A Study on customer preference towards telecom network providers

A
COMPREHENSIVE PROJECT REPORT
ON
A
Study on customer preference towards telecom network providers

SUBMITTED TO
L.J. Institute of Management Studies IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENT OF THE AWARD FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
In
Gujarat Technological University
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF
Prof. Raji Bhavsar
Submitted on:
Submitted by: Submitted by:
Jatin Sharma (127290592154)
Abhishek Dwivedy (127290592041)
MBA SEMESTER IV
Batch No.: 2012-2014 Certificate
Certified that this comprehensive project report titled “A study on customer preference towards telecom network providers” is the bonafied work of Jatin Sharma (Enr. No. 127290592154) and Abhishek Dwivedy (127290592041) who carried out the research under my supervision. I also certify further, that to the best of my knowledge the work reported herein does not form part of any other project report or dissertation on the basis of which a degree or a work was conferred on an earlier occasion on this or any other candidate.

Date:
Place: Signature of the student

It is certified that the work mentioned above is carried out under my guidance.

Date:
Place: Signature of the faculty guide

Students’ Declaration

We, Jatin Sharma (127290592154) and Abhishek Dwivedy (127290592041) hereby declare that the report for Comprehensive Project “A study on customer preference towards telecom network providers” is a result of our own work and our indebtedness to other work publications, references, if any, have been duly acknowledged.

Date: Student Name:
Place:

PREFACE

Practical knowledge is an important suffix to theoretical knowledge; one cannot merely rely upon the theoretical knowledge. Classroom make the fundamental concept clear, but practical survey in a firm has significant role to play in a subject of Business Management to develop managerial skills, it is necessary that they combine their classroom learning with the knowledge of real business environment.

I am extremely happy to place before the esteemed Teachers/Management the Report of project entitled “A study on customer preference towards telecom network providers”. It has only helped me to understand telecommunication industry and I really enjoyed my research study and learn many new insights that probably I never had learn from classroom.

Here, I have tried my level best to represent all the information and had expressed my deliberated efforts to make report clean and specific. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Through this report, I take the opportunity to express and share my sincere gratitude and thankfulness to all those who helped me in my comprehensive project. First of all I would like to thank to Prof. Dr. Siddarth Das who has provided me such an opportunity learn about the areas of mutual interest as a part of curriculum.
As a part of curriculum at LJ MBA, the Comprehensive project aims at overall development of the students by providing them an opportunity to gain corporate exposure and space to apply their theoretical knowledge in practice. This Comprehensive project cannot be successful without the support of the people who keep themselves closely involved with the undergoing the project.
I would also like to extend my sincere thanks and gratitude to my institute for giving me this learning opportunity and my mentor Prof. Raji Bhavsar for his support & guidance. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This study is an attempt to understand consumer’s preference towards different mobile service providers existing in Ahmedabad city.
200 respondents comprising people of various age groups using convenience sampling from Ahmedabad were taken in to consideration to conduct the survey. To my Vodafone was the top preference which explains that most of the respondents in my survey are quality conscious and needs a uninterrupted network.
More than 70% of respondents were using pre-paid SIM. 37% of respondents are using low calling cost plans. The number of WhatApp user is 41% and the Facebook users are 31%, which means WhatsApp is currently leading social networking platform. Around 40% of respondents want to buy a Vodafone SIM in future. 70% of respondents were found to be satisfied from their current network provider.

TABLE OF CONTENT
SERIAL NO. PARTICULARS PAGE NO. PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Ch: 1 RESEARCH METHEDOLOGY 1.1 OBJECTIVE 1.2 LITERATURE REVIEW 1.3 SCOPE 1.4 METHODOLOGY 1.5 HYPOTHESIS 1.6 LIMITATION Ch: 2 INTRODUCTION OF TELECOM INDUSTRY 2.1 HISTORY 2.2 EVOLUTION 2.3 TELECOM INDUSTRY IN INDIA Ch: 3 TRAI 3.1 INTRODUCTION 3.2 PRE LIBERALISATION SCENARIO 3.3 LIBERALISATION POLICY 3.4 NATIONAL TELECOM PLOICY

Ch:4
CURRENT SCENARIO OF TELECOM INDUSTRY 4.1 CURRENT SCENARIO 4.2 MNP 4.3 FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT 4.4 LEADING PLAYERS Ch: 5 INDUSTRY PROFILE OF TELECOM SECTOR 5.1 GREEN TELECOM 5.2 3G 5.3 VAS Ch: 6 INDUSTRY ANALYSIS 6.1 PEST ANALYSIS 6.2 PORTERS FIVE FORCE Ch: 7 RESEARCH ANALYSIS 7.1 PIE CHART 7.2 CROSS TABULATION 7.3 HYPOTHESIS TESTING FINDINGS CONCLUSION BIBILIOGRAPHY APPENDIX

CHAPTER 1
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

1.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES To study the brand priority of customers for Network Providers. To study the awareness and usage of different types of services and features. To know that which type of connection the respondents are using and the reason behind the same. To study the overall satisfaction level of respondents regarding their network provider. To know that which type of connection the respondents are using for data connectivity and the reason behind the same. To understand the relation of demographics of a respondent and reason behind using a particular network.

1.2 LITERATUREREVIEW
STUDIES RELATED TO GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENTS IN INDIAN TELECOM SECTOR
T.V. Ramachandran (2005) analysed performance of Indian Telecom Industry which is based on volumes rather than margins. The Indian consumer is extremely price sensitive. Various socio-demographic factors- high GDP growth, rising income levels, booming knowledge sector and growing urbanization have contributed towards tremendous growth of this sector. The instrument that will tie these things together and deliver the mobile revolution to the masses will be 3 Generation (3G) services.

RajanBharti Mittal (2005) explains the paradigm shift in the way people communicate. There are over 1.5 billion mobile phone users in the world today, more than three times the number of PCOs. India today has the sixth largest telecom network in the world up from 14th in 1995, and second largest among the emerging economies. It is also the world‟s 12th biggest market with a large pie of $ 6.4 billion. The telecom revolution is propelling the growth of India as an economic powerhouse while bridging the developed and the developing economics.

STUDIES RELATED TO TECHNOLOGY UPGRADATION IN TELECOM SECTOR
According to Mather (2005) the challenge, of course, is that a competitor can show up in one of your established markets with new technology, better people, a better network of companies for support and a better management style and steal huge chunks of your business before you can respond. Staying at the forefront of all these issues will be the only way to stay successful.

P.S. Saran (2004) the telecom technology in India has transformed from manual and electro-mechanical systems to the digital systems. India has stepped into new millennium by having 100% electronic switching system. The technological changes have made way for new services and economics in the provision of telecom services. STUDIES RELATED TO INCREAING NUMBER OF SUBCRIBER IN INDIA
Indian handset segment could be between US $ 13 billion and US $ 15 billion by 2016.It offers a great opportunity for equipment vendors to make India a manufacturing hub. Indian infrastructure capital expenditure on cellular equipment will be between 10 to 20% of the investment that will be made by international operators by 2015. The other proposals included setting up of hardware manufacturing cluster parks, conforming to global standards and fiscal incentives for telecom manufacturing among others.

STUDIES RELATING TO COMPETITION IN INDIAN TELECOM SERVICE SECTOR

Shyamal Ghosh (2003) mentions that the most significant development since 1999 has been the progressive reduction in tariffs which has been facilitated by competition through multi operator environment. The most dramatic reduction in tariff has been from very high Rs. 16 per minute to Rs. 2 per minute.
N.M. Shanthi (2005) throws light on the factors that contributed to the growth of telecom sectors. The studies various initiatives take by government in lien of liberalization, privatization and de-monopolization initiatives. The trend is expected to continue in the segment as prices are falling as a result of competition in the segments. The beneficiaries of the competition are the consumers who are given a wide variety of services.
Kushan Mitra (2005) analyses various factors contributing to competition to Indian Telecom Industry. Besides lowering of prices, increased efficiency, greater innovation, highly tech industry better quality services are some of the reasons which are boosting competition amongst various telecom service providers.

STUDIES RELATED TO CRM IN SERVICES SECTOR
According to David L. Kurtz (2003) the purpose of relationship marketing is to build long-term connections between the company and its customers and to develop brand and firm loyalty. Relationship marketing works well for services where transactions tend to be continuous and switching costs for customers are high. Firms operating in the customization and functional service quality sector do well with relationship marketing programs. The long-term goal of relationship marketing is to build brand loyalty. Personal interaction with service personnel is critical in the development of the long -term relationship.

1.3 SCOPE The scope of the study covers the entire telecom industry consisting of all mobile handset and all network providers. As far as my study is concerned I am mainly concentrating on the respondents of Ahmedabad city only.

1.4 METHODOLOGY
To do proper analysis and arrive at concrete conclusion, Interview will be conducted of different people.
DATA SOURCES Primary sources: Sample unit: Ahmedabad Sampling method: Convenience sampling Sample size: 200 : - Confidence interval – 7 Confidence level – 95% Population – 500000 ss = Z2 * (p) * (1-p) ________________________________________ c2

Z = Z value = 1.96 p = 0.5 c = confidence interval = 7 SS = 196 ≈ 200 Secondary sources:
Internet
Articles
Magazines
Newspaper. 1.5 HYPOTHESIS Hypothesis 1:
H0: There is no significant difference in the preference of the respondents between Current SIM and the SIM card that you wish to buy in future.
H1: There is significant difference between in the preference of the respondents between Current SIM and the SIM card that you wish to buy in future. Hypothesis 2:
H0: Most of the respondents use a particular network because of the network coverage capacity of the telecom service provider.
H1: Most of the respondents do not give importance to the network coverage capacity of the telecom service provider. Hypothesis 3:
H0: Most of the respondents use a particular network because it helps to increase the efficiency of their handset.
H1: Most of the respondents do not believe that the efficiency of their handset has increased by using a particular network. Hypothesis 4:
H0: Most of the respondents use a particular network because of its quality services.
H1: Most of the respondents are do not focus on the level of services provided by their network provider. Hypothesis 5:
H0: There is no significant difference between awareness of MNP and its usage.
H1: There is significant difference between awareness of MNP and its usage.

