A Study on Telecom Industry (Bharti Airtel Ltd & Idea Cellular Ltd)

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ASTUDYONTELECOMINDUSTRY(BHARTIAIRTELLTD&IDEACELLULARLTD)
Submitted To
Recognized by AICTE, Govt. of India
Submitted By
Roll No. B/16/05
Regd No. 1606281009
Batch : 2016-18
In partial fulfilment for the award of the degree
Of
Under the Guidance of

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PREFACE
Summer Internship Project or assignment method is an effective method of
learning by doing. It is a purposeful and social activity that takes place in a
social environment. While preparing an assignment we learn skill such as
foreseeing planning and organizing of raw data. The use of visual aids such
as graph, diagram, chart, etc helps us to present material in a interesting
way to other while it also enrich our ability to arrange and improve things
in efficient manner.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I would like to express my gratitude to CA (Dr.) J.K. Misra,
Director of IPSAR group of institutions for giving me an opportunity and
facility, support and co-operation in completing my internship project in
timely.
I owe my boundless thanks and gratitude towards other faculty
members of the IPSAR, Cuttack, for their guidance and help to undergo my
internship project successfully.
I express my sincere thanks to my parents and all mighty for the
fulfilment of this work.
ANANT KUMAR BEHERA

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DECLARATION
I affirm that the project titled “A STUDY ON TELECOM INDUSTRY
(BHARTI AIRTEL LTD & IDEA CELLULAR LTD)” being submitted
in partial fulfilment for the award of MASTER OF BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION is the original work carried out by me.
(Signature of the candidate)
ANANT KUMAR BEHERA
REGD NO. 1606281009
ROLL NO : B/16/05
BATCH : 2016-18
I certify that the declaration made above by the candidate is true.
(Signature of the guide)
CA (DR.) J. K. MISRA

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CONTENTS
Sl. No. Subjects Page No.
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6
2. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY 7
3. RESEARCH & METHODOLOGY 8
4. DATA COLLECTION 8
PART 1 INDUSTRY PROFILE
(TELECOM)
9-40
 Introduction

 Background

PART 2
COMPANY PROFILE
(BHARTI AIRTEL LTD & IDEA CELLULAR LTD)
41-79
 Introduction

 Background 
 Data Analysis & Interpretation 
PART 3 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS 80-84
FINDINGS 85
CONCLUSION 86
BIBLIOGRAPHY & REFERENCES 87
APPENDIX 88-95

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Over the years telecom industry in India has witnessed numerous
irregularities in policy formation & implementation. Time and again
industry leaders and investors have expressed their opinion that the Indian
telecom sector is no longer an attractive option for investment on account
of policy uncertainty. However, there is no published academic research
from the regulatory framework perspective that analyses the root cause of
this problem with an attempt to suggest corrective measures.
This study is aimed at:
1. Critically analysing the Indian Telecom Regulatory Framework
with specific reference to regulation and competition by analysing
the reasons behind those.
2. Measuring the efficiency of the operations by analyzing the
structure of Telecom Industry as well as Company.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned aims, the study has been divided
into three phases:
Phase - 3
Comparative Analysis
Phase - 2
Companies Overview Data Analysis & Interpretations
Phase - 1
Industry Overview

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OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
 Provide an objective, knowledgeable perspective on the
Telecommunications sector.
 Focus on fundamentals as they relate to the Telecom industry.
 To analyze the structure of Telecom Industry as well as Company.
 To indicate financial position, operating results, and changes in
financial position.
 To measure the efficiency of the operations.
 To calculate ratios and to perform various analysis (Common-size,
Comparative & Trend).

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research is defined as the “process which comprises of defining and
redefining problems, formulating hypothesis, or suggested solutions,
collecting, organizing, and evaluating data, making deductions and
reaching conclusions and at last carefully testing the conclusions to
determine they fit the formulating hypothesis”. The project which is being
implemented in the name of “A STUDY ON TELECOM INDUSTRY
(BHARTI AIRTEL LTD & IDEA CELLULAR LTD)” is a study
conducted to analyse the performance of various companies of Telecom
Industry.
DATA COLLECTION
Secondary data sources:
 Company records,
 Annual report (2012-16),
 Media Reports
 Press Information Bureau
 Department of Telecom (DOT)
 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)

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INDUSTRY PROFILE

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Second-largest
subscriber base
Third-highest number
of internet users
Most of the Internet
accessed through
mobile phones
Rising penetration rate
Affordability and lower
rates
• With a subscriber base of nearly 1185.55 million, as
of February 2017, India accounted for the 2nd
largest
telecom network in the world.
• With 391.50 million internet subscriber, as of
December 2016, India stood 3rd
highest in terms of
total internet users in 2016.
•Mobile based Internet is a key component of Indian
Internet usage, with 7 out of 8 users accessing
internet from their mobile phones.
• Since 2012, the share of time spent on watching
videos on mobile devices has grown by 200 hours a
year.
Rising penetration rate
• As of February 2017, urban tele-density stood at
166.77 per cent and rural tele-density at 55.92
percent.
• Availability of affordable smartphones and lower
rates are expected to drive growth in the Indian
telecom industry.

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TELECOMMUNICATION
INTRODUCTION
The word telecommunication was adapted from the French word
telecommunication. It is a compound of the Greek prefix tele- meaning 'far off, and the
Latin communicare, meaning 'to share'. The French word telecommunication was coined
in 1904 by French engineer and novelist Edouard Estaunie. Telecommunications is the
transmission, between or among points specified by the user, of information of the user's
choosing, without change in the-form or content of the information as sent and received.
WORLD TELECOM INDUSTRY
World telecom industry is an uprising industry, proceeding towards a goal of
achieving two third of the world's Telecom connections. Over the past few years
information and communications technology has changed in a dramatic manner and as
a result of that World Telecom industry is going to be a booming industry.
Substantial economic growth and mounting population enable the rapid growth
of this industry. The world telecommunications market is expected to rise at an 11
percent compound annual growth rate at the end of year 2010. The leading telecom
companies like AT&T, Vodafone, Verizon, SBC Communications, Bell South, and
Qwest Communications are trying to take the advantage of this growth. These
companies are working on telecommunication fields like broadband technologies,
EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution) technologies, LAN-WAN inter
networking, optical networking, voice over Internet protocol, wireless data service etc.
Economical aspect of telecommunication industry: World telecom industry is
taking a crucial part of world economy. The total revenue earned from this industry is 3
percent of the gross world products and is aiming at attaining more revenues. One
statistical report reveals that approximately 16.9% of the world population has access to
the Internet.
Present market scenario of world telecom industry: Over the last couple of years,
world telecommunication industry has been consolidating by allowing private
organizations the opportunities to run their businesses with this industry. The
Government monopolies are now being privatized and consequently competition is
developing.

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INDIAN TELECOM INDUSTRY
Indian Telecom industry is one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the
world. The Indian telecommunication industry, with 638 million telephone (landline and
mobile) subscribers and 584 million mobile phone connections as of March 2010. India
is ranked third worldwide in terms of having the largest telecommunication network,
after China and USA. With the ongoing investments into infrastructure deployment, the
country is projected to become the second largest telecom market globally in next few
years. In telecom industry, service providers are the main drivers; whereas equipment
manufacturers are witnessing growth and decline in successive quarters as sales is
dependent on order undertaken by the companies.
Indian Telecommunications Service (ITS): The Indian Telecommunications
Service, widely known as ITS, is an organized civil service of Government of India. The
service was created to meet the technical and managerial functions of the government
in areas related to telecommunications. The Department of Telecommunications (DOT)
had been run for years by this permanent cadre of technical civil servants called the
Indian Telecom Service (ITS).
Telecommunication sector in India can be divided into two segments namely
Fixed Service Provider (FSPs) 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 percent of revenues from basic services.
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, and Idea Cellular, while the CDMA
sector is dominated by Reliance and Tata lndicom.
HISTORY OF TELECOMMUNICATION INDUSTRY IN
INDIA
Telecommunications in India began with the
introduction of the telegraph. The Indian postal and
telecom sectors are one of the worlds’ oldest. In 1850,
the first experimental electric telegraph line was started
between Calcutta and Diamond Harbour. In 1851, it
was opened for the use of the British East India
Company. The Posts and Telegraphs department
occupied a small corner of the Public Works
Department, at that time.
The construction of 4,000 miles (6,400 km) of telegraph lines was started in
November 1853. These connected Kolkata (then Calcutta) and Peshawar in the north;

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Agra, Mumbai (then Bombay) through Sindwa Ghats, and Chennai (then Madras) in the
south; Ootacamund and Bangalore. William O'Shaughnessy, who pioneered the
telegraph and telephone in India, belonged to the Public Works Department, and worked
towards the development of telecom throughout this period. A separate department was
opened in 1854 when telegraph facilities were opened to the public.
In 1880, two telephone companies namely The Oriental Telephone Company
Ltd. and The Anglo-Indian Telephone Company Ltd. approached the Government of
India to establish telephone exchange in India. The permission was refused on the
grounds that the establishment of telephones was a Government monopoly and that the
Government itself would undertake the work. In 1881, the Government later reversed
its earlier decision and a licence was granted to the Oriental Telephone Company
Limited of England for opening telephone exchanges at Calcutta, Bombay, Madras and
Ahmedabad and the first formal telephone service was established in the country.[16]
On
28 January 1882, Major E. Baring, Member of the Governor General of India's Council
declared open the Telephone Exchanges in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. The
exchange in Calcutta named the "Central Exchange" had a total of 93 subscribers in its
early stage. Later that year, Bombay also witnessed the opening of a telephone exchange.
Further developments and milestones
 Pre-1902 – Cable telegraph
 1902 – First wireless telegraph station established between Sagar Island and
Sandhead.
 1907 – First Central Battery of telephones introduced in Kanpur.
 1913–1914 – First Automatic Exchange installed in Shimla.
 1927 – Radio-telegraph system between the UK and India, with Imperial
Wireless Chain beam stations at Khadki and Daund. Inaugurated by Lord Irwin
on 23 July by exchanging greetings with King George V.
 1933 – Radiotelephone system inaugurated between the UK and India.
 1953 – 12 channel carrier system introduced.
 1960 – First subscriber trunk dialling route commissioned between Lucknow and
Kanpur
 1975 – First PCM system commissioned between Mumbai City and Andheri
telephone exchanges.
 1976 – First digital microwave junction.
 1979 – First optical fibre system for local junction commissioned at Pune.
 1980 – First satellite earth station for domestic communications established at
Sikandarabad, U.P..
 1983 – First analogue Stored Programme Control exchange for trunk lines
commissioned at Mumbai.

