Customer Preference While Selecting A Broadband Plan 1

CUSTOMER PREFERENCE WHILE SELECTING A BROADBAND PLAN
A
Project Report
On
Customer Preference while Selecting a Broadband plan
At
AIRTEL LTD
FROM: 18th MAY, 2015 to 17th JULY, 2015

For the particular fulfillment of Degree of
Master of Business Administration
South Gujarat University
Surat
Submitted By:
BABU JENA T. (31)
MBA 2ND SEM
Submitted To:
Prof. HITESH PARMAR
Department of business & Industrial of Management
MBA PROGRAMME
SURAT
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Acknowledgement
First and foremost, I will admire special thanks to the Almighty God for sustaining the
enthusiasm with which plunged into this endeavor.
This project is successful largely due to the effort of a number of wonderful people who have always
given their valuable advice & lent a helping hand. I sincerely appreciate the inspiration; support and
guidance of all those people who have been instrumental in making this project a success.
I want to bid my heartiest thanks to my mentor Dr. Hitesh Parmar sir who assigned me this
below mentioned project topic and helped me at every step during the preparation of the work
of study A Study on Preference ofconsumer while selecting a broadband plan in surat.
Then I want to thanks Airtel Ltd. of Surat for giving me the opportunity to do my internship
in the organization. It wont have been possible for me to this report without the guidance and
assistance from Mr.Nitin Srivastava, sales manager. Writing this report appeared to be a great
experience to me. It added a lot to my knowledge when I was working on this project. If I
say that this project is one of my memorable experience in student life, than it would not be
wrong.
The inception of this project has been a great learning experience, and also has put in place
all fragmented ideas in various areas within me to more logical and meaningful results. I want
to thanks my college library for their rich sources of knowledge and internet facilities.
I am highly obliged to my support team at Airtel to help me during my training period. It is
my foremost duty to thank all my respondents, who helped me to complete my fieldwork
without whom this project was not possible. I would also like to thanks especially to all the
faculty members of Department of Business & Industrial Management for their support and
guidance.
Last but not the least I place a deep sense of gratitude to my family members and my friends
who have been constant source of inspiration during the preparation of this project work.
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DECLARATION
I declare that this project report entitled To study the preference of consumers of Surat city
while selecting a Broadband plan is the result of my own work carried out during May to
July 2015-2016 and has not been previously submitted to any other university or institute for
any other purpose by me or by any other person.
I will not use this project report in future to use as submission to any other university or
institute without written permission of my guide.
I also promise not to permit any other person to copy from this report in any form.
If we were found or caught as defaulter of above declaration, I know that our present of
future submissions may become invalid and/ or may not be permitted to appear in the final
exam.
Place:
------------------------------
Date :
(Babu Jena T.)
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Executive Summary
The title of the project is To study the preference of consumers of Surat city while selecting
a Broadband plan during May - July 2015. The main objective of the study was to know
how the preference of the consumers of broadband while selecting a Broadband planand to
identify the factors that are affecting a consumer while selecting a broadband provider. As a
part of my study I covered most of the areas in Surat including places like Ghod Dhod, Ring
Road, Citylight, Vesu, Bhatar and Adajan. For the research study, descriptive research has
been used. The sampling technique used for this study was simple random sampling and the
sample size was 100.
The required primary source of data is collected from general public through personal survey,
questionnaire, mail survey has been used and an empirical study is done for knowing their
preference while selecting a broadband plan.
In questionnaire open ended, choice question, ranking question and grid type questions have
been used. The samples have been selected by using Convenience sampling method. For the
purpose of analysis SPSS have been used further charts and tables are used for the purpose of
interpretation
But here many limitations were faced like limited knowledge of research, limited span
related to Surat area only, lack of experience and respondents were sleeted as per
convenience sampling.
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Table of Contents
CHAPTE
R1
PAGE
NO.
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Introduction to the study.

