Bimal-Cellular Brand Awareness

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PROJECT REPORT

ON

BRAND AWARENESS REGARDING DIFFERENTCELLULAR SERVICES AMONG MOBILE

USERS IN PUNJAB

Report preparedBy

BIMALPREET SINGH

For the Partial fulfillment of completion of the Course:

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

(Batch 2010 2011)


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CONTENTS

Chapters Page No.

Ch 1. Introduction To Telecommunication Industry 6 to 21

Indian telecom sector...06

History of Telecommunication. ..06

Indian telecom industry07

Trends...08

Growth of mobile technology...10

Main service provider..13

Ch 2. AIRCEL 22 to 30

About AIRCEL.22

Management team.23

Presence of AIRCEL.27

Ch 3. SWOT Analysis........32

Ch 4. Research Project 34 to 47

Title.........33

Research Objectives33

Research Methodology34

Analysis & Interpretations...37

Suggestions..45

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Ch 5. Bibliography 48

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project entitled Brand awareness regarding different cellular

services among mobile users in PUNJAB submitted for the degree of MBA in subject of

Research Methodology of SBSCET,FEROZEPUR affiliated to Punjab Technical

University, PUNJAB is a bonafide research work carried out by BIMALPREET SINGH

under my supervision and that no part of this report has been submitted for any other

degree.

The assistance and help received during the course of investigation have been fully

acknowledged.

(Project Advisor)

MS.Ramanpreet Sidhu

Signature of the Student(Bimalpreet Singh)Roll No ~ 1175436

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Introduction To Telecommunication Industry

INTRODUCTION

Indian Telecom Sector

Indian Telecom sector, like any other industrial sector in the country, has gone throughmany phases of growth and diversification. Starting from telegraphic and telephonicsystems in the 19th century, the field of telephonic communication has now expanded to

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make use of advanced technologies like GSM, CDMA, and WLL to the great 3GTechnology in mobile phones. Day by day, both the public players and the private playersare putting in their resources and efforts to improve the telecommunication technology soas to give the maximum to their customers.History of Indian Telecommunications

Year

1. 1851 First operational land lines were laid by the government near Calcutta (seat ofBritish power)

2. 1881 Telephone service introduced in India3. 1883 Merger with the postal system4. 1923 Formation of Indian Radio Telegraph Company (IRT)5. 1932 Merger of ETC and IRT into the Indian Radio and Cable Communication

Company (IRCC)6. 1947 Nationalization of all foreign telecommunication companies to form the Posts,

Telephone and Telegraph (PTT), a monopoly run by the government's .

7. 1985 Department of Telecommunications (DOT) established, an exclusive providerof domestic and long-distance service that would be its own regulator (separatefrom the postal system)

8. 1986 Conversion of DOT into two wholly government-owned companies: theVidesh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) for international telecommunications andMahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) for service in metropolitan areas.

9. 1997 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India created.10. 1999 Cellular Services are launched in India. New National Telecom Policy is

adopted.11. 2000 DoT becomes a corporation, BSNL

The Indian Telecom Industry

The Indian Telecommunications network is the 2nd largest among the emerging economiesof Asia. Today, it is the fastest growing market in the world and represents uniqueopportunities for U.S. companies in the stagnant global scenario. The total subscriber base,which has grown by 40% in 2005, is expected to reach 250 million in 2007. According toBroadband Policy 2004, Government of India aims at 9 million broadband connections and18 million internet connections by 2007.. In the last 3 years, two out of every three newtelephone subscribers were wireless subscribers. Consequently, wireless now accounts for54.6% of the total telephone subscriber base, as compared to only 40% in 2003. Wirelesssubscriber growth is expected to bypass 2.5 million new subscribers per month by 2007.The wireless technologies currently in use are Global System for Mobile Communications(GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). There are primarily 9 GSM and 4CDMA operators providing mobile services all over India, covering 4900 towns across thecountry.A large population, low telephony penetration levels, and rise in consumer income and

spend owing to strong economic growth have contributed to making India the fastest

growing telecom market in the world. The first and largest operator is the state-owned

incumbent BSNL, which is also the 7th largest telecom company in world in terms of

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number of subscribers.. BSNL was created by corporatization of the erstwhile DTS

(Department of Telecommunication Services), a government unit responsible for provision

of telephony services. Subsequently, after the telecommunication policy was revised to

allow private operators, companies such as Reliance, Bharti Telecom, Tata Indicom, Hutch,

MTNL, and BPL have entered the space.

The total number of telephones in the country crossed the 100 million mark in April 2005

and the total numbers of telephone subscribers have reached 218.05 million at the end of

May 2007 as compared to 211.76 million in April 2007. The overall tele-density has

increased to 19.26 in May 2007 as compared to 18.74 in April 2007. In the wireless

segment, 6.57 million subscribers have been added in May 2007 while 6.11 million

subscribers were added in April 2007. The total wireless subscribers (GSM, CDMA &WLL) base is 177.79 million now. The wireline segment subscriber base stood at 40.26

million with a decline of 0.28 million in May 2007.

