Airtel

2013

BhartiAirtel Ltd.

Submitted By- Sonam Agrawal Management Trainee, Marketing Department

CONSUMER MOBILE INTERNET BEHAVIOUR

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Table of Contents
1. 2. 3.

Acknowledgement Executive Summary Introduction to the Project (a) Introduction (b) Background (c) Research Methodology

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4. 5. 6. 7.

Research and Analysis Findings Suggestions and Recommendations Literature Review (a) Telecommunications Sector Background (b) About Bharti Airtel Ltd. (c) Statistics (d) Bharti Airtel Ltd. Organization Structure (e) Worldwide Presence (f) Services (g) Subscriber Base (h) One Network (i) Timeline Conclusion Appendix

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8. 9.

36 37

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Acknowledgement
I express my sincere gratitude to my mentor Mr. Chetan Nangia- Bharti Airtel Ltd., for his able guidance, support and cooperation throughout my project, without which the present work would not have been possible. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Mr. Vishal Jain- Marketing Head, Bharti Airtel Ltd.to help me in obtaining the right kind of training and information needed to make this internship successful. Further, I am thankful to everyone at Bharti Airtel Ltd who helped me and guided me throughout my project duration. Also, I am thankful to my placement officer, Ms. Sonia Sareen- Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies for her constant support, guidance and encouragement throughout the internship process.

Sonam Agrawal Management Trainee Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies Delhi University

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CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Ms. Sonam Agrawal, has successfully completed the project ‘Consumer Mobile Internet Behaviour’ during her summer training of six weeks (June –July 2013) under the supervision of Mr. Vishal Jain, Marketing department, Bharti Airtel Ltd. She has met all the requirements and submitted all required reports.

________________ Authorized signatory

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Executive Summary
The project I undertook was “Consumer Mobile Internet Behaviour” in which I made a questionnaire to find out, analyze and dig deep into the behaviour exhibited by consumers while using mobile internet. The targeted segment was college students and young professional. Hence, I designed the questionnaire and conducted it among college students and young professionals. Through the information obtained the market potential among college going students and young professionals for mobile internet was analyzed. The ways to capture a bigger share of the segment and enhance the product offerings was then reached. A thorough report has been prepared using various graphs to understand, explain and illustrate the findings of the research.

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Introduction to the Project
1. Introduction
Topic- Consumer Mobile Internet Behaviour The project was completely youth targeted and divided into two major parts. The first consisted of targeting the youth and the second was analyzing consumer mobile internet behavior by surveying a sample made up of today’s youth. So after targeting the youth, I analyzed the mobile internet behavior of a sample of the target population consisting of college going students and young professionals. The following was done in order to fulfill the project:  Tracing colleges and universities of the Delhi/ NCR region  Identifying areas of residence of college students.  Tracing Airtel Sites  Collection of the basic information  Target market segmentation  Designing of the questionnaire  Conducting the questionnaire  Collection of data  Analyzing of data  Preparation of the report

2. BackgroundThis project is an extensive report on consumer mobile internet behavior in the Indian scenario with special focus on the youth and young professionals of Delhi NCR region. It aims to study in depth the behavior of consumers using internet on their mobile phones. A comprehensive analysis is done on the various factors that affect a consumer’s usage of mobile internet. Thereafter solutions and suggestions are made keeping in mind the research undertaken for further enhancing Airtel’s market share of the mobile internet sector as well as suggestions for increasing consumer satisfaction for existing consumers of mobile internet provided by Airtel.

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3. Research Methodology
a) RESEARCH OBJECTIVE The Indian communications scenario has transformed into a multiplayer, multi product market with varied market size and segments. With the ever increasing number of smart phone users and an increasing population requiring internet on their phones, it is important for a telecommunication to understand the exact need of their consumers and provide them with an offering that would give them an edge over their competitors. With college going students and young professionals being one of the biggest users of mobile internet, it is important to understand their needs. Every organization has to achieve its organizational goals. For that, it must pay thorough attention to each segment of the organization. This research was undertaken with focus on the mobile internet segment. It studies the view of consumers towards mobile internet and their behavior usage. The objective can be stated as under:1) To identify the factors effecting consumers mobile internet usage. 2) To study the market share mobile internet of the major network providers in the country. 3) To compare various parameters of marketing strategies, product offering, factors, pricing strategies etc. 4) To study consumer buying behavior and factors which influence the buying behavior. 5) To know how far the company has been successful in providing satisfactory mobile internet offering to the consumer, and how it can further enhance and improve it. 6) To provide suggestions and solutions to improve the consumer mobile internet segment of Bharti Airtel. b) SAMPLING The sample size consisted of 100 individuals residing in Delhi and Delhi NCR. In individuals were either college students or young professionals. c) LIMITATION 1. The sample size is not very representative of the entire population. 2. The responses may not be accurate due to lack of interest or lack of knowledge of respondents. 3. If the interviewee misunderstood the question, it may lead to faulty results. 6

Research and Analysis
a) TARGETTING THE YOUTH- The youth today is no doubt one of the most important segment for companies like Airtel as youth are known to be very tech savvy and are heavy users of all mobile services. Hence, the first part of project aimed at targeting and identifying these youth. This was done in the following way : With the start of the new academic batch not very far away, it presented the perfect opportunity to target the incoming batch as well as returning students of Delhi University, a number which is quite large. I started with tracing all the colleges and universities in the Delhi NCR region, and extracted all the related basic information such as student intake, location, courses offered etc. Next, I moved on to locate the mode of residence of the outstation students of these colleges and identified areas of PGs and Hostels where a majority of them stay. All the information collected thus far was then compiled in an excel sheet which consisted of more than 90 colleges and approximately 1.5 lakh intake of students. Now that the market base had been identified, I moved on to trace the “ Airtel Sites” that is Airtel retailers within the vicinity of 1 km of the colleges and universities identified above. I achieved this with the help of Google Earth. This data was then handed over to the Sales Department for further processing and filtering. Meanwhile, the technical department was asked to conduct “Network Hygiene Tests” around the universities and colleges of Delhi for the purpose of benchmarking, optimizing, and reevaluating Airtel and its competitors.

