Surabh airtel

ON
“Marketing strategies of Airtel”
Submitted to

U.P. TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

FOR THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE DEGREE OF

MBA

SESSION 2008-2010
DEPTT. OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

TEERTHANKER MAHAVEER INSTITUTE OF
MANAGEMENT & TECHNOLOGY, MORADABA(U.P.)

Project Guide: Course cordinnator:
Ms. Yuvika Gupta Dr. Soni Gupta
Submitted By:
Saurabh Gupta
Roll No. 0814870070

1

STUDENT DECLARATION

I, Saurabh Gupta, student of MBA here by declared that the research

report entitled “MARKETING STRATEGIES OF AIRTEL” is

completed and submitted under the guidance of

Miss. YUVIKA GUPTA is my original work. The imperial finding

in this report is based on the data collected by me. I have not

submitted this project report to U.P. Technical University Lucknow or

any other University for the purpose of compliance of any

requirement of any examination or degree.

DATE: SAURABH GUPTA

MBA III SEM

ROLL NO. 0814870070

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I acknowledge the sincere assistance provided to me from several

rather unexpected quarters during the course of execution of this

study. It would be a mammoth task to place on record my

gratitude to each and every one of them but a whole hearted

attempt would be made nevertheless, least I be branded

ungrateful.

I am extremely thankful to Mr.Abhishek Yadav, (Unit Advisor) for
giving me an opportunity to undergo training in BHARTI AIRTEL
MARKETING and making my stay at AIRTEL MARKETING a
memorable learning experience.

Where the emotions are involved words cease to work. I am deeply

indebt to ---------------------- for her encouragement, affections,

valuable advice and guidance that helped me to complete this

project successfully.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The project aims at understanding the Marketing strategies at

Airtel and its impact on the perception of Airtel Cellular Services.

Research has demonstrated conclusively that it is far more costly

to win a new customer than it is to maintain an existing one. And

there is no better way to retain a customer than to exceed his

expectations. For this purpose it is essential to know the level of

customer satisfaction. The focus of my research was the

measurement of customer satisfaction level for the services

provided by Bharti Airtel. The research was done for the corporate

clients of Bharti Airtel. My job was not only to represent the

Corporate Sales Dept. and collect the feedback from the clients but

also to get the major complaints resolved through internal

counselling. There can be no better opportunity to interact with the

external as well as the internal customers of an organization.

Finally the results of the research verify the fact that keeping the

customer satisfied is the best strategy to not only retain the

existing customers but also to expand the business to new

horizons.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. TELECOMMUNICATION MARKET IN INDIA 7

2. GSM MARKET IN INDIA 11

3. INTRODUCTION 23

4. TARIFF STRUCTURE 39

5. PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY 48

6. MARKET SITUATION 50

7. COMPETITIVE SITUATION 51

8. MARKETING STRATEGY ADAPTED BY BHARTI 60

9. OBJECTIVE 69

10. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 70

11.LIMITATION 71

12. SWOT ANALYSIS 79

13. CONCLUSION 81

14. BIBLIOGRAPHY 82

15. QUESTIONNAIRE 83

ACKOWLEDGEMENT

Achievement is finding out what you would be then doing, what you
have to do. The higher the summit, the harder is the climb. The goal
was fixed and we began with a determined resolved and put in
ceaseless sustained hard work. Greater challenge, greater was our
effort to overcome it.
This project work, which is my first step in the field of
professionalization, has been successfully accomplished only because
of my timely support of well-wishers. I would like to pay my sincere
regards and thanks to those, who directed me at every step in my
project work.
I would also like to thank the faculty members and the staff members
of “R . S DISTRIBUTORS MORADABAD” for their kind support
and help during the project.

INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC

TELECOMMUNICATION MARKET IN INDIA

The Indian telecommunications Network with 250m telephone

connections is the fifth largest in the world and is the second

largest among the emerging economies of Asia. Today it is the

fastest growing market in the world and represents unique

opportunities for UK companies in the stagnant global scenario.

Tele-density, which was languishing at 2% in 1999, has shown an

impressive jump to 9.5% in 2006 and 10.5% in 2007 and is set to

increase to 20% in the next five years beating the Govt. target by

three years. Accordingly, India requires incremental investments of

USD 20-25 bln for the next five years.

Private operators have made mobile telephony the fastest growing

(over 164% p.a.) in India. With more than 33 million users (both

CDMA and GSM), wireless is the principal growth engine of the

Indian telecom industry. Given the current growth trends, cellular

connections in India will surpass fixed line by late 2004/early

2005. Intense competition between the four main private groups -

Bharti, Vodafone, Tata and Reliance and with the State sector

incumbents-BSNL and MTNL has brought about a significant drop

in tariffs. There has been almost 74% in cell phone charges, 70%

in ILD calls and 25% drop in NLD charges, resulting in a boom

time for the consumers.

The Government has played a key enabling role by deregulating

and liberalising the industry, ushering in competition and paving

the way for growth. While there were regulatory irregularities

earlier, resulting in litigation, these have all been addressed now.

Customs duties on hardware and mobile handsets have been

reduced from 14 percent to 5 percent.

The Indian government has merged the IT and Telecom Ministries

to speed up reforms and decision on the Communication

Convergence Bill to enable the common regulation of the Internet,

broadcasting and telecoms will be taken after the new Government

assumes responsibilities in may this year. An independent

regulatory body (TRAI) and dispute settlement body (TDSAT) is

fully functional.

INDIAN CELLULAR MARKET

The Bharti Group, which operates in 23 circles, continues to be the

country's largest cellular operator, with 50 lakh subscribers.

BSNL, which operates in 22 circles, has a subscriber base of 37

lakh subscribers. Thus BSNL stands second largest cellular

operator in terms of subscriber base at the end of the fiscal ending

March 31, 2007, displacing Vodafone from the second position.

Vodafone, which operates in only eighteen circles, is the third

largest operator with a subscriber base of 32 lakh. Unlike fellow

public sector undertaking, MTNL, which operates in Mumbai and

Delhi, BSNL has been a very aggressive player in the market.

"Cellular operators who expected BSNL to go the MTNL way, were

taken by surprise and did not take effective steps to counter it, till

it was too late in the day," said a telecom analyst.

Belying fears of a slowdown in cellular subscriber acquisitions, the

cell club has reported a 7.92% growth, the highest growth in any

month so far, during March 2005. Year-on-year, the cellular

subscriber base in the country has almost doubled in March 2005,

and is expanding at the rate of 25% per year thereafter.

The cellular subscriber club expanded by 21.31 lakh last month.

This is much higher than 5.9 lakh subscribers added in February

2005 and 2.13 lakh in January 2005. Idea, which operates in

Seven circles, is the fourth largest operator with a subscriber base

of 17.80 lakh, higher than BPL's 11.31 lakh subscribers across

four circles. The subscriber numbers per operator drop sharply

with the sixth largest operator, Spice Communications, having a

subscriber base of 9.40 lakh, followed by Reliance Telecom's 8.9

lakh subscribers. MTNL is the ninth largest operator, with a base

of 8.32 lakh subscribers.

While the subscriber base-jumped by 3.38% to 44.39 lakh in the

metros, subscriber base of category A circles of Maharashtra,

Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu jumped by

10.18 % to reach 43.64 lakh. Category B circles of Kerala, Punjab,

Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (West), Uttar Pradesh (East), Rajasthan,

Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal recorded a jump of 10.69%,

with a total base of 33.74 lakh subscribers. Circle C has reported

12.74 % growth with subscriber numbers jumping to 5.08 lakh.

Among the metros, while Mumbai added 1,63,180 subscribers,

higher than the 1,58,646 added by Delhi, the Capital's cellular

subscriber base of over 80 lakh is still higher than Mumbai's 66.89

lakh. While the cellular industry has been on roll for the first three

quarters of the previous financial year with an average of 16.75

lakh monthly additions in the third quarter, the first two months of

2007 had seen the growth slowing down.

GSM MARKET IN INDIA

Regional Interest Groups - GSM India

With a population of around 1.1 billion growing at roughly 1.7 per

cent a year, India is potentially one of the most exciting GSM

markets in the world. After two rather difficult years, the past 12

months have seen the region's promise beginning to come to

fruition. Much of this success can be attributed to the stabilisation

of the licensing and regulatory environment.