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From 1984 – Milestones
Pre-liberalization statistics: While all the major cities and towns in the country were
linked with telephones during the British period, the total number of telephones in 1948
numbered only around 80,000. Post independence, growth remained slow because the
telephone was seen more as a status symbol rather than being an instrument of utility.
The number of telephones grew leisurely to 980,000 in 1971, 2.15 million in 1981 and
5.07 million in 1991, the year economic reforms were initiated in the country.
Liberalization and privatization
Liberalization of Indian telecommunication in industry started in 1981 when
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi signed contracts with Alcatel CIT of France to merge with
the state owned Telecom Company (ITI), in an effort to set up 5,000,000 lines per year.
But soon the policy was let down because of political opposition. Attempts to liberalise
the telecommunication industry were continued by the following government under the

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prime-minister-ship of Rajiv Gandhi. He invited Sam Pitroda, a US-based Non-resident
Indian NRI and a former Rockwell International executive to set up a Centre for
Development of Telematics(C-DOT) which manufactured electronic telephone
exchanges in India for the first time. Sam Pitroda had a significant role as a consultant
and adviser in the development of telecommunication in India.
In 1985, the Department of Telecom(DoT) was separated from Indian Post &
Telecommunication Department. DoT was responsible for telecom services in entire
country until 1986 when Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) and Videsh
Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) were carved out of DoT to run the telecom services of
metro cities(Delhi and Mumbai) and international long distance operations respectively.
The demand for telephones was ever increasing and in the 1990s Indian
government was under increasing pressure to open up the telecom sector for private
investment as a part of Liberalisation-Privatisation-Globalisation policies that the
government had to accept to overcome the severe fiscal crisis and resultant balance of
payments issue in 1991. Consequently, private investment in the sector of Value Added
Services (VAS) was allowed and cellular telecom sector were opened up for competition
from private investments. It was during this period that the Narsimha Rao-led
government introduced the National Telecommunications policy (NTP) in 1994 which
brought changes in the following areas: ownership, service and regulation of
telecommunications infrastructure. The policy introduced the concept of
telecommunication for all and its vision was to expand the telecommunication facilities
to all the villages in India. Liberalization in the basic telecom sector was also envisaged
in this policy. They were also successful in establishing joint ventures between state
owned telecom companies and international players. Foreign firms were eligible to 49%
of the total stake. The multi-nationals were just involved in technology transfer, and not
policy making.
During this period, the World Bank and ITU had advised the Indian Government
to liberalise long distance services to release the monopoly of the state owned DoT and
VSNL and to enable competition in the long distance carrier business which would help
reduce tariff's and better the economy of the country. The Rao run government instead
liberalised the local services, taking the opposite political parties into confidence and
assuring foreign involvement in the long distance business after 5 years. The country
was divided into 20 telecommunication circles for basic telephony and 18 circles for
mobile services. These circles were divided into category A, B and C depending on the
value of the revenue in each circle. The government threw open the bids to one private
company per circle along with government owned DoT per circle. For cellular service
two service providers were allowed per circle and a 15 years licence was given to each
provider. During all these improvements, the government did face oppositions from ITI,

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DoT, MTNL, VSNL and other labour unions, but they managed to keep away from all
the hurdles.
In 1997, the government set up TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India)
which reduced the interference of Government in deciding tariffs and policy making.
The political powers changed in 1999 and the new government under the
leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee was more pro-reforms and introduced better
liberalization policies.
In 2000, the Vajpayee government constituted the Telecom Disputes Settlement
and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) through an amendment of the TRAI Act, 1997. The
primary objective of TDSAT's establishment was to release TRAI from adjudicatory
and dispute settlement functions in order to strengthen the regulatory framework. Any
dispute involving parties like licensor, licensee, service provider and consumers are
resolved by TDSAT. Moreover, any direction, order or decision of TRAI can be
challenged by appealing in TDSAT. The government corporatised the operations wing
of DoT on 1 October 2000 and named it as Department of Telecommunication Services
(DTS) which was later named as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). The proposal
of raising the stake of foreign investors from 49% to 74% was rejected by the opposite
political parties and leftist thinkers. Domestic business groups wanted the government
to privatise VSNL. Finally in April 2002, the government decided to cut its stake of 53%
to 26% in VSNL and to throw it open for sale to private enterprises. TATA finally took
25% stake in VSNL.
This was a gateway to many foreign investors to get entry into the Indian
Telecom Markets. After March 2000, the government became more liberal in making
policies and issuing licences to private operators. The government further reduced
licence fees for cellular service providers and increased the allowable stake to 74% for
foreign companies. Because of all these factors, the service fees finally reduced and the
call costs were cut greatly enabling every common middle-class family in India to afford
a cell phone. Nearly 32 million handsets were sold in India. The data reveals the real
potential for growth of the Indian mobile market. Many private operators, such as
Reliance Communications, Jio, Tata Indicom, Vodafone, Loop Mobile, Airtel, Idea etc.,
successfully entered the high potential Indian telecom market.
In March 2008 the total GSM and CDMA mobile subscriber base in the country
was 375 million, which represented a nearly 50% growth when compared with previous
year. As the unbranded Chinese cell phones which do not have International Mobile
Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers pose a serious security risk to the country, Mobile
network operators therefore suspended the usage of around 30 million mobile phones
(about 8% of all mobiles in the country) by 30 April. Phones without valid IMEI cannot

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be connected to cellular operators. 5–6 years the average monthly subscribers additions
were around 0.05 to 0.1 million only and the total mobile subscribers base in December
2002 stood at 10.5 millions. However, after a number of proactive initiatives taken by
regulators and licensors, the total number of mobile subscribers has increased rapidly to
over 929 million subscribers as of May 2012.
India has opted for the use of both the GSM (global system for mobile
communications) and CDMA (code-division multiple access) technologies in the mobile
sector. In addition to landline and mobile phones, some of the companies also provide
the WLL service. The mobile tariffs in India have also become the lowest in the world.
A new mobile connection can be activated with a monthly commitment of US$0.15
only. In 2005 alone additions increased to around 2 million per month in 2003–04 and
2004–05.
GROWTH OF INDIAN TELECOM INDUSTRY
Telecom industry in India has undergone a revolution in the recent years. The
country is ranked second worldwide in terms of having the largest telecommunication
network, after China. With the ongoing investments into infrastructure deployment, the
country is projected to see high penetration of Internet, broadband and mobile
subscribers. The Indian Telecom Analysis (2008-2012) report by RNCOS Industry
Research Solutions shows that mobile telecom segment has surpassed all other segments
in the Indian telecom sector. (The mobile telecom market is forecast to grow at a
compound annual growth rate of around 15 percent between 2009-10 and 2013-14.) The
report also indicates that the advance of services such as Internet Protocol television
(IPTV) and 3G are fuelling the growth of the Indian telecom sector. Additionally, with
3G auctions scheduled for February 13, 2010 is expected to set in motion the quick
adoption of 3G-enabled handsets. Indian telecom companies are following the trend of
global telecom companies such as France Telecom, AT&T and Vodafone to capitalize
on the excitement in the mobile applications space mobile service provider Aircel has
partnered Infosys Technologies to launch the first mobile application sector in the Indian
telecom sector. Also, Airtel is considering partnering software company IBM to launch
app stores in 2010. This signals the increasing recognition among operators in the Indian
telecom sector that the way ahead for mobile technology lies with independent
developers. In another development in the Indian telecom sector, Tata Teleservices Ltd
(TTSL) has partnered Novatium Solutions Ltd to launch what is said to be the country's
first cloud computing service over wireless broadband, 'Nova Navigator'. The Navigator
is being described as a 'zero maintenance' access device with features such as 3G support
and plug and play printer support and multimedia support. In a development that will
provide fundamental benefits to services offered by the Indian telecom sector, Tata
Communications and China Telecom Corp are to jointly build a 5004cm optical fiber
cable network between the two countries in 2010. Along with the investments of Tata

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Communications in other subsea cable investments, the India-China Terrestrial Cable
will provide high-speed connectivity between Asia and Europe.
REVENUE AND GROWTH
The total revenue in the telecom service sector was Rs. 86,720 crore in 2005-06
as against Rs. 71, 674 crore in 2004-2005, registering a growth of 21%. The total
investment in the telecom services sector reached Rs. 200,660 crore in 2005-06, up from
Rs. 178,831 crore in the previous fiscal. Telecommunication is the lifeline of the rapidly
growing Information Technology industry. Internet subscriber base has risen to 6.94
million in 2005-2006. Out of this 1.35 million were broadband connections. More than
a billion people use the internet globally. Under the Bharat Nirman Programme, the
Government of India will ensure that 66,822 revenue villages in the country, which have
not yet been provided with a Village Public Telephone (VPT), will be connected.
However doubts have been raised about what it would mean for the poor in the country.
It is difficult to ascertain fully the employment potential of the telecom sector but the
enormity of the opportunities can be gauged from the fact that there were 3.7 million
Public Call Offices in December 2005 up from 2.3 million in December 2004. The value
added services (VAS) market within the mobile industry in India has the potential to
grow from $500 million in 2006 to a whopping $10 billion by 2009.
TELECOM COMMISSION
The Telecom Commission was set up by the Government of India wide
notification dated April 11, 1989 with administrative and financial powers of the
Government of India to deal with various aspects of Telecommunications. The
Commission consists of a Chairman, four full time members, who are ex-officio
Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Telecommunications and
four part time members who are the Secretaries to the Government of India of the
concerned Departments.
The Telecom Commission and the Department of Telecommunications are
responsible for policy formulation, licensing, wireless spectrum management,
administrative monitoring of Puss, research and development and
standardization/validation of equipment etc. The multi-pronged strategies followed by
the Telecom Commission have not only transformed the very structure of this sector but
have motivated all the partners to contribute in accelerating the growth of the sector.

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DEPARTMENT OF TELECOM
The Department of Telecom has been formulating developmental policies for the
accelerated growth of the telecommunication services. The Department is also
responsible for grant of licenses for various telecom services like Unified Access Service
Internet and VSAT service. The Department is also responsible for frequency
management in the field of radio communication in close coordination with the
international bodies. It also enforces wireless regulatory measures by monitoring
wireless transmission of all users in India.
TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA
(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.The main aim is to regulate telecom
services, including fixation/revision of tariffs for telecom services which were earlier
vested in the Central Government. 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.