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b) I then proceeded to the main part of project, which was conducting a market research on “Consumer Mobile Internet” aim at the young students and young professionals. A questionnaire was designed and conducted among a sample size of 100 individuals residing in and around Delhi. The target market was college students and young professionals. Also, I identified retailers in various areas of Delhi and conducted a small survey with them to gauge the position of Airtel against the other players as well to learn of ways that would help Airtel provide a better offering to capture a bigger market share. The questionnaire and the findings of the questionnaire are as follows findings.

Mobile Internet Behavior (For Consumers)
NameAgeGenderOccupation1) Where do you live?  North Delhi  South Delhi  East Delhi  West Delhi  Central Delhi  Gurgaon  Noida 2) Which mobile handset and model are you currently using? __________________________________ 3) What operating system does your phone run on?  Android  Apple iOS  Blackberry  Windows 4) How many phones are you currently using?  1  2  3 or more 5) What is your primary internet vehicle?  Mobile Phone  Laptop/ Personal Computer  Tablet

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6) Preferred medium for internet use when internet is available both on phone and computer?  Mobile Phone  Laptop/ Personal Computer  Tablet 7) What network provider are you currently using for internet on your phone? (Check all that apply)  Airtel  Vodafone  Idea  Tata  Other ____________ 8) Please rank your preference parameter in choosing a network provider. (1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest.)  Price of various services/ plans  Plan Types  Network availability  Brand Image  Internet Speed 9) Which of the following do you use on your mobile phone?  2G  3G  Dual Sim  None 10) What is your primary reason for mobile internet usage?  No computer  Cheaper  Convenient  Socializing  Work 11) What is your monthly expenditure on mobile internet?  Rs. 0-100  Rs. 100-200  Rs. 200-300  Rs. 300 or greater 12) How do you use internet on your phone?  Data pack  Non Data pack  I only connect it on Wi-Fi

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13) Which data pack do you most frequently get? ____________________________ 14) How do you prefer to utilize you mobile internet?  Family Usage  Separate Usage  Connecting it to my personal computer  Sharing with others  In a dongle 15) Which of the following do you use internet on your mobile for? (Check all that apply)  Social Networking  Instant Chatting  E-Mail  Online Shopping  Online Banking  Maps  Download Videos/ Music/ Applications  Play Games  Other___________________________ 16) Which of the above options do you primarily/most frequently use your mobile internet for?__________________________________________________________________________________ 17) Where do you most frequently use internet on your phone?  Home  Work  School  While Travelling/ Waiting 18) How frequently do you access the internet on your phone?  Throughout the day  A few times in a day  A few times in a week  A few times in a month  Rarely 19) What time of the day do you mostly use internet on your phone?  7 a.m. to 11 a.m.  11 a.m. to 3 p.m.  3 p.m. to 7 p.m.  7 p.m. to 11 p.m.  11 p.m. to 3 a.m. 20) Would you be more inclined to download more videos or surf the net if your phone had a larger screen?  Yes, definitely  No, it doesn’t matter 10

Please provide us with any suggestions or feedback. _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

And the findings of the above questionnaire are as follows:Below is the segmentation of the network provider used by the sample under study. The majority are Vodafone and Airtel consumers, being almost equal in number, with Vodafone having a slight lead over Airtel.

Network Provider ( %)
7 5
Vodafone

50 38

Airtel Tata Idea

Let’s look at the parameters considered important while selecting a network provider. Network availability is considered very important by most, followed by price then internet speed. Plan types are the next most important. Brand Image is considered important by the least number of consumers.

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Parameter for Choosing Network Provider ( %)
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Brand Image

20

Internet Speed Network Availability

13

Plan Types

36

Prices

Next is the ratio of female to male respondents surveyed.

No. of people surveyed

54

46

Female Male

Below is the area wise share of the sample considered under this study.

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Area
3 4 6 16 29 9 East Delhi 10 23 North Delhi West Delhi South Delhi Gurgaon Noida Ghaziabad Haryana

There is a correlation between area of residence and monthly mobile internet expenditure. Residents of East Delhi, Ghaziabad, and North Delhi are low value areas with average expenditure on mobile internet being within Rs. 0-200. North Delhi is the hub of college going students who are usually on low budget which may explain this trend. South Delhi is a relatively high value customer area. With a majority of expenditure exceeding Rs. 300 and a big number exceeding Rs. 200. West Delhi and Gurgaon cannot be classified as low value or high value area. Their average expenditure is spread out right from Rs. 0 to over Rs. 300.

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Area Wise Expenditure
20 15 10
6 6 4 0 0 1 2 0 0 2 2 0 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 7 8 6 9 8 6 6 17

0-100 100-200 200-300 300 or greater West Delhi

5 0

East Delhi Ghaziabad Gurgaon Haryana

Noida

North Delhi

South Delhi

If we look at average expenditure according to the type of phone owned, then Blackberry users are at both extreme ends with maximum users spending either between Rs 0-100 or Rs.300 or greater. The blackberry plan of Rs. 399 is the reason for the high extreme. iPhone users have their expenditure spread out almost evenly over the entire range. Nokia and Samsung users are mostly low expenditure phones with maximum expenditure being between Rs. 0-100.

