cellular Mobile Telephone
Service in the 4 metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai were issued to 8
companies in November 1994. 34 licenses for 18 Territorial Telecom Circles were also
issued to 14 companies during 1995 to 1998. MTNL and BSNL were issued licenses for
operation of Cellular Mobile Telephone Service as third operator in various parts of the
country. In terms of N/TP-99, 17 fresh licenses have been issued to private companies as
fourth cellular operator in September/October, 2001, one each in 4 Metro cities and 13
Telecom Circles. Presently there are 78 licenses held by 25 Companies including MTNL
& BSNL for CMTS in 23 Service Areas.

The old licensees of cellular services were permitted for migration to NTP 1999 regime
of revenue sharing which was effective from 1st ?August, 1999. The license fee,
excluding spectrum charges for cellular services is 12% of "Adjusted Gross Revenue"
(AGR) for Metro Service Areas and category 'A' circles, 10% of AGR for category 'B'
Circles and 8% of AGR for category 'C' Circles.

In addition to license fees, the cellular licensees pay spectrum charges on revenue share
basis of 2% of AGR for spectrum upto 4.4 MHz or 3% of AGR for spectrum up to 6.2
MHz, as the case may be. The charges will be 4% of AGR for spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz,
which shall be given if the subscriber base is more than 5 lacs. This spectrum charge of
4% of AGR would also cover allocation of further spectrum, which may become possible
to allocate in future subject o availability, to

add up to a total spectrum allocation not exceeding 10 MHz + 10 MHz per operator in a
service areas. Such additional allocation could be considered only after a suitable
subscriber as may be prescribed, is reached.

In terms of NTP-99, cellular operators will be free to provide, within their areas of
operation, all types of mobile services including voice and non-voice messages, data
services and PCO's utilizing any type of network equipment, including circuit and/or
package switches that meet the relevant International Telecommunication Union
(ITU)/Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC) standards.
 Company Profile: Idea cellular Ltd.

COMPANY INFORMATION
IDEA Cellular is a publicly listed company, having listed on the Bombay Stock
Exchange (BSE and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in March 2007.

As India's leading GSM Mobile Services operator, IDEA Cellular has licenses to operate
in all 22 Service Areas. Presently, operations exist in 11 Service Areas covering Delhi,
Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Uttaranchal,
Haryana, UP-West, Himachal Pradesh, UP-East, Rajasthan and Kerala. With a customer
base of over 28 million, IDEA Cellular's footprint currently covers approximately 60% of
India's telecom population.

A frontrunner in introducing revolutionary tariff plans, IDEA Cellular has the distinction
of offering the most customer friendly and competitive Pre Paid offerings, for the first
time in India in an increasingly segmented market.

Customer Service and Innovation are the drivers of this Cellular Brand. A brand known
for their many firsts, Idea is only operator to launch GPRS and EDGE in the country.
Idea has received international recognition for its path-breaking innovations when it won
the GSM Association Award for “Best Billing and Customer Care Solution” for 2
consecutive years.

IDEA Cellular is part of the Aditya Birla Group, a US$ 24 billion corporation with a
market cap of US$ 31.5 billion and in the league of Fortune 500. Anchored by an
extraordinary force of over 100,000 employees belonging to 25 different nationalities,
over 50% of its revenues flow from its overseas operations. The Group has been
adjudged ‘The Best Employer in India and among the Top 20 in Asia’ by the Hewitt-
Economic Times and Wall Street Journal Study 2007.

The combined holding of the Aditya Birla Group companies in IDEA stands at around 57
per cent With ambitious future plans, the company is poised for rapid growth across the
whole country.

OUR SERVICE AREAS :

The Indian telecommunications market for mobile services is divided into 22 “Service
Areas” classified into “Metropolitan”, Category “A”, Category “B” and Category “C”
service areas by the Government of India. These classifications are based principally on a
Service Area’s revenue generating potential.

Our operational 11 Service Areas are broken up into Established and New Service Areas.

ESTABLISHED SERVICE AREAS :

The established service areas are Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra,
Haryana, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh (West).