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INDIAN GOVERNMENT ACTS FOR REGULATION OF
TELECOM INDUSTRY
The various telecom related acts by the Department of Telecommunications
India are:
 Indian Telegraph Act 1885: This act empowered the government of India to take
control of the existing telegraph lines and lay down the necessary infrastructure
for further expansion of telecommunications in India.
 Indian Telegraph (amendment) Rules 2004: This act set the guidelines for the set
up and development of public telecom services in India.
 Indian Wireless Act 1993: According to this act wireless telecom services could
be set up only after due licensing from the telegraphy authority of India.
 Information Technology Act 2000: The act defines the information technology
based communications in India. Telecom Industry of India was shown e-
commerce way through this act in a legal manner.
 Communication Convergence Bill 2001: This bill declared the establishment of
Communications Commission of India to regulate the transfer of all form of
communication including broadcasting, telecommunications and multimedia.
Exhibit 1: Institutional Structure of the Indian Telecom Sector
A sectoral Regulation Competition
Commission
Judicial System
Ministry of Communications and IT,
Department of Telecom, (Telecom
Commission)
Regulators
Telecom Dispute Resolution Settlement
Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT)
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
Subscribers
Supreme Court
Government / Partially Government Service
Providers
BSNL (Corporatized)
VSNL now TATA
Communications
(Privatized Incumbent)
MTNL (Corporatized
and Partially Privatized)
Fixed, Cellular, ISP,
NLD, ILD (All India
other than Mumbai and
Delhi)
International/National
Private Line Services
Fixed, Cellular, ISP,
NLD, ILD services in
Delhi and Mumbai
Private Operators
Others Fixed, Cellular, NLD,
ILD, VSAT, and ISP
Bharti-Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
Fixed, Cellular, NLD,
ILD, VSAT, and ISP
Cellular
Cellular

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EVOLUTION OF WIRELESS SERVICES
In 1992, two private mobile operators per service area and one fixed line operator
had been licensed through auctions. The services were licensed on the basis of service
areas called ‘circles’ that were administrative units of DOT and later those of BSNL.
These were usually co-terminus with state boundaries. The mobile operators were
required to use the GSM standard in the 900 MHz band. Besides the state owned
incumbents, one private operator per circle could also provide fixed services by
participating and winning in the auction.

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Tele-densities:
Tele-density is an important indicator of telecom penetration in the country
which represents the number of telephone per hundred populations. There is a very
exponential growth of tele-density in our country due to evolution of high tech wire
technologies. The Tele-density if March 2004 which was 7.02% has increased up to
53.46% in March 2010 and further increased up to 74.5% in January 2014.
Public Vs Private:
There has been a continuous rise in the number if wireless telephones of the
private sector operators compare to public sector in Indian Telecom sector in last decade.
The total number of telephones of the private sector is 812.96 million, whereas public
sector it is 120.05 million at the end of March 2014. The percentage growth of wireless
public and wireless sector for last four years has been given below:

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Wireless Vs Wireline
In the Telecom Sector of India, while the wireless telephones continued to grow,
wireline telephones are declining day by day. The number of wireless telephone in
905.52 million, whereas the wire line telephone is 28.50 million at the end of March
2014.

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India is divided into 22 telecom circles:
Telecom circle
Landline subscriber
base in million
(April 2017)
Wireless subscriber
base in million
(April 2017)
Teledensity
(September 2014)
Andhra Pradesh & Telangana 1.62 85.37 81.06
Assam 0.15 21.88 50.41
Bihar & Jharkhand 0.31 84.93 47.66
Delhi 3.22 53.74 232.22
Gujarat & Daman & Diu 1.32 72.14 93.34
Haryana 0.34 25.07 80.31
Himachal Pradesh 0.14 10.42 109.55
Jammu and Kashmir 0.12 12.01 69.98
Karnataka 2.27 69.02 94.20
Kerala & Lakshadweep 2.09 39.31 95.96
Kolkata(including West
Bengal )
0.85 29.36 73.0
Madhya Pradesh &
Chhattisgarh
1.01 70.15 57.04
Maharashtra & Goa
(including Mumbai )
1.88 94.43 92.20 *
Mumbai* 3.04 36.62 Not available *
North East ^** 0.11 12.47 72.00
Orissa 0.28 34.45 63.41
Punjab 0.99 36.32 103.49
Rajasthan 0.72 67.25 76.18
Tamil Nadu(including
Chennai since 2005)[39] 2.52 89.42 114.71
Uttar Pradesh(East) 0.49 105.01 58.09(Combined)*
Uttar Pradesh(West) &
Uttarakhand
0.38 66.64 58.09(Combined)*
West Bengal(including
Kolkata)*** 0.32 58.47 73.40 *
^*Population statistics are available state-wise only. ^** North east circle includes Arunachal Pradesh,
Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, & Tripura ^*** West Bengal circle includes Andaman-
Nicobar and Sikkim

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The telephony segment is dominated by private-
sector and two state-run businesses. Most
companies were formed by a recent revolution
and restructuring launched within a decade,
directed by Ministry of Communications and
IT, Department of Telecommunications and
Minister of Finance. Since then, most
companies gained 2G, 3G and 4G licences and
engaged fixed-line, mobile and internet
business in India. On landlines, intra-circle calls
are considered local calls while inter-circle are
considered long distance calls. Foreign Direct
Investment policy which increased the foreign
ownership cap from 49% to 74%.Now it is
100%. The Government is working to integrate
the
whole
country in one telecom circle. For long distance
calls, the area code prefixed with a zero is
dialled first which is then followed by the
number (i.e., to call Delhi, 011 would be dialled
first followed by the phone number). For
international calls, "00" must be dialled first
followed by the country code, area code and
local phone number. The country code for India
is 91. Several international fibre-optic links
include those to Japan, South Korea, Hong
Kong, Russia, and Germany. Some major
telecom operators in India include Airtel,
Vodafone, Idea, Aircel, BSNL, MTNL,
Reliance Communications, TATA
Teleservices, Infotel, MTS, Uninor, TATA
DoCoMo, Videocon, Augere, Tikona Digital.
Internet
The history of the Internet in India started with launch of services by VSNL on
15 August 1995. They were able to add about 10,000 Internet users within 6 months.
However, for the next 10 years the Internet experience in the country remained less
attractive with narrow-band connections having speeds less than 56 kbit/s (dial-up). In
2004, the government formulated its broadband policy which defined broadband as "an
always-on Internet connection with download speed of 256 kbit/s or above." From 2005

P a g e 26 | 96
onward the growth of the broadband sector in the country accelerated, but remained
below the growth estimates of the government and related agencies due to resource
issues in last-mile access which were predominantly wired-line technologies. This
bottleneck was removed in 2010 when the government auctioned 3G spectrum followed
by an equally high-profile auction of 4G spectrum that set the scene for a competitive
and invigorated wireless broadband market. Now Internet access in India is provided by
both public and private companies using a variety of technologies and media including
dial-up (PSTN), xDSL, coaxial cable, Ethernet, FTTH, ISDN, HSDPA (3G), WiFi,
WiMAX, etc. at a wide range of speeds and costs. As per IAMAI India will have the
world's second largest number of Internet users with over 300 million by December
2014.
According to the Internet And Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), the Internet
user base in the country stood at 190 million at the end of June, 2013. As of October,
2013 report, it is over 205 million. The number of broadband subscribers at the end of
May 2013 was 15.19 million. Cumulative Annual Growth rate (CAGR) of broadband
during the five-year period between 2005 and 2010 was about 117 percent. DSL, while
holding slightly more than 75% of the local broadband market, was steadily losing
market share to other non-DSL broadband platforms, especially to wireless broadband.
There were 161 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offering broadband services in
India as of 31 May 2013. The top five ISPs in terms subscriber base were BSNL (9.96
million), Bharti Airtel (1.40 million), MTNL (1.09 million), Hathway (0.36 million) and
You Broadband (0.31 million).Cyber cafes remain the major source of Internet access.
In 2009, about 37 per cent of the users access the Internet from cyber cafes, 30 per cent
from an office, and 23 per cent from home. However, the number of mobile Internet
users increased rapidly from 2009 on and there were about 274 million mobile users at
the end of September 2010, with a majority using 2G mobile networks. Mobile Internet
subscriptions as reported by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in
March 2011 increased to 381 million.
One of the major issues facing the Internet segment in India is the lower average
bandwidth of broadband connections compared to that of developed countries.
According to 2007 statistics, the average download speed in India hovered at about 40
KB per second (256 kbit/s), the minimum speed set by TRAI, whereas the international
average was 5.6 Mbit/s during the same period. In order to attend this infrastructure
issue the government declared 2007 as "the year of broadband". To compete with
international standards of defining broadband speed the Indian Government has taken
the aggressive step of proposing a $13 billion national broadband network to connect all
cities, towns and villages with a population of more than 500 in two phases targeted for
completion by 2012 and 2013. The network was supposed to provide speeds up to 10
Mbit/s in 63 metropolitan areas and 4 Mbit/s in an additional 352 cities. Also, the

P a g e 27 | 96
Internet penetration rate in India is one of the lowest in the world and only accounts for
8.4% of the population compared to the rate in OECD counties, where the average is
over 50%. Another issue is the digital divide where growth is biased in favour of urban
areas; according to 2010 statistics, more than 75 per cent of the broadband connections
in the country are in the top 30 cities. Regulators have tried to boost the growth of
broadband in rural areas by promoting higher investment in rural infrastructure and
establishing subsidised tariffs for rural subscribers under the Universal service
obligation scheme of the Indian government.
As of May 2014, the Internet was delivered to India mainly by 9 different
undersea fibres, including SEA-ME-WE 3, Bay of Bengal Gateway and Europe India
Gateway, arriving at 5 different landing points.
GROWTH OF 3G AND WIRELESS BROADBAND
With developments in technology, several countries in Europe and Asia had
allocated/auctioned 3G spectrum that allowed service providers to give faster download
speeds and richer content on mobile handheld devices. Initially, the cost of such services
was high due to new equipment that needed to be deployed in the network, higher cost
of handsets and lower adoptions. Based on the experience in several countries, it was
observed that over time, such costs had come down as adoption rates increased. When
3G services were initially deployed in any service area, it was expected that a lot of
corporates, richer individuals and professionals would subscribe to such services. On
the other hand, 3G services were also expected to reduce the digital divide by enabling
mobile Internet services to those who could not afford PC costs for the Internet. In India
too, there had been a lot of debate regarding allocation of 3G licenses.
In India, the licensing framework for 3G envisaged that each service area would
have 3-4 operators (depending upon amount of spectrum available). The amount of
spectrum allocated was 5 + 5 MHz in the 2.1GHz band, while initially DOT guidelines
of August 2008 mentioned that 5-10 bands would be available. Broadband Wireless
Access (BWA) licensing in 2.3 GHz band provided for two private players to be
allocated 20 MHz each. BSNL and MTNL being government owned incumbents were
to get a pan India spectrum for 3G and BWA without participation in auctions. They
were required to pay the winning bid prices to the government.
3G auctions were held in May 2010. The possibility of generating high revenues
and hopefully high profits coupled with spectrum scarcity in the 2G bands had egged on
companies to bid aggressively. 3G auctions contributed Rs 67,719 cr (nearly 60% of the
then sector revenues) to the exchequer with Rs 50, 968 cr from the private sector and Rs
16,751 cr from BSNL and MTNL. Exhibit 5 provides the detailed list of operators and
their bids for service areas during 3G auction. BWA auctions contributed Rs 38,543 cr