Hypothesis 6:
H0: There is no significant difference between age of the respondents and network provider.
H1: There is significant difference between age of the respondents and network provider. Hypothesis 7:
H0: There is no significant difference between profession of the respondents and network provider.
H1: There is significant difference between profession of the respondents and network provider. Hypothesis 8:
H0: There is no significant difference between education level of the respondents and network provider.
H1: There is significant difference between education level of the respondents and network provider. 1.6 LIMITATION Collection and analyzing of the data is very time consuming. The survey will be conducted in Ahmedabad city only so it will not cover the preference of other areas. The sample size of the survey work will be 200 only and there will be chances of error in data analysis. The respondents may give bias information.

CHAPTER 2
INTRODUCTION OF TELECOM INDUSTRY

2.1 HISTORY

Started in 1851 when the first operational land lines were laid by the government near Calcutta (seat of British power). Telephone services were introduced in India in 1881. In1883 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. The first wind of reforms in telecommunications sector began to flow in 1980s when the private sector was allowed in telecommunications equipment manufacturing. In 1985, Department of Telecommunications (DOT) was established. It was an exclusive provider of domestic and long-distance service that would be its own regulator (separate from the postal system). In 1986, two wholly government-owned companies were created: the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) for international telecommunications and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) for service in metropolitan areas.

In 1990s, telecommunications sector benefited from the general opening up of the economy. Also, examples of telecom revolution in many other countries, which resulted in better quality of service and lower tariffs, led Indian policy makers to initiate a change process finally resulting in opening up of telecom services sector for the private sector. National Telecom Policy (NTP) 1994 was the first attempt to give a comprehensive roadmap for the Indian telecommunications sector. In 1997, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was created. TRAI was formed to act as a regulator to facilitate the growth of the telecom sector. New National Telecom Policy was adopted in1999 and cellular services were also launched in the same year.

Telecommunication sector in India can be divided into two segments: Fixed Service Provider (FSPs), and Cellular Services. Fixed line services consist of basic services, national or domestic long distance and international long distance services. The state operators (BSNL and MTNL), account for almost 90 per cent of revenues from basic services. Private sector services are presently available in selective urban areas, and collectively account for less than 5 per cent of subscriptions. However, private services focus on the business/corporate sector, and offer reliable, high- end services, such as leased lines, ISDN, closed user group and videoconferencing.

Cellular services can be further divided into two categories: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). The GSM sector is dominated by Airtel, Vodafone-Hutch, and Idea Cellular, while the CDMA sector is dominated by Reliance and Tata Indicom. Opening up of international and domestic long distance telephony services are the major growth drivers for cellular industry. Cellular operators get substantial revenue from these services, and compensate them for reduction in tariffs on airtime, which along with rental was the main source of revenue. The reduction in tariffs for airtime, national long distance, international long distance, and handset prices has driven demand.
Birth of Telephone:
Success of telegraph industry and rising electrical manufacturing businesses formed the context for the telephone. The electric telephone was invented in the 1870s, based on earlier work with harmonic (multi-signal) telegraphs. The first commercial telephone services were set up in 1878 and 1879 on both sides of the Atlantic in the cities of New Haven and London. The first telephone switchboard was placed in service in New Haven, Connecticut, in early 1878, and demonstrated its greater efficiency over individual lines between each customer. The first use of telephone numbers and directories of telephone users appeared about the same time. Telephone exchanges (using many switchboards) appeared about two decades later. Telephone was largely the creation of Alexander Graham Bell, who received his first patent in March 1876. Early development of the telephone was fraught with technical and financial problems. Alexander Graham Bell held the master patent for the telephone that was needed for such services in both countries. The technology grew quickly from this point, with inter-city lines being built and telephone exchanges in every major city of the United States by the mid-1880s.Restricted by crude technology to providing local service (initial iron wires rarely extended 100 miles), telephone service developed slowly before the Bell patents expired in 1893. Initial Bell business strategy focused on licensing use of its patents and selling equipment to companies building systems in cities and towns, largely to serve business and the wealthy. 2.2 EVOLUTION OF TELECOM INDUSTRY 1984 Manufacturing of subscriber terminal equipment opened to private sector. 1985 Telecom was constituted into a separate department with a separate board. 1986 MTNL and VSNL created as corporations. 1989 Telecom Commission formed. 1991 Telecom equipment manufacturing opened to private sector. Major international players like Alcatel, AT&T, Ericsson, Fujitsu, and Siemens entered equipment manufacturing market. 1992 VAS sector opened for private competition. 1993 Private networks allowed in industrial areas. 1994 Licenses for radio paging (27 cities) issued. September 1994 Broad guidelines for private operator entry into basic services announced. November 1994 Licenses for cellular mobiles for four metros issued. December 1994 Tenders floated for bids in cellular mobile services in 19 circles, excluding the four metros, on a duopoly basis. January 1995 Tenders floated for second operator in basic services on a circle basis. August 1995 Basic service tender bid opened; the bids caused lot of controversy. A majority of bids were considered low. December 1995 LOIs issued to some operators for cellular mobile operations in circles. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) formed by ordinance. March 1997 The TRAI Act passed in Parliament. June 1998 Several VASs available through private operators. The first private basic service becomes operational. March 1999 Announcement of National Telecom Policy. January 2000 Amendment to the TRAI Act. August 2000 Announcement of Domestic Long Distance Competition Policy. October 2000 Planned Corporatization of Dot. August 2001 Communication Convergence Bill April 2002 Telephony on internet permitted October 2003 Unified Access Service Licenses regime for basic and cellular services was introduced. July 2005 Regulation on Quality of Service August 2008 Mobile Number Portability. December 2008 3G was launched by TATA DOCOMO. 2012 4G was launched. 2013 Fiber Focus

2.3 TELECOM INDUSTRY IN INDIA
The Telecommunication Industry in India is one of the fastest developing sectors in the country and is estimated to become the second biggest international telecom market in the next few years. As per the Indian telecom online, the number of telephone subscribers in India increased to 936.12 Million at the end of January 2012 as compared with 926.53 million in December 2011, thereby registering a growth rate of 1.04%. Wireless subscriber base increased from 893.84 million in December 2011 to 903.73 million at the end of January 2012, registering a growth of 1.11%. The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 903.09 million at the end of June, 2013 to 904.46 million at the end of July 2013, thereby showing a monthly growth rate of 0.15%.
The growth in industry was triggered by an increase in the revenues generated from both landline and mobile facilities. As per the Business Monitor International report, the nation is all set to include 8 to 10 million cellular phone subscribers on monthly basis. At this pace the telecommunication industry is expected to encompass more than half of India 's population i.e. 612 million cellular phone subscribers by mid-2012.
Telecom is the fifth largest and fastest growing industry in the world. Telecommunications play an important role in the world economy and the worldwide telecommunication industry 's revenue was estimated to be $3.85 trillion in 2008.The service revenue of the global telecommunications industry was estimated to be $1.7 trillion in 2008, and is expected to touch $2.7 trillion by 2013. The telecommunications industry can be classified as equipment sector and services sector.

CHAPTER 3
TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA

3.1 INTRODUCTION OF TRAI

The TRAI Act was amended by an ordinance, effective from 24 January 2000, establishing a Telecommunications Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) to take over the adjudicatory and disputes functions from TRAI. TDSAT was set up to adjudicate any dispute between a licensor and a licensee, between two or more service providers, between a service provider and a group of consumers, and to hear and dispose of appeals against any direction, decision or order of TRAI.

The entry of private service providers brought with it the inevitable need for independent regulation. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was, thus, established with effect from 20th February 1997 by an Act of Parliament, called the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997, to regulate telecom services, including fixation/revision of tariffs for telecom services which were earlier vested in the Central Government.

TRAI 's mission is to create and nurture conditions for growth of telecommunications in the country in a manner and at a pace which will enable India to play a leading role in emerging global information society. One of the main objectives of TRAI is to provide a fair and transparent policy environment which promotes a level playing field and facilitates fair competition.

In pursuance of above objective TRAI has issued from time to time a large number of regulations, orders and directives to deal with issues coming before it and provided the required direction to the evolution of Indian telecom market from a Government owned monopoly to a multi operator multi service open competitive market.
The directions, orders and regulations issued cover a wide range of subjects including tariff, interconnection and quality of service as well as governance of the Authority. The functions allotted to the TRAI included: To recommend the need and timing for introduction of new service provider To protect the interest of customers of telecom services To settle disputes between service providers To recommend the terms and conditions of license to a service provider To render advice to the Central government on matters relating to the development of telecommunication technology and any other matter applicable to the telecommunication industry in general. 3.2 PRE-LIBERALISATION SCENARIO
In the 1880s telephone services were merged with the postal system and the telecom services came under the monopoly of the Department of Post and Telegraph. The Indian telecom sector was entirely under government ownership till the 1980s. In 1984, the private sector was allowed only in telecommunication equipment manufacturing. As a part of the early reforms, the government set up an autonomous body, the Centre for Development of Telemetric (C-DOT) in 1984, to develop the R&D activity in the telecom sector. It was set up to develop the state-of-the-art telecommunication technology to meet the needs of the Indian telecommunication network.
The government separated the Department of Post and Telegraph in 1985 by setting up the Department of Post and the Department of Telecommunication (DoT). The DoT was established as a wholly-owned government operator for the entire telecom service operation in India. The responsibility for managing the planning, engineering, installation, maintenance, management, and operations of telecom services lay with the DoT.
In order to ease out DoT operations, the government set up two new public sector corporations, MTNL and VSNL, under the DoT in 1986, however, the government retained policy formulation and regulation decisions with the DoT. While MTNL was established to look after the operation of basic telephony services in metros such as Mumbai and New Delhi, VSNL was set up to operate, develop and accelerate international telecom services in India. The Telecom Commission was set up in 1989 as an executive body to assist the DoT in policy regulation, licensing, wireless spectrum management, administrative monitoring of PSUs, research and development and standardisation/validation of equipment etc.