Phone Wise Expenditure
20 15 10 6 5 1 0 Blackberry iPhone Micromax Nokia Samsung Others 0 2 2 2 3 0 4 2 0 0 0 2 0 14 12 9 8 5 8 3 2 0-100 100-200 200-300 300 or greater 19

Now we have a look at the data packs bought most frequently among different network providers. Airtel and Vodafone are the major players. The 2G plan for Rs. 98 provided by both Vodafone and Airtel is the most popular among customers of both. The 2G plan for Rs. 125 for 1 Gb is very popular amongst Airtel customers, but not very popular amongst Vodafone users. However, the Rs. 95 plan is very popular amongst Vodafone customers.

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Data Cards Bought
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 9 7 4 2 1 4 4 2 2 5 3 4 2 2 1 8 7 4 2 6 6 4 Vodafone Airtel Tata Idea

Next we analyze Mobile Internet Usage. Mobile internet is used by a large number of users for social networking and email. Followed closely by instant chatting. Online Maps and downloading music and movies have the next highest usage. It is used least for playing games.

Mobile Internet Usage
100 80 60 40 20 0

88

80

86 52

66 17 Series1

The primary reason for using mobile internet is Instant Chatting for almost 50 % of the sample. The next largest share is for Social Networking. Email occupies a share of about 15% followed by downloading. Maps has a very small share here, with no user primarily using mobile internet for playing games.

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Primary usage of mobile internet
2 9 30 14 Social Networking Instant Chatting Email Maps Downloading Playing Games 45

The primary internet vehicle for respondents is almost equal between mobile phones and computer. While it is 0 for tablets.

Primary Internet Vehicle

48 52

Mobile Phone Laptop/ Computer Tablet

82 % users operate a single phone, while 18% users use 2 mobile phones.

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Number of Phones
18

One Two

82

The reasons for using internet on the mobile internet can be seen as follows. Convenience is the primary reason with 62% of the share. Socializing is the next factor occupying roughly 24% percent.

Reason for Mobile Internet Usage
5 10 Convenient Socializing For work 24 62 Cheaper No access to computer Other

70% of the consumers use mobile internet through a data card. 17

Mobile Internet Method

26 Data Card 4 70 VBC Only on Wi-Fi

94% of the consumers use their mobile internet for separate, individual usage. With few consumers using it in a dongle.

Mobile Internet Utilization
4 2 Family Usage Separate, Individual Usage Connecting it to computer Sharing with others Dongle

94

Majority of the consumers, that is 54 % majorly use mobile inter while waiting or travelling. 30 % use it mostly at home.

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Place of Mobile Internet Usage

30 Home Work 54 12 4 School While Travelling/ Waiting

59% consumers use their mobile internet throughout the day and 35% use it a few times a day. The mobile internet usage is very frequent among consumers.

Usage Frequency
2 4 Throughout the day A few times in a day 35 59 A few times in a week A few times in a month Rarely

Most mobile internet consumers are late night users. With 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. being is the most intensive usage timing. There were 0 % morning users that is 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.

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Time of Usage
26 49 7 a.m to 11 a.m. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 24 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. 40

A larger phone screen size would definitely have a positive impact on mobile internet usage, with 78 % respondents saying they would use more mobile internet if they had a larger screen.

Increased internet usage if larger phone screen

22 Yes No 78

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Findings
 Vodafone and Airtel have the biggest market share in the Indian market. Vodafone has a slight lead over Airtel. Idea and Tata have a comparatively smaller share, with the other network providers such as Aircel having an even smaller share. Network availability and price are 2 parameters considered very important by respondents in choosing a network provider. A high number of low value customers reside in East Delhi. While a high number of high value customers reside in South Delhi and West Delhi. North Delhi has medium range value customers. Samsung and Nokia users spend a relatively small amount on mobile internet recharge. Whereas Blackberry and iPhone users tend to spend a high monthly amount. Gender does not seem to play a role in consumer mobile internet behavior. Mobile internet is used heavily for instant chatting, social networking and online maps. Most users use their mobile internet throughout the day, and heavily while waiting or travelling. Mobile internet is used more at night time rather than morning. The screen size of the phone has an impact on the amount of mobile internet used. A larger screen would lead to more usage.

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Suggestions and Recommendations
 There is stiff competition between Vodafone and Airtel. To gain competitive edge, Airtel should introduce new plans aimed specifically at college students and young professional, which do not already exist in the market. For college students, more data should be offered at a lower price since they have budget constraints. For young professionals between network connectivity and speed should be provided, to make it more desirable for professional work. More promotion should be to done in order to gain a lead over Vodafone. Incentives should be provided to retailers so that they promote Airtel. Promotion should also be targeted at senior school students since they are on the verge of buying slim cards and phones. Large screen phones should be promoted as it is likely to lead in higher mobile internet usage. Volume based usage is very less, hence rates for the same should be slashed a little to increase its usage. The youth segment is quite price sensitive and finds the data card plans expensive. Hence revamping the prices is likely to give Airtel a competitive advantage.