6
1.2
Industry profile.
10
1.3
Company profile.
24
1.4
Company history.
1.5
Chairman profile.
1.6
Organization structure.
1.7
Management profile
25
34
36
37
CHAPTE
R 2
CHAPTER
4
CHAPTER
5
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
OBJECTIVE
LITERATURE REVIEW
RESEARCH DESIGN
DATA COLLECTION METHOD
PERIOD OF STUDY
NEED & SCOPE
LIMITATION OF STUDY
DATA ANALYSIS
40
41
42
42
43
44
44
45
FINDING AND RECOMMENDATION
67
ANNEXURE
BIBLOGRAPHY
70
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List of tables
Table
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
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No.
Titles
Table showing necessity of net connection for the consumers:
Table showing the type of connection used by the consumers.
Table showing purpose of internet usage by respondents.
Table showing reason for choosing broadband connection for
Price
Service quality
Offers
Speed & Security
Brand Name
Table showing the expense made by the consumer behind
broadband
Table showing the type of plan which consumers like to have.
Table showing the speed which a consumer like to have for
broadband
Table showing the preference of consumers priority for
broadband plan for Speed
broadband plan for Security
broadband plan for Safety
broadband plan for usage
broadband plan for After sales service
Table showing sources from which they came to select a
broadband plan
Table showing Preferences towards the Value Added Service
offered:
Table showing the preference of which VAS is to be provided:
Table showing which broadband provider the consumer prefer to
use:
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21
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Table Showing the preference towards a demo while selecting a

broadband provider:
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1.1 Introduction to the study:

The summer internship project entitled A study on customer perception while selecting a
broadband plan was carried out by me as a part of my studies. Due to this project I have got
an excellent opportunity to apply theoretical thing which I have learnt during classroom
session in practical outfield.
Airtel broadband is working so well in Surat with a growing number of customers by making
its own brand identity and quality of service provided by them. It has connected approx. 600
residential as well as commercial buildings with an aim to provide quality service in different
area of surat. The study is mainly conducted in those area only which is connected by Airtel
in a way to know the satisfaction level of customer using Airtel broadband.
I am doing my research project on this particular topic because I believe that it will help me
to know more about customer preferences, customer buying behaviour, competitors strategies
and interacting with customers. The research work will also help the company to know more
about customer preference and also about their competitors strategies. The research will also
help Airtel to build good customer relationship.
Customer:
A customer (sometimes known as a client, buyer, or purchaser) is the recipient of a good,
service, product, or idea, obtained from a seller, vendor, or supplier for a monetary or other
valuable consideration. Customers are generally categorized into two types:
An intermediate customer or trade customer (more informally: the trade) who is
a dealer that purchases goods for re-sale.
An ultimate customer who does not in turn re-sell the things bought but either
passes them to the consumer or actually is the consumer.
A customer may or may not also be a consumer, but the two notions are distinct, even though
the terms are commonly confused. A customer purchases goods; a consumer uses them. An
ultimate customer may be a consumer as well, but just as equally may have purchased items
for someone else to consume. An intermediate customer is not a consumer at all. The
situation is somewhat complicated in that ultimate customers of so-called industrial goods
and services (who are entities such as government bodies, manufacturers, and educational and
medical institutions) either themselves use up the goods and services that they buy, or
incorporate them into other finished products, and so are technically consumers, too.
However, they are rarely called that, but are rather called industrial customers or business
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to business customers. Similarly, customers who buy services rather than goods are rarely
called consumers.
Six Sigma doctrine places (active) customers in opposition to two other classes of people:
not-customers and non-customers. Whilst customers have actively dealt with a business
within a particular recent period that depends on the product sold, not-customers are either
past customers who are no longer customers or potential customers who choose to do
business with the competition, and non-customers are people who are active in a different
market segment entirely. Geoff Tennant, a Six Sigma consultant from the United Kingdom,
uses the following analogy to explain the difference: A supermarkets customer is the person
buying milk at that supermarket; a not-customer is buying milk from a competing
supermarket, whereas a non-customer doesn't buy milk from supermarkets at all but rather
has milk delivered to the door in the traditional British way. Tennant also categorizes
customers another way, that is employed outwith the fields of marketing. Whilst the
intermediate/ultimate categorization is used by marketers, market regulation, and economists,
in the world of customer service customers are categorized more often into two classes:
An external customer of an organization is a customer who is not directly connected
to that organization.
An internal customer is a customer who is directly connected to an organization,
and is usually (but not necessarily) internal to the organization. Internal customers
are usually stakeholders, employees, or shareholders, but the definition also
encompasses creditors and external regulators.
Customer Preference
"Consumer preference" is a marketing term meaning a consumer likes one thing over
another. For instance, a trend may indicate consumers prefer using debit cards over credit
cards to pay for goods. Companies rely on surveys, information and data in order to
customize products and use services based upon consumer
Preferences
Consumer preference is a measurement of consumer attitudes about products, services or
brands. While its always been smart to keep consumer happy, the term Consumer
preference became popularized in the 1980s with the total quality movement.
Consumer preference is a term, which measure how products and services supplied by a
company meet or surpass customer expectation.
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Consumer preference is a general term applied to all facets of marketing products and
services. This is not to be confused with the more-specific term brand preference, which
relates to consumers preferring one brand over competing brands. If one brand is unavailable,
consumers will likely choose another brand to fill the gap.
A revealed preference is also a subset of consumer preferences in that companies determine
consumption behavior based upon sales numbers.
Necessity of Consumer Preference