3.3 LIBERALISATION POLICY 1991
In 1991, India adopted the new economic policy of liberalisation. The policy aimed at improving viability, competitiveness and efficiency of the Indian economy in the international market and also for enhancement and growth of international trade. To attain the objectives of new economic policy a telecom service of world class quality was essential. Thus thrust in reforms in the telecommunication sector was witnessed during the 1990s along with the liberalisation of the economy. Liberalisation in telecommunication services began in 1992 when the telecom sector was deregulated with the Government unbundling the domestic basic services and the domestic value-added services (VAS) and allowing private sector participation in provision of value added system (VAS) such as cellular and paging services. The government paved the path for the entry of the private sector in telephone services by adopting the National Telecom Policy in 1994. This policy aimed at bringing about universal service and qualitative improvement in telecom services.

3.4 NATIONAL TELECOM POLICY 1994 (NTP-94)
Introduction
The new economic policy adopted by the Government aims at improving India 's competitiveness in the global market and rapid growth of exports. Another element of the new economic policy is attracting foreign direct investment and stimulating domestic investment. Telecommunication services of world class quality are necessary for the success of this policy. It is, therefore, necessary to give the highest priority to the development of telecom services in the country.
Objectives
The objectives of the New Telecom Policy will be as follows:
a. The focus of the Telecom Policy shall be telecommunication for all and telecommunication within the reach of all. This means ensuring the availability of telephone on demand as early as possible.
b. Another objective will be to achieve universal service covering all villages as early as possible. What is meant by the expression universal service is the provision of access to all people for certain basic telecom services at affordable and reasonable prices.
c. The quality of telecom services should be of world standard. Removal of consumer complaints, dispute resolution and public interface will receive special attention. The objective will also be to provide widest permissible range of services to meet the customer 's demand at reasonable prices.
d. Taking into account India 's size and development, it is necessary to ensure that India emerges as a major manufacturing base and major exporter of telecom equipment.
e. The defense and security interests of the country will be protected.

CHAPTER 4
CURRENT SCENARIO OF TELECOM INDUSTRY

4.1 CURRENT SCENARIO
It is a matter of proud to us that the Telecom industry of our India is the second largest emerging economies of Asia and third largest in whole world. Today, telecom sector of India is the fastest growing market in the world. Indian telecom industry has provided a robust thrust to the economic growth of country this year.
Recent rapid growth in telecom in India
Our telecom industry in facing a fast growth rate in current era as a result of various positive and proactive actions of government and by the fruitful combination of both public and private sector. Liberal policies of the Government that provide easy market access for telecom equipment and a fair regulatory framework for offering telecom services to the Indian consumers at affordable prices has facilitated the rapid growth to Indian Telecom industry.
Main sectors in telecom (wire line and wireless)
Indian Telecom industry underwent a considerable change in term of wireless and landline phones and between public and private participation. Wireless phones are preferred in both sectors. Participation of the private players in the telecom sector is rapidly increasing rate there by offering the numerous growth opportunities. There is a clear cut distinction between the Global Satellite Mobile Communication (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technologies used.
GSM Service
In terms of the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) subscriber base this now Places India third after china, Russia, china had 401.7 million GSM subscribers.
CDMA Services
CDMA technology was introduced in India as a limited mobility solution. The introduction of CDMA services has created competition, lowered tariffs and offered many citizens access to Communication services for the first time.

CURRENT TRENDS
The Indian telecom sector became the second largest telephone network in the world, after China by registering exceptional growth during last nine years. The reasons for growth of telecom sector were reform measures by the Government of India, active participation of the private sector as well as wireless technology.
National Telecom Policy-2012 (NTP-2012) was announced with an objective to maximize public good by facilitating reliable, secure and affordable telecommunication as well as broadband services in India. When NTP 2012 was implemented, a range of telephonic connections increased considerably. The telephone connections in India till January 2013 were 893.14 million. The rural telephone connections increased by around 10 million in the year 2012. Overall, the teledensity was 73.07 percent till January 2013. Rural teledensity crossed the 40 percent mark. Comparatively, in March 2004, the overall teledensity was 7.04 percent while the rural teledensity was 1.7 percent.
In case of mobile penetration, the preference of the use of wireless telephony increased considerably. As on 31 March 2012, the wireless telephones increased from 96.62 percent to 96.74 percent by June end 2012. The share of landline phones increased from 3.38 percent to 3.44 percent from April to December 2012. The wireless subscriber base also increased from 33.6 million in March 2004 to 864.72 million till December 2012. The average tariff for every outgoing call per minute for GSM services went down from 2.89 Rupees in March 2004 to 47paisa in December 2012.

TELECOM TRENDS: 2013
1. Fiber focus: FTTX
With bandwidth demands growing in enterprise networks, fiber-optic technology development is keeping pace. Fiber access is one of the most important technologies in the next generation network. It increases the access layer bandwidth and builds a sustainable-development access layer network. From finding ways to minimize power-hungry LAN elements to more robust cabling to emerging new standards, optical communications technology should continue to offer an effective, efficient alternative to copper for a growing variety of enterprise network requirements.
Service providers across the world therefore, are developing new network architectures to deliver high-bandwidth services to the last mile, which are included in the umbrella term FTTx. This includes fibre-to-the-curb, fibre-to-the-node, fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) and fibre-to-the premises.
2. Arrival of 4G
An acronym for Long Term Evolution, LTE is a 4G wireless communications standard developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) that 's designed to provide up to 10x the speeds of 3G networks for mobile devices such as smart phones, tablets, notebooks, notebooks and wireless hotspots. 4G technologies are designed to provide IP-based voice, data and multimedia streaming at speeds of at least 100 Mb per second and up to as fast as 1 GB per second.
The majority of broadband wireless access (BWA) licensees were aiming to commercially launch 4G services in 2012. However, even as the year draws to a close, the Indian telecom industry is yet to see any major initiatives in the segment. All BWA license holders except Bharti Airtel have failed to achieve their mid- to late 2012 target for service launch. 4.2 MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY
Mobile Number Portability (MNP) will enable subscribers to change their operators while retaining their number; this will not only give more choice to customers but also lead operators to further improve their services to retain their customers. The DOT issued guidelines for MNP service license on August 1, 2008. The DoT has envisaged guidelines for geographical division of the country into two Number Portability Zones (zone 1 and zone 2), each consisting of 11 licensed service areas. According to these guidelines, the MNP will be initially implemented in all metros and category A service areas within 6 months of award of MNP license. Subsequently, the operation of MNP will be expanded to the rest of the service areas in a time-bound manner.
Considering the implementation of MNP service for mobile subscribers, among various mobile service providers in the same service area, requires customisation and upgradation of the existing networks to be capable of proving this service besides considerable time and effort. The DoT had initially decided to launch MNP by the fourth quarter of 2008, however, the implementation of MNP is now extended up to Mar 31, 2010. This will be implemented in the first phase for metro and Category A service areas in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, including Chennai and Karnataka service areas.
Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) Policy
India is yet to implement a policy on the MVNO. According to TRAI recommendations to DoT an “MVNO is a licensee in any service area that does not have spectrum of its own for access service, but can provide wireless (mobile) access services to its own customers through an agreement with the licensed access provider, UAS/CMTS licensee. MVNOs are envisaged to work as a catalyst for the growth of the mobile sector. The introduction of MVNOs will help the mobile network operators to widen and deepen the market besides promoting competition. However, the concerned authorities will also consider that since MNP will also be introduced in the near term, introduction of MVNOs will not create bottlenecks in the implementation of MNP. 4.3 FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN INDIA

FDI plays an important role in telecom sector as well as an economy as a whole. Earlier, there were very few public players like BSNL, MTNL and VSNL in this sector but as the time progressed and competition increased, the private players like Airtel, Reliance, Tata, Vodafone and Idea came into play which changed whole scenario of telecom sector. FDIs are important because they not only bring capital and technology into the market but they provide employment opportunities and effective productivity also.

The role of Foreign Direct Investment in an economy goes beyond simply easing financial constraints. FDI inflows are associated with multiple benefits such as technology transfer, market access and organizational skills. Consequently, there is an increasing and intense competition between countries to maximize the quantity of FDI inflows. Any successful policy for attracting FDI has to keep this competitive scenario in mind.

The liberalization measures post-1990 has changed with foreign investments radically, now portfolio as well as Foreign Direct Investment are not only allowed but also actively encouraged. During the decade of the nineties, the 'ceilings ' on FDI in different sectors were progressively raised. In 2001, 100 per cent foreign investments were allowed in several industrial sectors. Also, 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment is allowed in almost all the infrastructure sectors.