P a g e 28 | 96
to the exchequer with Rs 25,695 cr from the private sector and Rs 12,847 cr from BSNL
and MTNL. Exhibit 6 provides the detailed list of operators and their bids for service
areas during BWA auction.
COMPETITIVE SCENARIO
There were six large players, Bharti Airtel, BSNL, Idea Cellular Limited (ICL),
Reliance Infocomm, Tata Teleservices and Vodafone, who had a pan India or almost
pan India presence. Some relatively smaller players (who had operations in a few circles
only) were also active. Exhibit 1 gives details of scope of operations for major operators
as on December 31, 2013.
Among the large players, the scale and scope of operations varied considerably.
Some of them were a part of larger Indian industrial conglomerates, (ICL, Reliance and
Tata Teleservices), while some others were a part of larger global telecom companies
(Vodafone, Sistema), or were public operators (BSNL, MTNL) and yet others like
Bharti had begun their operations in telecom. Over time, although Bharti had diversified
into insurance and other services, a large part of its revenue came from telecom services.
While players like Bharti provided a whole range of telecom services including, fixed,
NLD, ILD, satellite etc, others like Vodafone concentrated on mobile voice and data.
Exhibit 8 gives the details of the large operators in terms of their scope of revenues and
profits. For the financial year 2012-13 major operators like Bharti Airtel, ICL, Reliance
Communications and Vodafone gained profits while BSNL, MTNL, SSTL, Tata
Communications and Tata Teleservices reported losses.
Exhibit 1: Financial and Subscriber Details for Various Operators
Operators
Revenue Profit Revenue Profit Revenue Profit Revenue Profit Revenue Profit
BSNL 33919 5977 36090 10183 40177 8940 39715 7806 38047 3009
Bharti Airtel* 5003 584 7903 1212 8310 1685 14119 3490 21870 5927
Idea Cellular* 1313 NA 2000 NA 2987 1086 4387 1486 6737 2269
MTNL 6101 1278 5592 939 5249 579 5583 -216 5330 -180
RCOM 2707 -390 5387 51 NA NA 11762
#
2409
#
13427 2586
SSTL NA NA NA NA 3 1 240 -41 117 -181
Tata Communications 3371 378 3412 708 4797 70 8856 15 8538 10
Tata Teleservices 598 -270 807 -528 1095 -541 1407 -311 1707 -126
Vodafone Essar*
$
4500 154 7090 220 10000 324 10565 NA 18058 347
Operators
Revenue Profit Revenue Profit Revenue Profit Revenue Profit Revenue Profit
BSNL 35812 575 32045 -1822 29688 -6384 27933 -8850 27128 -7884
Bharti Airtel* 30419 6875 33128 9440 36340 8555 40309 8224 44023 7067
Idea Cellular* 10154 2836 12499 3459 15503 3791 19541 5092 22458 6005
MTNL 5250 212 5058 -2611 3992 -2802 3624 -4110 3714 -5321
RCOM 13694 4803 12512 479 12614 -758 11863 156 12820 624
SSTL 128 -1212 260 -2672 764 -2367 1508 -3159 1231 -2882
Tata Communications 10206 315 11194 -598 12185 -777 14340 -795 17439 -623
Tata Teleservices 1942 -160 2069 -298 2249 50 2470 -518 2608 -659
Vodafone Essar*
$
26651 -297 30863 -367 38207 149 42270 595 42855 2190
2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08
2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13

P a g e 29 | 96
Highlights of Telecom Subscription Data as on 31st May, 2017
 In the month of May, 2017, 5.37 million subscribers submitted their requests for
Mobile Number Portability (MNP). With this, the cumulative MNP requests increased
from 277.72 million at the end of Apr-17 to 283.09million at the end of May-17, since
implementation of MNP.
 Number of active wireless subscribers (on the date of peak VLR#) in May, 2017
was 1,019.55 million.
Note:
- Information in this Press Release is based on the data provided by the Service Providers
* Based on the population projections from Census data published by the Office of Registrar
General & Census Commissioner of India.
# VLR is acronym of Visitor Location Register. The dates of peak VLR for various TSPs are
different in different service areas.
$ Growth over previous month.

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I. Total Telephone Subscribers
 The number of telephone subscribers
in India increased from 1,198.89 million at
the end of Apr-17 to 1,204.98 million at the
end of May-17, thereby showing a monthly
growth rate of 0.51%. The urban
subscription increased from 695.99 million
at the end of Apr-17 to 697.06 million at the
end of May-17, and the rural subscription
increased from 502.90million to 507.92
million during the same period. The monthly
growth rates of urban and rural subscription
were 0.15% and 1.00% respectively during
the month of May-17.
 The overall Tele-density in India
increased from 93.23 at the end of Apr-17
to 93.61 at the end of May-17. The Urban
Tele-density remained same at 172.28 at
the end of May-17 as against previous
month, whereas the Rural Tele-density
also increased from 57.02 at the end of
Apr-17 to 57.55 at the end of May-17.
The share of urban subscribers and rural
subscribers in total number of telephone
subscribers at the end of May-17 was
57.85% and 42.15% respectively.

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Overall Tele-density (Circle/State Wise) – As on 31st May, 2017
Notes:
1. Population data/projections are available state wise only.
2. Tele-density figures are derived from the telephone subscriber data provided by the access
service providers and the projections of population published by the Office of the Registrar
General &Census Commissioner, India.
3. Telephone subscriber data for Delhi, includes, apart from the data for the State of Delhi, wireless
subscriber data for the areas served by the local exchanges of Ghaziabad & Noida (in Uttar
Pradesh) and Gurgaon & Faridabad (in Haryana).
4. Data/information for West Bengal includes Kolkata, Maharashtra includes Mumbai, Tamil Nadu
includes Chennai and Uttar Pradesh includes UPE & UPW service area(s).
5. Data/information for Andhra Pradesh includes Telengana, Madhya Pradesh includes
Chhatishgarh, Bihar includes Jharkhand, Maharashtra includes Goa, Uttar Pradesh includes
Uttarakhand, West Bengal includes Sikkim and North-East includes Arunachal Pradesh,
Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland & Tripura States.

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II. Category-wise Growth in subscriber base
Circle Category-wise Net Additions in Telephone Subscribers in the month of
May, 2017
Circle Category-wise monthly and yearly Growth Rates in Telephone Subscribers
in the month of May, 2017
Note: Circle Category-Metro includes Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. Data for Chennai has been included
in Circle Category-A, as part of Tamil Nadu.
 As can be seen in the above tables, in wireless segment, Circles of Category-B showed
highest monthly net addition during the month ofMay-17. However, Circles of
Category-C showed maximum monthly growth rate in subscriber base during the same
period.
 In Wireline segment, Circles of Category-A showed maximum monthly net decline in
subscriber base during the month of May-17. However, Circles of Category-C showed
maximum monthly decline rate in subscriber base during the same period.

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III. Wireless Subscribers
 Total wireless subscribers (GSM, CDMA
& LTE) increased from 1,174.60 million at the
end of Apr-17 to 1,180.82 million at the end of
May-17, thereby registering a monthly growth
rate of 0.53%. The Wireless subscription in urban
areas increased from 675.48 million at the end of
Apr-17 to 676.65 million at the end of May-17,
and wireless subscription in rural areas also
increased from 499.12 million to 504.18 million
during the same period. The monthly growth rates
of urban and rural wireless subscription were
0.17% and 1.01% respectively.
 The Wireless Tele-density(%) in India
increased from 91.34 at the end of Apr-17to
91.74 at the end of May-17. The Urban Wireless
Tele-density slightly increased from 167.21 at
the end of Apr-17 to167.24 at the end of May-17,
and Rural Wireless Tele-density increased
from56.59 to 57.12 during the same period. The
share of urban and rural wireless subscribers in
total number of wireless subscribers was 57.30%
and 42.70% respectively at the end of May-
17.Detailed statistics of wireless subscriber base
is available at Annexure-I.
 As on 31st May, 2017, the private access service providers held 90.96% market
share of the wireless subscribers whereas BSNL and MTNL, the two PSU access service
providers, had a market share of only 9.04%. The graphical representation of access
service provider-wise market share and net additions in wireless subscriber base are
given below:

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Access Service Provider-wise Market Shares in term of Wireless
Subscribers as on 31st May, 2017
Access Service Provider-wise Market Shares (Wireline Subscribers)
as on 31st May, 2017

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IV. Broadband (≥ 512 Kbps download)
 As per the reports received from the service providers, the number of broadband
subscribers increased from 284.23 Million at the end of Apr-17 to 291.61 million
at the end of May-17 with a monthly growth rate of 2.60%. Segment-wise
broadband subscribers and their monthly growth rates are as below:
Segment–wise Broadband Subscribers and Monthly Growth Rate in the month of
May, 2017
 Top five service providers constituted 88.23% market share of the total
broadband subscribers at the end of May-17. These service providers were
Reliance Jio Infocom Ltd (117.34 million), Bharti Airtel (53.30 million),
Vodafone (40.43 million), Idea Cellular (24.63 million) and BSNL (21.59
million).
Note: Some wireless service providers exclude incidental data users from their subscriber
base, based on minimum usage decided by them.

P a g e 36 | 96
The graphical representation of the service provider-wise market share of broadband
services is given below:
Service Provider-wise Market Share of Broadband (wired+wireless) Services as
on 31.05.2017
 As on 31st May, 2017, the top five Wired Broadband Service providers were
BSNL (9.80 million), Bharti Airtel (2.09 million), Atria Convergence
Technologies (1.20 million), MTNL (0.99 million) and YOU Broadband (0.64
million).
 As on 31st May, 2017, the top five Wireless Broadband Service providers were
Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (117.34 million), Bharti Airtel (51.21 million),
Vodafone (40.42 million), Idea Cellular (24.63 million) and Reliance
Communications (14.46 million).