Licenses for the Maharashtra and Gujarat Service Areas were awarded in December
1995, with network rollout and commercial launch achieved in 1997. In January 2001 the
mobile operations in Andhra Pradesh Service Area were integrated with IDEA through a
merger with Tata Cellular Limited. In June 2001, the mobile operations in Madhya
Pradesh Service Area were fully integrated with IDEA through an acquisition of RPG
Cellcom Limited. In October 2001, the license for Delhi Service Area was acquired
during the fourth mobile license auction, with network rollout and commercial launch in
November 2002. In January 2004, Escotel Mobile Communications Private Limited
(“Escotel”), was acquired with its original licenses in the Service Areas of Haryana, Uttar
Pradesh (West) and Kerala. All these Service Areas were re-branded and integrated with
IDEA in June 2004.

New Service Areas:

The New Service Areas are Uttar Pradesh (East), Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh

Licenses for these New Service Areas were acquired through the acquisition of Escotel
(Escorts Telecommunications Limited).

Following significant investment in the roll-out of network in the New Service Areas,
amounting to approximately Rs. 4,678 million upto September 30, 2006, a full
commercial launch of mobile services was achieved in the New Service Areas between
September and November 2006 in a manner which also met the network roll-out
requirements of the licenses in 2007.

HISTORY :
Acquired Escotel, incumbent cellular service provider in Haryana, UP(W) & Kerala and
new licensee in HP

The chronology of key events of the Company from incorporation is set out below:
Calendar year Events
2007
• Won an award for the "CARE" service in the "Best Billing or Customer Care
Solution" at the GSM Association Awards in Barcelona, Spain
• Initial Public Offering aggregating to Rs. 28,187 million and Listing of Equity
Shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange
• Merger of seven subsidiaries with Idea Cellular Limited
• Reached the twenty million subscriber mark
2006
• Became part of the Aditya Birla Group subsequent to the TATA Group
transferring its entire shareholding in the Company to the Aditya Birla Group
• Acquired Escorts Telecommunications Limited (subsequently renamed as Idea
Telecommunications Limited) Restructuring of debt
• Launch of the New Circles Reached the 10 million subscriber mark
• Received Letter of Intent from the DoT for a new UAS License for the Mumbai
Circle.
• Received Letter of Intent from the DoT for a new UAS License for the Bihar
Circle through Aditya Birla Telecom Limited. ABNL, the parent of Aditya Birla
Telecom Limited, pursuant to a letter dated November 22, 2006, agreed to
transfer its entire shareholding in Aditya Birla Telecom Limited to the Company
for the consideration of Rs. 100 million.
•
• 2005
• Reached the five million subscriber mark
• Turned Profit Positive
• Won an Award for the "Bill Flash" service at GSM Association Awards in
Barcelona, Spain
• Sponsored the International Indian Film Academy Awards
2004
 • Completed debt restructuring for the then existing debt facilities and additional
funding for the Delhi Circle.
• Acquired Escotel Mobile Communications Limited (subsequently renamed as
Idea Mobile Communications Limited)
• Reached the four million subscriber mark
• First operator in India to commercially launch EDGE services 2005
2003
• Reached the two million subscriber mark
2002
• Changed name to Idea Cellular Limited and launched "Idea" brand name
• Commenced commercial operations in Delhi Circle Reached the one million
subscriber mark
2001
• Acquired RPG Cellular Limited and consequently the license for the Madhya
Pradesh (including Chattisgarh) Circle
• Changed name to Birla Tata AT&T Limited
• Obtained license for providing GSM-based services in the Delhi Circle following
the fourth operator GSM license bidding process
2000
• Merged with Tata Cellular Limited, thereby acquiring original license for the
Andhra Pradesh Circle
1999
• Migrated to revenues share license fee regime under New Telecommunications
Policy ("NTP")
1997
• Commenced operations in the Gujarat and Maharashtra Circles
1996
• Changed name to Birla AT&T Communications Limited following joint venture
between Grasim Industries and AT&T Corporation
1995
 • Incorporated as Birla Communications Limited
• Obtained licenses for providing GSM-based services in the Gujarat and
Maharashtra Circles following the original GSM license bidding process.