Effects of FDI in Indian Telecom:- FDI inflows will allow multiple benefits such as technology transfer, market access and organizational skills. Foreign currency flowing in the country. Harmonious relationship with country from which foreign investment is being made. There will be increase in competition with local players, which will benefit consumers. It will have a multiplier effect. Telecommunication facility at reasonable price, affordable to many. More technological inflow, will improve voice & data quality. Free flow of capital is good for Indian consumers. 4.4 LEADING PLAYERS
With over 900 million wireless subscribers, India is one of the biggest markets in the telecom industry globally. From GSM, CDMA and even broadband subscribers, the overall penetration in India is nearly 75 percent. Here is a list of the top 10 Indian telecom companies based on their market share.
1. Bharti Airtel
Ownership: Privately-held by Sunil Bharti Mittal
Date of Establishment: 7th July 1995
Market Share: 19.50 percent
Brief Description: Airtel is the largest telecom service provider in India and operates in 20 countries across south Asia, Africa and the Channel Islands and provides 2G, 3G and 4G services. Ranking third mobile telecommunications company in the world, it has nearly 261 million subscribers out of which 200 million are in India. The biggest mobile telephony provider, it is known as being the first mobile phone company in the world to outsource all its business operations except marketing. It is the first telecom service provider to achieve a Cisco Gold certification. Among the countries where Airtel marks its presence, some are, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia etc. Airtel collaborated with RIM and launched its Blackberry services in October 2004. According to the annual survey conducted by brand Finance, it is the sixth most valuable brand.
2. Reliance Communications
Ownership: Privately-held by Reliance Group
Date of Establishment: 2004
Market Share: 16.70 percent
Brief Description: Reliance Communications is a subsidiary of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and provides telecom services across the country. Headquartered in Navi Mumbai, it ranks 16th on the global platform in terms of mobile operations and provides 2G and 3G services in the country. RCOM also provides National Long Distance and International Long Distance operations. Its customer base touches 150 million. It ranks among the top 5 telecom companies worldwide in terms of number of customers and its clientele is not limited to the individual customers but expands to corporate as well. It has services spanning all across the country and Reliance can be credited for bringing the telecom revolution in the country with its unbeatable pricing during times when mobile phones was a luxury for the business class people. It is the only operator which provides spped up to 28 Mbit/sec with its 3G MIMO technology.
3. Vodafone
Ownership: Privately-held by Vodafone group
Date of Establishment: 1994
Market Share: 16.40 percent
Brief Description: Vodafone India, previously known as Vodafone Essar and Hutchinson Essar is one of the well renowned telecom service providers in India headquartered in Mumbai. In 2011, Vodafone Group agreed to buy the share of its partner Essar from the Indian mobile phone business. Vodafone paid $5.46 billion to take 33% stake in the Indian subsidiary. It left Vodafone with 74% of the Indian business, while the other 26% is owned by Indian investors. The company is valued to be $18.8 billion. The transaction took its final shape in 2007. Vodafone offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout India with good presence in the metropolitan cities. It launched 3G services in the country in the January-March quarter of 2011 and has plans to spend up to $500 million within the next two years on its 3G networks.
4. Idea Cellular
Ownership: Privately-held by Aditya Birla group and others.
Date of Establishment: 1995
Market Share: 11.90 percent
Brief Description: Idea Cellular is an Indian telecom service provider headquartered in Mumbai. Previously ran by Tata Cellular, it was bought by Birla-AT&T in 2000. This merger of Birla-Tata-AT&T was popularly known as Batata and was rebranded as IDEA. However, in the subsequent years, AT&T and Tata sold their stake in Idea and it became an entity of Aditya Birla group. The three companies held an equal stake in the company before AT&T decided to sell its stake. Both Tata and Birla bought AT&T’s stake with 16.45 percent each. Tata was still holding Idea when the company filed for a license to operate in Mumbai. For this reason, Idea could enter late in Mumbai after the intervention of the Department of Telecom. Tata left Idea but only for a major sum of money cmounting to 44 billion. Currently, Birla’s hold 49.05 percent shares in Idea and the remaining is held by Axiata Group and Providence equity.
5. BSNL
Ownership: Publically-held by Government of India
Date of Establishment: Incorporated on 15th September 2000
Market Share: 10.80 percent
Brief Description: BSNL or Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited is a publically held telecom service provider in India. With its headquarters in New Delhi, it is the largest provider of fixed-line services and subsequently provides broadband services across the nation. Before the liberalization of Indian economy BSNL held the monopoly across the country except for Delhi and Mumbai which were covered by MTNL. It is India’s oldest communication service provider and enjoys a customer base of 95 million throughout India. Among the services that BSNL provides, some are, Universal Telecom Serives, Cellular Mobile Telephone Services, WLL-CDMA Telephone services, Internet, Intelligent Network, 3G, IPTV, FTTH, Helpdesk, VVoIP, WiMax. BSNL has 24 telecom circles, 2 metro districts, 6 project circles, 4 maintenance regions, 5 telecom factories, 3 training institutions and 4 specialized telecom units.
6. TATA Teleservices
Ownership: Privately-held by the TATA Group
Date of Establishment: January 2005
Market Share: 9.20 percent
Brief Description: Tata Teleservices limited is a subsidiary of renowned Tata group and is headquartered in Mumbai. It provides broadband and telecommunications services across the country and operates under the name of Tata Docomo in various telecom circles across India. The Japanese telecom giant NTT Docomo bought 26 percent stake in Tata Teleservices in November 2008 paying a sum of nearly 13,070 Crores. Previously in February 2008, Tata Teleservices limited announced its plan to launch a youth oriented CDMA service in association with Virgin Group. Currently, Tata Teleservices functions under the following brand names: Tata docomo, Virgin Mobile and T24 Mobile. It enjoys a subscriber base of more than 5 billion in Delhi alone and is provides tariff plans in both Post-paid and Pre-paid category. Its retail business has 3000 outlets across the country. It also became the first private sector telecom operator to launch 3G service in the country.
7. Aircel
Ownership: Privately-held by Maxis Communications and Sindya Securities & Investments.
Date of Establishment: 1999
Market Share: 6.90 percent
Brief Description: Aircel is an Indian telecom service provider jointely held by the Maxis Communications and Sindya Securities & Investments Private Limited. The Malaysian-based Maxis Communications hold a majority stake of 74 percent in the company. The current share-holders of Sindya Securities & Investments are the Reddy family that is famed for its Apollo Hospitals Group of India. Headquartered in Chennai, it is one of the leading telecom service providers in Tamil Nadu, North East, Assam and Chennai. With a subscriber base of nearly 51.83 million, it is ranked seventh among the Indian mobile service providers (GSM & CDMA) and fifth among the GSM mobile service providers. The company has also obtained permission from the Department of Telecom (DoT) for providing International Long Distance and National Long Distance telephony services.
8. Uninor
Ownership: Privately-held by Unitech Group and Telenor Group
Date of Establishment: 3rd December 2009
Market Share: 4.2 percent
Brief Description: Uninor is an Indian telecom service provider that is jointly held by two companies: a Norway-based telecommunication company Telenor and an Indian real-estate company Unitech. Telenor holds a major stake of 67.25 percent in the company. Uninor is headquartered in Gurgaon (NCR Delhi) and provides its services in all of India’s 22 telecom circles. It offers voice and a data service based on the GSM technology and is commercially available in the 13 circles across India. Its major target is the youth and is a pioneer in charging as per day time and geographic location. During its launch, Uninor was available in 8 circles and 6 other circles were added in the initial six months. It follows a lean operational model and its network infrastructure is outsourced to its business partners. It is targeting 8 percent market share in the coming years.
9. Videocon
Ownership: Privately held by Videocon Group
Date of Establishment: 7th April 2010
Market Share: 0.78 percent
Brief Description: Videocon Telecommunications Limited is a Videocon group company owned by Venugopal Dhoot. It is headquartered in Gurgaon (NCR Delhi). Launched in April 2010, Videocon Telecommunications Limited provides GSM services in almost all parts of India including Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana, Mumbai, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh among others under the brand name of Videocon. The Videocon group, an Indian Multinational company, is a global business conglomerate that has its roots spread in diverse markets and generates revenues worth $4 billion annually. The group has several manufacturing facilities and R&D departments spread all across the globe including American, Europe and Australia. Videocon has one of the strongest distribution networks in the country and enjoys a well-established reputation in the global market. The group is also involved in the manufacturing of mobile handsets under the same brand name.
10. MTNL
Ownership: Publically-held by Government of India
Date of Establishment: 1st April 1986
Market Share: 0.6 percent
Brief Description: MTNL or Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited is a publically-held telecom service provider which operates only in metro cities; Mumbai and Delhi and the island nation of Mauritius (Africa). Before the liberalization of the Indian economy, MTNL held a monopoly in the cities of Delhi and Mumbai which it lost after the market was opened for other service providers. The Indian government currently holds a 56.25 percent stake in the company that has a motto “Transparency Makes Us Different”. Though, MTNL’s inability to stand the stiff competition it faced from other major telecom providers later has reduced its market share to minimal decimals.

CHAPTER 5
INDUSTRY PROFILE OF TELECOM SECTOR

5.1 GOING GREEN - TELECOM

Telecom companies incorporate heavy costs on Energy consumption. Besides being expensive, the resources Used tax the environment heavily. In the wake of these facts, the ETIG Knowledge Forum in association with Global Group has attempted to articulate the road map to green telecom in India. Constantly evolving professional grade energy management products are leading the revolution and R&D has helped bring costs down. For instance, in the past, to deploy 2G, 3G, 4G technology, one would need separate base-stations. But today, a single base-station puts all the technology in one place such that one needs to simply change the radio configuration.

Companies are on a continuous look-out for alternatives like solar panels and other types of sources of energy and their combinations to achieve cost-effectiveness.

Private GSM cellular operator Vodafone Essar has launched its 3G service in Uttar Pradesh (East) circle, which is one of the largest telecom circles in the country with around 60 million subscribers. More than 5 lakh customers have upgraded to Bharti Aritel 's high-speed data or 3G services, from voice-based 2G services, within a month after India 's largest mobile operator launched this facility in Bangalore. The company is talking to other operators to offer 3G services in the rest of the 22 circles where Airtel did not have permits. Competitors like Reliance Communications, Vodafone Essar, Tata Do Como and Aircel have launched 3G in areas where they hold respective permits. No mobile operator has 3G permits in all 22 circles of the country.

Motivations for Green Telecom
Lately, people have become more conscious and concerned about the ills of climate change. Newspapers and TV are regularly carrying features about rising temperature, melting glaciers, rising sea levels, natural disasters and general deterioration of the ecosystem; all presumably because of green house effect created by emissions produced by burning fossil fuel for energy. Among the various sectors the service industries have been less visible pollutants. A number of factors have led to heightened interest in greening of service sector industries.
To promote Green Telecommunications, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had issued recommendations on ‘Approach towards Green Telecommunications’. The Government of India has accepted the TRAI recommendations and decided to adopt measures to green the telecommunication sector setting broad directions and goals to achieve the desired reduction in carbon emission through the use of renewable energy technologies and energy efficient equipments.
In the case of telecommunications the factors that are leading to enhanced action on greening are as follows: Need to reduce the cost of operations of the telecom network by reducing energy cost. Need to expand network into rural areas where power availability is poor. Renewable energy technology becoming available at increasingly reducing cost. Confluence of socio-political trends towards environmental responsibility, pressure groups against global warming Creating sustainable businesses has become important where the objective is not only to create products and services through ethical means but also minimize environmental impact and improve communities. 5.2 3G
3G is 3rd Generation mobile phones. It is a new concept in Indian telecom market. There are 2G (2nd Generation) and 1G (1st Generation) mobile handsets are available also in the market. Apart from that, 4G technology stands to be the future standard of wireless devices. 3G is notable for its ability to support faster and larger quantities of data, which enables additional service offerings in the form of games, music and video using voice, video and data (together known as "triple play") and helps to bring about broadband on mobiles.