India's telecommunications have undergone a steady liberalisation

since 1994 when the Indian government first sought private

investment in the sector. More significant liberalisation followed in

1996 with the licensing of new local fixed line and mobile service

providers. However, it has been the government's New Telecom

Policy (1999) that has had the most radical impact on the

development of GSM services. 'The policy's mission statement is

'affordable communications for all', There is a genuine

commitment to creating a modern and efficient communications

infrastructure that takes account of the convergence of telecom, IT

and media. In addition, the policy places significant emphasis on

greater competition for both fixed and mobile services.'

Competition in the mobile sector has already had a visible impact

on prices with calls currently costing less than 9 cents per minute.

This means that service costs have fallen by 60 per cent since the

first GSM networks became live in 1995. It also helps explain why

a recent Telecom Asia survey revealed that more than 70 per cent

of Indian mobile subscribers felt that prices were now at a

reasonable level.

One of the challenges facing GSM operators in India is the diversity

of the coverage regions -from remote rural regions to some of the

most densely populated metropolitan areas in the world. India has

more than 40 networks, which cover the seven largest cities, over

7000 towns and several Lacs villages. Such depth of coverage has

required enormous investment from India's operators. It is

estimated that more than Rs200 billion had been invested in

India's GSM industry by mid-2000, a figure that is set to be

supplemented by a further Rs. 300 billion over the next five years.

The good news is that subscriber growth is beginning to look

healthy. With India's low PC penetration and high average Internet

usage -at 14-20 hours a month per user it is comparable to the US

-the market for mobile data and m-commerce looks extremely

promising. WAP services have already been launched in the

subcontinent and the first GPRS networks are in the process of

being rolled out. In the year ahead, GSM India will work with its

members to realise the potential of early packet services in

anticipation of the award of 3GSM licences.

India fastest growing GSM mart

India is expected to have 145 million GSM (global system for

mobile communications) customers by 2007-08 compared to 26

million subscribers as on March 2005, according to the Global

Mobile Suppliers Association. "For GSM, India is a success story. It

is one of the fastest growing markets with its subscriber base

doubling in 2005. At this pace, the target of 150 million

subscribers by 2007-2008 is definitely achievable," Alan Hadden,

president of GSA, said at a news conference in New Delhi. Globally,

the GSM market reached 1 billion users in February 2005, he said,

adding GSM accounted for 80 per cent of the new subscriber

growth in 2005."Almost every Latin American operator has chosen

GSM. In North America GSM growth is bigger than CDMA (code

division multiple access)," he said. Commenting on the raging

debate over GSM versus CDMA in mobile services arena, Hadden

said: "GSM is the world's most successful mobile standard with

over 1 billion users, and is an open mobile standard. It also

supports automatic international roaming, which is a major

contributor to business plans."

India’s GSM mobile firms’ revenue up 30 pct

India’s private telecoms firms offering GSM-based mobile services

reported a 24 percent rise in revenue in the year to March 2007

but said future growth rates could slow because of heavy taxes on

the nascent industry. Although India’s mobile sector is the world’s

fastest growing major wireless market, it is amongst the highest

taxed industries in the country. Mobile carriers pay as much as 25

percent of their revenue as licence fee, spectrum charges and other

taxes. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said

revenue for fiscal 2003/04 stood at 83.08 billion rupees ($1.86

billion) compared with 64 billion rupees a year earlier. According to

T.V. Ramachandran, director general at COAI, “These revenue

growth rates cannot be maintained unless there is a concerted

effort by the government to cut excessive levies and allow sharing

of infrastructure”

“But the potential to do much better exists as there is still huge

demand in the sector.” Ramachandran said the sector was still

losing money but declined to elaborate. Sales jumped because of a

doubling of the GSM (Global System of Mobile Communications)

user base as more people entered the flourishing market thanks to

one of the lowest call rates in the world. But the monthly average

revenue per user, a key measure of profitability, declined 17.4

percent to 432 rupees in the fourth quarter compared with 523

rupees in the first quarter due to a cut in tariffs and excessive

competition among companies. Growth slowing, demand

untapped: The association has not included the financial

performance and the GSM-user base of state-run firms Bharat

Sanchar Nigam Ltd, the second-ranked player, and Mahanagar

Telephone Nigam Ltd, Ramachandran said. There are 150 million

GSM customers and more than 96 million users of the rival CDMA-

based mobile services in the country.

The pace of growth in monthly additions is slowing after just 1.25

million users took up the service in April compared with

1.9 million in the previous month and 1.63 million in February.

Ramachandran blamed the slowdown on a majority of small GSM

operators being unable to expand networks into rural swathes

where demand remained largely untapped.

“Our surpluses are not enough to cover costs of network expansion

and financing charges on loans. We are making money only to

cover operating expenses,” he said. Carriers are now subsidising

handset costs to woo users into the underpenetrated industry

forecast to have more than 250 million customers by 2007.

Roughly three percent of Indians own a mobile phone compared

with about 20 percent in China. About a dozen firms such as

Bharti Airtel Ltd, 28 percent owned by Singapore

Telecommunications, Reliance Infocomm Ltd and the Indian GSM-

unit of Vodafone group battle in the hotly competitive sector.

DOES GSM HAVE THE EDGE?

GSM operators are not the only ones who are worried about the

rapid strides made by CDMA mobile players Reliance Infocomm

and Tata Indicom in the Indian cellular market?

The GSM suppliers – both handset and equipment - who

incidentally also have their other foot firmly placed in the CDMA

pie, are beginning to lose some sleep over what was earlier termed

as `niche’ and `minuscule’ data carriage market by the operators

Apart from the strong success of the two CDMA operators whose

networks are based on code division multiple access (CDMA), the

miserable showing of the four global standard for mobile (GSM)

based networks that launched general packet radio service (GPRS)

service for data connectivity in last three years, has the vendors

worried. Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) now believes

that even though India will primarily remain a voice traffic-led

market in next two-three years, the data traffic component will

grow by 25-30 per cent, an optimism that it’s trying to make GSM

operators feel as well.

THE CDMA CHALLENGE

CDMA players had launched their services with CDMA 2000 1X-

based networks, which can give hi-speed, always-on connectivity to

the Internet, and other data services. GSM operators, on the other

hand, have had to migrate from the frustrating experience of WAP

(wireless application protocol) to GPRS, which has not significantly

improved the subscriber’s experience of surfing the Net on/from

mobile.

The top brass of GSA, an organisation comprising Nokia, Siemens,

Ericsson, Alcatel and Lucent Technologies - met on Tuesday in the

capital to persuade the operators to adopt EDGE (Enhanced Data

rates for GSM Evolution) and leave GPRS behind as a dream gone

sour.

Only Airtel, Vodafone, BPL Mobile and Idea Cellular had launched

GPRS, but the data transfer speeds of GPRS have been abysmal.

The field trials gave a speed of around 54 kbps, but the actual

speeds have not exceeded 14-18 kbps, a major reason why GPRS

growth has been so slow. As against the total GSM cellular base of

5.61 crore, the country has between 2,80,000 lakh GPRS users

only. In comparison, the two CDMA operators have about 120 lakh

connections. All these sets are data compliant. Though no figures

are available as to how many use these for data services, the figure

is believed to be respectable as a percentage ratio for CDMA.

Bharti is almost there

But first, the EDGE! Bharti Cellular is close to commercially

launching its EDGE service in Delhi and Mumbai by end May or

early June, sources said. The company was the first to conduct

field trials in November with its equipment supplier Ericsson. Idea

too held EDGE field trials in February this year with its vendor

Nokia. Vodafone and BPL are yet to hold the trials. The two

companies would eventually migrate to EDGE, but perhaps after

seeing the response to Bharti’s service.

EDGE holds the promise of delivering data speeds of around

170-180 kbps (as against the theoretical speed of around 380

kbps) which, if achieved, promises the launch of many data

applications. The scalable cost of migrating from GPRS to EDGE is

not too high and mainly comprises software upgrades in case of a

modern network such as Bharti and Hutch, claimed chairman of

GSA India chapter Rakesh Malik.

Will GSM maintain its headstart?