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Literature Review
1) Telecommunication sector background
Indian telecom is more than 165 years old, beginning with the commissioning of the first telegraph line between Kolkata and Diamond Harbors in 1839. In1948, India had 0.1million telephone connections with a telephone density of about 0.02 telephones per hundred populations. As of June2007, there were 225.21 million telephone (including cellular mobile) connections in the country with a telephone density of 19.86 telephones per hundred populations. Out of total 225.21 million telephone connections, 185.13million (nearly 82percent) connections pertained to wireless and mobile phones. Some administrative and functional aspects of the telecom sector in India are discussed below: History of Indian Telecommunications started in 1851 when the first operational and lines were laid by the government near Calcutta (seat of British power). Telephone services were introduced in India in 1881. In 1883 telephone services were merged with the postal system. Indian Radio Telegraph Company (IRT) was formed in 1923. After independence in 1947, all the foreign telecommunication companies were nationalized to form the Posts, Telephone and Telegraph (PTT), a monopoly run by the government's Ministry of Communications. Telecom sector was considered as a strategic service and the government considered it best to bring under state's control. In 1880, two telephone companies namely The Oriental Telephone Company Ltd. and The Anglo-Indian Telephone Company Ltd. approached the Government of India to establish telephone exchanges in India. The permission was refused on the grounds that the establishment of telephones was a Government monopoly and that the Government itself would undertake the work. By 1881, the Government changed its earlier decision and a license was granted to the Oriental Telephone Company Limited of England for opening telephone exchanges at Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai (Madras) and Ahmedabad. January 28, 1882, is a Red Letter Day in the history of telephone in India. On this day Major E. Baring, Member of the Governor General of India's Council declared open the telephone Exchange in Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai. The exchange at Kolkata named "Central Exchange" was opened at third floor of the building at 7, Council House Street. The Central Telephone Exchange had 93 numbers of subscribers. Bombay also witnessed the opening of Telephone Exchange in 1882.India is the fourth largest telecom market in Asia after China, Japan and South Korea. The Indian telecom network is the eighth largest in the world and the second largest among emerging economies. At current levels, telecom intensiveness of Indian economy measured as the ratio of telecom revenues to GDP is 2.1 percent as compared with over 2.8 percent in developed economies (CRISIL, www.ibef.com).Indian telecom sector has undergone a major process of transformation through significant policy reforms. The reforms began in 1980s with telecom equipment manufacturing being opened for private sector and were later followed by National Telecom Policy (NTP) in 1994 and NTP'1999. Historically, the telecom network in India was owned and managed by the Government considering it to be a natural monopoly and strategic service, best under state's control. However, in 1990's, examples of telecom revolution in many other countries, which resulted in 23

better quality of service and lower tariffs, led Indian policymakers to initiate a change process finally resulting in opening up of telecom services sector for the private sector. Policy reforms can be broadly classified in three distinct phases* ³ The Decade of 1980's saw private sector being allowed in telecommunications equipment manufacturing. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) and Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) were formed and a Telecom Commission was set up to give focus to telecommunications policy formation. In 1990 Telecommunications sector also benefited from the general opening up of the economy. NTP 1994 was the first attempt to give a comprehensive roadmap for the Indian telecommunications sector.

2) About Bharti Airtel Ltd.
Bharti Airtel Limited, commonly known as Airtel, is an Indian multinational telecommunications services company headquartered at New Delhi, India. It operates in 20 countries across South Asia, Africa and the Channel Islands. Airtel has GSM network in all countries in which it operates, providing 2G, 3G and 4G services depending upon the country of operation. Airtel is the world's third largest mobile telecommunications company with over 261 million subscribers across 150 countries as of August 2012.[4] It is the largest cellular service provider in India, with 183.61 million subscribers as of November 2012.[5] Airtel is the third largest in-country mobile operator by subscriber base, behind China Mobile and China Unicom. Airtel is the largest provider of mobile telephony and second largest provider of fixed telephony in India, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services. It offers its telecom services under the Airtel brand, and is headed by Sunil Bharti Mittal. Bharti Airtel is the first Indian telecom service provider to achieve Cisco Gold Certification. It also acts as a carrier for national and international long distance communication services. The company has a submarine cable landing station at Chennai, which connects the submarine cable connecting Chennai and Singapore. Airtel is credited with pioneering the business strategy of outsourcing all of its business operations except marketing, sales and finance and building the 'minutes factory' model of low cost and high volumes. The strategy has since been copied by several operators. Its network— base stations, microwave links, etc.—is maintained by Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Network whereas business support is provided by IBM, and transmission towers are maintained by another company (Bharti Infratel Ltd. in India). Ericsson agreed for the first time to be paid by the minute for installation and maintenance of their equipment rather than being paid up front, which allowed Airtel to provide low call rates of 1/minute (US$0.02/minute). During the last financial year (2009–10), Bharti negotiated for its strategic partner Alcatel-Lucent to manage the network infrastructure for the tele-media business. On 31 May 2012, Bharti Airtel awarded the three-year contract to Alcatel-Lucent for setting up an Internet Protocol access network (mobile backhaul) across the country. This would help consumer’s access internet at faster speed and high quality internet browsing on mobile handsets.

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3)

Statistics
Established- July 07, 1995, as a Public Limited Company Proportionate revenue- Rs. 204,484 million (ended March 31, 2013-Audited)
Rs. 187,294 million (ended March 31, 2012-Audited)

Proportionate EBITDA- Rs. 64,870 million (ended March 31, 2013 - Audited)
Rs. 62,329 million (ended March 31, 2012- Audited)

Shares in issue- 3,797,530,096 as on March 31, 2012 Listings- Bombay Stock Exchange Limited (BSE)
National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE)

Stock exchange symbol- NSE – BHARTIARTL
BSE – 532454

Customer base- India & South Asia: 196,126,000 GSM mobile; 3,283,000 –Tele media customers and 8,100,000- Digital TV Services (status as on March 31, 2013) Africa: 63,718,000 GSM mobile customers. (status as on March 31, 2013)

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4) Bharti Airtel Limited – Organization structure

Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal

JMD & CEO (India) Gopal Vittal

MD & CEO (International) Manoj Kohli

DirectorConsumer # Business

Director B2B

#

Executive Director Human Resources Krish Shankar

Supply Chain*

Director, Market Operations Ajai Puri

Director, Customer Experience Raghunath Mandava

Director Network Services Group Jagbir Singh

CFO Nilanjan Roy

Director Legal & Regulatory Jyoti Pawar

Director IT

#

*Moti Gyamlani (Global Head – Supply Chain ) reports to the MD of Bharti Airtel Ltd with direct responsibility for India SCM function # To be appointed.