India, Emerging As A Major Player

DoT was responsible for telecom services in entire country until 1985 when Mahanagar

Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) was carved out of DoT to run the telecom services of

Delhi and Mumbai. In 1990s the telecom sector was opened up by the Government for

private investment as a part of Liberalization-Privatization-Globalization policy. Therefore,

it became necessary to separate the Government's policy wing from its operations wing.

The Government of India corporatised the operations wing of DoT on October 01, 2000

and named it as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). Many private operators, such as

Reliance India Mobile, Tata Telecom, Hutch, BPL, Bharti, Idea etc., successfully entered

the high potential Indian telecom market.

Growing Network Coverage Is Triggering Further Market Expansion

Segment Cellular reach (2003-04) Cellular reach (End 2006 .)

Locations Population Locations Population

Urban ~ 1700 of

5200 towns

200 million ~ 4900 towns

out of nearly

5200 towns

300 million

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Rural Negligible Negligible ~ 350,000 out

of 607,000

villages

450 million

Trends

Indian telecommunication firms added 5.19 million new subscribers in April 2007,

taking the total user base above 212.02 million.

Wireless service providers continued to dominate user growth by adding 5.15

million subscribers in April, while 40,000 new fixed-line users signed up.

At 500 minutes a month, India has the highest monthly 'minutes of usage' (MOU)

per subscriber in the Asia-Pacific region.

India is emerging as a forerunner in using the cell phone as a tool to access the

Internet, with one in every 11 people logging on to the web across the world

through mobiles turning out to be an Indian.

The country's telecom sector will see investments up to US$ 25 billion over the

next five years, projects global consultancy firm Ernst & Young.

India is expected to register handset production of over 51 million units in 2007 to

record the highest growth in the Asia-Pacific region, according to technology

research firm Gartner. India produced nearly 31 million mobile phones in 2006 worth about US$ 5 billion.

The production of handsets is set to increase by 68 per cent in units and 65 per cent

in value terms in 2007. By 2011, production volumes are expected to reach nearly

95 million units at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25 per cent.

The retail market for mobile phones -- handsets, accessories and airtime -- is over

US$ 15.6 billion and growing at the rate of 15-20 per cent.

Massive infrastructure needs in India might provide a potential private equity role.

A recent study by telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)

has estimated that the country will need about 350,000 telecom towers by 2010, as

against 125,000 in 2007.

With a CAGR of 46 per cent, India has emerged as the fastest growing market in

the data centre-structured cabling market in the Asia Pacific region, according to

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Access Markets International (AMI) Partners, a US-based consultancy agency. The

data centre structured cabling market is expected to grow from US$ 19 million in

2005 to US$ 125 million in 2010. The overall structure cabling market is expected

to grow from US$ 127 million in 2005 to US$ 345 million by 2010 at a CAGR of

22 per cent. .

In May 2007, Indian GSM mobile phone service providers signed up 5.1 million

customers, taking total users to 130.6 million, the Cellular Operators' Association

of India said.

The combined revenue of all operators from their mobile businesses would more

than double to US$ 33.1 billion by 2010, from about US$ 12.8 billion in 2006.

The total revenue of all telecom operators is also set to nearly double to US$ 43.6

billion in four years, from US$ 22.5 billion in 2006. The revenue share of mobile

business would rise to 76 per cent in the same period, from 57 per cent currently.

India, which is adding over six million mobile subscribers every month, has

surpassed Russia to become the third largest mobile market in the world after China

and the US. The total mobile subscriber base in the country is likely to reach 425

million by March 2010 with Bharti Airtel (GSM) and Reliance (CDMA and GSM)

emerging as the top two mobile operators in terms of number of subscribers.

Growth Of Mobile Technology

India has become one of the fastest growing mobile markets in the world. The mobile

services were commercially launched in August 1995 in India. In the initial 5-6 years the

average monthly subscribers additions were around 0.05 to 0.1 million only and the total

mobile subscribers base in December 2002 stood at 10.5 millions. However, after the

number of proactive initiatives taken by regulator and licensor, the monthly mobile

subscriber additions increased to around 2 million per month in the year 2003-04 and 2004-

05.

Although mobile telephones followed the New Telecom Policy 1994, growth was tardy in

the early years because of the high price of hand sets as well as the high tariff structure of

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mobile telephones. The New Telecom Policy in 1999, the industry heralded several pro

consumer initiatives. Mobile subscriber additions started picking up. The number of mobile

phones added throughout the country in 2003 was 16 million, followed by 22 millions in

2004, 32 million in 2005 and 65 million in 2006. The only countries with more mobile

phones than India with 156.31 million mobile phones are China 408 million and USA

170 million.

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

and CDMA (code-division multiple access) technologies in the mobile sector. In addition

to landline and mobile phones, some of the companies also provide the WLL service.

The mobile tariffs in India have also become lowest in the world. A new mobile connection

can be activated with a monthly commitment of US$ 5 only. In 2005 alone 32 million

handsets were sold in India. The data reveals the real potential for growth of the Indian

mobile market.

Revenue & Growth

The total revenue in the telecom service sector was Rs. 86,720 crore in 2005-06 as against

Rs. 71, 674 crore in 2004-2005, registering a growth of 21%. The total investment in the

telecom services sector reached Rs. 200,660 crore in 2005-06, up from Rs. 178,831 crore in

the previous fiscal.