At the GSM Evolution Forum held in New Delhi, GSA president

Alan Hadden predicted that GSM growth will far outstrip CDMA as

was happening globally. He felt India could have as many as 200

million GSM subscribers by 2007-2008, up from nine million in

December 2004. According to GSA, there are over 1.1 billion GSM

subscribers worldwide as against 250 million CDMA customers.

The revenue of top 25 global operators from data averages 18 per

cent and 22 of these operators run GSM networks. Overall, there

are 76 operators in 50 countries that have committed to deploy

EDGE.

Almost every country has a GSM-based network and even those

US operators, which operated on now-defunct TDMA technology,

were migrating gradually to GSM, not CDMA, pointed out Hadden

at the GSM Evolution Forum. The Forum is a global GSA program

to assist the operators for evolution to third generation (3G)

technologies. “People are using their phones for much more than

voice. Fifteen networks have commercially launched EDGE as it

can run 3G like services in the existing spectrum for the operators

without needing a 3G license. Even the migration to a full-fledged

3G level of Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) will be smooth with EDGE,”

said Hadden.

“Besides, the automatic roaming provided by GSM networks in

almost 200 countries is a power that CDMA doesn’t give you. We

know for sure that almost 20-25 per cent of the revenue for some

GSM operators comes from roaming customers,” he added. But

CDMA is no pushover with Korea and Philippines as the shining

jewels in its crown. The first CDMA 2000 1X was commercially

deployed in October 2000.

Already, 81 operators have launched 77 CDMA 2000 1X networks

whereas nine have launched services based on 1xEV-DO platform

across Asia, the Americas and Europe. At least, 16 new 1X and six

1xEV-DO networks are scheduled to be deployed in 2004,

according to CDMA Development Group. EV-DO and EV-DV are

the next level of evolution on the CDMA 2000 1X platform, capable

of delivering services comparable to 3G WCDMA.

Where are the models?

What will matter a lot in this war will be the availability of EDGE

compliant handsets at affordable rates. While the two CDMA

operators have been giving out handsets that can give hi-speed

data transfer, same has not been the case with GSM. Even now,

GPRS handsets have not become commonplace and GPRS feature

is found only in mid and high-end segment handsets.

End sum game

When the networks deploy EDGE, subscribers can expect the

delivery of advanced mobile services such as easy downloading of

video and music clips, full multimedia messaging, besides high-

speed Internet and e-mail access, provided their handset supports

all this.

But the real cruncher will be the migration at a later stage to 3G

technologies such as WCDMA, EV-DO or EV-DA as and when the

government decides what to do with the 3G licences. WCDMA for

example promises delivery of a phenomenal 2 megabytes per

second (mbps), equivalent to what a leased line in many middle

level corporates gives.

More importantly, WCDMA will spawn a whole new range of full

motion audio-video applications, including video telephony. GSM

lobby may continue to remain gung ho over the future of their

technologies over that boosted by the American firms Qualcomm

and Motorola, but Indian market could well throw an interesting

scenario that industry experts will do well to watch. In the coming

months, Reliance plans to offer its CDMA subscribers much more

than what GSM players intend to deliver through their EDGE for

their subscribers.

Who succeeds in this battle for mobile customer’s eyeballs is most

difficult to predict. A Korea and Japan may not be waiting to

happen in India, but India will probably be more like the Chinese

market with both standards co-existing. For now, GSM rules!

INTRODUCTION

Airtel (Bharti Airtel Ltd.)

Bharti Airtel Limited was incorporated on July 7, 1995 for

promoting investments in telecommunications services. Its

subsidiaries operate telecom services across India. Bharti Airtel is

India's leading private sector provider of telecommunications

services based on a strong customer base consisting of 50 million

total customers, which constitute, 44.6 million mobile and 5.4

million fixed line customers, as of March 31, 2007.

Airtel comes to us from Bharti Airtel Limited - a part of the biggest

private integrated telecom conglomerate, Bharti Enterprises. Bharti

provides a range of telecom services, which include Cellular, Basic,

Internet and recently introduced National Long Distance. Bharti

also manufactures and exports telephone terminals and cordless

phones. Apart from being the largest manufacturer of telephone

instruments in India, it is also the first company to export its

products to the USA. Bharti has also put its footsteps into

Insurance and Retail segment in collaboration with Multi- National

giants. Bharti is the leading cellular service provider, with a

footprint in 23 states covering all four metros and more than 50

million satisfied customers.

SERVICES

Airtel Prepaid

Airtel Prepaid, the Ready Cellular Card from Airtel comes to you

from Bharti Enterprises, India's leading integrated telecom service

provider. Going mobile with Airtel Prepaid is a new way of life. With

a host of great features, also simple to use, Airtel Prepaid makes

everything that you dreamt and believed, possible.

Total Cost Control

You can control your Airtel Prepaid like never before. No more

rentals or deposits – simply recharge as much as you need to from

as low as Rs. 10, to as high as Rs. 10,000/-.

Pre activated STD/ISD without deposits or rentals

You can now enjoy a pre-activated STD/ISD on your Airtel Prepaid.

No more paying deposits or having a minimum balance in your

account to make an STD/ISD call. Hassle-free calls are here to

stay!

Strong Network Coverage

Enjoy complete clarity when calling with Airtel’s world-class

technology and unbreakable network coverage that spans over 23

circles across the country.

Instant Balance and Validity Enquiry

Your account balance is updated on the screen of your handset at

the end of each chargeable call. You can also call 123 from your

mobile phone and listen to the voice announcement or simply dial

*123#, press 'OK' or 'YES' button and your account balance will be

displayed on the screen of your handset.

Recharge your Airtel Prepaid

Recharging is Easy. The calling value on your card keeps reducing

as you make calls or use any other chargeable service. Choose the

Airtel Prepaid Recharge Coupon that’s right for you, from a variety

of tailor– made recharge coupons with different denominations,

which are available at a number of outlets across your city. Simply

follow the procedure mentioned below, to recharge your phone.

Prepaid Roaming

Airtel Prepaid comes preactivated with 'National Roaming', so you

stay connected no matter wherever you are. You can also send or

receive MMS, check your email and access other GPRS services

while roaming in India as you would in your own city. While

traveling abroad you can receive calls & send or receive SMS.

Other Services

Airtel brings you, a wide range of Services that will change the way

you communicate. Try them and discover a whole new world of fun

and excitement.

Call management Services

Call waiting, call hold, call divert and Caller Line Identification

Presentation – all with your Airtel prepaid connection.

Voice Mail

When your handset is switched off, or you’re too busy to answer

the phone, Airtel Voicemail will answer your calls and record a

message. The best part is that there's no extra monthly cost for

setting up Voicemail - you just pay for the phone call when you

use the service.

SMS (Short Messaging Service)

Send messages quickly and easily using text, if it's too noisy to talk

or you don't have much time. It's the way to share those

interesting one-liners, important reminders and rib-tickling jokes,

with anyone, anytime, anywhere in the world.

Subscription Alerts

Get regular alerts on news, jokes, business, health and films on

your Airtel mobile phone with Subscription Services. SMS to 3333 for News, for Jokes, for

Business News, for Sports Alerts & for

Vaastu tips.

MMS (Multi-media Messaging Service):

Jazz up your messages with pictures, images and video clippings,

with MMS from Airtel! To activate MMS on your phone, SMS 'MMS'

to 56465 and save service settings.

Airtel Live!

Make your mobile the most happening entertainment destination

with Airtel Live! Airtel brings you the latest in entertainment and

information services, right on your phone!

Airtel Live! WAP Services: Download the latest ring tones, games,

wallpapers, videos and much more. You can also get news clips,

watch live TV and download full songs on you phone. To get Airtel

Live! settings on your phone, SMS 'Live' to 56465 and save the

settings that you receive as your preferred connection. Airtel Live!

Portal can be accessed from you GPRS enabled phone, by sending

a SMS 'FUN' to 56465.

Airtel Live! Voice Services: Just Dial 56465, and name the

service. For e.g. say ring tones to download your favorite ring

tones. You can also choose a variety of content options like Live

Cricket Commentary, latest National / International News, Movie

Reviews or Stock Market Updates.