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5) About Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal

Sunil Bharti Mittal is the Founder, Chairman and Group CEO of Bharti Enterprises and the Chairman of Bharti Airtel. Bharti Enterprises is one of India’s leading business groups with interests in telecom, retail, realty, financial services and agri-products. Sunil started his career at 18 after graduating from Punjab University in India in 1976 and founded Bharti. Today, at 55, he heads a successful enterprise which employs over 30,000 people. He has a highly accomplished leader and has been recognized by various organizations and is a recipient of several posts, awards and honors. Sunil has been conferred with the degree of Doctor of Civil Law (HonorisCausa) by Newcastle University, UK, Doctor of Laws (HonorisCausa) by the University of Leeds, UK, Doctor of Science (HonorisCausa) by the Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur) and Doctor of Science (HonorisCausa) by the GovindBallabh Pant University of Agriculture & Technology. He is an Honorary Fellow of The Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers. He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School, USA.

6)

History of Bharti Airtel Ltd.
Sunil Mittal founded the Bharti Group. In 1983, Mittal was in an agreement with Germany's Siemens to manufacture push-button telephone models for the Indian market. In 1986, Mittal incorporated Bharti Telecom Limited (BTL), and his company became the first in India to offer push-button telephones, establishing the basis of Bharti Enterprises. By the early 1990s, Sunil Mittal had also launched the country's first fax machines and its first cordless telephones. In 1992, Mittal won a bid to build a cellular phone network in Delhi. In 1995, Mittal incorporated the cellular operations as Bharti Tele-Ventures and launched service in Delhi. In 1996, cellular service was extended to Himachal Pradesh. In 1999, Bharti Enterprises acquired control of JT Holdings, and extended cellular operations to Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. In 2000, Bharti acquired control of Skycell Communications, in Chennai. In 2001, the company acquired control of Spice Cell in Calcutta. Bharti Enterprises went public in 2002, and the company was listed on Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India. In 2003, the cellular phone operations were rebranded under the single Airtel brand. In 2004, Bharti acquired control of Hexacom and entered Rajasthan. In 2005, Bharti extended its network to Andaman and Nicobar. This expansion allowed it to offer voice services all across India. In 2009, Airtel launched its first international mobile network in Sri Lanka. In 2010, Airtel acquired the African operations of the [13] Kuwait based Zain Telecom.In March 2012, Airtel launched a mobile operation in Rwanda.

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On 26 February 2013, Airtel announced that it had deployed Ericsson’s Mobile Broadband Charging (MBC) solution and completely modernized its prepaid services for its subscribers in India. As a part of the deal, Ericsson’s multi service MBC suite allows prepaid customers to have personalized profile based data charging plans. Prepaid customers will be able to customize their data plans across mobility, fixed line and broadband by cross bundling across multiple domains (2G, 3G, 4G/LTE & Wi-Fi). It will also offer flexible multi service charging in geographical redundant mode, making Airtel the first operator to implement geographical redundancy at such a [14] large scale. In May 2013, Bharti Infotel paid Rs 50,000 as compensation to a customer "for unfair trade practices". The customer alleged that the company continued to aggressively demand payment despite customer requests for disconnection of service.

7) Worldwide Presence
Airtel is the one of the largest mobile operator in the world in terms of subscriber base and has a commercial presence in 20 countries and the Channel Islands. Its area of operations include:
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The Indian Subcontinent:
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Airtel Bangladesh, in Bangladesh Airtel, in India

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Airtel Sri Lanka, in Sri Lanka Airtel Africa, which operates in 17 African countries: Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone,

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Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The British Crown Dependency islands of Jersey and Guernsey, under the brand name AirtelVodafone, through an agreement with Vodafone.