Japan was the first country to introduce 3G on a large commercial scale. There are about 60 3G networks across 25 countries. 3G services are supposed to provide high-speed data rates at a minimum of 144 Kilobits per second in all use scenarios going up to 2 Megabits per second in low mobility and indoor environments. In addition, it has higher capacity and improved spectrum efficiency.

Difference between 1G, 2G and 3G:-
1G networks used are analog; 2G networks are digital and 3G technology is used to enhance mobile phone standards. 3G helps to simultaneously transfer both voice data (a telephone call) and non-voice data (such as downloading information, exchanging e-mail, and instant messaging.) The highlight of 3G is video telephony.
3G spectrums have been provided to GSM and CDMA players like BSNL, MTNL, Bharti, Reliance, Tata and Vodafone. GSM players operate on 900 MHz and 1,800 MHz, while CDMA players operate on 800 MHz’s
3G issues for service providers and users:- High spectrum licensing fees for the 3G services Huge capital required to build infrastructure for 3G services. Health impact of electromagnetic waves. Prices are very high for 3G mobile services. Difficulty in switching from 2G technology to 3G technology
Presently spectrum allocation in India is linked with the issue of license. Licensees are entitled for frequency bands as per the provisions in the license and guidelines for spectrum allocation. 5.3 VALUE ADDED SERVICES
Value Added Service (VAS) is that service which is not part of the basic voice offer and is availed off separately by the end user. It is provided by telecom service providers. These services are used as a tool for differentiation and allow the mobile operators to develop another stream of revenue.
According to a study, the Indian mobile value-added services (MVAS) market is expected to move from the traditional SMS-based services to Internet-based and application-based services. Currently valued at over US$5 billion, Indian MVAS industry is expected to reach well over US$6 billion by 2013.
Various Value added services:-
Here is a list of some Value Added Services provided by the telecom operators to the end users. News- e.g. Business, sports, politics etc. Finance- e.g. Share market, foreign exchange etc. Entertainment- e.g. Games, jokes, films etc. Travel- e.g. Railway, airlines etc. Download- e.g. Caller tunes, wallpapers etc. Astrology- e.g. Horoscope Contest- e.g. Reality shows MMS- e.g. Picture messages, video clips etc. E-mail- e.g. SMS, e-mail etc. Music- e.g. Ring tones Cricket- e.g. Score, video clips etc. GPRS- e.g. Internet, chat etc. Call Alert- e.g. Missed call alerts when mobile is switched off or busy Health- e.g. Health tips, beauty tips etc. M-Commerce- e.g. mobile transactions like mobile banking Others- e.g. movies, music etc.

CHAPTER 6
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

6.1 PEST ANALYSIS Political
The political factors of the telecom industry are the ways that the government intervenes on the industry. Government laws put restrictions on the tariffs and phones that the telecommunications industry can produce and all new technology must adhere to a strict set of government rules. Goods and services provided by the telecom industry also need to fit the safety and privacy government regulations. Economic
Economic growth, inflation and interest rates can all have an impact on the telecommunications industry. Rival telecom businesses need to stay competitive but most have had to raise prices during the global recession. Different companies will try to beat others by offering limited time offers on some of the latest mobile phone handsets. Social
Some of the biggest social factors that have affected the telecom industry are those considered with career attitude and safety. The increase in on-the-go business careers has led to an increase in desire for mobile phones that will alert for messages, phone calls and emails. They also need to have the facility to carry out conference calls, instant messaging and a host of other career focused features. Safety regarding mobile phones also needs to be taken into consideration by the industry. Phones with hands-free features for cars are a must in the current environment. Technological
The rate of technological change is important within the telecommunication industry. New models of phones and communication devices can be produced at an alarmingly fast rate and it is essential that manufacturers compete to have the most up-to-date handset available.
6.2 PORTER’S FIVE FORCE ANALYSIS OF TELECOM INDUSTRY

Threat of New Entrants
It comes as no surprise that in the capital-intensive telecom industry the biggest barrier to entry is access to finance. To cover high fixed costs, serious contenders typically require a lot of cash. When capital markets are generous, the threat of competitive entrants escalates. When financing opportunities are less readily available, the pace of entry slows. Meanwhile, ownership of a telecom license can represent a huge barrier to entry. So we can say that there is no threat of New Entrant as far as the telecom industry of India is concerned. Bargaining Power of Suppliers
At first glance, it might look like telecom equipment suppliers have considerable bargaining power over telecom operators. Indeed, without high-tech broadband switching equipment, fibre-optic cables, and mobile handsets and billing software, telecom operators would not be able to do the job of transmitting voice and data from place to place. The limited pool of talented managers and engineers, especially those well versed in the latest technologies, places companies in a weak position in terms of hiring and salaries. Bargaining Power of Buyers
With increased choice of telecom products and services, the bargaining power of buyers is rising. Telephone and data services do not vary much, regardless of which companies are selling them. For the most part, basic services are treated as a commodity .This translates into customers seeking low prices from companies that offer reliable service. At the same time, buyer power can vary somewhat between market segments. While switching costs are relatively low for residential telecom customers, they can get higher for larger business customers, especially those that rely more on customized products and services. Availability of Substitutes
Products and services from non-traditional telecom industries pose serious substitution threats. Cable TV and satellite operators now compete for buyers. The cable guys, with their own direct lines into homes, offer broadband internet services, and satellite links can substitute for high-speed business networking needs. Delivered by IPS’s- not telecom operators - "internet telephony" could take a big bite out of telecom companies ' core voice revenues. Competitive Rivalry
Competition is "cut throat". New technology is prompting a raft of substitute services. Nearly everybody already pays for phone services, so all competitors now must lure customers with lower prices and more exciting services. This tends to drive industry profitability down. In addition to low profits, the telecom industry suffers from high exit barriers, mainly due to its specialized equipment. Networks and billing systems cannot really be used for much else, and their swift obsolescence makes liquidation pretty difficult.

CHAPTER 7
RESEARCH ANALYSIS

7.1 PIE CHART What your age is as recorded on your last birthday?
Age 18-24 years 25-29 years 30-39 years 40-49 years 50 & above
No of Respondent 93 37 21 28 21
Percentage 46% 18% 11% 14% 11%

INTERPRETATION:
From the above data it is clear that most of the respondents are youths i.e. either student or salaried private employees and the people of other age group of comparatively lesser number. As the youth are aware and using the different services provided by the telecom service provider the reason behind using a particular network provider can be understand and their needs can also be easily identified, as compare to the respondents of age group more than 40 years.

Gender:
Gender Male Female
No of Respondent 102 98
Percentage 51% 49%

INTERPRETATION:
My survey includes a sample of 200 questionnaires from the population of entire Ahmadabad city. Out of these 200 randomly selected respondents 51% respondents were males and 49% respondents were females. So it exhibits the tendency towards using mobile phone is approximately equal amongst both the gender.

Profession:
Profession Student Salaried Govt. Salaried Private Self Employed/ Businessman Home Maker Farmer Retired
No of Respondent 91 14 35 26 20 2 12
Percentage 45% 7% 18% 13% 10% 1% 6%

INTERPRETATION:
It is clear that in current scenario mobile phones plays an important role in their day to day life irrespective of their profession. Even if the respondent is farmer or he is a self employed mobile phones as a means of telecom plays a vital role in their lives. Most of the respondent in my research are students and salaried employees remaining respondents are self employed, home maker and retired.

Please tell me you’re Education Levels.
Education Levels Undergraduate Graduate Post Graduate Professional course
No of Respondent 49 60 71 20
Percentage 24% 30% 36% 10%

INTERPRETATION:
As per the above chart it is clear that around 66% percentages of respondent are Graduate and Post Graduate so they must be aware of the latest trends in the telecom sector. We can also say that these people are mostly salaried employees or students so they requires a convenient network with a better connectivity so that they can use check there mail, can connect themselves with social networking sites quickly and with less efforts. When you think of the word ‘MOBILE’, which brand comes to your mind?
Mobile brand Airtel Reliance Communication Vodafone BSNL Idea Tata Docomo Others
No of Respondent 40 28 61 20 20 15 16
Percentage 20% 14% 30% 10% 10% 8% 8%

INTERPRETATION:
As per my study I have found that Vodafone has a very good image in the market that it has been in the top of the mind of majority (30%) of the respondents. Airtel has secured its second position with 20% of responses which followed by reliance. There is some negligible difference in the positioning of BSNL, Idea and Tata Docomo. Finally 8% of responses are for others brands such as Uninor, Aircel and MTS. What is the type of connection you use?
Type of connection prepiad post paid
No of Respondent 152 48
Percentage 76% 24%

INTERPRETATION:
Out of 200 respondents 76% uses a prepaid connection, the reason behind that is they are currently satisfied from a prepaid connection. Some of the respondent is using a post-paid connection the reason behind that is they don’t like to go for a top up recharge 2 to 3 times in a month. Mostly all the respondents using a prepaid recharge find it cheap so they even doesn’t want to switch over to a post-paid connection in the near future.