Airtel Live! SIM Services: Access loads of fun content and

exciting services like cricket, stocks, on your phone at the touch of

a few buttons with Airtel Live! SIM based Services on your SIM

card menu. To download new services on your Airtel SIM, choose

the "What's new" option under the "Airtel services" menu.

Airtel Live! SMS Services: You can enjoy a host of services by

sending a keyword as an SMS to 56465! Choose Astrology /

Horoscope, Cricket, Bollywood / Hollywood / Indi Pop Ring tones.

In case you need assistance SMS, Help to 56465.

Hello Tunes

Tired of that boring old ‘tring tring’ on your phone? Well now when

a friend calls, you can make them groove to the hottest new tracks

burning up the music charts with Hello Tunes from Airtel! You get

a wide choice of songs in the Popular & New Arrivals categories

that are updated regularly. What's more you can directly call the

number for your kind of music, e.g. call 678005 for English New

and 678001 for Hindi New. This would directly take you to your

favorite artist's Hello Tunes listing.

Copy a Hello Tune

Get the tune you want, all you have to do is call 55055 and follow

the simple voice instructions to copy your favorite Hello Tunes.

Once inside the copy feature, just key in the 10-digit Airtel mobile

number you want to copy the Hello Tune from and you get the

same Hello Tune assigned to your number.

Gift a Hello Tune

Forget gifting chocolates, flowers and greeting cards. Say it with a

song instead! Gift a Hello Tune to that special someone. Just call

55055 and choose the song that you want to gift. Follow the simple

voice instructions and key in the 10-digit Airtel mobile number

that you want to gift the Hello Tune to. You will get an SMS

notification upon successful receipt of that gift.

Buy Music - Airtel Music Shops

Buying your favorite Hello Tune or Ring tone is as simple as

recharging your phone with talk time. Simply walk into your

nearest Airtel Shop and walk out with your favorite song. Choose

from Bollywood Hits to Indipop Remixes, Hard Rock to Gujrati

Garba, Bhajans to Jazz, Bhangra Beats to foot tapping Tamil Hits

from a list of more than 18000 songs.

Reach us Anytime Anywhere

In case you need assistance, dial '121' - our toll-free number,

accessible from anywhere in the country, even while roaming. You

can also send us an SMS to 121 or mail us at

121@airtelindia.com.

*In case of email, mention your mobile no. like, 9810012345, in

the subject of the mail for a quicker response.

Airtel Postpaid

Airtel welcomes you to a vibrant world of unlimited opportunities.

More exciting, innovative yet simple new ways to communicate,

just when you want to, not just through words but ideas, emotions

and feelings. To give you the unlimited freedom to reach out to

your special people in your special way.

Easy Billing

Enjoy a host of rich features only with Airtel e-bill. Register free on

‘My Airtel’ section and view your monthly bill with call details for

last three months. Sort your calls between personal and official or

analyze your usage, at the click of a button. To change your tariff

plan call our IVR at 121 and leave a request.

Easy Payment Options. Anytime Anywhere

You can choose from a host of convenient payment options only

with Airtel. Walk into any Airtel relationship centre and make your

payments by cash or credit card. Drop a cheque at any of the drop

boxes for making payments or simply log on to My Airtel section

and pay instantly through your credit card. You can also opt for

easy payment options like:

Standing Instructions

You can give us standing instructions to debit your credit card

account for your monthly Airtel bills. All you have to do is fill the

Standing Instruction Form and mail, fax it to us or drop it any of

our relationship centres.

Electronic Clearing System

Fill an ECS form and mail, fax it to us or drop it any of our

relationship centres to directly debit your bank account for your

monthly Airtel bill.

Pay while roaming

Airtel has introduced 'Anywhere payment' that offers you the

convenience of making payments while you roam. Walk in to any

Airtel Relationship Centre in the country, make payments by cash

or credit card and enjoy uninterrupted Airtel Services.

Credit limit

Your pre-set credit limit mentioned on your monthly bill helps you

keep your mobile charges in control, keeps track of your usage and

ensures that your mobile phone is not misused. Should you exceed

your credit limit, you will be informed via a voice or a non-voice

message to make an interim payment and reduce your account

balance below your credit limit. You may also choose to pay us an

additional refundable deposit to enhance your credit limit or opt

for our convenient payment method of Credit Card Standing

instruction .You can also make use of ECS facility.

Strong Network Coverage

Enjoy complete clarity when calling with Airtel .It offers you world

class technology and unbreakable network coverage that spans

over 23 circles across the country.

Long Distance Calling Facility

Call long distance calls in India and Overseas with STD / ISD

facility on your Airtel phone.

Widest Roaming - National and International

Airtel's roaming service allows you to stay connected and use your

mobile phone to make or receive calls from almost anywhere in

India and also over 160 countries, abroad.

GPRS - Roaming

Use Airtel Postpaid's GPRS services, while roaming, to access the

internet and office mails (eg. BlackBerry services), from almost

anywhere in India and abroad.

Say it. In more than just words, with Services from Airtel

Airtel brings you a wide range of Services that will change the way

you communicate. Try them and discover a whole new world of fun

and excitement.

Call management Services

Call waiting, call hold, call divert and Caller Line Identification

Presentation, help you do more with your Airtel Postpaid

connection!

Conference call

You can hold a teleconference with 5 people simultaneously with

Call Conferencing service from Airtel. In fact, you can set up a

conference even when the other five are using a landline phone. To

know more, call customer service at 121.

Missed call alert

A missed call alert is a SMS that you will receive for all the calls

that you missed. The SMS will detail the CLI and the time when

the call was made. To activate, dial *135*2# then press the call

button and wait for the request to be completed.

Voice Mail

When your handset is switched off, or you’re too busy to answer

the phone, Airtel Voicemail will answer your calls and record a

message. The best part is that there's no extra monthly cost for

setting up Voicemail - you just pay for the phone call when you

use the service.

SMS (Short Messaging Service)

Send messages quickly and easily, using text, if it's too noisy to

talk or you don't have much time. It's the way to Share those

interesting one-liners, important reminders and rib-tickling jokes,

with anyone, anytime, anywhere in the world.

Subscription Alerts

Get regular alerts on news, jokes, business, health and films on

your Airtel mobile phone with Subscription Services. SMS for News, for Jokes, for Business

News, for Sports Alerts & for Vaastu

tips to 3333.

MMS (Multi-media Messaging Service):

Jazz up your messages with pictures, images and video clippings,

with MMS from Airtel! To activate MMS on your phone, SMS 'MMS'

to 56465 and save service settings.

Airtel Live!

Make your mobile the most happening entertainment destination

with Airtel Live! Airtel brings you the latest in entertainment and

information services, right on your phone!

Airtel Live! WAP Services: Download the latest ringtones, games,

wallpapers, videos and much more. You can also get news clips,

watch live TV and download full songs on you phone! To get Airtel

Live! settings on your phone SMS 'Live' to 56465 and save the

settings that you receive as your preferred connection. Airtel Live!

Portal can be accessed from you GPRS enabled phone, by sending

a SMS 'FUN' to 56465.

Airtel Live! Voice Services: Just Dial 56465 and say the name of

the service. For e.g. say ‘Ring tones’ to download your favourite

ring tones. You can also choose a variety of content options like

Live Cricket Commentary, latest National / International News,

Movie Reviews or Stock Market Updates.

Airtel Live! SIM Services: Access loads of fun content and

exciting services like cricket, stocks, on your phone at the touch of

a few buttons with Airtel Live! SIM based Services on your SIM

card menu. To download new services on your Airtel SIM, choose

the "What's new" option under the "Airtel services" menu.

Airtel Live! SMS Services: You can enjoy a host of services by

sending a keyword as an SMS to 56465 ! Choose Astrology /

Horoscope, Cricket, Bollywood / Hollywood / Indi Pop Ring tones.

In case you need assistance SMS ‘Help’ to 56465.

GPRS (General Packet Radio Services)

Log on to the internet, with GPRS that allows data transmission at

a higher speed. Access e-mails and internet across Airtel's pan-

India presence using 'Mobile Office' with your phone or a phone

and laptop both.

Get the EDGE

Browse the internet on your mobile phone with Airtel's EDGE

services. Enjoy live TV, enhanced WAP experience and Airtel Data

Cards on our high speed network.