Telecommunication is the lifeline of the rapidly growing Information Technology industry.

Internet subscriber base has risen to 6.94 million in 2005- 2006. Out of this 1.35 million

were broadband connections. More than a billion people use the internet globally.

Under the Bharat Nirman Programme, the Government of India will ensure that 66,822

revenue villages in the country, which have not yet been provided with a Village Public

Telephone (VPT), will be connected. However doubts have been raised about what it

would mean for the poor in the country.

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It is difficult to ascertain fully the employment potential of the telecom sector but the

enormity of the opportunities can be gauged from the fact that there were 3.7 million Public

Call Offices in December 2005 up from 2.3 million in December 2004.

The value added services (VAS) market within the mobile industry in India has the

potential to grow from $500 million in 2006 to a whopping $10 billion by 2009

GSM and CDMA subscription numbers:

YearGSM Subscribers

(millions)

GSM Annual

growth

CDMA Subscribers

(millions)

CDMA Annual

growth

2000 3.1 94% - -

2001 5.05 76% - -

2002 10.5 91% 0.8 -

2003 22.0 110% 6.4 700%

2004 37.4 70% 10.9 70%

2005 58.5 57% 19.1 75%

2006 105.4 80% 44.2 131%

2007 180.0 71% 85.0 92%

Telecom sector targets announced by Government of India

250 million subscribers by 2007

500 million subscribers by 2010

Mobile access to all villages with population of more than 1,000 by 2007

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There are three types of players in telecom services:

-State owned companies

-Private Indian owned companies

-Foreign invested companies

Main Service providers in India

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1.BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited)

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (known as BSNL) is a public sector communications

company in India. It is the largest telecommunication company in India and the sixth

largest in the world. Its headquarters are at Bharat Sanchar

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Bhawan, Harish Chandra Mathur Lane, Janpath, New Delhi. It has the status of Mini-

ratana - a status assigned to reputed Public Sector companies in India.

BSNL is India's oldest and largest Communication Service Provider (CSP). Currently

BSNL has a customer base of 65.3 million (Basic & Mobile telephony). It has footprints

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

managed by MTNL. As on July 31, 2007 BSNL commanded a customer base of 32.7

million Wireline, 3.7 million CDMA-WLL and 28.9 million GSM Mobile subscribers.

BSNL's earnings for the Financial Year ending March 31, 2007 stood at INR 397.15b (US$

9.67 b) with net profit of INR 78.06b (US$ 1.90 billion). Today, BSNL is India's largest

Telco and one of the largest Public Sector Undertaking of the country with authorized share

capital of US$ 4.26 billion (INR 17,500 Crores) and assets of US$ 14.74 billion.

2. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited

Founded 1986

Headquarters New Delhi, India

The Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (NYSE: MTE) is an Indian Government

owned telephone service provider in the cities of Mumbai, Thane, New Delhi and Navi

Mumbai in India. The company was a monopoly till 2000 when telecom sector was thrown

open to other service providers.

3. Bharti Airtel

Founded 1985

Headquarters New Delhi, India

Key people Sunil Mittal

Bharti Airtel, formerly known as Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited

(BTVL) is among India's largest mobile phone and Fixed Network operators. With more

than 40 million subscriptions as of May 2007, the company is one of the world's fastest

growing telecom companies. It offers its mobile services under the Airtel brand and is

headed by Sunil Mittal, India's sixth richest man with a total worth of US$10 billion. The

company is the only GSM operator to provide mobile services in all the 23 circles in India.

The company also provides telephone services and Internet access over DSL in 14 circles.

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The company complements its mobile, broadband & telephone services with national and

international long distance services. The company also has a submarine cable landing

station at Chennai, which connects the submarine cable connecting Chennai and Singapore.

The company provides reliable end-to-end data and enterprise services to the corporate

customers by leveraging its nationwide fiber optic backbone, last mile connectivity in

fixed-line and mobile circles, VSATs, ISP and international bandwidth access through the

gateways and landing station.

Although Bharti Airtel is the largest mobile service provider, BSNL, the state run mobile

and wireline service provider is the market leader as of 31 December 2006 customer's base.

4 Idea cellular

Idea cellular is a wireless telephony company operating in

various states in India. It initially started in 1995 as a join venture between the Tatas,

Aditya Birla Group and AT&T by merging Tata Cellular and Birla AT&T

Communications.

Initially having a very limited footprint in the GSM arena, the acquisition of Escotel in

2004 gave Idea a truly pan-India presence covering Maharashtra (excluding Mumbai), Goa,

Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh (East and West),

Haryana, Kerala, Rajasthan and Delhi (inclusive of NCR).

The company has its retail outlets under the "Idea n' U" banner. The company has also been

the first to offer flexible tarrif plans for prepaid customers. It also offers GPRS services in

urban areas.

5 Reliance Communications

Founded 2004Headquarters Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra India

Reliance Communications (formerlyReliance Infocomm), along with Reliance Telecom

and Flag Telecom, is part of Reliance Communications Ventures (RCoVL). According to

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National Stock Exchange data, Anil Ambani controls 66.75 per cent of the company, which

accounts for more than 136 crore shares of the company. Reliance Infocomm is an Indian

telecommunications company. It is the flagship company of the Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai

Ambani Group, comprising of power (Reliance Energy), financial services (Reliance

Capital) and telecom initiatives of the Reliance ADAG Group. Reliance Infocomm is

currently managed by Anil Dhirubhai Ambani.