Is there any specific plan that you use?
Is there any specific plan that you use? Yes No Unaware
No of Respondent 129 64 7
Percentage 64% 32% 4%

INTERPRETATION:
From the above data it can be seen that 64% of the respondents use some specific plan like low calling cost, internet plan, SMS plans, etc. Most of the respondents are using low calling cost and internet plans this might be the respondents from the age group of 20-29 years which includes students, self employed and salaried employees. Other respondents such as home maker, retired and respondents of above 40 years does not use any of the plans as there is no need to them. If yes then, is there any specific plan that you use? specific plan used Low local calling cost Low SMS cost Low Internet cost Flat Unlimited plans N.A.
No of Respondent 57 13 39 24 67
Percentage 28% 6% 20% 12% 34%

INTERPRETATION:
As per the above data we can say that most (28%) of the respondents are using low calling cost plan as they need to make call now and then for their personal and official purpose. Secondly the internet plan is used by the respondents such as students and employees to check mails and to stay connected with their friends and colleagues through social networking platforms. Assuming that you have to get a new mobile network connection, please indicate how relevant each of these factors is in your choice of your network.
TARIFF PLAN
Tariff Plan Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree
No of Respondent 8 41 30 106 15
Percentage 4% 20% 15% 53% 8%

INTERPRETATION:
Out of 200 respondents 106 (53%) of respondents give importance to the tariff plan as they are price conscious so they can be students, homemakers or retired individuals. 20% of respondents does not give importance to tariff plan as they give importance to some other factors such as network, service and quality of employees, so they might be looking for better service. 15% of respondents ignores this factor. RECOMMENDATION OF FAMILY/FRIENDS
Recommendation of family/friends Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree
No of Respondent 7 35 89 46 23
Percentage 3% 17% 45% 23% 12%

INTERPRETATION:
Here around 20% of respondents do not buy a SIM card with a recommendation of friends and family. And 35% of respondents consider the opinion of the family and friends as they wait for positive or negative feedback of a particular network provider. Majority of the respondents (45%) are neutral so they may or may not seek for their friends and family member’s advice. NETWORK COVERAGE
Network Coverage Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree
No of Respondent 4 11 50 68 67
Percentage 2% 5% 25% 34% 34%

INTERPRETATION:
As most of the respondents are students and salaried employees they require a better network for good connectivity so around 70% of respondents agrees that the network should be good so that use the internet without any disturbance or they does not face any call drop. 25% of respondents do not give importance to network coverage capacity. INCREASED EFFICIENCY increased efficiency Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree
No of Respondent 2 21 43 82 52
Percentage 1% 10% 22% 41% 26%

INTERPRETATION:
From the above data it is clear that around 65% of respondents believe that the SIM card should be such that it should increase the efficiency of their mobile handset. They believe that their SIM card should be such that it should enhance their experience of using the handset, e.g. they should provide 3G services.
GREATER INNOVATION greater innovation Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree
No of Respondent 1 16 52 80 51
Percentage 1% 8% 26% 40% 26%

INTERPRETATION:
As per the data it is clear that majority of respondents (66%) give importance to innovation. They believe that the telecom service provider should come out with new schemes and plans. They believe that their network provider should provide schemes in combinations such as internet plan with low calling cost or SMS pack. Rest of the respondents such as home maker and retired individual don’t need such offers. BETTER QUALITY SERVICES

better quality services Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree
No of Respondent 1 10 45 86 58
Percentage 1% 5% 23% 43% 29%

INTERPRETATION:
This is the one which is desired by every customer, so more than 70% of the respondents get connected to a network which gives them better service. Remaining respondents focus on the factors such as network and tariff plan. Some of the respondents such as retired do not consider this factor they need mobile just to make and receive call. EMPLOYEES ARE POLITE
Employees are polite Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree
No of Respondent 1 11 47 91 50
Percentage 1% 5% 24% 46% 25%

INTERPRETAION:
When it comes to service industry it’s all about employees, most of the respondents only buy a SIM card on the influence of the employees being polite and the level of empathy among them. A very few respondents found that the behavior of employees is not polite at all and remaining respondents are indifferent because they may not visit the company outlet regularly. Since the time you have started using a mobile, how many times have you changed your network provider?
How many times have you changed your network provider? 0 times 1-5 times 6-10times 11 and above
No of Respondent 83 106 11 0
Percentage 41% 53% 6% ---

INTERPRETATION:
Out of the 200 respondents more than 50% of them have changed their network provider at least once because of bad experience of another one. A significant number of respondents are satisfied from their current network provider so they have not switch to another network, the reason might be that they have taken the feedback of their friends, colleagues and relatives before buying a SIM card. A negligible amount of respondents have changed their network provider from 6-10 times which represents there highly switching behavior. Assuming that you are buying a new Mobile connection/ SIM, please tell us which network SIM would you buy?
Mobile connection/ SIM card Airtel Reliance Communication Vodafone BSNL Idea Tata Docomo Others
No of Respondent 38 18 82 18 17 12 15
Percentage 19% 9% 41% 9% 8% 6% 8%

INTERPRETATION:
From the above data it is clear that most respondents prefer Vodafone, as most of the respondents are students and salaried employees they need a network with which they can remain in contact with their friends and colleagues. Another reason of preferring Vodafone is due its network coverage capacity. The dominance if Airtel is reducing as Vodafone has started targeting customers of all the age group. Around 20% of respondents prefer brand like BSNL, Tata Docomo and Uninor because of their lower tariff plan. Which SIM card do you use currently? SIM card Airtel Reliance Communication Vodafone BSNL Idea Tata Docomo Others
No of Respondent 32 30 60 20 9 28 21
Percentage 16% 15% 30% 10% 4% 14% 11%

INTERPRETATION:
Out of 200 respondents majority of the respondents (30%) are using Vodafone followed by Airtel, Reliance and Tata Docomo. Some respondents are using other SIM cards such as MTS, Uninor and Aircel because of their low calling cost plan, but they lack good network coverage so it can be seen that majority of respondents are shifting from these network to Airtel and Vodafone. Have you ever used MNP (Mobile Number Portability)?
Have you ever used MNP? Yes No Unaware
No of Respondent 37 121 42
Percentage 18% 61% 21%

INTERPRETATION:
Out of 200 respondents around 80% of respondents are aware of MNP and out of that only 18% of respondents have used it. So it can be said that most of the respondents are still ignorant of this service as they feel that it is very time consuming process. Around 20% of respondents are unaware of MNP they may be home maker and retired individuals. At the overall level, how satisfied are you with your current mobile network provider.
Satisfaction level Fully dissatisfied dissatisfied Neither Satisfied nor dissatisfied Satisfied Fully Satisfied
No of Respondent 11 15 30 101 43
Percentage 5% 7% 15% 51% 22%

INTERPRETATION:
As most of the respondents are using Vodafone and Airtel so their level of satisfaction is also high, also the other respondents such as home maker and retired individuals use mobile just for making and receiving calls so they are also satisfied from their network provider. Some respondents are dissatisfied from their network provider because of poor network and call drops. On an average how much is your total monthly mobile bill/expense?
Monthly mobile bill/expense Less than Rs.250 Rs. 251 to Rs.500 Rs.501 to 1000 above Rs.1000
No of Respondent 76 73 39 12
Percentage 38% 36% 20% 6%

INTERPRETATION:
As most of the respondents are students so their mobile expense is comparatively low, also majority of respondents are using a prepaid SIM so its cost is also low as compare to a post paid SIM. Some of the respondents that are executive or heavy user of mobile phones are using a post paid SIM as they don’t want to go for top up 2-3 times a month. Do you use internet from your handset?
Do you use internet from your handset? Yes No
No of Respondent 145 55
Percentage 72% 28%

INTERPRETATION:
From the above data it is clear that most of the respondents (72%) use internet from their handset. As most the respondents are youths and salaried private employees they need internet to check their mails, for downloads and to use various social networking platform. Remaining 28% of respondents are homemakers and retired individuals they are the people of above 40 years so they do not use internet from their mobile handset as there is no need. If yes then, which platform do you use of for social networking?
Social networking platform Facebook WhatsApp WeChat Twitter N.A.
No of Respondent 52 74 17 2 55
Percentage 26% 37% 9% 1% 27%

INTERPRETATION:
From the above data it is clear that Facebook is losing its market and that’s why it has acquired WhatsApp, because Facebook has contact number of 20% of total population of the world and WhatsApp has 60% of the same. Another application is become popular amongst the respondents was WeChat which is preferred by 17% of respondents and only two respondents prefers Twitter the most. Rest of the respondents does not use any of these online social networking platforms. What are the other internet related application do you use with your mobile handset? internet related application Emails GPS Internet calling Online gaming video conferencing other N.A.
No of Respondent 70 23 18 13 12 9 55
Percentage 35% 12% 9% 6% 6% 5% 27%

INTERPRETATION:
There are many employees and students in my survey so they need to check there mails as now a day’s most of work is carried out by using E-mail. So 35% of respondents use these applications the most, followed by GPS to search new areas, then internet calling such as Viber and Skype. Many of respondents are youth so they also use online gaming. What are the Value Added Services do you use regularly? Value Added Services News Travel Entertainment Astrology Downloads Music Cricket Health
No of Respondent 30 11 26 18 56 40 9 10
Percentage 15% 5% 13% 9% 28% 20% 5% 5%

INTERPRETATION:
As from the above data is clear that respondents use the above services as per their age group and profession, like students and salaried employees below the age of 35 years use their mobile handset to download songs, videos and applications. Home makers use their handset for music and travel, Retired use services like astrology and health, and remaining respondents use services like cricket and entertainment.

7.2 CROSS TABULATION
Q1. Age and SIM card used.
SIM card used Age Total 18-24 years 25-29 years 30-39 years 40-49 years 50 & above
Airtel 12 12 3 3 2 32
Reliance Communication 12 6 5 4 3 30
Vodafone 32 11 4 8 5 60
BSNL 8 3 2 4 3 20
Idea 3 1 2 1 2 9
Tata Docomo 12 4 4 4 4 28
Others 14 0 1 4 2 21
Total 93 37 21 28 21 200

INTERPRETATION:
From the above data it can be seen that most of the respondents of 18-24 years are using Vodafone, Respondents of 25-29 years uses Airtel the most, after that most of the respondents 30-39 years uses Reliance. So it can be said that age group has a relation with the preference towards a network provider. It can also be seen that the youths are also using other SIM such as Uninor as it has very cheap call rates.