Hello Tunes

Tired of that boring old ‘tring tring’ on your phone? Well now when

a friend calls, you can make them groove to the hottest new tracks

burning up the music charts with Hello Tunes from Airtel! You get

a wide choice of songs in the Popular & New Arrivals categories

that are updated regularly. What's more, you can directly call the

number for your kind of music, e.g. call 678005 for ‘English New’

and 678001 for ‘Hindi New’. This would directly take you to your

favourite artist's Hello Tunes listing.

Copy a Hello Tunes

Like a tune you want, all you have to do is call 55055 and follow

the simple voice instructions to copy your favourite Hello Tunes.

Once inside the copy feature, just key in the 10-digit Airtel mobile

number you want to copy the Hello Tune from and you get the

same Hello Tune assigned to your number.

Gift a Hello Tunes

Forget gifting chocolates, flowers and greeting cards. Say it with a

song instead! Gift a Hello Tune to that special someone. Just call

55055 and choose the song that you want to gift. Follow the simple

voice instructions and key in the 10-digit Airtel mobile number

that you want to gift the Hello Tune to. You will get an SMS

notification upon successful receipt of that gift.

Buy Music - Airtel Music Shops

Buying your favourite Hello Tune or Ringtone is as simple as

recharging your phone with talktime. Simply walk into your

nearest Airtel Shop and walk out with your favourite song. Choose

from Bollywood Hits to Indipop Remixes, Hard Rock to Gujrati

Garba, Bhajans to Jazz, Bhangra Beats to foot tapping Tamil Hits

from a list of more than 18000 songs.

Reach us, Anytime Anywhere

In case you need assistance, dial '121' - our toll-free number, accessible

from anywhere in the country, even while roaming. *In case of email,

mention your mobile no. like 9810012345 in the subject of the mail for a

quicker response. TARIFF STRUCTURE

Prepaid Tariffs

Airtel Prepaid Ready Cellular Card and Recharge Cards are

available, all over the city at over retail outlets including 24-hour

outlets. Airtel Prepaid Ready Cellular Card and Recharge Cards are

available, all over the city at over retail outlets including 24-hour

outlets.

Airtel Prepaid Regular

449
SUK

Pulse Rate
60 sec

Price of Pack (Rs.)
Rs.449

Free Airtime on Pack (Rs.)
Nil

Incoming Calls (Rs.)
Free while in home network

Airtel
GSM / CDMA
(10 Digit)
Landline / WLL

LOCAL RATES (Rs./min)
Rs.1.20
Rs.2.00
Rs.2.40

STD RATES (Rs./min)
Rs.2.75
Rs.2.75
Rs.2.75

ISD (Rs./min)

USA, Canada, Europe (Fixed
Line), Australia, Singapore, Hong
Kong, Thailand, Malaysia,
Indonesia, New Zealand.
Rs.6.40

Gulf, Europe (Mobile), SAARC
countries, Africa & Rest of the
world
Rs.9.20

Cuba, Sao Tome & Principe,
Guinea Bissau, Diego Garcia,
Nauru, Solomon Islands,
Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Tuvalu,
Tokelau, Norfolk Island,
Sakhalin
Rs.40.00

Other Details

*Rs 50 Local Airtel-Airtel Mobile talktime per month for 6 months
* First month Airtel-Airtel credit within 72hrs of activation & balance credit by 1st week of every
*The SMS charge as applicable is per 160 characters
* Validity- 24 months.

POSTPAID

Airtel Postpaid allows you to choose from a variety of affordable

talk plans, convenient payment options and host of rich features.

So get set to enjoy a world of limitless possibilities!

Reference Tarif Packages (RTP)
ON TIME CHARGES
Activation Charges Rs. 250
Membership Fee Rs. 250
Security Deposit NA
MONTHLY CHARGES (FIXED) Rs. 524
Bill plan Charge Rs. 444
Monthly Rental Rs. 150
Clip NA
MONTHLY CHARGES (OPTIONAL)
Clip Rs. 99
Airtel GSM / Landline /
CDMA (10 WLL
Digit)
Local Rates Rs. 1.99 Rs 1.99 Rs 1.99
STD RATES
50 – 200 Km
200 – 500 Km
500 + Km
ISD
USA, Canda, Europe (Fixed Line), Rs. 7.20
Austalia, Singapore, Hong Kong,
Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, new
Zealand
Gulf, Europe (Mobile), SAARC Rs 9.99

Countries, Africa & Rest of the
world
Cuba, Sao tome & Principle, Rs. 40.00
Nauru, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu,
Cook Island, Tuvalu, Tokelau,
Norfolk Island, Sakhalin
SMS
Local Rs. 1.00
National Rs. 2.00
International Rs. 5.00
Value Added Services (Rs.) Rs. 3.00

Airtel One Standard 150
ONE TIME CHARGES
Activation Charges Rs 250
Membership Fee Rs 250 (Converts into security after
24 months)
Security Deposit NA
Bill Plan Charge Rs. 50
Clip NA
Clip Rs. 50
Bissau, Diego Garcia, Nauru,
Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Cook
Islands, Tuvalu, Tokelau, Norfolk
Island, Sakhalin
SMS
Local Rs 1.00
National Rs 2.00
Intentional Rs. 5.00
VAS Rs. 3.00

 This Bill Plan is also available under Advance Rental of Rs. 799

for 2 years.

Local Pack

Airtel to other local mobiles (non Airtel) At Rs 1 / min

 Monthly rental Rs 25 per months/-

 STD Pack

Airtel to other mobiles (non Airtel) & fixed lines nos. at Rs 2 / min.

 Monthly rental Rs 75 per month/-

 Special offer for Airtel Telephone service customers for

availing Airtel Mobile services

If you already have Airtel Telephone service, you can buy a

new Airtel Mobile connection under Airtel One Standard 150

Plan.

Benefits:

 Non security deposit.

 No membership / activation fee

 Enjoy calls to your Airtel fixed line no. at just 50 P / min.

 Monthly rent of Rs 25 for reduced call rates to your Airtel fixed

line has been waived off for 1 year.

For details, call us 516-12345

Advance Rental benefits (1year scheme)
Pay an advance rent of Rs 499 and enjoy Airtel One Standard 150

plan at Zero monthly rental for one year.

Advance rental of Rs 499 gives you a rental discount of Rs 150

every month for the next 2 months. All other options and charges

are as per the existing Airtel One Standard 150 Plan.

Airtel one Standard 299
ONE TIME CHARGES
Activation Charges Rs 250
Membership Fee Rs 250 (Converts into security after
24 months)
Security Deposit NA
MONTHLY CHARGES (FIXED) Rs 299
Clip NA
Clip Rs. 50
Airtel GSM / Landline /
CDMA (10 WLL
Digit)
LOCAL RATES Re. 1.00 Rs. 1.00 Rs. 1.00
STD RATES
50-200Km Rs. 2.00 Rs. 2.40 Rs. 2.40
200 – 500 Km Rs. 2.00 Rs. 2.40 Rs. 2.40
500 + Km Rs. 2.00 Rs. 2.40 Rs. 2.40
ISD
USA, Canda, Europe (Fixed Line), Rs. 7.20
Austalia, Singapore, Hong Kong,
Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, new
Zealand
Gulf, Europe (Mobile), SAARC Rs 9.99
Countries, Africa & Rest of the
world

Cuba, Sao tome & Principle, Rs. 40.00
Cook Island, Tuvalu, Tokelau,
SMS
Local Rs. 1.00
National Rs. 2.00
Value Added Services (Rs.) Rs. 3.00

You also enjoy 25 FREE local mobile to mobile SMS

Senior Citizen Plan

ONE TIME CHARGES
Activation Charges Rs. 250
Membership Fee Rs. 250 (Concerts into security
deposit after 24 months)
Security Deposit NA
Clip NA
Cuba, Sao Tome & Principle,
Cook Islands, Tuvalu, Tokelau,
SMS
Local Rs. 1.50
National Rs. 2.00
VAS Rs. 3.00

With Senior Citizen Plan

You can take 3 Friends and Family numbers:

 Airtel to Airtel (1local no.) – Rs. 0.5 / min.