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PROFILE OF SELECTED TELECOM COMPANIES IN
INDIA
 Bharti Airtel Limited
Bharti Airtel Limited, a group company of Bharti Enterprises, is among Asia's
leading integrated telecom services providers with operations in India, Sri Lanka and
Bangladesh. It is known for being the first mobile phone company in the world to
outsource everything except marketing and sales. Bharti Airtel Limited is the largest
cellular service provider in India, with more than 135 million subscriptions as of May
2010. It is formerly known as Bharti Tele Ventures LTD.. (BTVL) is an Indian company
offering telecommunication services in 18 countries. The services provided by the
company are Mobile Services, Telemedia Services, Enterprise Services, Digital TV
Services, and Passive Infrastructure Services.
Bharti is now the world's third-largest, single-country mobile operator and Fifth-
largest integrated telecom operator. It offers its TELECOM services under the Airtel
brand and is headed by Sunil Bharti Mittal. Providing GSM services in all the 23 circles,
Airtel was the first private player in telecom sector to connect all states of India.
Bharti Airtel Limited ('Bharti AirteF or 'the Company') was incorporated on July
7, 1995 under the laws of India for promoting investments in telecommunication
services. Airtel is the First private operator to offer fixed line telephony in June 04, 1998.
In February 18, 2002 the company became a public limited company in India. In March
30, 2005 it grows to first telecom company to have an all India mobile footprint
(Presence in all 23 telecom circles in India). In 2000, Bharti acquired Bharti Telenet.
The Group's principal shareholders at March 31, 2009 included Bharti Telecom Limited
and Singapore Telecommunication International Private Limited. With effect from April
24, 2006, the name of the Company has been changed from Bharti Tele-Ventures
Limited ('BTVL') to Bharti Airtel Limited.
 Vodafone India Limited
Vodafone Essar, formerly known as Hutchison Essar is a cellular operator in
India that covers 23 telecom circles in India based in Mumbai. Vodafone Essar is owned
by Vodafone 67% and Essar Group 33%. It is the second largest mobile phone operator
in terms of revenue behind Bharti Airtel, and third largest in terms of customers.
Vodafone crossed 100 million subscribers in India as on march 2010.
Despite the official name being Vodafone Essar, its products are simply branded
Vodafone. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout
India with good presence in the metros. It is among the top three GSM mobile operators
of India.

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In 1992 Hutchison Whampoa and its Indian business partner established a
company that in 1994 was awarded a license to provide mobile telecommunications
services in Mumbai and launched commercial service as Hutchison Max in November
1995. In 2006, it announced the acquisition of a company (Essar Spacetel - A subsidiary
of Essar Group). In February 2007, Hutchison Telecom announced that it had entered
into a binding agreement with a subsidiary of Vodafone Group Pic to sell its 67% direct
and indirect equity and loan interests in Hutchison Essar Limited for a total cash
consideration (before costs, expenses and interests) of approximately US$11.1 billion
or HK$87 billion.
 Idea Cellular Limited
Idea Cellular is a wireless telephony company operating in all the 22 telecom
circles in India based in Mumbai. It is the 3rd largest GSM Company with over 67
million subscribers in India behind Airtel and Vodafone and ahead of state run player
BSNL. The company is part of the Aditya Birla Group. It provides wireless and long
distance voice and internet services to consumer and enterprise markets. IDEA Cellular
is a publicly listed company, having listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and
the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in March 2007. A frontrunner in introducing
revolutionary tariff plans, IDEA Cellular has the distinction of offering the most
customer friendly and competitive Pre Paid offerings, for the first time in India. The
company has operations in Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh
(W) & Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh (E), Madhya Pradesh & Chattisgarh, Gujarat,
Maharashtra &Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala with the planned expansion into
Mumbai, Bihar & Jharkhand.
The company was incorporated as Birla Communications Limited on March 14,
1995 and granted a certificate of commencement of business on August 11, 1995. The
following year, the company entered into a joint venture with Grasim Industries and the
global telecom giant AT&T. The same year, its name was changed to Birla AT&T
Communications Limited. A merger with Tata Cellular Limited took place in 2000. In
2002, the company created the brand 'Idea' and changed its name to Idea Cellular
Limited. In 2006, the Tata Group transferred all its shares to the Aditya Birla Group and
the group became the largest shareholder in the company. In 2007, Idea came with an
IPO and got listed on the bourses - the same year it reached the subscriber base of 20
million.

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 Reliance Telecom Limited
Reliance Telecom Limited provides cellular services in India. Reliance
Communications formerly known as Reliance Infocomm, along with Reliance Telecom
and Flag Telecom, is part of Reliance Communications Ventures (RCoVL). Reliance
Telecom Limited (RTL) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Reliance Communication
Limited, a member of reliance ADA group, Reliance ADA group's flagship company.
RTL has undertaken a major expansion and increased its coverage to 6300 towns. This
has enabled RTL to significantly scale up subscriber base to 11.5 million as of march
31, 2009. RTL.
The Equity Shares of RCOM are listed on Bombay Stock Exchange Limited and
National Stock Exchange Limited. RTL operates in Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal,
Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, Assam, Kolkata and Northeast offering GSM services.
According to National Stock Exchange data, Anil Ambani controls 66.75 percent of the
company, which accounts for more than 1.36 billion shares.
Reliance Communications Limited founded by the late Shri Dhirubhai H
Ambani (1932-2002) is the flagship company of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani
Group. RTL began its operation in 1997. The company was incorporated in 1994 and is
based in Navi Mumbai, India. As of September 8, 2006, Reliance Telecom Limited
operates as a subsidiary of Reliance Communications Ltd.
 Tata Communication Ltd.
Tata Communications Limited Formerly known as Videsh Sanchar Nigam
Limited. It is a leading global provider of a new world of communications. The Group's
principal activity is to provide global communication solutions. The Group operates in
three segments: Wholesale Voice, Enterprise and Carrier Data and Others. Wholesale
Voice includes international and national voice services; Enterprise and carrier data
includes corporate data transmission services like international private leased circuits
(IPLC), frame relay (FR), internet leased line circuits (ILL) and national private leased
circuits (NPLC). The Group operates in India, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, the
United States of America, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and Other countries. Tata
Communications Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National
Stock Exchange of India and its ADRs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
(NYSE: TCL).
In 1986, VSNL was formed as a Government of India-owned company. In 1996
Tata Teleservices is established to spearhead the group's foray into the
telecommunication sector. In the year 2000, VSNL was the first Indian PSU to be listed
in the NYSE. Tata Indicom, the umbrella brand for Tata telecom services, starts
operations. Later in 2002, Tata Group acquired controlling stake in VSNL which was
later expanded to 46%. In 2008, VSNL was renamed as Tata Communications Limited.
The year 2009, Tata Communication and Tyco Telecommunication complete TGN-intra
Asia cable system.

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 Aircel Cellular Ltd.
Aircel is a mobile phone service provider in India. It offers both prepaid and
postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout India. Aircel is a joint venture
between Maxis Communications of Malaysia and Apollo Hospital Enterprise Ltd., of
India. It is India's fifth largest GSM mobile service provider with a subscriber base of
over 27.7 million, as of October 31, 2009. As on date, Aircel is present in 18 of the total
23 telecom circles and
with licenses secured for the remaining 5 telecom circles, the company plans to become
a pan-India operator by 2010.
Aircel commenced operations in 1999 and became the leading mobile operator
in Tamil Nadu within 18 months. In December 2003, it launched commercially in
Chennai and quickly established itself as a market leader - a position it has held since.
Aircel began its outward expansion in 2005 and met with unprecedented success in the
Eastern frontier circles. It emerged a market leader in Assam and in the North Eastern
provinces within 18 months of operations. Till today, the company gained a foothold in
18 circles.

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COMPANY PROFILE

P a g e 42 | 96
INTRODUCTION
Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with
operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India,
the company ranks amongst the top 3 mobile service providers globally in terms of
subscribers. In India, the company's product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless
services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed DSL broadband, IPTV,
DTH, enterprise services including national & international long distance services to
carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G wireless services and mobile
commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 357 million customers across its operations at the end
of March 2016.
RANK & RECOGNITION

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AIRTEL AT A GLANCE
MONEY MATTERS (FY 16)

P a g e 44 | 96
FACT SHEET
Name Bharti Airtel Limited.
Business
description
Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications
company with operations in 17 countries across Asia and Africa.
Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the
top 3 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In
India, the company's product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G
wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed
home broadband, DTH, enterprise services including national &
international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the
geographies, it offers 2G, 3G, 4G wireless services and mobile
commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 379 million customers across its
operations at the end of June 2017.
Established July 07, 1995, as a Public Limited Company
ISIN INE397D01024
Proportionate
revenue
Rs. 219,581 million (ended June 30, 2017-Audited)
As per Ind-AS Accounts
Proportionate
EBITDA
As per Ind-AS Accounts
Shares in issue 3997.4 Mn shares as at June 30, 2017
Listings
Bombay Stock Exchange Limited (BSE)
National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE)
Stock exchange
symbol
NSE – BHARTIARTL
BSE – 532454
Customer base
India: 280,647,000 GSM mobile; 2,137,000 –Homes customers and
13,314,000- Digital TV Services (status as on June 30, 2017)
Africa: 80,039,000 GSM mobile customers, SA: 1,990,000 mobile
customers (status as on June 30, 2017)
Registered office
Bharti Airtel Limited
(A Bharti Enterprise)
Bharti Crescent, 1 Nelson Mandela Road,
Vasant Kunj, Phase II,
New Delhi - 110 070.
Tel. No.: +91 11 4666 6100
Fax No.: +91 11 4666 6411

P a g e 45 | 96
STRATEGY
Airtel is consistently fine-tuning its strategies
and strengthening its innovative core to
anticipate and lead change in the global digital
landscape.
Win Customers For Life
Vision
Our vision is to enrich the lives of our customers. Our obsession
is to win customers for life through exceptional experience.
Objectives Grow market share profitably. Accelerate non-mobile businesses.
Values Alive. Inclusive. Respectful.
1
Win through
go-to-market
excellence
 Grow share of new smartphones and 4G devices
 Accelerate data penetration via intuitive pricing and
innovation
 Build India’s no. 1 Payments Bank through a “frugal and
digital” model
2
Win with a
Brilliant
Network
Experience
 Eliminate customer frustration through quality obsession
 Improve customer advocacy through granular planning
and communication
 Drive down unit cost per MB through leveraging
multiple technologies
3
Win with
valuable
customers
 Grow 3G/4G data by encouraging consumption, bundling
and upgradation
 Grow postpaid through propositions, store experience
and B2B drive
 Accelerate B2B through improved experience
 Scale homes through high-speed broadband, low-cost
access and bundling
 Win DTH through disproportionate share of digitization
and innovation
4
Win with a war
on waste
 Drive down cost
 Lower costs and maximise sharing
 Cut waste by network re-design
5
Win with
people
 High-performance culture
 Grow talent through strong learning, mentoring and
succession planning

P a g e 46 | 96
FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT

P a g e 47 | 96
ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE
Bharti airtel limited - Organization structure (India and South Asia)
AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS
 Bharti Airtel is conferred with the "Certificate of Recognition for Excellence in
Corporate Governance 2016" by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India
(ICSI).
 Bharti Airtel ranked first in a listing of 100 emerging market multinational
companies by Transparency International on corporate transparency and
reporting. According to the study, the Company topped the list with a cumulative
score of 7.3 out of 10.
 Bharti Airtel was positioned among the top eight companies in the listing of top
BSE 100 listed companies in FTI Consulting’s ‘India Disclosure Index 2016’
Report with a composite score of 10 out of 10.
 Bharti Airtel was recognised as the ‘Firm of the Year – Telecom’ at the 3rd
edition of ICICI Lombard & CNBC-TV18 India Risk Management Awards.
 Bharti Airtel secured the second position in Interbrand’s ‘Best Indian Brands
Report 2016’.
 Bharti Airtel has been declared winner of ‘Golden Peacock Award for
Excellence in Corporate Governance’ for the year 2016.