5. Hutch Essar( VODAFONE)

Hutch is the fourth largest cellular operator in India that covers most of the country.It

offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout India and is

especially strong in the major metros. The company is often praised for its award winning

advertisements which all follow a clean, minimalist look. A recurrent theme is that its

message Hi stands out visibly though it uses only black letters on white background.

Another recent successful ad campaign in 2003 featured a dog following a boy around in

unlikely places, with the tagline, wherever you go, our network follows.

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

15%. Vodafone and the Essar group have reached an agreement on the management of the

company, which will be renamed Vodafone Essar in the near future.

In Mumbai it was earlier known by the name Orange. It offers both prepaid and postpaid

GSM cellular phone coverage throughout India and is especially strong in the major

metros.

6. Tata Tele Services

Tata Teleservices is a part of the $12 billion Tata Group, which has 93 companies, over

200,000 employees and more than 2.3 million shareholders. Tata Teleservices provides

basic (fixed line services), using CDMA technology in six circles: Maharashtra (including

Mumbai), New Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Karnataka. It has over

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800,000 subscribers. It has now migrated to unified access licenses, by paying a Rs. 5.45

billion ($120 million) fee, which enables it to provide fully mobile services as well.

The company is also expanding its footprint, and has paid Rs. 4.17 billion ($90 million) to

DoT for 11 new licenses under the IUC (interconnect usage charges) regime. The new

licenses, coupled with the six circles in which it already operates, virtually gives the

CDMA mobile operator a national footprint that is almost on par with BSNL and Reliance

Infocomm. The company hopes to start off services in these 11 new circles by August

2004. These circles include Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Kolkata, Orissa,

Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh (East) & West and West Bengal.

6. BPL Mobile Communications Ltd

BPL Mobile is committed to business leadership in providing world class technology

services and solutions, by focusing on People, Customers, Technology, and passionately

driving Excellence throughout the organization thereby creating Value.

Having started its services in 1995, BPL Mobile operates in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Goa,

Pondicherry, Kerala and Tamil Nadu - with a network spanning across 207 cities currently.

Today, BPL Mobile, India's premier mobile phone service provider continues as the leader

of the Wire Free World with over 1.2 million subscribers.

BPL Mobile has consistently demonstrated its technological leadership by providing world

class technology like QualNet, Intelligent Network, GPRS, MMS amongst others to its

subscribers. This is in tune with BPL Mobile's motto of providing Tomorrow's Technology

Today. Also, in its commitment to the Customer First ethos, BPL Mobile has aligned the

organization, its people, processes and infrastructure to the needs of the customer.

7. SPICE Telecom

Spice Telecom is a joint venture between Distacom of Hong Kong, and Spice Corp the

flagship company of the B.K. Modi group. It is one of the leading cellular providers in

India today.

It has been operational in the two states of Karnataka and Punjab for the past 7 years. Spice

was born in April 1997 and has a combined subscriber base of 8 lakh. It is one of the

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distinctive brands in the telecom market and stands for innovation and excitement. Spice

Punjab added another feather in its cap by being declared the Number one operator for

having the highest number of international roaming partnerships in over 169 countries

India

Rank Operator TechnologySubscribers(in millions)

Ownership

1 Airtel GSM44.76 (July2007)

Bharti

2 Hutch GSM32.44 (July2007)

Vodafone (67%) & EssarGroup (33%)

3RelianceMobile

GSM,CDMA

33.34 (July2007)

RelianceCommunications Limited

4 BSNL GSM32.66 (July2007)

State-owned

5 Tata Indicom CDMA18.09 (July2007)

Tata Group

6 !DEA GSM

17.00 (July

2007) Aditya Birla Group

7 Aircel GSM7.16 (July2007)

Maxis Telecom

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8 Spice GSM3.29 (July2007)

Spicecorp andDISTACOM

9 MTNL GSM 2.88 (July2007)

State-owned

10BPL Mobile -Mumbai

GSM, GPRS1.095 (July2007)

Essar Group

11 HFCL0.161 (July2007)

Wireless Subscribers Crosses 200 Million Mark

The total number of telephone subscribers has reached 241.02 million at the end of August

2007 as compared to 232.87 million in July 2007. The overall teledensity has increased to

21.20% in August 2007 as compared to 20.52% in July 2007. In the wireless segment, 8.31

million subscribers have been added in August 2007 while 8.06 million subscribers were

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added in July 2007. The total wireless subscribers (GSM, CDMA & WLL(F)) base reaches

201.29 million at the end of August 2007. The wireline segment subscriber base stood at

39.73 million with a decrease of 0.16 million at the end of August 2007

TRAI

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India or TRAI (established 1997) is the

independent regulator established by the Government of India to regulate the

telecommunications business in India.

Prime Movers Of Economy

Recognizing that the telecom sector is one of the prime movers of economy, the

Government's regulatory and policy initiatives have been directed toward establishing a

world-class telecommunications infrastructure the Government's regulatory and policy

initiatives have been directed toward establishing a world-class telecommunications

infrastructure.and $69 billion by 2010.