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8) Mobile Services
Airtel operates in all telecom circles of India. Its network is present in 5,121 census towns and 457,053 non-census towns and villages, covering approximately 86.6% of the country’s population as of September 2012. Airtel is the largest operator in rural India with 83.82 million subscribers as of April 2013. Airtel is the 6th most valued brand according to an annual survey conducted by Brand Finance and The Economic Times in 2010. 3G On 18 May 2010, the 3G spectrum auction was completed and Airtel paid the Indian government 122.95 billion (US$2.1 billion) for spectrum in 13 circles, the most amount spent by an operator in that auction. Airtel won 3G licences in 13 telecom circles of India: Delhi, Mumbai, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh (West), Rajasthan, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, North East, and Jammu & Kashmir. Airtel also operates 3G services in Maharastra & Goa and Kolkata circles through an agreement with Vodafone and in Gujarat through an agreement with Idea. This gives Airtel a 3G presence in 15 out of 22 circles in India. Airtel 3G services are available in 200 cities through its network and in 500 cities through intracircle roaming arrangements with other operators. Airtel had about 5.4 million 3G customers of which 4 million are 3G data customers as of September 2012. 4G On 19 May 2010, the broadband wireless access (BWA) or 4G spectrum auction in India ended. Airtel paid 33.1436 billion (US$570 million) for spectrum in 4 circles: Maharashtra, Karnataka,Punjab and Kolkata. The company was allocated 20 MHz of BWA spectrum in 2.3 GHz frequency band. Airtel's TD-LTE network is built and operated by ZTE in Kolkata, Huawei inKarnataka, ZTE in Punjab and Nokia Siemens Networks in Maharashtra. On 10 April 2012, Airtel launched 4G services using TDLTE technology in Kolkata, becoming the first company in India to offer 4G services. The Kolkata launch was followed by launches in Bangalore (7 May 2012), Pune (18 October 2012)[34] and, Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula (25 March 2013). Airtel plans to provide voice services for its TD-LTE subscribers through its existing GSM network, which would make it the only operator in India to combine voice with TD-LTE services through GSM network. Airtel selected Nokia Siemens Networks to deploy its Circuit Switched FallBack (CSFB) voice solution in Airtel’s TD-LTE network in Pune. With CSFB, the network can transfer customers to GSM platform to make and receive voice calls while retaining the TD-LTE network for data services. On 24 May 2012, Airtel announced an agreement to acquire a 49% stake in Qualcomm Asia Pacific's India entities, at an investment of 907 crore (US$165 million). Airtel bought 26% in Qualcomm Asia Pacific from Global Holding Corporation and Tulip Telecom and the balance 23% by subscribing to fresh equity of Qualcomm. Global Holding Corporation and Tulip Telecom had bought 13% each in the BWA entities for US$57.72 million (about 268 crore) in 2010. 29

Qualcomm held 4G spectrum and licenses in Delhi, Haryana, Kerala and Mumbai. The deal gave Airtel a 4G presence in 8 circles. On 4 July 2013, Airtel announced that it had acquired an additional 2% equity share capital (making its stake 51%) in all the four BWA entities of Qualcomm, thereby making them its subsidiaries. Airtel had 20,000 4G subscribers as of March 2013. WiFi Airtel has plans to launch WiFi services in India. It intends to start offering WiFi services in Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Bangalore in initial phase. All plans will be on secure wireless broadband internet with unlimited usage and will be session or time based. Users can use the service by finding a hotspot, selecting 'airtel WiFi Zone', activating the voucher and then login to start browsing. Airtel intends to partner with establishments to set up hotspots which will be termed WiFi Hangout for an establishment owner and WiFi Partner for the cafe and restaurant owners. Airtel WiFi Partners can offer services at zero investments and can earn commission on every WiFi session sold. Airtel Money Airtel has started a new mCommerce platform called Airtel Money in collaboration with Infosys and SmartTrust (now Giesecke & Devrient). The platform was launched on 5 April 2012, at Infosys' headquarters in Bangalore. Using Airtel Money, users can transfer money, pay bills and perform other financial transactions directly on the mobile phone. SmartDrive SmartDrive is navigation app exclusive to Airtel customers. The app features voice-based turn by turn navigation, real time information update on traffic, approximate time of the travel on the basis of the traffic situation on the various routes and also lets users see their location on the map and plan the journey accordingly. It also suggests the subscriber an alternate route in case of traffic congestion on the normal route. According to Airtel, SmartDrive calculates the traffic on the basis of the number of GPS devices used on a particular road, their average speed, as well as historical trends of traffic on that route. SmartDrive also allows users to search for points of interest like restaurants, theatres and shopping malls. The app also allows users to keep a record of all trips they make when using voice navigation for later reference through the 'Trip Recorder' feature, Wikipedia information of places for which information is available and the ability to add frequently visited locations to favorites, in addition to weather information about the place.

Network Experience Centre Airtel has a Network Experience Centre (NEC) which observes end to end customer experience, in near real time, along with the standard network elements on Airtel's operations. The NEC is located in Manesar, Haryana and went live on 31 October 2012. It is the first such facility in India and will be able to monitor Airtel's network performance across mobile, fixed line, broadband,DTH, M-Commerce, enterprise services, International Cable Systems and internet peering points from a single location. It will monitor all Airtel and partner NOCs. In case of an 30

emergency, the NEC will enable the operator to prioritize actions to restore normalcy and reduce resolution time. The NEC houses a video wall with 3600 square feet of solid state LED screen to monitor Airtel's telecom network. This is the world's biggest video wall for a telecom operator. Each cube in this wall is 1.6mx1.2 m and there are 175 cubes arranged in a 25x7 matrix. The clear span of the roof is 49 m x 18 m and the beams, which are fireproof and about 8 feet deep, have been specially designed to hold the structure without columns. The NEC was designed specifically to be used as a command center in case of national emergencies and natural catastrophes. The facility is earthquake proof and also provides for a single control of command and a fully redundant technology layout. iPhone The iPhone 3G was rolled out in India in 2008 by Airtel. However, high prices and contract bonds discouraged consumers and it was not as successful as the iPhone is in other markets of the world. Airtel introduced the iPhone 4 on 27 May 2011 and the iPhone 5 on 2 November 2012.