P a g e 48 | 96
SWOT ANALYSIS

P a g e 49 | 96
ANALYSIS OF PROFIT & LOSS A/C:
Particulars Notes 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Income
Revenue from operations 29 6,03,002 5,54,964 4,99,185 4,53,509 4,16,038
Other income 30 14,856 51,930 8,534 14,631 6,247
Total Income 6,17,858 6,06,894 5,07,719 4,68,140 4,22,285
Expenses
Access charges 80,236 79,601 73,015 74,212 58,086
License fee and spectrum charges
(revenue share)
70,654 67,062 54,682 48,815 46,942
Cost of goods sold 31 373 76 22 19 183
Employee benefits expenses 32 18,693 16,915 16,481 15,113 13,915
Power and fuel 33 40,387 41,151 41,697 35,699 29,727
Rent 33 65,413 59,790 56,904 52,225 47,714
Charity and donation 33 575 292 685 295 332
Other expenses 33 1,03,309 95,766 92,711 92,424 82,702
Total Expenses 3,79,640 3,60,653 3,36,197 3,18,802 2,79,269
Profit before finance costs,
depreciation, amortisation,
exceptional items and tax
2,38,218 2,46,241 1,71,522 1,49,633 1,43,016
Finance costs 34 35,590 14,091 13,364 16,523 13,962
Depreciation and amortisation expense 35 95,431 75,597 72,313 68,267 59,160
Profit before exceptional items and tax 1,07,197 1,56,553 85,845 64,253 69,230
Exceptional items 36 6,799 2,071
Profit before Tax 1,00,398 1,56,553 83,774 64,253 69,230
Tax Expense (including exceptional items)
Current tax 20,501 31,092 19,980 13,604 14,398
MAT credit -17,631 -7,790 -180 -3,155 -5,227
Deferred tax 22,063 1,246 -2,028 3,136 3,091
Profit for the year 75,465 1,32,005 66,002 50,963 57,300
Earnings per share (equity shares of par value ` 5 each)39
Basic and Diluted (In Rs.) 18.88 33.02 16.69 13.42 15.09
Statement of Profit and Loss (Rs. Millions)

P a g e 50 | 96
Interpretation
INCOME
Revenue from operations
Revenue from operations of
Airtel in the year 2012 was
4,16,038 million (INR) and it has
been increased year by year. It
has increased to 6,03,002 million
(INR) in the year 2016.
Total income
Total income of Airtel in the year
2012 was 4,22,285 million (INR)
and it has been increased year by
year as revenue from operations
increased. In the year 2016 it has
increased to 6,17,858 million
(INR).
Profit and Loss A/C 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Revenue from operations 6,03,002 5,54,964 4,99,185 4,53,509 4,16,038
Total Income 6,17,858 6,06,894 5,07,719 4,68,140 4,22,285
603002
554964
499185
453509
416038
0
100000
200000
300000
400000
500000
600000
700000
Airtel
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
617858 606894
507719
468140
422285
Total Income
Airtel
0
100000
200000
300000
400000
500000
600000
700000
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012

P a g e 51 | 96
EXPENDITURE
Access Charges
Access charges of Airtel has been
fluctuating over the 5 years
period 2012-2016, In 2016 it has
increased to 80,236 million
(INR). As per fluctuation, in the
year 2014, it was 73,015 million
(INR).
License fee and spectrum charges (revenue share)
License fee and spectrum
charges of Airtel in the year
2012 was 46,942 million (INR)
and it has been increased year
by year. It has increased to
70,654 million (INR) in the
year 2016.
Access charges 80,236 79,601 73,015 74,212 58,086
License fee and spectrum charges (revenue share) 70,654 67,062 54,682 48,815 46,942
80236 79601
73015 74212
58086
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
80000
90000
Access charges
Airtel
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012

P a g e 52 | 96
Total expenses
Total expenses of Airtel in the
year 2012 was 2,79,269
million (INR) and it has been
increased grown up. It has
reached to 3,79,640 million
Because it has increased due to
increase in all expenses.
Profit before finance costs, depreciation, amortisation, exceptional
items and tax (EBITDA)
EBITDA of Airtel has been
period 2012-2016. It has been
increased from 1,43,016 million
(INR) in 2012 to 2,46,241
million (INR) in 2015. In the year
2016, it has fallen to 2,38,218
million (INR).
Total Expenses 3,79,640 3,60,653 3,36,197 3,18,802 2,79,269
Profit before finance costs, depreciation, amortisation,
exceptional items and tax (EBITDA) 2,38,218 2,46,241 1,71,522 1,49,633 1,43,016
379640
360653
336197
318802
279269
0
50000
100000
150000
200000
250000
300000
350000
400000
Total Expenses
Airtel
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012

P a g e 53 | 96
Depreciation and Amortisation
Depreciation and amortisation of
Airtel in the year 2012 was 59,160
increased year by year. It has
reached to 95,431 million (INR)
in the year 2016.
Profit for the year
Profit/Loss of Airtel has been
period 2012-2016. It was 57,300
million (INR) in 2012. Then it
has decreased to 50,963 million
(INR) in 2013. After that, it has
been increased to 1,32,005
million (INR) in 2015. Then it
has fallen to 75,465 million
(INR) in 2016.
Depreciation and amortisation expense 95,431 75,597 72,313 68,267 59,160
Profit for the year 75,465 1,32,005 66,002 50,963 57,300

P a g e 54 | 96
ANALYSIS OF BALANCE SHEET:
Equity and Liabilities
Shareholders’ Funds
Share capital 5 19,987 19,987 19,987 18,988 18,988
Reserves and surplus 6 8,24,481 7,62,742 6,47,293 5,22,474 4,75,308
Non-current Liabilities
Long-term borrowings 7 4,17,002 1,96,267 72,717 98,408 82,338
Deferred tax liabilities (Net) 8 32,784 10,721 9,475 11,503 8,367
Other long term liabilities 9 43,954 42,036 39,394 31,708 25,184
Long term provisions 10 2,262 1,969 2,095 1,494 1,405
Current Liabilities
Short-term borrowings 11 6,999 6,259 12,510 31,390 58,956
Trade payables 12 70,588 71,232 62,663 51,372 45,121
Other current liabilities 13 1,93,604 1,40,675 1,06,454 1,06,034 82,000
Short term provisions 14 7,727 12,349 9,453 5,461 5,570
Total 16,19,388 12,64,237 9,82,041 8,78,832 8,03,237
Assets
Non-current Assets
Fixed Assets
Tangible assets 15 3,11,563 2,56,552 2,40,682 2,64,362 2,63,782
Intangible assets 16 6,06,582 2,77,892 1,58,100 1,67,464 1,40,626
Capital work-in-progress 28,251 26,561 12,442 10,308 9,230
Intangible assets under development 16 9,715 64,108 0 0 35,435
Non current investments 17 4,30,261 3,83,958 3,40,348 2,71,191 1,18,041
Long-term loans and advances 18 93,470 88,381 1,45,180 89,358 84,817
Other non-current assets 19 25,489 19,221 17,901 14,111 10,924
Current Assets
Current investments 20 8 47,211 4,891 10,800 5,337
Balance Sheet (Rs. Millions)

P a g e 55 | 96
Interpretation
LIABILITIES
Shareholders’ fund of Airtel in
the year 2012 was 4,94,296
grown up. It has reached to
8,44,468 million (INR) in the
year 2016.
Non-current Liabilities
Non-current Liabilities of Airtel has
been fluctuating over the 5 years
period 2012-2016. It was 1,17,294
million (INR) in 2012. Then it has
decreased to 1,23,681 million (INR)
in 2014. After that, it has been
increased to 4,96,002 million (INR)
in 2016.
Balance Sheet 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Shareholders’ Funds 8,44,468 7,82,729 6,67,280 5,41,462 4,94,296
Balance Sheet 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Non-current Liabilities 4,96,002 2,50,993 1,23,681 1,43,113 1,17,294
844468
782729
667280
541462
494296
0
100000
200000
300000
400000
500000
600000
700000
800000
900000
Airtel
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012

P a g e 56 | 96
Current Liabilities
Current Liabilities of Airtel
has been fluctuating over the 5
years period 2012-2016. It
was 191,647 million (INR) in
2012. Then it has decreased to
1,91,080 million (INR) in
2014. After that, it has been
increased to 2,78,918 million
(INR) in 2016.
ASSETS
Non-current Assets
Non-current Assets of Airtel in
the year 2012 was 6,62,855
increased from year to year. It has
reached to 15,05,331 million
Balance Sheet 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Current Liabilities 2,78,918 2,30,515 1,91,080 1,94,257 1,91,647
Balance Sheet 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Non-current Assets 15,05,331 11,16,673 9,14,653 8,16,794 6,62,855
1505331
1116673
914653
816794
662855
0
200000
400000
600000
800000
1000000
1200000
1400000
1600000
Non-current Assets
Airtel
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012

P a g e 57 | 96
Current Assets
Current Assets of Airtel has been
fluctuating over the 5 years period
2012-2016. It was 140,382
million (INR) in 2012. Then it has
diminished to 62,038 million
(INR) in 2013. After that, it has
touched to 67,388 million (INR)
in 2014. Then it has touched to
maximum to 147,564 million
(INR) in 2015 and started
decreasing to 114,057 million
Balance Sheet 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Current Assets 1,14,057 1,47,564 67,388 62,038 1,40,382