OUR MISSION:

KEY PEOPLE
BOARD OF DIRECTORS -
Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla (Chairman)
Smt. Rajashree Birla
Mr. M.R. Prasanna
Mr. Saurabh Misra
Mr. Sanjeev Aga (Managing Director)
Mr. Arun Thiagarajan
Ms. Tarjani Vakil
Mr. Mohan Gyani
Mr. Biswajit Anna Subramanian
Mr. Gian Prakash Gupta

MANAGEMENT TEAM -
CORPORATE LEADERSHIP TEAM:
Mr. Sanjeev Aga, Managing Director
Mr. Akshaya Moondra, Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Anil K. Tandan, Chief Technology Officer
Mr. Prakash K. Paranjape, Chief Information Officer
Mr. Pradeep Shrivastava, Chief Marketing Officer
Mr. Navanit Narayan, Chief Service Delivery Officer
Mr. Vinay K. Razdan, Chief Human Resource Officer
Mr. Rajat K. Mukarji, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer
Mr. Rajesh K. Srivastava, Chief Materials & Procurement Officer
Mr. Ambrish Jain, Director - Operations
Mr. Himanshu Kapania, Director - Operations

CIRCLE HEADS:
Mr. Iyer Subbaraman S., Chief Operating Officer, Andhra Pradesh
Mr. Rajendra Chourasia, Chief Operating Officer, Madhya Pradesh & Chattisgarh
Mr. Atul Chaturvedi, Chief Operating Officer, Delhi
Mr. Cherian Peter, Senior Vice President - Operations, Haryana & Himachal Pradesh
Mr. T. G. B. Ramakrishna, Chief Operating Officer, Kerala
Mr. Sashi Shankar, Chief Operating Officer, Mumbai
Mr. P.Lakshminarayana, Chief Operating Officer, Maharashtra & Goa
Mr. Virad Kaul, Chief Operating Officer, Uttar Pradesh (West)
Mr. Naozer Firoze Aibara, Chief Operating Officer, Uttar Pradesh (East)
Mr. Puneet Krishnan, Senior Vice President - Operations, Rajasthan
Mr. Arul Bright, Senior Vice President - Operations, Gujarat
Mr. M. D. Prasad, Senior Vice President - Operations, Bihar
Mr. Vijay Grover, Chief Operating Officer, East
Mr. M. Srinivas, Senior Vice President - Operations, Tamil Nadu & Chennai

OUR VALUES:

Values We Value: Integrity - Honesty in every action

At Aditya Birla Group, Integrity is defined as: Acting and taking decisions in a manner
that is fair, honest, following the highest standards of professionalism and also perceived
to be so. Integrity for us means not only financial and intellectual integrity, but in all
other forms as are commonly understood.

Key words that connote Integrity are:

• Ethical

• Truthful

• Principled

• Transparent

• Upright

• Respectful

Commitment - deliver on the promise:

At Aditya Birla Group Commitment is defined as: On the foundation of integrity, doing
whatever it takes to deliver value to all stakeholders. In the process, taking ownership of
our actions and decisions, those of our team and that part of the organization that we are
responsible for.

Key words that connote commitment are:

• Accountability

• Discipline

• Responsibility
 • Result –orientation

• Self-confidence

• Reliability

Passion - energized action

At Aditya Birla Group Passion is defined as: A missionary zeal arising out of emotional
engagement with the organization that makes work joyful and inspires each one to give
his or her best. Relentless pursuit of goals and objectives with the highest level of energy
and enthusiasm, that is voluntary and spontaneous.

Key words that connote passion are:

• Intensity

• Innovation

• Transformational

• Fire-in-the-belly

• Inspirational

• Deep sense of purpose

 Data Analysis, Observation & Interpretation
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF IDEA AND OTHERS:

In the given table we have taken some major factors on the basis of which there is a
comparison of Market Leader i.e. Idea and market follower i.e. Airtel. The results
drawn are on the basis of the interviews conducted by us across various segments and
area within the Kamoun Zone.