Q2. Gender and SIM card used.
SIM card used Gender Total Male Female
Airtel 18 14 32
Reliance Communication 14 16 30
Vodafone 28 32 60
BSNL 10 10 20
Idea 6 3 9
Tata Docomo 17 11 28
Others 9 12 21
Total 102 98 200

INTERPRETATION:
There is a negligible difference between gender and the preference regarding the network providers. If we consider Airtel, Idea and Tata docomo most of the respondents are Male on the other hand reliance, Vodafone and other players such as Uninor, Aircel and MTS are preferred more by females. So we can say that most of the respondents now a day are using dual SIM phone so they prefer one SIM with good network and other one with lower tariff plans. Q3. Profession and SIM card used.
SIM card used Profession Total Student Salaried Govt. Salaried Private Self Employed/ Businessman Home Maker Farmer Retired
Airtel 14 3 10 1 1 2 1 32
Reliance Communication 10 4 8 6 2 0 0 30
Vodafone 32 0 7 9 10 0 2 60
BSNL 5 2 7 2 1 0 3 20
Idea 3 0 1 0 3 0 2 9
Tata Docomo 13 4 2 4 1 0 4 28
Others 14 1 0 4 2 0 0 21
Total 91 14 35 26 20 2 12 200

INTERPRETATION:
From the above data it is clear that most of the students and self employed professionals are using Vodafone as they are executives they can afford it. As we come to salaried government employees nobody is using Vodafone they prefer brands like Airtel and Reliance. Also 50% of home maker are using Vodafone they may not be price conscious. Other respondents prefer Airtel and Tata docomo as they are require mobile just to make and receive calls. Q4. Education level and SIM card used.
SIM card used Education Levels Total Undergraduate Graduate Post Graduate Professional course
Airtel 8 14 7 3 32
Reliance Communication 5 10 15 0 30
Vodafone 14 17 21 8 60
BSNL 5 7 7 1 20
Idea 2 2 5 0 9
Tata Docomo 6 6 11 5 28
Others 9 4 5 3 21
Total 49 60 71 20 200

INTERPRETATION:
From the point of education levels most the respondents prefer Vodafone because of its network and better quality service. The dominance of Vodafone has increased because it has started targeting youths also. After Vodafone preference has been given to reliance and Airtel irrespective of education levels. So it can be understand that education level has no major impact on the preference of buying a SIM card. Q5. Awareness of MNP and How many people have used it?
Awareness How many people have used it Total Yes No
Yes 37 121 158
No 0 42 42
Total 37 163 200

INTERPRETATION:
Out of the 200 respondents 158 respondents are aware of Mobile number portability out of which only 37 respondents have used it, so we can say that people are still ignorant of MNP service. The reason behind that is MNP is very complicated and time consuming process. Also a significant number of respondents are unaware of MNP. Q6. Current SIM and the SIM card you wish to buy in future?
Current SIM SIM card you wish to buy in future Total Airtel Reliance Communication Vodafone BSNL Idea Tata Docomo Others
Airtel 6 2 13 1 3 3 4 32
Reliance Communication 2 4 15 4 4 0 1 30
Vodafone 10 5 32 4 2 0 7 60
BSNL 3 3 2 4 4 3 1 20
Idea 1 0 0 2 3 3 0 9
Tata Docomo 10 2 12 0 0 3 1 28
Others 6 2 8 3 1 0 1 21
Total 38 18 82 18 17 12 15 200

INTERPRETATION:
It can be seen that people are moving from different network provider to Vodafone, as its number has gone up to 82 from 60 current users. There is also increment in the preference or respondents towards Airtel, 10 respondents who are using Vodafone currently want to shift to Airtel because Vodafone is costly. There is also fall in the preference of Tata docomo which has been shifted towards Idea. Also the preference of reliance has reduced and BSNL user are currently satisfied from it.
Q7. Current SIM card and Satisfaction level from it.
Current SIM card Are you satisfied from it Total Fully dissatisfied dissatisfied Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied Satisfied Fully satisfied
Airtel 3 4 7 15 3 32
Reliance Communication 2 2 5 19 2 30
Vodafone 2 2 1 28 27 60
BSNL 0 1 5 10 4 20
Idea 0 1 1 7 0 9
Tata Docomo 4 3 4 13 4 28
Others 0 2 7 9 3 21
Total 11 15 30 101 43 200

INTERPRETATION:
Majority of respondents are found to be satisfied from their current network provider and some respondents how are dissatisfied from their network provider have shown their switching behavior by preferring to some other brand. Out of the 60 respondents of Vodafone 50% of them are fully satisfied from it. High level of dissatisfaction is seen in other brands such as uninor, aircel Tata docomo and MTS.

7.3 HYPOTHESIS TESTING

Hypothesis 1:
H0: There is no significant difference in the preference of the respondents between Current SIM and the SIM card that you wish to buy in future.
H1: There is significant difference between in the preference of the respondents between Current SIM and the SIM card that you wish to buy in future.
Current SIM SIM card you wish to buy in future Total Airtel Reliance Communication Vodafone BSNL Idea Tata Docomo Others
Airtel 6
(6.08) 2
(2.88) 13
(13.12) 1
(2.88) 3
(2.72) 3
(1.92) 4
(2.4) 32
Reliance Communication 2
(5.7) 4
(2.7) 15
(12.3) 4
(2.7) 4
(2.55) 0
(1.8) 1
(2.25) 30
Vodafone 10
(11.4) 5
(5.4) 32
(24.6) 4
(5.4) 2
(5.1) 0
(3.6) 7
(4.5) 60
BSNL 3
(3.8) 3
(1.8) 2
(8.2) 4
(1.8) 4
(1.7) 3
(1.2) 1
(1.5) 20
Idea 1
(1.71) 0
(0.81) 0
(3.69) 2
(0.81) 3
(0.77) 3
(0.54) 0
(0.68) 9
Tata Docomo 10
(5.32) 2
(2.52) 12
(11.48) 0
(2.52) 0
(2.38) 3
(1.68) 1
(2.1) 28
Others 6
(3.99) 2
(1.89) 8
(8.61) 3
(1.89) 1
(1.79) 0
(1.26) 1
(1.58) 21
Total 38 18 82 18 17 12 15 200

ℵ2= (oi-ei)2/ei
ℵ2 Cal = 73.948
Degree of freedom at 5% level of significance = (m-1) (n-1) = (7-1) (7-1) = 36
ℵ2Tab = 60.219
ℵ2Cal > ℵ2Tab (H0 May be rejected.)
So, there is significant difference between in the preference of the respondents between Current SIM and the SIM card that you wish to buy in future.
Hypothesis 2:
H0: Most of the respondents use a particular network because of the network coverage capacity of the telecom service provider.
H1: Most of the respondents do not give importance to the network coverage capacity of the telecom service provider.
Network Coverage Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree Total
No of Respondent 4
(40) 11
(40) 50
(40) 68
(40) 67
(40) 200

ℵ2= (oi-ei)2/ei

ℵ2 Cal = 32.4 +21.025 +2.5 +19.6 +18.225
ℵ2 Cal = 93.75
Degree of freedom at 5% level of significance = (n-1) = 4
ℵ2Tab = 14.860
ℵ2Cal > ℵ2Tab
H0 May be rejected
That means most of the respondents do not give importance to the network coverage capacity of the telecom service provider.

Hypothesis 3:
H0: Most of the respondents use a particular network because it helps to increase the efficiency of their handset.
H1: Most of the respondents do not believe that the efficiency of their handset has increased by using a particular network. increased efficiency Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree Total
No of Respondent 2
(40) 21
(40) 43
(40) 82
(40) 52
(40) 200

ℵ2= (oi-ei)2/ei
ℵ2 Cal = 36.1 +9.025 +0.225 +44.1 +3.6
ℵ2 Cal = 93.05
Degree of freedom at 5% level of significance = (n-1) = 4
ℵ2Tab = 14.860
ℵ2Cal > ℵ2Tab
H0 May be rejected
Therefore most of the respondents do not believe that the efficiency of their handset has increased by using a particular network.

Hypothesis 4:
H0: Most of the respondents use a particular network because of its quality services.
H1: Most of the respondents do not focus on the level of services provided by a network provider. better quality services Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree Total
No of Respondent 1
(40) 10
(40) 45
(40) 86
(40) 58
(40) 200

ℵ2= (oi-ei)2/ei

ℵ2 Cal = 38.025+ 22.5+ 0.625 + 52.9+ 8.1
ℵ2 Cal = 122.15
Degree of freedom at 5% level of significance = (n-1) = 4
ℵ2Tab = 14.860
ℵ2Cal > ℵ2Tab
H0 May be rejected
So, most of the respondents do not focus on the level of services provided by their network provider. Hypothesis 5:
H0: There is no significant difference between awareness of MNP and its usage.
H1: There is significant difference between awareness of MNP and its usage.
Awareness How many people have used it Total Yes No
Yes 37
(29.23) 121
(128.77) 158
No 0
(7.77) 42
(34.23) 42
Total 37 163 200

ℵ2= (oi-ei)2/ei

ℵ2 Cal = 2.07+ 0.469+ 7.77+ 1.76
ℵ2 Cal = 12.069
Degree of freedom at 5% level of significance = (m-1) (n-1) = 1
ℵ2Tab = 7.879
ℵ2Cal > ℵ2Tab
H0 May be rejected
Thus, there is significant difference between awareness of MNP and its usage.