 Airtel to Airtel (1 STD no.) – Rs 1.5 / min

 ISD calls to US / Canada / South East Asia / Australia / New

Zealand) – Rs. 9.99 / min

You also get FREE alert subscription worth Rs 30 / alert or 3

months on:

 News
 Astrology
 Health Tips

The SMS charges as applicable is per 160 Characters.

PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY

Airtel to “Touch Tomorrow” with a new brand vision

The Bharti Mobile promoted AirTel cellular service will go in for

repositioning of its brand image. The new brand ethos is portrayed

in two distinct fashions - the tag line "Touch Tomorrow", which

underscores the leading theme for the new brand vision, followed

by "The Good Life", which underscores a more caring, more

customer centric organization. Aimed at re-engineering its image

as just simply a cellular service provider to an all out information

communications services provider, Touch Tomorrow is meant to

embrace the new generation of mobile communication services and

the changing scope of customer needs and aspirations that come

along with it

The new communication is about a new dimension in the cellular

category that goes beyond the Internet, SMS, roaming, IVRS, etc

but which engulfs the whole gamut of wireless digital broadband

services that will constitute tomorrows cellular services. The new

campaign is in two phases - the first of which will communicate

overall brand philosophy and the second products and services.

According to Mr. Jagdish Kini, Chief Operating Officer, Bharti

Mobile Limited, Karnataka "We are adopting a new brand- platform

- Touch Tomorrow - not only to reflect our corporate ethos but also

business strategy".

The new identity will have the logo in Red, Black and White colours

along with lower case typography to convey warmth. AirTel will

incorporate the latest branding in all of its communication and will

soon be going in for an enhanced promotional drive to establish

the brand's presence.

LIFE TIME PLAN

PRE-PAID card users need not worry anymore about recharging

their coupons every month. Company has launched a plan that

allows users to take a pre-paid connection with lifetime validity for

a one time payment of Rs. 999. Subscribers availing themselves of

this scheme will also get full talk time for the recharge coupon they

purchase and also have the option to buy Taiwanese manufactured

Bird mobile handsets for as low as Rs. 1,399.

The move is aimed at stopping the churn in the pre-paid

subscriber base. Once a subscriber takes this plan, he will always

be an Airtel subscriber whether the mobile is being used or not.

MARKET SITUATION

At the time of launch

The first mover in the market was Airtel which launched its

services in Delhi in Aug 1995 (Informal launch). Essar Cellphone

followed by launching its services informally in Oct 95. At this

point of time, the market was at a nascent stage, awareness level

was low and both operators independently tried to spread

awareness and educate the people

Once the networks were commercially launched, it became a

number game with a multitude of schemes being offered to woo

customers Initially the cellphone was perceived as a status symbol

and utility took a back seat The target segment in Delhi were

corporate and the high income group. The average capacity

installed was for 1.5 lakh subscribers. This coupled with the steep

license fee paid to DOT put pressure on the operators to break-

even by rapidly expanding their markets. In the first two years,

this led to a number of schemes being offered and prices crashing.

COMPETITIVE SITUATION

Airtel launched its services before Essar and skimmed the market

picking up the bulk of the high usage premium clients. This is a

very competitive industry with the two companies differentiating

either on value-added services or price. Airtel is perceived as the

high quality provider and has a premium image. Essar, on the

other hand, is perceived as the lower end service provider. Airtel

positions itself as the market leader on the basis of the number of

subscribers. Essar is trying to counter this by emphasising on the

reach of its network and the quality of its service. However, Essar

is somewhat not been very successful largely due to the

inconsistency in advertising

To promote themselves, both the players have been dependent on

tactical advertising However, they have restrained from using

comparative advertising Hoardings have been a very popular

medium for carrying the advertisements Airtel has also been

advertising on television using the Bharti Telecom name.

SALES DEPARTMENT AND STRATEGY

A. Major Accounts (Direct Channel)

• Handles corporate (named and famed) accounts

• Forecasting of sales

• Mapping the accounts

• Providing after sales support to the subscribers.

• Maintaining call reports for records.

• Providing Feedback to the marketing department regarding

the requirement of the market.

B. IDC (indirect Channel)

• Handling distribution

• Maintaining records and level check of the channel partner

• Liaisoning between the channel partner and the company.

• Target achievement

• Training the executives of the channel

C. Distribution Support

1. Logistics

• Monitor handset and SIM card requirements of

channel partners and co-ordinate with stores

• Settle areas of concerns such as incentive claims of

channel partners

2. Rental

• Provide cellular services (SIM cards) on rent.

• Provide cellular phones on rent

• Useful for people visiting Delhi for a short interval.

3 Telesales

• Call customers and generate sales lead.

• Follow up with the customers, if they need any assistance

• Pass on the sales lead to the channel department.

4 Audit

• Consultant to the AirTel showrooms.

• Monitor the operations at the AirTel distribution outlets

Organize training.

5. Retail

• Locate shops to open retail counters.

• Monitor the retail counters.

MARKET SEGMENTATION

Segmentation is beneficial because of better predictability of the

target consumer group, minimization of risk exposure, better

ability to fine-tune a product / service to the requirement of target

buyer and the resultant ease in designing a proper designing

marketing mix strategy In this case segmentation is on the bade of

income.

In evaluating different market segments the company looks at two

factors The overall attractiveness of the segments and the

company's objectives & resources The present market for Cellular

phones, pagers and conventional phones is as follows

Premium Middle Economy
Upper Lower Upper Lower Upper Lower
Cellular Phones X X X - - -
Pager X X X X - -
Conventional X X X X X -
Phones

X Market Segment Targeted

TARGET MARKET SEGMENT

Airtel has targeted the premium and upper middle class. The

rationale behind it is that only those segments should be targeted

who value time and have the paying capacity. It Is also planning

to target the business tourists during their stay in the capital

About 60% of the clientele are top executives of corporate houses.

About 15% are foreign organisations and the rest are professionals

and small businessmen. During the introduction stage there was

intense pressure to get consumers across to hook up with their

brand, because getting them to switch brand loyalty later would be

hard

So far Airtel marketers have been concentrating totally on the

business executive class but now that the basic viable volumes has

beer) built up and prices have declined to a certain extent they are

planning to venture further a field.

POSITIONING

The product is sought to be positioned as a business efficiency

tool. a lifestyle revolution and a status symbol The emphasis is to

remove misconception that the cellphone is an expensive means of

communication and drive home the point that the cellphone is

actually a day-to-day utility

PRODUCT POLICY AND PLANNING

The product or service is the heart of the marketing mix. Without

a product or a service customers' needs cannot be satisfied.

The basic product promise by Airtel is mobility. Airtel's main

marketing strategy is to be a first mover all the time. It has

recognised the significance of making the first move-- because in

the field of Communication & Information Technology changes

occur at a tremendous pace.

Effective product segmentation has to be carried on continuously

because basic services can be and will be copied and in time

become expected component of the product. Airtel seeks to carry

out this segmentation through provision of new information

services and making new facilities available. The product policy

and planning depends on the stage of the product life cycle. At

present the cellular phone market has reached the maturity stage.

Since, the premium segment is nearing saturation the company

targeting the upper middle and middle-middle class. In order to do

so Airtel is trying to optimise the price performance package by

offering suitable "product bundling".

This involves the selection of the suitable hardware (handset) and

its software (its services.) with reasonable price in order to deliver

maximum price performance to its customers. In addition, it offers

free Airtime services and other concessions to make the prices and

thus the product more attractive. It has also opened a 24 hours

customer service.

Only price doesn't serve as an effective differentiator, value added

services become the effective differentiator.

The "Value Added Services" provided from Airtel are:-

1). Voice Mail service

This system is similar to the answering machine - if the user is not

able to answer a call for some reason the caller can leave messages

in the voice mail box which can be later retrieved by the user

ii) Short Message Service

The short message service is like a two-way pager. It gives an

option of sending and receiving text messages directly from one

mobile phone to another without the intervention of an operator.

iii) Mobile Fax 1 Data Service

This service helps the subscriber to send and receive Faxes, access

E-mail, download computer files from other systems and remotely

log on to another computer and surf the Internet.

iv) Cash Card

The cash card is a pre-paid and pre-activated card which allows

the buyers to buy air time in advance. All it requires is the

payment of an initial amount. This is a useful service for people

who travel to Delhi often and those who want to control the

expenses on their calls.

v) Caller ID

Displays calling person's number.

vi) Outgoing call restriction

To prevent or limit outgoing calls, for example, in peak hours. Also

possible to exclude one or several countries, or any geographical

region, to permit only local calls, or to limit the outgoing calls to a

listed number.

viii) Call forward

Incoming calls can be forwarded to another fixed or mobile phone.