COMPANY REPUTATION

If we look at the company reputation, somehow the brand image of Idea is not
effectively visible in the Kamoun Zone. Reputation of others (like BSNL, Airtel,
vodafone, Reliance etc.) are its major strength as customer feels that BSNL has been
around for too long and understands the market vary well whereas IDIA is considered
as inexperienced and new player in the market. Interestingly company reputation in
Kamoun Zone is in sharp contrast with the reputation; Idea and Airtel hold nationally
which shows that BSNL has benefited due to maximum coverage in Kamoun.
 Company Reputation

12% Idea
18%
Bsnl
20% Airtel

26% Reliance
Vodafone
14%
10% others

MARKET SHARE

My own analysis shows that Idea has a 18% market share in Kamoun Zone compared
to 10% of Airtel, this may not be an accurate figure when al of the market is seen as a
whole. But clearly BSNL has the biggest market share and it works for them as a
major strength as they have a large group of influencers for them who can affect the
potential customer's decision. My analysis clearly shows that Influencer plays an
important role in selecting any operator. So market share is not the biggest strength
for Idea when compared to BSNL but again when its market share is compared to
other operators like Reliance, Airtel is having the advantage. This is why I have put
the market share as a minor strength for Idea.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION:

If we see at Idea and BSNL together we see that Idea has a larger base of satisfied
customer across all segments. Customer satisfaction is a minor strength for Idea
because even though customer satisfaction levels are high when compared with any
other operator this is mainly due to the larger customer base it has. Customer
satisfaction level for others is also not very good as there were lot of complaints of
errors in billing and customer care services etc., which on overall level is not good
because even a satisfied customer is not a loyal customer when it comes to switching
over from one operator to another.
 Customer Satisfaction

8% Idia
12% 25%
bsnl
Airtel

21% 10% Reliance

vodafone
24% Others

SERVICE QUALITY

In term of quality of service provided there is not much difference between others and
Idea; all have similarity in quality propositions delivered to the customer. Idea lags
behind in terms of network coverage across Kamoun Zone. When compared to BSNL
lot of customer complain about no network coverage in some areas of Kamoun (see
Recommendations). Both players do not have a major focus on service quality as
growth in number of customer is considerable and focus is an acquisition not ARPU
(see company strategy).
 Service Quality

IDEA
13% 18%
BSNL
14% AIRTEL
15%
RELIANCE

21% VODAFONE
19%
OTHERS

1. PRICE EFFECTIVENESS

Hence pricing effectiveness can be defined in terms of plans on offer in the corporate
segment. How effective are these plans in attracting the customers are what we
wanted to know. If we look at Idea's strategy of leveraging new plans, one can easily
make out that Idea's strategy is very flexible and effective. They have plans for
students, corporate SME's, organizations. Others have very inflexible plans for
corporate segments where except for few minor changes, not much is on offer.

2. CUSTOMER RETENTION

Customer retention is a major strength of Idea because I observed that there were
frequent visits by the sales people to a dissatisfied customer and any offer made by
any of its competitors to its customers are easily traced by it and efforts are made to
retain them. For BSNL retention is not a major strength because I saw that when
BSNL launched itself in Kamoun Zone lot of its customers terminated their
connections due to connectivity problems and network coverage. Lots of the SME's,
which I visited, had customers who stated that they relinquished their BSNL
connections initially. BSNL did not try to make them aware of the fact that no such
problems exist anymore. No efforts were made on part of BSNL to attract them back.

3. SALES FORCE

I have already talked about sales force in distribution effectiveness. Beside BSNL all
have equally good sales force. Airtel and Idea are equally good at converting leads to
 sales and making calls to the customers. Customers incorporate segment do talk about
frequent visits by the sales people of both these companies.