Hypothesis 6:
H0: There is no significant difference between age of the respondents and network provider.
H1: There is significant difference between age of the respondents and network provider.
SIM card used Age Total 18-24 years 25-29 years 30-39 years 40-49 years 50 & above
Airtel 12
(14.88) 12
(5.92) 3
(3.36) 3
(4.48) 2
(3.36) 32
Reliance Communication 12
(13.95) 6
(5.55) 5
(3.15) 4
(4.2) 3
(3.15) 30
Vodafone 32
(27.9) 11
(11.1) 4
(6.3) 8
(8.4) 5
(6.3) 60
BSNL 8
(9.3) 3
(3.7) 2
(2.1) 4
(2.8) 3
(2.1) 20
Idea 3
(4.19) 1
(1.67) 2
(0.95) 1
(1.26) 2
(0.95) 9
Tata Docomo 12
(13.02) 4
(5.18) 4
(2.94) 4
(3.92) 4
(2.94) 28
Others 14
(9.77) 0
(3.89) 1
(2.21) 4
(2.94) 2
(2.21) 21
Total 93 37 21 28 21 200

ℵ2= (oi-ei)2/ei

ℵ2 Cal = 23.092
Degree of freedom at 5% level of significance = (m-1) (n-1) = 24
ℵ2Tab = 45.559
ℵ2Cal < ℵ2Tab
H0 May be accepted.
So, there is no significant difference between age of the respondents and network provider.

Hypothesis 7:
H0: There is no significant difference between profession of the respondents and network provider.
H1: There is significant difference between profession of the respondents and network provider.
SIM card used Profession Total Student Salaried Govt. Salaried Private Self Employed/ Businessman Home Maker Farmer Retired
Airtel 14
(14.56) 3
(2.24) 10
(5.6) 1
(4.16)
1
(3.2) 2
(0.32) 1
(1.92) 32
Reliance Communication 10
(13.65) 4
(2.1) 8
(10.5) 6
(3.9) 2
(3) 0
(0.3) 0
(1.95) 30
Vodafone 32
(27.3) 0
(4.2) 7
(10.5) 9
(7.8) 10
(6) 0
(0.6) 2
(3.6) 60
BSNL 5
(9.1) 2
(1.4) 7
(3.5) 2
(2.6) 1
(2) 0
(0.2) 3
(1.2)
20
Idea 3
(4.01) 0
(0.63) 1
(1.58) 0
(1.17) 3
(0.9) 0
(0.09) 2
(0.54)
9
Tata Docomo 13
(12.74) 4
(1.96) 2
(4.9) 4
(3.64) 1
(2.8) 0
(0.28) 4
(1.68) 28
Others 14
(9.56) 1
(1.47) 0
(3.68) 4
(2.73) 2
(2.1) 0
(0.21) 0
(1.26) 21
Total 91 14 35 26 20 2 12 200

ℵ2= (oi-ei)2/ei

ℵ2 Cal = 70.813
Degree of freedom at 5% level of significance = (m-1) (n-1) = 36
ℵ2Tab = 60.219
ℵ2Cal > ℵ2Tab
H0 May be rejected, therefore there is significant difference between profession of the respondents and network provider.
Hypothesis 8:
H0: There is no significant difference between education level of the respondents and network provider.
H1: There is significant difference between education level of the respondents and network provider.
SIM card used Education Levels Total Undergraduate Graduate Post Graduate Professional course
Airtel 8
(7.84) 14
(9.6) 7
(11.36) 3
(3.2) 32
Reliance Communication 5
(7.35) 10
(9) 15
(10.65) 0
(3) 30
Vodafone 14
(14.7) 17
(18) 21
(21.3) 8
(6) 60
BSNL 5
(4.9) 7
(6) 7
(7.1) 1
(2) 20
Idea 2
(2.21) 2
(2.7)
5
(3.12) 0
(0.9) 9
Tata Docomo 6
(6.86) 6
(8.4) 11
(9.94) 5
(2.8) 28
Others 9
(5.15) 4
(6.3) 5
(7.46) 3
(2.1) 21
Total 49 60 71 20 200

ℵ2= (oi-ei)2/ei

ℵ2 Cal = 21.474
Degree of freedom at 5% level of significance = (m-1) (n-1) = 18
ℵ2Tab = 37.156
ℵ2Cal < ℵ2Tab
H0 May be accepted.
So, there is no significant difference between education level of the respondents and network provider.
FINDINGS
As per my study I have found that Vodafone has a very good image in the market that it has been in the top of the mind of majority (30%) of the respondents. Majority of the respondents are using low calling cost plans which show that they are price consciousness and which is a vital factor in Indian telecom sector. 34% of respondents consider the network coverage capacity of a network provider before buying it. Out of the 200 respondents more than 50% of them have changed their network provider at least once because of the poor quality of service. 41% of respondents want to join with Vodafone in future, which show positive trends towards it and 10% increment in its preference. 80% of respondents are aware of MNP and out of that only 18% of respondents have used it. The dominance of WhatsApp has increased in social networking platform as 37% of respondents are using it. CONCLUSION

India has one of the world’s largest telecommunication networks. The telecom story continues to be the best evidence of the efficacy of the reforms process.

In just six years, the number of mobile subscribers has gone up from just about one million to 100 million, a subscriber base that only four other countries China, the US, Japan and Russia can boast of. None can doubt the correlation between this explosive growth in numbers and the steep decline in the cost of the mobile phone and of its usage.

Effective tariffs have dropped from over Rs 14 a minute to Re 1, bringing the phone within reach of people even below the middle-class. The Government may have, therefore, landed itself a winner in the mobile phone service providers, but the task of taking telecom to the other 90 per cent of the population will call for even greater innovation in policymaking, technology and marketing. The number portability issues will solve many problems and will help the end users, which will change the whole scenario of competition and will make the game tougher for the service providers. BIBLIOGRAPHY
T.V.Ramchandran (2005), Director-Genaral, Cellular operators association of india, Trends and Development, may-15, 2005.

RajanBhartiMittal(2005),Joint Managing Director,Bhartiteleventure limited, Trends and Development, feb-15,2005.

Hal Mather, “How to Profitably Delight your Customers”, Butterworth Heinemann.

P.S.Saran (2004) “Developing Buyer Seller Relationships”, Journal of Marketing, Vol 51.

Shymal Ghosh (2003), “The Resurging Telecom Sector”, pib.nic.in, April.

Shanthi N.M. (2005), “Indian Telecom: Growth and Transition”, Business
Today,January 2.

Kushan Mitra (2005), Business Today, 5 June 2005.

David L. Kurtz, Kenneth L. Clow (2002). Services Marketing, John Wiley &
Sons.

indiantelecomhistory. (2007). Retrieved 2012, from http://www.telecomindiaonline.com: http://www.telecomindiaonline.com/indiantelecomhistory.pdf
Telecom_Trends_2013_SCPL_1...pdf‎ www.shilpin.in/download.php?f=
Top-10-telecom-companies-in-india 2012http://freewayrecharge.wordpress.com/2013/04/18/top-10-telecom-companies-in-india-2012/, last reviewed on 11th feb 2014.

APPENDIX

This is a research study on customer preference towards different telecom network providers, the information collected by this questionnaire will be kept confidential and will be used only for study purpose.
Questionnaire

What your age is as recorded on your last birthday? 18-24 yrs 25-29 yrs 30-39 yrs 40-49 yrs 50 yrs & above Gender:
Male Female

Profession: Student. Salaried Govt. Salaried Private Self Employed/ Businessman Home Maker Farmer Retired Others Please tell me you’re Education Levels Undergraduate Graduate
Post Graduate Professional course

When you think of the word ‘MOBILE’, which brand comes to your mind? Brand Name TOM Brand Name TOM
Airtel Tata Docomo
Reliance Communication Aircel
Vodafone Uninor
BSNL MTS India
MTNL Idea

What is the type of connection you use? Prepaid Post paid

Is there any specific plan that you use? Yes No Not aware If yes then, is there any specific plan that you use?
Low local calling cost Low SMS cost
Low Internet cost Flat Unlimited plans

Assuming that you have to get a new mobile network connection, please indicate how relevant each of these factors is in your choice of your network. Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree
Tariff plans
Recommendation of family/friends
Network Coverage increased efficiency greater innovation better quality services
Employees are polite

Since the time you have started using a mobile, how many times have you changed your network provider?

0 times 1-5 times 6-10times 11 and above

Assuming that you are buying a new Mobile connection/ SIM, please tell us which network SIM would you buy?
Brand Name Tick Brand Name Tick
Airtel Tata Docomo
Reliance Communication Aircel
Vodafone Uninor
BSNL MTS India
MTNL Idea

Which SIM card do you use currently?
Brand Name Tick Brand Name Tick
Airtel Tata Docomo
Reliance Communication Aircel
Vodafone Uninor
BSNL MTS India
MTNL Idea

Have you ever used MNP?
Yes No Unaware

At the overall level, how satisfied are you with your current mobile network provider.

Fully dissatisfied dissatisfied

Neither Satisfied nor dissatisfied satisfied

Fully Satisfied

On an average how much is your total monthly mobile bill/expense?

Less than Rs.250 Rs. 251 to Rs.500

Rs.501 to 1000 above Rs.1000

Do you use internet from your handset?

Yes No

If yes then, which platform do you use of for social networking?
Facebook WhatsApp
WeChat Twitter What are the other internet related application do you use with your mobile handset?

Emails GPS Internet calling

Online gaming video conferencing other _______

What are the Value Added Services do you use regularly?

News Travel Entertainment

Astrology Downloads Music

Cricket Health

Thank you

Bibliography: T.V.Ramchandran (2005), Director-Genaral, Cellular operators association of india, Trends and Development, may-15, 2005. RajanBhartiMittal(2005),Joint Managing Director,Bhartiteleventure limited, Trends and Development, feb-15,2005 P.S.Saran (2004) “Developing Buyer Seller Relationships”, Journal of Marketing, Vol 51. Shymal Ghosh (2003), “The Resurging Telecom Sector”, pib.nic.in, April. Shanthi N.M. (2005), “Indian Telecom: Growth and Transition”, Business Today,January 2. Kushan Mitra (2005), Business Today, 5 June 2005. David L. Kurtz, Kenneth L. Clow (2002). Services Marketing, John Wiley & Sons. indiantelecomhistory. (2007). Retrieved 2012, from http://www.telecomindiaonline.com: http://www.telecomindiaonline.com/indiantelecomhistory.pdf Telecom_Trends_2013_SCPL_1...pdf‎ www.shilpin.in/download.php?f=