9) Telemedia
Under the Telemedia segment, Airtel provides broadband internet access through DSL, internet leased lines as well as MPLS (multiprotocol label switching) solutions, as well as IPTV and fixed line telephone services. Until 18 September 2004, Bharti provided fixed line telephony and broadband services under the Touchtel brand. Bharti now provides all telecom services including fixed line services under a common brand airtel. As of September 2012, Airtel provides Telemedia services to 3.3 million customers in 87 cities. As on 30 November 2012, Airtel had 1.39 million broadband subscribers. Airtel Broadband provides broadband and IPTV services. Airtel provides both capped as well as unlimited download plans. However, Airtel's unlimited plans are subject to free usage policy (FUP), which reduces speed after the customer crosses a certain data usage limit. In some plans, Airtel provides only 256kbit/s beyond FUP, which is lower than the TRAI specified limit of half the subscriber's original speed. The maximum speed available for home users is 16Mbit/s. In May 2012, Airtel Broadband and some other Indian ISPs temporarily blocked file sharing websites such as vimeo.com megavideo.com,thepiratebay.se etc. with out giving any legal information to the customers. The block was due to a Madras High Court issued ‘John Doe’ order taken by Chennai-based Copyright Lab. In response to a petition filed by Vinay B, a resident of Shimoga, Karnataka, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum ordered Airtel to pay 20,000 to the petitioner for "deficiency in internet service" thereby causing mental agony to the complainant. "By misinterpreting the Madras High Court order, Airtel blocked entire websites. It is needless to say that the company’s actions amount to deficiency in service as well as unfair trade practice," said the forum.

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10) Digital Television
The Digital TV business provides Direct-to-Home (DTH) TV services across India under the brand name Airtel digital TV. It started services on 9 October 2008 and had about 7.9 million customers at the end of December 2012.

11) Enterprise
The Enterprise business provides end-to-end telecom solutions to corporate customers and national and international long distance services to telcos through 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 stations. It has two sections under it. Mobile data service The different services under mobile data are BlackBerry services,a web-enabled mobile email solution working on 'Push Technology', USB modem that helps in getting instant access to Internet and corporate applications,Airtel Data Card that gives the liberty to access the internet anytime, Easy Mail is a platform that provides access to personal/corporate e-mails independent of handset operating system and application services that shorten the queues at the billing section, off-load the pressure on the billing staff and bring convenience to the user. Enterprise business solutions There are two kind of solutions offered by Airtel. One is GPRS Based Solutions like mobile applications tools for enterprise, TrackMate, automatic meter reading solutions etc. and the other is SMS Based Solutions like interactive sms, bulk sms, inbound call center solutions. Android-based tablet Beetel Teletech Ltd., a unit of Bharti Enterprises Ltd., on 18 August launched a 9,999 ($220) 7inch tablet in India based on Google Inc.'s Android operating system. The offering is intended to capitalize on the expected demand for cheap computing devices in the world's fastest-growing and second-largest mobile phone market.

12)Subscriber Base
Bharti Airtel has about 243.336 million subscribers worldwide—232.95 million in India and South Asia and 50.949 million in Africa as of the end of December 2011. The numbers include mobile services subscribers in 19 countries and Indian Telemedia services and Digital services subscribers.

Airtel is the market leader in India with about 183 million wireless subscribers in India or about 20.62% market share at the end of November 2012. The Brand Trust Report published by Trust Research Advisory, places Airtel as the only mobile operator in the top 10 most trusted brands in India. 32

13)One Network
One Network is a borderless mobile phone network across all Airtel operating countries which enables customers to move freely between the countries in which Airtel operates, and be treated as "virtual" local customers of the visited network in terms of pricing, while retaining their home network service functionality. It is the world’s first free intercontinental incoming roaming service. Airtel customers in Africa not need to register for the One Network service or buy new SIM cards as the is enabled automatically. One Network allows customers traveling to One Network countries to make outgoing calls/SMS at the same rates as local customers and recharge with local top-up cards or with home network top up cards while using the same number and SIM. [70] Receiving incoming calls is free. Airtel offers the service currently to its Africa customers traveling to any of the following 27 countries. In 8 of these countries, the One Network is operated in partnership with other mobile operators. Airtel plans to extend the service to its South Asia customers soon.

14)Timeline
The chronology of events since Bharti Tele-Ventures was incorporated in 1995:[85] 1995


Bharti Cellular launched cellular services as "AirTel" in Delhi.

2004


On 19 October 2004, Airtel announced the launch of a BlackBerry Wireless Solution in India. The launch is a result of a tie-up between Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited and Research In Motion(RIM).

2010


   

On 18 May 2010, Airtel won 3G spectrum in 13 circles: Delhi, Mumbai, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh (West), Rajasthan, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, North East, Jammu & Kashmir for 122.95 billion. Bharti Airtel wins broadband spectrum in four circles: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab and Kolkata for 33.14 billion. On 18 November 2010, Bharti Airtel announced a re-branding campaign wherein, they would be referred as airtel, with a new logo. On 20 December 2010, Airtel launched its new identity for Bangladesh subscribers. On 23 December 2010, Airtel opened its first underground terrestrial fibre optic cable built in alliance with China Telecom.