QUALITY OFSALES FORCE

AIRTEL
IDEA, AIRTEL,
50% 50% IDEA

4. GEOGRAPHICAL COVERAGE

Here geographical coverage is defined in terms of network coverage in Kamoun

Coverage is one of the most important factors for to choose between the operators
(see Recommendation) in such a scenario it is very important for the service provider
to have a extensive network coverage. Now when one compares Idea and BSNL,
BSNL has an extensive coverage of network and IDIA still lags behind in few areas
like National High Way-87 (Haldwani –Almora Road) (A tower was coming up
shortly in this area). Most of the customers were highly impressed by the network
coverage of vodafone as well as Reliance and complained about lack of network
coverage of Idea in few crucial areas of the Haldwani region.

5. DISTRIBUTION EFFECTIVENESS:

In term of distribution effectiveness both Airtel and Idea match each other point by
point and have a extensive distribution network all around and both are convert leads
to sales effectively but here again Idea beats Airtel in regions like Kaladhungi,
Bhawali, Mukteshwer etc. But Airtel is strong in regions within the main city. In
corporate segment distribution network is all about reach of sales force to the
corporate. So an effective sales force is important and both Airtel and Idea have an
effective sales force but idea was ahead than Airtel as I observed that region like
Bhawali was better covered by idea but the reason for this can be attributed to the
longer time period of idea's presence in the region.
6. PROMOTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS:

In terms of visibility and reach of the promotional campaigns to the customers

Reliance is better than all others in the Kamoun Zone. One a point-to-point basis Idea

is doing much better than others. I don't have the data for to validate my claim but

promotion is all about visibility to the customers and Idea is clearly more visible than

others on the local level, one can easily conclude this just by scouting the area.

Reliance, Idea and Airtel has captured all the prime locations to advertise.

Effectiveness of the promotional campaign can be judged to through a market

research and it is difficult to comment on that without any data to validate it.
 QUESTIONNAIRE
Q1) which connection do you have?

IDEA
vodafone
BSNL
airtel
others

INTERPRETATION:

Maximum number of respondent posses BSNL connection due to its better facility
and low cost as compared to other.

Q2) Time duration of having the particular connection?

IDEA
vodafone
BSNL
others

INTERPRETATION:

Respondent keeps the bsnl connection for maximum numbers of months as compared
to other communication network.
 Q3) Will you recommend your currently service provider company to other?

yes
no
not sure

INTERPRETATION:

Maximum numbers of people are satisfied with their present service provider
company and they don’t want to change their connection.

Q4) when you decided to buy a connection, how important is each of the following
factors in your decision?

extra facilities

connectivity

coverage

custom er
care
others

INTERPRETATION:
Maximum number of respondent depend upon the coverage factor in their decision
making to purchase connection.
Q5-. Is advertisement is required to serve the purpose of spreading knowledge of telecom
service provider?.
(a) Yes (b) No

Sales
34%
NO
66%
YES

Interpretation:
Advertisement serves a great purpose of providing the knowledge to the customer about
the new services and new schemes of any services provider in the market.
FINDINGS:
1). In telecom sector IDEA has a good market share and reputation due to its good
service.

2- Customer is satisfied with the connectivity and availability of new connection in

market

3-If we see at idea & other together then idea has a larger base of customer satisfaction in
compare to other (beside Airtel). But Reliance is catching up fast.

4- There is not much difference of Quality of service of Airtel &idea

5- Idea’s strategies are very flexible & effective.

6-Customer retention is not a major strength of Idea but for Reliance & Airtel it is.

7-Quality of sales force is good of Idea.

8-BSNL has an extensive network coverage then others.

9-Reliance, Airtel, Vodafone and idea have good distribution channels.

10-Idea is weaker in promotional campaigns then Reliance.

Recommendations and Suggestion’s:

. EXTENSIVE NETWORK COVERAGE:

 There are many remote areas which do not have network coverage of Idea, reason
may be because there is not much of user concentration, but there are customers
who travel to these area and feel disappointed because of no or poor network
coverage and the network coverage is an important factor for churn (see factor of
churn). Company should ensure that there is no lack of connectivity and coverage
is more extensive, major focus on group connection makes it further more
imperative for the company.