Besides these some other services provided by Airtel are - Call

conferencing, Call Broadcast et cetera.

It is in the operators -Interest that they not only get many

subscribers but also get them to use the mobile facility frequently.

In the early stages getting increases to subscribe may be easier

than getting them to talk since they will find it costlier to use the

mobile phone as compared to a conventional phone [if is believed

that initially cellphones would be used buy]

viii) Roaming Facility

Roaming facility is available while the subscriber is travelling. The

billing is done in the home network (Delhi). Roaming facility is

available manually* as well as semi-automatically. Once a

subscriber is In any other city or country, where a GSM network is

available, simply insert the SIM card of the local operator Into your

handset and start talking.

* Manual Roaming means a separate SIM card is provided for

each city

** Semi automatic roaming means one card has the facility for

different cities.

AIRTEL'S MARKETING ORIENTATION.

Since this is a high-involvement expensive product, the service

provider has to fully take care of the customers.

a) They take personal responsibility to "get" the answer for any

problem faced by the customer

b) They anticipate customers' problems and take pro-active

steps to prevent them

c) They give answers to the questions & requests, quickly &

efficiently.

d) They have a positive tone & manner while interacting with

customers.

e) They end the interaction on a positive or a humorous note-

making the last 30 seconds count.

Airtel realises that attracting people 'Is easy but converting them

into loyal customers is hard, hence emphasis is on maintaining a

'Smiling and a Friendly Atmosphere' to please and retain the

customer.

PRICE AND PRICING POLICY

AIRTEL has realised that the Indian market is price sensitive.

Therefore it care of the has come up with various innovative tariff

schemes to take needs of different category of customers-

Generally, the cellular services are more expensive than the land

line based telephone services. This is due to the reason that the

operating companies are required to pay a fee to the government

for using airtime.

MARKETING STRATEGY
ADOPTED BY BHARTI

Bharti has spent a considerable amount on advertising its mobile

phone service, Airtel. Besides print advertising, the company had

put up large no of hoardings and kiosks in and around Delhi.

The objective behind designing a promotion campaign for the

‘Airtel’ services is to promote the brand awareness and to build

brand preferences.

It is trying to set up a thematic campaign to build a stronger brand

equity for Airtel. Since the cellular phone category itself is too

restricted, also the fact that a Cellular phone is a high involvement

product, price doesn't qualify as an effective differentiator. The

image of the service provider counts a great deal. Given the Cell

phone category, it is the network efficiency and the quality of

service that becomes important. What now the buyer is looking at

is to get the optimum price-performance package. This also serves

as an effective differentiator

Brand awareness is spread through the' campaigns and brand

preference through brand stature. Airtel's campaign in the capital

began with a series of 'teaser' hoardings across the city,' bearing

just the company's name and without explaining what Airtel was.

In the next phase the campaign associated Airtel with Cellular only

thereafter was the Bharti Cellular connection brought up. Vans

with Airtel logos roamed the city, handing out brochures about

the company and its services to all consumers. About 50,000

direct callers were sent out. When the name was well entrenched

in the Delhiites’s mind, the Airtel campaign began to focus on the

utility of Cellphone. In the first four months alone Airtei's

advertisement spend exceeded Rs. 4 crores.

As of today the awareness level Is 60% unaided. This implies that

if potential or knowledgeable consumers are asked to name a

Cellular phone service provider that is on the top of his/her mind

60% of them would name Airtel. As for aided it -is 100% (by giving

clues and hints etc.).

Brand strength of a product or the health of a brand is measured

by the percentage score of the brand on the above aided and the

unaided tests. The figures show that Airtel is a healthy and a

thriving brand.

Every company has a goal, which might comprise a sales target

and a game plan with due regard to Its competitor. Airtel 's

campaign strategy is designed keeping in mind its marketing

strategy. The tone, tenor and the stance of the visual ads are

designed to convey the image of a market leader in terms of its

market share. It tries to portray the image of being a "first mover

every time" and that of a "market leader".

The status of the product in terms of its life cycle has just reached

the maturity stage in India. It is still on the rising part of the

product life cycle curve in the maturity stage.

The diagram on the left hand side shows the percentage of the

users classified into heavy, medium and low categories. The right

hand side shows the revenue share earned from the three types of

users.

Airtel, keeping in mind the importance of the customer retention,

values its heavy users the most and constantly indulges in service

innovation. But, since heavy users comprise only 15 - 20% of the

population the other segment cannot be neglected.

The population which has just realised the importance of cellular

phones has to be roped in. It is for this reason that the service

provider offers a plethora of incentives and discounts. Concerts

like the "Freedom concert" are being organised by Airtel in order to

promote sales. The media channel is chosen with economy in

mind. The target segment is not very concrete but, there is an

attempt to focus on those who can afford. The print

advertisements and hoarding are placed in those strategic areas

which most likely to catch the attention of those who need a

cellular phone. The product promise (which might cost different 1

higher) is an important variable in determining the target

audience.

Besides this, other promotional strategies that Airtel has adopted

are .

(i) People who have booked Airtel services have been treated to

exclusive premiers of blockbuster movies. Airtel has tied up

with Lufthansa to offer customer bonus miles on the German

airlines frequent flier's programs.

(ii) There have been educational campaigns, image campaigns,

pre launch advertisements, launch advertisements,

congratulatory advertisements, promotional advertise-ments,

attacking advertisements and tactical advertisements.

DISTRIBUTION

Company

Franchisee Distributor

Dealers
Dealer

Customer
Customer

The- company whose operations are concentrated in and around

Delhi. It 27 Franchisees and 15 Distributors- They also have 8

'instant access cash card counters- Each franchises or distributor

can have any number of dealers under him as long as the person

is approved by the Airtel authority. Each franchises has to invest

Rupees Ten Lakhs. to obtain a franchise and should employ an

officer recruited by Airtel. This person acts as an liaison between

the company and the franchises. The franchises can it any

number of dealers as long as their territories do not overlap. But

unfortunately Airtel has not been very successful in controlling

territorial overlaps of dealers. The franchises can carry out his 1

her own promotional strategy. For this the. company contributes

75% of the money and the franchises contributes 25% of the

money. The dealers under the franchisee receive the same

commission. The franchises and the dealer obtain the feedback

from the customers and they are sent through the liaison officer on

a day-to-day basis to Airtel. The dealer has to invest Rupees. One

Lakh as an initial investment. The dealer of Airtel are not allowed

to provide any other operators' service.

Target set for distributors and the dealers is 100 -150 activations

per month. Hence the dealers can also go for their own

promotions like banners and discounts on festivals etc. The dealer

provides service promptly. The consumer on providing the bill of

purchase for the handset and proof of residence has only to wait

an hour before getting connected. The staff of the dealers and the

franchisees are provided training by the Airtel personnel.

The complaints encountered by the franchisees and dealers are

either handset being non-functional or the SIM Card not getting

activated. Anything more complicated is referred to the main Airtel

office in Delhi.

WHAT DOES AIRTEL OFFER?

With Airtel, the subscriber wouldn't just get a personal phone that

lets him/her be in touch, always, but also gets a host of benefits

that let him/her manage his/her time like never before.

An Airtel subscriber is provided with a Subscriber Identity Module

Card (SIM card) - that is the key to operating his/her cellular

phone. His card activates Airtel cellular services and contains a

complete micro-computer chip with memory to enable one to enjoy

one's cellular phone thoroughly. Each SIM card contains a PIN

code (Personal Identity Number) which may be entered by one.

Just plug your SIM card into your cellular phone, enter the PIN

code and it becomes 'your' personal phone'.

PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

The pattern of cellphone subscriber growth observed elsewhere in

the world reveals that the growth in the market is Initially slow

followed by a sharp acceleration, but so far that has not happened

in India. As far as the Product Life Cycle is concerned. Indians

are at the beginning of the maturity stage.