Until late 2003, continual litigation between GSM and CDMA operators around the issue

of full- versus limited-mobility franchise rights had stalled market progress. With the

ending of litigation and the adoption of a unified licensing regime, all operators can now

concentrate on rolling out networks, attracting subscribers and improving services instead

of fighting battles in the press and in court.

Indias telecommunications sector is now among the most deregulated in the world and

presents potentially lucrative opportunities for service providers .

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INTRODUCTION ABOUT AIRCEL TELECOMMUNICATION LTD

Aircel, part of Maxis Communications Berhad, Malaysia, is Indias fifth largest GSM

mobile service provider with a subscriber base of over 6.2 million (over 4 million in

Chennai & Tamil Nadu alone) and the fastest growing mobile operator in the country. As

on date, Aircel is present in 9 telecom circles (Assam, Bihar, Chennai, Himachal Pradesh,

Jammu & Kashmir, North East, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal) and with licences

secured for the remaining 14 of the 23 telecom circles, the company is on track to become a

pan-India operator. Additionally, Aircel has also obtained the nod from Department of

Telecommunications (DoT) to provide International Long Distance (ILD) and National

Long Distance (NLD) telephony services.

Aircels network provides 2G and GPRS services. Aircel is also currently in the process of

conducting 3G Trials across different cities in India. In addition, Aircel is the first cellular

operator in India to launch wireless Internet services using WiMAX technology. It aims to

immediately extend its WiMax coverage to over 20 cities to serve enterprise broadband

customers.

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Over the next few quarters, India is expected to add new subscribers at the rate of 5 to 6

million per month. India offers huge opportunities for Aircel given the current low mobile

penetrations levels as well as challenges in terms of its geographic spread and low ARPU

levels.

Aircel is the largest mobile phone service providerin Tamil Nadu, India.

It offers both prepaid andpostpaidGSM cellular phone coverage throughout Tamil Nadu,

Assam, NE States, Orissa, West Bengal, J&K, Bihar & HP.

Aircel Business Solutions (ABS), part of Aircel, is headquartered in Chennai and is an ISO

9000 certified company. ABS is a registered member of WiMAX forum both in the

Indian and International Chapters. ABS product range includes a host of cutting-edge

enterprise solutions such as Multi Protocol Label Switching Virtual Private Networks

(MPLS VPNs), Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Managed Video Services on

wireless platform including WiMAX. For more information, please visit

History of Aircel

In December 05, Maxis had acquired stake in the C Sivasankaran-promoted company for

$1.1 billion in partnership with the Chennais Reddy family. Malaysia's biggest cellphone

firm, Maxis Communications Bhd, expanded into the fast-growing Indian market taking

the lead in a $1.08 billion joint-venture takeover of mobile operator Aircel.

Aircel has 2.2 million users and a third of the market in Tamil Nadu and its capital,

Chennai, Maxis said. Aircel has licences to provide services in 12 of 23 areas that make up

India's telecoms sector.

Maxis, which is looking for growth abroad as its home market matures, said Aircel would

be a springboard into the Indian market, giving it access to 628 million people, or 58

percent of India's population, by the end of 2006. .

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Maxis said it would hold 74 percent of Aircel Ltd, the maximum allowed under foreign-

ownership rules, and named its joint-venture partner as Chennai-based Apollo Hospitals

Enterprises Ltd, controlled by the Reddy family.

Maxis will take a direct 65 percent stake in Aircel by spending $702 million on new and

existing shares. It will hold its remaining stake indirectly through the joint venture, in turn

owned 74 percent by Apollo and 26 percent by Maxis.

Other bidders have included Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd and Russian

conglomerate AFK Sistema. The Hutchison deal, announced in 2004, failed to receive

regulatory approval within the required deadline

The Management Team

Rohit Chandra: Rohit Chandra is the CEO - North and East Zone, Aircel. He is a

Communications Engineer from the Aligarh Muslim University and has over 20 years of

Senior Management experience in Organisations like Phillips India , Forbes Gokak Limited

(TATA Group) , Wandel & Goltermann (Germany) and Ericsson India Private Limited.

Prior to joining Dishnet Wireless Limited, he had a 5 years successful stint at Ericsson

India Private Limited as Executive Vice President & Head (Marketing & Technical

Solutions) for Market Unit (India and Sri Lanka). Mr. Chandra has been the founder

Chairman of Global Mobile Suppliers Associations (India Chapter) and is a Permanent

Member of the Institution of Engineers, Australia.

Sharad Mehrotra: Sharad Mehrotra is the Sr. Vice President, heading the Sales,

Marketing & Customer Care function for the Telecom Operations in North and East

Circles. He has over 15 years of experience, all over in the Telecom Industry, worked with

the organizations like Global Tele-systems Ltd, BPL Telecom Ltd, and Ericsson India. He

is an Electronics Engineer from Pune University and has a MBA in Marketing. Prior to

joining Dishnet Wireless Limited, Mr. Mehrotra was working with Ericsson India as

Director, Sales & Marketing and was also part of its Management Team.