P a g e 58 | 96
ANALYSIS OF CASH FLOW:
Particulars 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
A. Cash flows from operating activities:
Profit before tax 1,00,398 1,56,553 83,774 64,548 69,562
Adjustments for:
Depreciation and amortisation expense 95,431 75,597 72,313 68,267 59,160
Exceptional Items (refer Note 36) 2,925 0 2,071 0 0
Interest income -2,815 -1,396 -433 -2,096 -1,647
(Profit)/ loss on sale of investments -173 -34,698 -2,096 -1,208 -1,015
Finance costs 35,590 14,091 13,364 17,654 15,619
Unrealized foreign exchange (gain) / loss 248 -853 -285 -8,860 -5,603
Expenses on employee stock option plan 204 -6 -42 242 536
(Profit)/ loss on sale of assets (net) 716 550 -95 481 473
Dividend income -9,470 -13,700 -4,588 -4,100 -263
Operating cash flow before changes in assets and
liabilities
2,23,054 1,96,138 1,63,983 1,34,928 1,36,822
Adjustments for changes in assets and liabilities :
(Increase)/decrease in trade receivables -4,972 -11,455 600 -1,123 -6,725
(Increase)/decrease in other receivables -11,565 -4,074 -1,596 -948 -8,315
(Increase)/decrease in inventories 68 -83 10 300 23
Increase/(decrease) in trade and other payables 15,701 27,260 15,420 21,218 6,421
Increase/(decrease) in provisions 93 148 316 304 115
Cash generated from operations 2,22,379 2,07,934 1,78,733 1,54,679 1,28,341
CSR expenses paid 0 -411 0 0 0
Income taxes paid -21,797 -28,125 -18,513 -15,832 -13,963
Net cash flow from / (used in) operating activities 2,00,582 1,79,398 1,60,220 1,38,847 1,14,378
B. Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchase of tangible assets -1,17,411 -70,142 -50,820 -44,213 -45,692
Purchase of intangible assets -69,907 -6,900 -57,289 -2,974 -5,260
Proceeds from sale of tangible assets 4,852 501 332 405 1,965
Sale/(Purchase) of investments (net) 47,376 -40,392 8,005 -4,250 -3,244
Proceeds from sale/redemption/reduction of
shares in subsidiaries/ associates/ joint ventures
(net of expenses)
0 40,499 0 0 0
Proceeds from sale of an undertaking under slump sale 0 0 1,771 0 0
Acquisition/ subscription/investment in
subsidiaries/ associates/ joint ventures (refer Note
38)
-1,11,384 -40,292 -13,350 -43,709 -990
Net movement in advances given to subsidiaries/
associates/ joint ventures
-15,338 -26,348 -64,443 -20,201 -72,289
Purchase of bank deposits (with maturity more
than three months)
-46,717 -705 -791 -2,852 -1,264
Proceeds from maturity of bank deposits (with
maturity more than three months)
46,658 671 654 3,764 52
Interest received 2,819 1,396 218 2,933 341
Dividend received from subsidiary companies 9,470 13,700 4,850 3,838 263
Net cash flow from / (used in) investing activities -2,22,833 -1,28,012 -1,70,863 -1,07,259 -1,26,118
C. Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from issuance of equity shares to
institutional investor
0 0 67,956 0 0
Proceeds from borrowings 74,520 23,192 69,914 54,511 1,00,868
Repayments of borrowings -37,648 -58,138 -1,11,219 -68,434 -69,875
Short-term borrowings (net) -105 3,094 0 2,022 -81
Dividend paid -8,875 -13,711 -3,798 -3,798 -3,798
Tax on dividend paid 0 -2 0 -8 -616
Interest and other finance charges paid -9,007 -6,392 -11,031 -16,150 -12,838
Net cash flow from / (used in) financing activities 18,885 -51,957 11,822 -31,857 14,008
Net increase / (decrease) in cash and cash
equivalents during the year
-3,366 -571 1,179 -269 2,268
Add : Balance as at the beginning of the year 3,887 4,458 3,279 3,548 1,280
Balance as at the end of the year (refer note 23) 521 3,887 4,458 3,279 3,548
Cash Flow Statement (Rs. Millions)

P a g e 59 | 96
Interpretation
Net cash flow from / (used in) operating activities
Net cash flow from / (used
in) operating activities of
Airtel in the year 2012 was
1,14,378 million (INR) and it
has been increased
persistently. It has reached to
year 2016.
Net cash flow from / (used in) investing activities
Net cash flow from / (used in)
investing activities of Airtel has
been fluctuating over the 5 years
period 2012-2016. It was
(1,26,118) million (INR) in 2012.
Then it has increased to (1,70,863)
million (INR) in 2014. After that,
it has been increased to (2,22,833)
million (INR) in 2016.
Cash Flow 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Net cash flow from / (used in) operating activities 2,00,582 1,79,398 1,60,220 1,38,847 1,14,378
Cash Flow 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Net cash flow from / (used in) investing activities -2,22,833 -1,28,012 -1,70,863 -1,07,259 -1,26,118

P a g e 60 | 96
Net cash flow from / (used in) financing activities
Net cash flow from / (used in)
financing activities of Airtel has
fluctuated over the 5 years period
2012-2016. It was 14,008 million
(INR) in 2012. Then it has
decreased to (31,857) million
(INR) in 2013. Then, it has
increased to11,822 million (INR)
in 2014. Then it has fallen to
(51,957) million (INR) in 2015 and
after that it has recovered to 18,885
million (INR) in 2016.
Balance as at the end of the year
Balance as at the end of the year of
Airtel has been fluctuating over
the 5 years period 2012-2016. It
was 3,548 million (INR) in 2012.
Then it has increased to 4,458
million (INR) in 2014. After that,
it has fallen to 521 million (INR)
in 2016.
Cash Flow 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Net cash flow from / (used in) financing activities 18,885 -51,957 11,822 -31,857 14,008
Cash Flow 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Balance as at the end of the year 521 3,887 4,458 3,279 3,548
18885
-51957
11822
-31857
14008
-60000
-50000
-40000
-30000
-20000
-10000
0
10000
20000
30000
Netcash flow from / (used in) financing activities
Airtel
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012

P a g e 61 | 96
INTRODUCTION
As India's leading GSM Mobile Services operator, IDEA Cellular has licenses
to operate in 11 circles. With a customer base of over 17 million, IDEA Cellular has
operations in Delhi, Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Chattisgarh, Uttaranchal, Haryana, UP-West, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala. IDEA
Cellular's footprint currently covers approximately 45% of India's population and over
50% of the potential telecom-market. As a leader in Value Added Services, Innovation
is central to IDEA's VAS Factory. It is the first cellular company to launch music
messaging with 'Cellular Jockey', 'Background Tones', 'Group Talk', a voice portal with
'Say IDEA' and a complete suite of Mobile Email Services.Idea Cellular is a wireless
telephony company operating in various states in India. It initially started in 1995 as a
join venture between the Tatas, Aditya Birla Group and AT&T by merging Tata Cellular
and Birla AT&T Communications.
IDEA AT A GLANCE

P a g e 62 | 96
2002 - Changed name to Idea Cellular Limited and launched "Idea“ brand name.
Commenced commercial operationsin Delhi Circle. Reached the one
millionsubscriber mark.
2004 - Acquired Escotel Mobile CommunicationsLimited (subsequently
renamed as Idea MobileCommunicationsLimited).
2005 - First operator in India to commercially launch EDGE services.
2006 - Became part of the Aditya Birla Group subsequent to the TATA Group
transferring its entire shareholdingin the Company to the Aditya Birla
Group. Acquired Escorts TelecommunicationsLimited (subsequently
renamed as Idea TelecommunicationsLimited).
2008 - Acquired Spice Communicationswith the operating circles of Punjab and
Karnataka.Launched services in Bihar and Mumbai.
2009 - Idea becomes a pan-India operator.
2010 - Idea emerged as the 3rd largest mobile operatorin India, in revenue terms.
2011 - First operator to announcethe launch of Mobile Number Portability.
Launches 3G services in 10 circles.
2013 - Became the 3rd largest mobile operator in subscriber terms.
VISION
To be a premium global conglomerate with a clear focus on each business.
MISSION
"We will delight our customers while meeting their individual communication
needs anytime anywhere“
VALUES
Integrity – Honesty in every action
Commitment– Deliver on the promise
Passion – Energized action
Seamlessness– Without boundaries in letter and spirit
Speed – One step ahead always

P a g e 63 | 96
STRATEGY
The Idea Cellular Limited falls in the “question mark” quadrant of BCG matrix
and in the High attractive and Strong Competitive strength category as per the GE
Matrix. Thus they need to formulate some strategies to try capturing some market share,
growing and building their brand image as well as brand value.
Market penetration
The company enters where the products and the market already exists. IDEA being
a question mark that means it is competing in a high growth market but with a relatively
low share compare to its competitors. Market penetration can be done by attracting
competitor’s customers that implies increase in market share. The strategy that IDEA
can adapt under market penetration is to attract non-users and convince to use their
product more often. They are different market penetration strategies like cutting price,
increase in promotion, and creating innovative distribution tactics. The target should be
in such a way that IDEA sales volume relative to its competitors should be high as
expressed in percentage. IDEA’s present market share is about 12%, and competitors
like airtel, Vodafone, and BSNL have a market share of about 31, 23, and 19 percent
respectively. Though telecom industry is growing rapidly every year, there is always a
little increment in the percentage of sales for IDEA. To overcome this problem and to
occupy the competitor’s position we recommend following strategies.
 Increasing the mobile circles which are at present are only 11, so there is always
a need to expand its services.
 Target the rural segment in India which is expected to grow by 15% every year
 Launch different types of packages as per the requirements for different
segments of the customers
 Provide more high end services like GPRS, mobile internet services
 Collaboration with different service providers on global basis to provide better
facility to customers on roaming.
 Tracing out the search patterns which are left untapped by the competitors to
reveal new markets.