 I also came across the fact that company has lot of customer initially due to lack
of network coverage when it first started its operation so many of the customers
have this view that Idea does not have reliable service, in order to get over this
perception it is important to provide an extensive network coverage.

FOCUS ON AREAS WITH LOW PENETRATION

 We suggest Idea should look more seriously into Interiors areas where these have
lot of potential and no presence of competitors. I expect that future growth in
sales will come from these areas as there is not much penetration and potential
exists. As I did the study I found out that large no. of people in hill area is small
traders, service class and do have the potential to buy and use cell phone
connection.
CUSTOMER LOST INITAILLY DUE TO POOR NETWORK COVERAGE
SHOULD BE RETAINED

 Being a service company word of mouth is very important in such a situation it is

very important to ensure that the customer should at least be made aware of what
Idea has achieved till now, so that they don't act as influencer against Idea for
potential customers in remote area and such influencer or unsatisfied customers
can easily spoil the chances for Idea for the future. Low market share of Idea in
remote area can be attributed to this factor.
.
EDUCATIONAL/GOVERNMENT INSTITUTION SHOULD BE TARGETED

Government institutions and Educational institution is a big segment, which has a huge
potential though most of them as BSNL prepaid connection, but again a connection
should be made available to them.

HIGH INVOLVEMENT PRODUCT:

 What is very much visible from the research is that there is a wide gap between
the brand image of Idea nationwide .To fill this gap some initiatives must be
taken. Large-scale promotion should be done to attract customer from all
segments.
CUSTOEM PRODUCT PRODUCT SELLING
R QUALITY AVAILABI STAFF
AWARENE -LITY
SS
AIRTEL EXCELLE EXCELLE EXCELLE GOOD
NT NT NT
IDEA EXCELLE EXCELLE EXCELLE EXCELLE
NT NT NT NT
VODAFO GOOD FAIR FAIR FAIR
NE
RELIANC EXCELLE GOOD GOOD GOOD
E NT
TATA GOOD FAIR GOOD FAIR

The given table we have put all the service providers and matched them on 4 factors
which are important to ascertain the performance level of the organization and the
way customer perceives the product and services of the company. Rating was done on
the scale of Excellent, Good, Fair and poor.
The factors are:
• Customer Awareness
• Product Quality
• Product Availability
• Selling Staff
Recommendations and Suggestions

1. EXTENSIVE NETWORK COVERAGE

 There are many remote areas in Kamoun Zone which do not have network
coverage of Idea, reason may be because there is not much of user concentration,
but there are customers who travel to these area and feel disappointed because of
no or poor network coverage and the network coverage is an important factor for
churn (see factor of churn). Company should ensure that there is no lack of
connectivity and coverage is more extensive, major focus on group connection
makes it further more imperative for the company.

 I also came across the fact that company has lot of customer initially due to lack
of network coverage when it first started its operation in Kamoun Zone so many
of the customers have this view that Idea does not have reliable service, in order
to get over this perception it is important to provide an extensive network
coverage.

2. FOCUS ON AREAS WITH LOW PENETRATION

 We suggest Idea should look more seriously into Interiors of Kamoun who have a
very these have lot of potential and no presence of competitors. I expect that
future growth in sales will come from these areas as there is not much penetration
and potential exists. As I did the study I found out that large no. of people in hill
area is small traders, service class and do have the potential to buy and use cell
phone connection.

3. CUSTOMER LOST INITAILLY DUE TO POOR NETWORK COVERAGE

SHOULD BE RETAINED

 Being a service company word of mouth is very important in such a situation it is

very important to ensure that the customer should at least be made aware of what
Idea has achieved till now, so that they don't act as influencer against Idia for
potential customers in remote area and such influencer or unsatisfied customers
can easily spoil the chances for Idea for the future. Low market share of Idea in
remote area can be attributed to this factor.
4. EDUCATIONAL/GOVERNMENT INSTITUTION SHOULD BE TARGETED
Government institutions and Educational institution is a big segment, which has a huge
potential though most of them as BSNL prepaid connection, but again a connection
should be made available to them.