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Vikram Chona: Vikram Chona is the Associate Vice President, heading the Business

Development function for the Telecom Operations in the North and East Circles. He has

about 15 years of experience in organizations like USA Petroleum Corporation, Max

Visions Inc., Otis Elevators and Ericsson India Pvt. Ltd. He has obtained a MBA from

Loyola Marymount University, USA. Prior to joining Dishnet Wireless Limited, Mr.

Chona was working with Ericsson India Private Limited as Senior Manager Corporate

Marketing.

Ganapathi Srinivasan: Ganapathi Srinivasan is the Group Commercial Head, heading the

Business Strategy & Planning function for the Telecom Operations in Aircel. He is an

Economics Graduate from University of Chennai and has over 16 years of experience in

organizations like Otis Elevators and Ericsson India Private Limited. Prior to joining

Dishnet Wireless limited, Mr. Srinivasan was working with Ericsson India Private Limited

as Price Manager Market Unit (India & Sri Lanka).

Komandur P Rangaraj: Komandur P. Rangaraj is the Group Financial Controller. He has

about 17 years of experience in organizations / audit firms like Sundaram & Srinivasan

Chartered Accountants, Kuwait Insulating Material Manufacturing Company, ICI India

Limited, BOC India Limited, Rolls Print Packaging Limited and Coromandel Fertilizers

Limited. He is a Chartered Accountant, a CWA and CS (Inter). Prior to joining Dishnet

Wireless Limited, Mr. Rangaraj was associated with Sundaram & Srinivasan Chartered

Accountants and was heading teams conducting statutory and operational reviews for

Public Limited Companies

Sushil Kumar Agarwal: Sushil Kumar Agarwal is the Associate Vice President Projects

and Chief Technology Office (North) for the Telecom Operations in the North and East

Circles. He has about 16 years of experience in organizations like Rajasthan Electronics &

Instrument Ltd and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (Department of Telecommunications,

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Government of India). He is B.E in Electronics and Communications from MBM

Engineering College, Jodhpur Prior to joining Dishnet Wireless Limited, Mr. Agarwal was

associated with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited as Deputy General Manager where he was

instrumental in planning, implementation and operation of GSM network in 7 circles of

North region.

Atul Dikshit: Atul Dikshit is the National Head Sales for the Telecom Operations in the

North and East Circles. He has about 15 years of experience in organizations like Godrej

and Boyce Manufacturing Co. Ltd, Shriram Industrial Enterprises Ltd, DLF Group,

Whirpool and Reliance Infocomm. He is B.Tech in Mechanical Engineer from IIT, Kanpur

and M.B.A from IIM, Kolkata. Prior to Dishnet Wireless Limited, Mr. Dikshit was

associated with Reliance Infocomm and responsible for Sales Planning and Business

Development functions for Delhi and NCR Circle and was also responsible for sale of

mobiles and other telecom products to Key Accounts in the circle.

Nikhil Gupta: Nikhil Gupta is Head People and Culture for the Telecom Operations in

the North and East Circles. He has more than 9 years of experience in Asia-Pacific and

South Asia with organizations like Pacific Century Cyberworks Ltd (Hong Kong), Links

Recruitments Ltd, ABC Consultants Pvt Ltd and Alcatel India Ltd. He is an MBA in

Human Resource management and Graduate in Computer Science. Prior to joining Dishnet

Wireless Limited, Mr. Gupta was associated with Alcatel India Ltd and was responsible for

entire recruitment, induction and all other Human Resource activities of Alcatel in South

Asia.

Pritpal Singh Lakkha: Pritpal Singh Lakkha is the National Head Marketing for the

Telecom Operations in the North and East Circles. He has about 15 years of experience in

organizations like Saatchi & Saatchi, Rediffusion D Y & R, Ogilvy & Mather and

Ranbaxy. He is BE in Electronics and Telecommunications from Delhi College of

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Engineering and Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from XLRI,

Jamshedpur. Prior to Dishnet Wireless Limited, Mr. Lakkha was associated with R K

Swamy BBDO as Vice President for Advertising and is currently responsible for Brand

Management, Market Communications and Event Management for Delhi and North India

operations.

The areas where AIRCEL is present at time

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April 27, 2007Aircel crossed 1-lakh subscribers mark in Punjab

Aircel has crossed the mark of one lakh subscribers in punjab, a spokesman of the company

said The journey to the one lakh subscriber milestone in punjab has been quite

phenomenal with Aircel attracting a large number of customers to its network, he said.

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He said the main focus of the company had been to provide quality services to the

customers.

Aircel has been continuously raising its credibility in the mobility market in the state. The

one lakh subscriber base of Aircel is a sign of customer acceptance and recognition of its

quality services coupled with innovative practices and products delivered through a world

class network, he said.

In punjab there are 1625812 mobile users out of which BSNL has maximum share and

AIRCEL has minimum.

Maxis Communications

MAXIS Communication is one of the mobile service provider in Malaysia and in other

countries like Indonesia and India . Maxis expansion into Indonesia and India is another

milestone to be the regional communications leader of choice. The acquisition of a 51%

Punjab 1625812

BSNL(GSM) 800434

AIRTEL(GSM) 680761

AIRCEL(GSM) 144432

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stake in PT Natrindo Telepon Seluler (NTS), Indonesia and a 74% equity interest in Aircel,

India provides new growth opportunities for Maxis. These acquisitions give Maxis a strong

foothold in two of the worlds most attractive high-growth, low-penetration markets.