P a g e 64 | 96
ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE
FINANCIAL RESULTS
Financial Year ended March 31, 2016 are summarized below:
CORPORATE LEVEL
MD (Mr. Himanshu Kapania)
CIRCLE LEVEL (Delhi)
Circle Head (Mr. Sanjeev Govil)
CXOs
CMO CHRO CFO CCO CSDO CSO CNO
Marketing
Head
S&P
Head
HR
Head
Sales
Head
Networks
Head
F&A
Head
Comm
Head
SD
Head
Facilities
Head
Learning & Dev.
Head
HR Ops
Head
Recruitment
Head
NOTE:There are 8 departments at
the circle level and all departments
further have verticals under them
(like we’veshown herefor HR).
There is a team of employees
workingineach vertical with a
vertical head.
NOTE:Circle level Dept
heads also have dotted line
reporting to their
respectiveCXOs at the
corporatelevel.
Recruitment Team

P a g e 65 | 96
AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS
Corporate Awards:
 Bagged the Amity Leadership Awards- 2013 in leveraging IT in Telecommunications
Sector
 Winner of the Citizen Journalist Awards- 2013
 Idea CTO Anil Tandan won the 'CTO of the Year Award' at Voice & Data Awards 2012
 'Emerging Company of The Year Award' : Economic Times Corporate Excellence
Award 2009
 'Mobile Operator of the Year - India' : Asian Mobile News Awards in 2007 & '08
Service Delivery Awards:
 Received the Amity Telecom Excellence Award for 'The Best Rural Services Provider
of the Year 2013'
 Winner of ET Telecom Awards 2012, for 'Customer Experience Enhancement'
 Idea won the Aegis Graham Bell Awards 2012 for implementation of Hub-Spoke model
under 'Innovative Telecom Business Model' category
 Idea won the Amity Telecom Excellence Award for 'The Best Rural Service Provider
of the Year 2012'
 'Most Customer Responsive Company' in the Telecom sector: Avaya Global Connect
Awards 2010
 Idea Insta-Alert chosen as 'Nominee by the 2010 GSMA Awards Judges' under Best
Billing and Customer Care Solution category
 'Best Billing and Customer Care Solution Award in 2006 & '07: GSM Association
Marketing Awards:
 Winner of ET Telecom Awards 2012, in the categories, 'Excellence in Marketing', and
'Innovative Products'
 'Golden Peacock Award 2008' for Most Innovative Product & Services
HR Awards:
 No.1 Telecom Operator Brand of choice by Great Places to Work For in 2011
 Featured in the, 'Best Companies to Work for' Survey by BT in 2010
 As per the 10th BT Survey conducted along with "Indicus" & "People strong" (Analytics
& Consulting companies) in Best Companies to Work For – Idea ranked in the Top 3 of
Telecom & Allied Companies sector.
 Idea Cellular Ltd has been ranked #1 in the Telecommunications sector as part of India's
Best Company to Work Study in 2013 and in the previous participation year 2011 as
well.
 It has Ranked #17 in the overall ranking of India's best Companies to Work for 2013
amongst 550 companies which had participated across sectors on an All India basis.

P a g e 66 | 96
 Idea has been awarded the "Best Place to Work" at the Asia Communication Awards
2013. These awards recognize the achievements of best telecom companies across Asia.
 Idea has been recognized as one of the best companies to work for in the "Top 25 Best
Companies to Work For Awards 2016" conducted by Business Today and People
Strong in collaboration with Naukri.com
Brand Awards:
 3rd Best Client of the Year at EFFIES – January 2014
 2 Gold Awards in the ‘Integrated Advertising Campaign and Services - Telecom &
Related products category' for Honey Bunny and Telephone Exchange campaigns; 1
Silver Award in the 'Services - Telecom & related products category' for Honey Bunny;
and 1 Bronze Award in Best On-going campaign category for 'What an Idea!' series.
 Bagged awards of our various brand initiatives from two media houses - exchange for
media and Pitch for excellence in Media
 CNBC TV18 India Business Leader Awards 2013, Idea was awarded the 'Storyboard
Brand Campaign of the Year Award' for the Honey Bunny campaign.
 World Communication Awards 2012 'Best Brand Campaign of the Year for 3G
Population
 Idea won Gold for the 3G Population brand campaign at The 2012 APPIES - the Asia
Pacific Marketing Congress
 Best use of Social Media - India Social Case Campaign in 2012
 Bronze Awards for innovation in Ambient and TV Media in 2012
 Best Video Creative made for Internet/ Mobile Media at the Exchange for Media Digital
Awards- 2011
 Best use of Online Banner Advertising at the Digital Media Awards in 2011
 Yahoo Big Idea Chair Best Online Advertising in 2011
 The latest is GOLD EFFIE to MNP Campaign in 2011
 The same campaign won under the category, 'Relationship building' at the Annual MMA
Global Awards in 2011
 Olive Crown Gold Award for the Green Brand of the year at Goa fest in 2011
 Silver at the Indian Digital Media Awards in 2011
 'Most outstanding use of Radio in an Ad campaign' at the India Radio Forum in 2011
 'Digital Brand of the Year': Campaign India Digital Media Awards, presented by
BBC.com in 2010
 'Best Ad Campaign' : Tele.Net Telecom Awards 2010
 Won 2 awards for, 'Use Mobile, Save Paper' at the Effies in 2010
 '4th Buzziest Brand in India' in 2009, '10: agency faqs
 Silver at the Yahoo Big Chair in the 'Best use of Technology' for the 'Language
translator Mobile App' in 2010
 Social Media Campaign of the Year at the WAT Awards in 2010
 Digital Media Campaign of the Year at the WAT Awards in 2010
 'Best Celebrity Endorsement of the Year Award' with Brand Ambassador Abhishek
Bachchan in 2009: NDTV

P a g e 67 | 96
 Featured amongst the countries prominent, 'Power brands'
 Ranked 28th amongst all products and services brands climbing 117 ranks over last year
 'Break the Language Barrier' won many accolades across digital, radio, TV and media
innovation
SWOT ANALYSIS

P a g e 68 | 96
ANALYSIS OF PROFIT & LOSS A/C:
INCOME 3,57,725.12 3,12,520.70 2,61,104.00 2,21,409.87 1,93,381.85
Service revenue 311.78 274.01 690.69 2,664.58 1,505.00
Other operating income 30 3,58,036.90 3,12,794.71 2,61,794.69 2,20,868.74 1,94,886.85
Revenue from operations 1,773.43 4,523.37 2,239.58 502.09 524.78
Other income 31 3,59,810.33 3,17,318.08 2,64,034.27 2,24,576.54 1,95,411.63
TOTAL INCOME
OPERATING EXPENDITURE 14,735.23 13,587.28 11,610.12 11,225.28 9,499.16
Employee benefit expenses 32 92,655.82 82,886.64 74,745.37 55,360.60 48,608.39
Network expenses and IToutsourcing cost 33 41,507.83 35,351.47 29,237.98 24,752.50 23,231.83
License fees and spectrum usage charges 34 46,653.46 47,313.23 41,615.64 40,145.27 32,798.75
Roaming and access charges 35 30,019.48 25,038.29 20,905.58 20,467.29 19,869.00
Subscriber acquisition and servicing expenditure 36 4,833.19 4,929.13 4,616.55 4,720.29 4,281.21
Advertisement and business promotion expenditure 8,686.00 6,206.64 6,954.55 5,541.57 4,786.20
Administration and other expenses 37 2,39,091.01 2,16,060.59 1,88,937.88 1,62,212.80 1,43,074.54
PROFIT BEFORE FINANCE CHARGES, DEPRECIATION,
AMORTISATION AND TAXES 1,20,719.32 1,01,257.49 75,096.39 60,045.38 50,923.37
Finance costs 38 17,778.52 9,316.58 8,111.14 9,494.50 10,557.29
Depreciation 7 47,716.68 41,434.95 34,622.71 29,589.50 24,356.93
Amortisation 8 14,515.61 7,115.13 6,309.73 5,188.15 5,456.42
PROFIT/(LOSS) BEFORE TAX 40,708.51 43,390.83 26,052.81 15773.23 10552.73
Tax expense:
Current tax 56 8,621.82 14,530.99 5,434.11 3,506.98 2,227.52
Deferred tax 56 5,623.81 780.27 5,079.31 4,907.46 3,173.60
PROFIT/(LOSS) AFTER TAX 26,462.88 28,098.35 18,246.73 12,859.75 9,308.15
OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME/ (LOSS)
Items not to be reclassified to profit or loss in subsequent
periods:
Re-measurement gains/(losses) of defined benefit plans 53 -205.48
Income tax effect 71.11
Other comprehensive income / (loss) for the year, net of tax -134.37
TOTAL COMPREHENSIVEINCOME /(LOSS) FOR THE YEAR 26,328.51 28,098.35 18,246.73 12,859.75 9,308.15
Earnings per equity share (in Rs): 58
Basic 7.35 7.94 5.09 3.05 2.19
Diluted 7.33 7.91 5.08 2.18 3.05
Idea Cellular Limited
Statement of Profit and Loss (Rs. Millions)

P a g e 69 | 96
Interpretation
INCOME
Revenue from operations of Idea
in the year 2012 was 1,94,887
3,58,037 million (INR) in the year
2016.
Total income
Total income of Idea in the year
2012 was 1,95,412 million
(INR) and it has been increased
year by year as revenue from
operations increased. In the year
2016, it has increased to
3,59,810 million (INR).
Profit & Loss A/c 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Revenue from operations 3,58,037 3,12,795 2,61,795 2,20,869 1,94,887
Profit & Loss A/c 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
TOTAL INCOME 3,59,810 3,17,318 2,64,034 2,24,577 1,95,412
358036.9
312794.71
261794.69
220868.74
194886.85
0
50000
100000
150000
200000
250000
300000
350000
400000
Idea
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012

P a g e 70 | 96
EXPENDITURE
Roaming and access charges
Roaming and access charges of
Idea has been fluctuating over
the 5 years period 2012-2016, In
2016 it has reached to 46,653
million (INR). As per
fluctuation, in the year 2015, it
was 47,313 million (INR).
License fee and spectrum charges
License fee and spectrum
charges of Idea in the year 2012
was 23,232 million (INR) and it
has been increased year by year.
It has increased to 41,508
million (INR) in the year 2016.
Profit & Loss A/c 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Roaming and access charges 46,653 47,313 41,616 40,145 32,799
Profit & Loss A/c 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
License fees and spectrum usage charges 41,508 35,351 29,238 24,753 23,232

P a g e 71 | 96
Total expenses
Total expenses of Idea in the
year 2012 was 1,43,075
year 2016.
Profit before finance costs, depreciation, amortisation, exceptional
items and tax (EBITDA)
EBITDA of Idea has been
increasing over the 5 years period
2012-2016. It has been increased
from 50,923 million (INR) in
2012 to 1,20,719 million (INR) in
2016.
Profit & Loss A/c 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Total Expenditure 2,39,091 2,16,061 1,88,938 1,62,213 1,43,075
Profit & Loss A/c 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
PROFIT BEFORE FINANCE CHARGES, DEPRECIATION,
AMORTISATION AND TAXES 1,20,719 1,01,257 75,096 60,045 50,923
239091
216061
188938
162213
143075
0
50000
100000
150000
200000
250000
300000
Idea
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012

P a g e 72 | 96
Depreciation and Amortisation
Depreciation and amortisation
of Idea in the year 2012 was
29,813 million (INR) and it
has been increased year by
year. It has reached to 62,232
million (INR) in the year
2016.
Profit for the year
Profit/Loss of Idea has been
period 2012-2016. In 2016, it
has increased to 26,329
million (INR). As per
fluctuation in 2015, it was
28,098 million (INR).
Profit & Loss A/c 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Depreciation & Amortisation 62,232 48,550 40,932 34,778 29,813
Profit & Loss A/c 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME /
(LOSS) FOR THE YEAR
26,329 28,098 18,247 12,860 9,308

A Study on Telecom Industry (Bharti Airtel Ltd & Idea Cellular Ltd)

A Study on Telecom Industry (Bharti Airtel Ltd & Idea Cellular Ltd)

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