HIGH INVOLVEMENT PRODUCT:

 What is very much visible from the research is that there is a wide gap between
the brand image of Idea nationwide and in Kamon Zone. To fill this gap some
initiatives must be taken. Large-scale promotion should be done to attract
customer from all segments.
CUSTOEM PRODUCT PRODUCT SELLING
R QUALITY AVAILABI STAFF
AWARENE -LITY
SS
AIRTEL EXCELLE EXCELLE EXCELLE GOOD
NT NT NT
IDEA EXCELLE EXCELLE EXCELLE EXCELLE
NT NT NT NT
VODAFO GOOD FAIR FAIR FAIR
NE
RELIANC EXCELLE GOOD GOOD GOOD
E NT
TATA GOOD FAIR GOOD FAIR

The given table we have put all the service providers and matched them on 4 factors
which are important to ascertain the performance level of the organization and the
way customer perceives the product and services of the company. Rating was done on
the scale of Excellent, Good, Fair and poor.
The factors are:
• Customer Awareness
• Product Quality
• Product Availability
• Selling Staff
Recommendations and Suggestions
1. EXTENSIVE NETWORK COVERAGE

 There are many remote areas which do not have network coverage of Idea, reason
may be because there is not much of user concentration, but there are customers
who travel to these area and feel disappointed because of no or poor network
coverage and the network coverage is an important factor for churn (see factor of
churn). Company should ensure that there is no lack of connectivity and coverage
is more extensive, major focus on group connection makes it further more
imperative for the company.

 I also came across the fact that company has lot of customer initially due to lack
of network coverage when it first started its operation in so many of the
customers have this view that Idea does not have reliable service, in order to get
over this perception it is important to provide an extensive network coverage.

FOCUS ON AREAS WITH LOW PENETRATION

 We suggest Idea should look more seriously into the areas where these have lot of
potential and no presence of competitors. I expect that future growth in sales will
come from these areas as there is not much penetration and potential exists. As I
did the study I found out that large no. of people in hill area is small traders,
service class and do have the potential to buy and use cell phone connection.

. CUSTOMER LOST INITAILLY DUE TO POOR NETWORK COVERAGE

SHOULD BE RETAINED

 Being a service company word of mouth is very important in such a situation it is

very important to ensure that the customer should at least be made aware of what
Idea has achieved till now, so that they don't act as influencer against Idia for
potential customers in remote area and such influencer or unsatisfied customers
can easily spoil the chances for Idea for the future. Low market share of Idea in
remote area can be attributed to this factor.
.
EDUCATIONAL/GOVERNMENT INSTITUTION SHOULD BE TARGETED

Government institutions and Educational institution is a big segment, which has a huge
potential though most of them as BSNL prepaid connection, but again a connection
should be made available to them.

HIGH INVOLVEMENT PRODUCT:

 What is very much visible from the research is that there is a wide gap between
the brand image of Idea nationwide and in Kamon Zone. To fill this gap some
initiatives must be taken. Large-scale promotion should be done to attract
customer from all segments.
CUSTOEM PRODUCT PRODUCT SELLING
R QUALITY AVAILABI STAFF
AWARENE -LITY
SS
AIRTEL EXCELLE EXCELLE EXCELLE GOOD
NT NT NT
IDEA EXCELLE EXCELLE EXCELLE EXCELLE
NT NT NT NT
VODAFO GOOD FAIR FAIR FAIR
NE
RELIANC EXCELLE GOOD GOOD GOOD
E NT
TATA GOOD FAIR GOOD FAIR

The given table we have put all the service providers and matched them on 4 factors
which are important to ascertain the performance level of the organization and the
way customer perceives the product and services of the company. Rating was done on
the scale of Excellent, Good, Fair and poor.
The factors are:
• Customer Awareness
• Product Quality
• Product Availability
• Selling Staff
 Bibliography

BOOKS/WEB SITES

Marketing Management (Millennium Edition) Philip Kotler

Marketing Research C.R Kothari

Marketing Research G.C Beri
www.airtelworld.com
www.coai.com
www.trai.com
www.google.com
www.teleindia.com