Maxis in Indonesia

On 29th April 2005, Maxis acquired 51% of PT Natrindo Telepon Seluler. Maxis is

currently in the middle of rolling out a Java wide network to establish the company as a

national operator. The initial launch phase encompasses 1,300 BTS, providing both 2G and

3G services. NTS expects to have up to 480 employees by launch date and to increase

significantly upon launching.

Maxis in India

Maxis completed the acquisition of a 74% stake in Aircel on March 21, 2006. Currently,

Aircel has operations in 9 of the 23 telecom circles of India - Chennai, Tamil Nadu, West

Bengal, Orissa, Assam, North East, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Bihar.

Aircel launched its services in Bihar and Himachal Pradesh in December 2006 and also

recently received the licenses to operate in the remaining 14 telecom circles of India giving

it the ability to become a pan-India player.

Aircel expects to aggressively grow its subscriber base in India and is developing a broad

range of new propositions for its customers - from branding, to increased network

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coverage, to innovative product and service offerings, to refreshing customer experience.

As of 31st December 2006, Aircel serves more than 4.5 million subscribers with a network

comprising of almost 4,000 BTS. Aircel continues to be the market leader in Tamil Nadu

and Chennai circle.

Over the next few quarters, India is expected to add new subscribers at the rate of 5 to 6

million per month. India offers huge opportunities for Aircel given the current low mobile

penetrations levels as well as challenges in terms of its geographic spread and low ARPU

levels.

Dishnet Wireless Limited (Aircel - Punjab INDIA)

Network Information

Operator Name: Dishnet Wireless Limited

Network Name: Aircel - PUNJAB INDIA

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Technology: GSM 900/1800

Network Status: Planned March 2006

Web Site: www.dishnetwireless.com

ADDRESS OF AIRCEL IN Punjab

Dishnet Wireless Ltd.,

105-112,

B-1, North Block,

Bahu Plaza Complex,JALLANDHAR,PUNJAB -

SWOT ANALYSIS:

Strengths of company:

Attractive services

Skilled man power

Innovation

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Weaknesses of company:

Inefficient Distribution Department

Opportunities for company:

Huge size market.

Teledensity 23% .

Threats for company:

High Competition.

Fast changing consumer needs.

TITLE OF THE PROJECT

Brand awareness regarding different cellular services among mobile users in Punjab city.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

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To study mobile users profile.

To determine the number of people who know about various service providers.

To determine the factors which influence the preference of mobile users.

To determine the satisfaction level of mobile users.

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

1. The response given by the respondents may not be 100% accurate and may be

biased

2. Convenience sampling will be used, so the data may not be of that quality level

as obtained by complete enumeration3. The study is unable to escape the usual limitation due to constraints of Time,

Money and Other sources

4. Where as a wider geographical coverage would have made the study more

representative.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH DESIGN

The descriptive research design was used to present the study. The study was

conducted to know how much respondents know about the services they are

using.

DATA COLLECTION METHOD

Both primary and secondary data has been used in the study.

SAMPLING PLAN

POPULATION

All mobile users in different areas of Jammu city.

SAMPLE SIZE

The number of respondents included in the study was 400.

SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

The selection of respondents was done with convenience sampling technique.

SAMPLING UNIT

An individual of Jammu city who is using mobile phone.

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The areas which are covered during study are:-

1.

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OCCUPATION OF REPONDENTS

30%

28%

39%

3%

Student

Businessman

Serviceman

Any other

1.OCCUPATION OF RESPONDENTS:-

No. of respondents having different occupations

OCCUPATI0N RESPONSES

Student 119

Businessman 111

Serviceman 157

Any other 13

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Analysis:- As per table out of 400 respondents 119 are student ,111 are businessman,157

are serviceman and remaining 13 are in any other profile.

Interpretation:- Maximum respondents were serviceman due to the presence of large no.

of corporate offices in the city .

3. Time period since respondents are using mobile phone services

No. of respondents using mobile phone:

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Time period since respondents are using mobile phone services

10%

24%

66%

Less than 6 months

6 or


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Services which mobile users are using

30%

65%

5%

A

B

A

.

Analyse and interpretation

From the responses we can analyze and interpret that all the respondents are aware about

all the service providers in Punjab.

5. Services which mobile users are using

No. of respondents who are using various service are

.

Service about whichrespondent knows

Responses

AIRTEL 400

BSNL 400

AIRCEL 400

Service you areusing

Responses

AIRTEL 119

BSNL 261

AIRCEL 20

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Analysis:- From the above table we analyse that 119 respondents are using Airtel services261 are using BSNL services and 20 are using Aircel services.

Interpretation:- As BSNL is first one in Punjab who is providing services while AIRCEL

is new comer.

6. Factor influencing the preference of respondents regarding the mobile connection.

Table showing factors in general that influence respondents for the choice regarding

different choice of connection.