Introduction Growth Maturity

MARKETING OBJECTIVES

Create product Maximise market Maximise profits

awareness and trial share whole defending

market share
Strategies

Product Offer a basic Offer value Increase in

product/ added services number of value

service. added services.

Price Charge cost- Price to Price to match

plus penetrate or best

market competitors

Distribution Build selective Build Intensive Build more

distribution distribution. intensive

distribution.

Advertising Build product Build awareness Stress brand

awareness and interest in differences and

among early the mass benefits.

adopters and market

dealers.

Sales Promotion Use heavy sales Increase to Increase to

promotion to build and encourage

entice people to maintain brand-

subscribe. relationships switching.

with customers.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Objectives:

• To study the importance and development of tele –

communication industry in today’s scenario.

• To understand the various Marketing Strategies which Airtel

has adopted to survive in highly competitive cell phone

industry.

• To make a comparative study of the major players in Indian

Service Provider.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The methodology adopted for this project is exploratory in nature

since there is no hypothesis that has to be tested. The conclusions

have been drawn by exploratory research work.

There have been two sources of information collected:

a) Primary Sources

I have met retailers of the Airtel of the company and have been

able to get first hand information regarding the product, its

features and the buying patterns of the product. Their input has

been valuable.

b) Secondary Sources

Secondary source has played a vital role to play in this report. A

good amount of data has been collected from various published

articles and reports found in magazines and journals. Another vital

source has been the Internet and particularly the companies own

website.

LIMITATIONS

Every attempt will be taken to obtain the error free and meaningful

result but as nothing in this world is 100% perfect I believe that

there will still the chance for error on account of following

limitations-

(1) Respondent’s unavailability.

(2) Time pressure and fatigue on the part of respondents and

interviewer.

(3) Courtesy bias.

FINDINGS

1. Do you believe that India is potentially one of the most

exciting mobile service providers in the world?

Company Yes No
Airtel 4 1
Vodafone 4 1
Idea 4 1
MTNL 4 1

As according to the above table 16 (80%) out of the total 20

interviewed people in all the above four specified Indian mobile

service providers are of belief that India is potentially one of the

most exciting mobile service providers in the world, whereas some

4 (20%) of them do not agree to this view.

No
1

1

1

1

Yes
4

4

4

4

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

AirTel Vodafone Idea MTNL

2. Do you find that the government’s telecom policy has had

the most radical impact on the development of mobile service

providers?

Company Yes No
Airtel 4 1
Vodafone 3 2
Idea 3 2
MTNL 5 --


interviewed people in all the above four specified Indian mobile

service providers find that the government’s telecom policy has had


providers, whereas some 5 (25%) of them deny this.

5
4.5
4
3.5
AirTel
3
Vodafone
2.5 Idea
2 MTNL
1.5
1
0.5
0
Yes No

3. Do you believe that one of the challenges facing mobile

operators in India is the diversity of the coverage regions?

Company Yes No
Airtel 2 3
Vodafone 3 2
Idea 3 2
MTNL 2 3


interviewed people in the mobile service providers are of belief that

one of the challenges facing mobile operations in India is the

diversify of the coverage regions, whereas interestingly another 10

(50%) of them deny this.

3

2.5

2 AirTel
Vodafone
1.5 Idea
MTNL
1

0.5

0
Yes No

4. To what extent, does you find that mobile service providers

is a very complex standard?

Company To some extent To great extent
(1-5) (6-10)
Airtel 3 2
Vodafone 2 3
Idea 2 3
MTNL 3 2


interviewed people in all the above four major the mobile service

providers in Indian Cellular industry find only to some extent that

GSM is a very complex standard, whereas the another 10 (50%)

respondents find to great extent that mobile service providers is a

very complex standard.

3

2.5
AirTel
2
Vodafone
1.5 Idea
1 MTNL

0.5

0
To some extent To great extent

CONSUMER LEVEL

1. Do you believe that mobile service providers comes close to

fulfilling the requirements for a personal communication

system?

Company Yes No
Airtel 9 1
Vodafone 8 2
Idea 8 2
MTNL 5 5

As the above shows 30 (75%) out of total 40 respondents are of the

belief that mobile service providers comes close to fulfilling the

requirements for a personal communication system, whereas 10

(25%) of them are in no way to this belief.

3
2
No
2
2 MTNL
Idea
Vodafone
2 AirTel
3
Yes
3
3

2. Do you find that mobile service providers as the most

exciting and satisfying mobile standard?

Company Yes No
Airtel 9 1
Vodafone 7 3
Idea 8 2
MTNL 8 2

As the above shows 32 (80%) out of total 40 respondents find that

mobile service providers as the most exciting and satisfying mobile

standard, whereas the remaining 8 (10%) respondents deny this.

No
1

3

2

2

Yes
9

7

8

8

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

AirTel Vodafone Idea MTNL

3. Do you believe that your service provider has a genuine

commitment to creating a modern and efficient

communications?

Company Yes No
Airtel 10 --
Vodafone 8 2
Idea 10 --
MTNL 8 2
As the above shows 36 (90%) out of total 40 respondents are of the

belief that their service providers have a genuine commitment to

creating a modern and efficient communications whereas the

remaining 4 (10%) respondents deny this.

2

0
No
2

0 MTNL
Idea
Vodafone
8 AirTel

10
Yes
8

10

SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS

• Cost advantage

• Current leaders in quality service

• Largest distribution network

• Ability to constantly innovate

• Highly skilled workforce

• Entrepreneurial zeal

• Airtel’s increased equity and market cap.

WEAKNESSES

• To prove credibility

• Price pressures

• Need for Government support

• Awareness

• Sales and Marketing

OPPORTUNITIES

• To sustain passion and commitment

• Airtel’s market share increasing at other service provider

expense. Thus opportunity to wipe it out.

• Attain higher value services

• Collaborative business needs to be explored

• Vertical repeatable solutions.

• Low penetration level in rural markets.

THREATS

• Foreign investment

• Global trends moving from GPS to WLL.

• Lack of global parity in telecom tariff

• Other competition

CONCLUSION

From above the details I conclude that 70% Airtel users

preferred to remain with Airtel. Also good no. of users who were

willing to switch from their respective subscribers showed interest

in Airtel. Hence, these statistics imply a bright future for the

company. Also the company is now providing more services like the

door to door services which is you dial the Airtel customer care and

would like to send someone flowers the Airtel company delivers

those flowers to the person concerned. Also Airtel is providing free

text messaging service and free voice mail service. Call

conferencing is also another feature Airtel provides.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Bernard J. T. Mallinder. Specification Methodology Applied to

the GSM System. In EUROCON 88, June 2005.

• Seshadri Mohan and Ravi Jain. Two User Location Strategies

for Personal Communication Services. IEEE Personal

Communications. 1(1), 1994.

• Moe Rahnema. Overview of the GSM System and Protocol

Architecture. IEEE Communications Magazine. April 1993.

• C. Watson. Radio Equipment for GSM. In D.M. Balston and

R.C.V Macario, editors, Cellular Radio Systems, Artech House,

Boston, 1993.

• Robert G. Winch. Telecommunication Transmission Systems.

McGrawHill New York, 1993.

• Vodafone

• Airtel

• Idea

• MTNL

QUESTIONNAIRE

NAME: ____________________________________

ADDRESS: ____________________________________

OCCUPATION: ____________________________________

1. Do you believe that India is potentially one of the most

exciting mobile service providers in the world?

Company Yes No
Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
MTNL

2. Do you find that the government’s telecom policy has had


providers?

Company Yes No
Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
MTNL

3. Do you believe that one of the challenges facing mobile

operators in India is the diversity of the coverage regions?

Company Yes No
Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
MTNL

4. To what extent, does you find that mobile service providers

is a very complex standard?

Company To some extent To great extent

(1-5) (6-10)
Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
MTNL

CONSUMER LEVEL

1. Do you believe that mobile service providers comes close to

fulfilling the requirements for a personal communication

system?

Company Yes No
Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
MTNL

2. Do you find that mobile service providers as the most

exciting and satisfying mobile standard?

Company Yes No
Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
MTNL

3. Do you believe that your service provider has a genuine

commitment to creating a modern and efficient

communications?

Company Yes No
Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
MTNL

Surabh airtel

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