2011

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                       

On 24 January 2011, Airtel announced the launch of its 3G services in India. On 31 January 2011, Airtel launched wallet service - Airtel Money in the millennium city of Gurgaon. On 18 February 2011, Airtel Digital TV brings cricket world cup in High Definition. On 14 March 2011, Bharti Airtel announced the launch of ‘Airtel Broadband TV’. On 11 April 2011, Bharti Airtel and Apple bring the iPhone 4 to India. On 18 April 2011, Bharti Airtel enters into a partnership with photo service Zoomin.com. On 17 May 2011, Airtel launches the world’s first USSD-based Facebook access service in India – Facebook by Fonetwish. On 2 June 2011, Bharti Airtel offers on-demand online movie viewing services - launches ‘Airtel Movies’ On 16 June 2011, Airtel digital TV launches iKisaan – the world’s first interactive service in Hindi. On 27 June 2011, Airtel 3G launches international video calling services. On 7 July 2011, Bharti Airtel announces new organisation structure for its India and South Asia operations. On 18 July 2011, Airtel digital TV adds 41 new channels. On 25 July 2011, Bharti Airtel Launches Facebook For Every Phone On 16 August 2011, Wide availability of Airtel Service Centers in Rajasthan creates easy touch points for customer service. On 19 September 2011, Bharti Airtel announces GO! GO! GOAL Contest 2011. On 22 September 2011, Airtel digital TV brings the TV series "Johnny Test" to India. On 26 September 2011, Airtel Youth Star kicks off ‘Friends Dance Carnival’ in Andhra Pradesh. On 28 October 2011, 2011 Formula 1 Airtel Grand Prix of India Winner's Trophy Revealed. On 1 November 2011, Airtel digital TV now has 11 True HD channels,Expands total channel count to 262. On 11 November 2011, Bharti Airtel named amongst the top 25 companies for leaders globally. On 25 November 2011, Mr. Sharlin Thayil, CEO – Bharti Airtel, AP launches iPhone 4S in Hyderabad. On 1 December 2011, Airtel introduces India’s first free mobile access to Twitter. On 12 December 2011, Bharti Airtel recognized for the delivery of best network services with customer focus at Telecom Centre of Excellence Awards. On 21 December 2011, Airtel launches exciting recharge offers for mobile customers in Rajasthan.

2012
 

On 11 January 2012, Airtel launched Comedy FM on Airtel Mobile. On 12 January 2012, Airtel launches all new "BBM Plan" for its postpaid mobile customers on BlackBerry.

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          

On 23 January 2012, Airtel prepaid mobile recharge made easier with netbanking at www.airtel.in On 30 January 2012, Airtel digital TV launches iKidsworld. On 2 February 2012, Airtel launched Vh1 Radio GAGA powered by Hungama on Airtel Mobile. On 3 February 2012, India’s largest collection of Hello Tunes is now available online for Airtel mobile customers. On 4 February 2012, Bharti Airtel announces consolidated IFRS results for the third quarter and nine months ended 31 December 2011. On 10 February 2012, Bharti Airtel launched 3 Pack Education Portal for its mobile customers across India. On 27 February 2012, Bharti Airtel selects Infosys as its technology partner for airtel money. On 29 February 2012, Bharti Airtel appoints Nokia Siemens Networks to supply, manage 4G network in Maharashtra On 27 May 2012, Bharti Airtel announced its strategic foray into the mobile advertising (mAdvertising) segment, in India. In 2012, Bharti Airtel signed a pact with Opera Software, to provide its customers with Opera Mini browsers. On 24 October 2012, Bharti Airtel's mobile user base in Africa crosses 60 million.

2013


On 4 February 2013, Bharti Airtel launches its emergency alert service in eastern region. In 2013 the department of telecommunications (DoT) was investigating Bharti Airtel for violations of a license agreement the company violated between 2003 and 2005.

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Conclusion
Airtel has a high share in the mobile internet behavior with Vodafone being its closest competitor. However, it should promote mobile internet among non- users of mobile internet. And it should focus heavily on the biggest target market, which are college students and young professionals. To beat its competitors and satisfy its customers at the same time, it should devise new plans keeping in mind the desirability of the target market.

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Appendix
Sample of questionnaire Mobile Internet Behavior (For Consumers)
NameAgeGenderOccupation21) Where do you live?  North Delhi  South Delhi  East Delhi  West Delhi  Central Delhi  Gurgaon  Noida 22) Which mobile handset and model are you currently using? __________________________________ 23) What operating system does your phone run on?  Android  Apple iOS  Blackberry  Windows 24) How many phones are you currently using?  1  2  3 or more 25) What is your primary internet vehicle?  Mobile Phone  Laptop/ Personal Computer  Tablet 26) Preferred medium for internet use when internet is available both on phone and computer?  Mobile Phone  Laptop/ Personal Computer  Tablet

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27) What network provider are you currently using for internet on your phone? (Check all that apply)  Airtel  Vodafone  Idea  Tata  Other ____________ 28) Please rank your preference parameter in choosing a network provider. (1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest.)  Price of various services/ plans  Plan Types  Network availability  Brand Image  Internet Speed 29) Which of the following do you use on your mobile phone?  2G  3G  Dual Sim  None 30) What is your primary reason for mobile internet usage?  No computer  Cheaper  Convenient  Socializing  Work 31) What is your monthly expenditure on mobile internet?  Rs. 0-100  Rs. 100-200  Rs. 200-300  Rs. 300 or greater 32) How do you use internet on your phone?  Data pack  Non Data pack  I only connect it on Wi-Fi 33) Which data pack do you most frequently get? ____________________________ 34) How do you prefer to utilize you mobile internet?  Family Usage  Separate Usage  Connecting it to my personal computer  Sharing with others  In a dongle 38

35) Which of the following do you use internet on your mobile for? (Check all that apply)  Social Networking  Instant Chatting  E-Mail  Online Shopping  Online Banking  Maps  Download Videos/ Music/ Applications  Play Games  Other___________________________ 36) Which of the above options do you primarily/most frequently use your mobile internet for?__________________________________________________________________________________ 37) Where do you most frequently use internet on your phone?  Home  Work  School  While Travelling/ Waiting 38) How frequently do you access the internet on your phone?  Throughout the day  A few times in a day  A few times in a week  A few times in a month  Rarely 39) What time of the day do you mostly use internet on your phone?  7 a.m. to 11 a.m.  11 a.m. to 3 p.m.  3 p.m. to 7 p.m.  7 p.m. to 11 p.m.  11 p.m. to 3 a.m. 40) Would you be more inclined to download more videos or surf the net if your phone had a larger screen?  Yes, definitely  No, it doesn’t matter Please provide us with any suggestions or feedback. _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ 39