FACTORS RANKING

Connectivity 1

Coverage 2

Tariff plan 3

Availability 4

Advertisements 5

Customer Care Services 7

Roaming charges 8Relatives and Friends 6

MMS facility 9

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12

34

5

78

6

9

Connectivity

Coverage

Tariffplan

Availability

Advertisements

CustomerCare

Services

Roaming

charges

Relativesand

Friends

MMSfacility

Analyses:

As per table given above it is clear that respondents give ranking to connectivity as 1st ,

coverage as 2nd,cost/tarrif plan as 3rd , availability as 4th and MMS as 9th.

Interpretation:

7. Advertisements affect buying decision or not

No. of respondents are

Advertisements affectbuying decision ornot

Responses

Yes 334

No 66

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Source of ads which draw most attention

48%

15%

20%

6%

11%

TV

HOARDINGS

NEWSPAPER

RADIO

ANY other

Analyses:

As per table given above it is clear that 191 respondents think that TV ads, 61 think

hoardings, 80 think newspaper, 25 think radio and 43 think any other sources of

advertisements draw most attention .

Interpretation:

From the above analyses we interpret that the TV is main source of advertisement.

9.No. of respondents who know about the various schemes offered by their service

operating company.

Do you know about the

various schemes offered byyour company

Responses

Yes 290

No 110

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Analyses:

As per table given above it is clear that 290 respondents know about the schemes offered

by their service operating company and 110 do not know.

Interpretation: From the above analyses we interpret that companies are able to provide

information about their schemes.

10. Satisfaction level of respondents from the mobile connections.

Table showing satisfactory level of the respondents having AIRCEL connection.

Factor Satisfaction Level Remarks

TARRIF PLAN 1.63 More than satisfied

CONNECTIVITY 1.10 Satisfied

COVERAGE 0.68 Between satisfied andindifferent

ROAMING 0.31 More close to indifferent

45

Responses about the schemes offered by the

company

72%

28%

Yes

No


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SMS/MMS 0.68 Between satisfied andindifferent

Table showing satisfactory level of the respondents having AIRTEL connection


TARRIF PLAN 1 Satisfied

CONNECTIVITY 0.99 Satisfied

COVERAGE 0.83 More close to satisfied

ROAMING 0.03 Indifferent

SMS/MMS 0.56 Between satisfied andindifferent

Table showing satisfactory level of the respondents having BSNL connection


TARRIF PLAN 0.73 More close to satisfied

CONNECTIVITY 0.41 Between satisfied andindifferent

COVERAGE 0.32 Between satisfied andindifferent

ROAMING 0.06 More close to indifferent

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SMS/MMS 0.15 More close to indifferent

Analyses:

As per table respondents are not fully dissatisfied with any factor.

Interpretation:

From the above analyses we interpret that BSNL consumers satisfaction level is lying

around indifferent point.

Suggestions:-

Improve the connectivity.

Introduce low rental tariff plans

Introduce range of SMS pack.

Ease the availability of SIM cards and recharge vouchers.

Normalizethe supply

Introduce schemes like chota recharge.

RESULTS

Maximum respondents were serviceman.

Most of respondents are using mobile for more than one year.

The respondents know about all the three service Providers in Punjab.

Maximum users were found of BSNL and least of AIRCEL

Users have put connectivity at rank1 and MMS facility factor at rank9.

The maximum respondents think that advertisements affect buying

decision.

The satisfaction level of AIRTEL & AIRCEL was found maximum.

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CONCLUSION

From the above analysis and interpretation I conclude that all the respondents know about

the various service operators in Punjab and the most preferred factors are connectivity,

coverage, tariff plan and availability. Now people put availability as 4 th most preferred

factor. Now maximum respondent told that they know about the various schemes offered

by the service operating company yet there satisfaction level is lying between indifferent

and satisfied. So there is need to communicate well with the mobile users and company

should provide them better services in order to increase their customers. BSNL consumers

are not satisfied with any of the factor which can be wonderful asset for AIRCEL by

providing those services which BSNL is not able to provide.

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BIBLOGAPHY

Websites:

www.telecom/divisions_index_category.http

www.aircel.com

www.dishnetwireless.com

http://www.iimahd.ernet.in/ctps/cellular.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_in_India

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSNL

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTNL

www.ibef\industry\telecommunication.asax

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QUESTIONNAIRE

1. What is your occupation?

a) Student ____

b) Businessman ____

c) Serviceman ____

d) Any other ____

2. Do you have a mobile phone? Yes/No (If yes , proceed)

3. For how long you are using mobile phone?a) Less than six months ____

b) 6 or


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8. Which source of advertisements draw your attention most

a) TV ad

b) Hoardings

c) Newspaper ads

d) radio ads

e) any other

9. Do you about the various schemes offer by your service operating company

a) yes

b) no

10. Assign the level of satisfaction regarding following factors of your connection

11. Any suggestion.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Personal Details:Name _______________

Gender Male / female

Age _______________

Martial status _______________

Contact No. _______________

Address ____________________________________

____________________________________

Sig. ____________

Factors V.satisfied Satisfied Indifferent Dissatisfied H.Disatisfied

Tariff plan

Connectivity

Coverage

Roamingcharges

SMS &MMScharges

Documents

Bimal-Cellular Brand Awareness