The preferences of the consumers are a positive motivation, expressed by the affective
compatibility towards a product, service or trading form. Were not dealing with an internal
bodily function, but a quality of objects that aims to fulfill our needs, quality acquired within
the connection between man and the merchandise able to fulfill these needs.
Preferences can be triggered by: the features related to the material substance of the goods
(shape, size, print, taste, colour, consistency, package, etc.); elements referring to label, name,
use instructions that accompany the product; the statute granted to the person owning and
using that particular product1. Theoreticians, at some point, had the tendency to limit the
preference to the concept of choice; however choice and preference are two radically
different entities: the first one is an action and the other one, a state of mind2. Preferences are
the result of a long-term relationship between the brand and the consumer, as the latter learns
to associate the brand with a symbol and perceive it as having high quality. Following these
deep connections created over the course of time, a strong emotion is developed which lies on
the basis of preferences, remaining present even in the absence of the friendly symbol or of
any other component feature.
Although a hardly comprehensible concept, it has been demonstrated that the consumers
preference can be measured effectively, and that their study can provide a more thorough
understanding on the choices consumers make, when they decide to select a particular offerer
as against the other, or even when they decide to continue the relationship with the offerer in
time. Additionally, conducted studies have established various concepts related to the
preference, such as the concept of the formed preference which underlines the idea that the
consumers preferences are not better defined, but rather formed along the process of
choosing, a constructive point of view which suggests that different tasks and contexts
highlight different aspects of the options, the consumer concentrating on different
considerations leading to inconsistent decisions.
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Knowledge of consumer preferences is especially important with respect to the various

activities carried out at the organizational level, necessary for its survival. For instance, if an
entrepreneur must determine what features must have the product he wants to create, he will
interview more potential buyers, asking them to mention the level of preference for each
separate feature. The consumer preferences and behavior represent the basis of the pretesting
models for the new products , which implies determining the functional relationships between
the buyers opinion concerning a product, testing it and the purchase behavior. The level of
preferences is one of the variables that need to be taken into account when identifying the
strong and weak points of the competitors. By measuring the consumer preferences before
and after carrying out an advertising campaign, the transmitter may evaluate its success or
failure4.The preferences towards certain products or brands may constitute the theme of a
survey supplying information concerning the relative non-consumers, since attracting these
represents an important means of increasing the sales volume up to the maximum limits of
market potential. The companies constantly increasing the level of reminding and of
preference shall attain an inevitable increase in market share and profitability. The size of
profits is less important than managing to consolidate consumer preferences towards its
products.
More frequent are the situations that emphasize the necessity of knowing this dimension of
the consumers behaviour.
After determining consumer preferences towards a brand, the producer may take the
following measures, with a view to increase preferences for that brand: change the product;
change beliefs concerning the brand; change beliefs concerning the competing brands;
change the importance of features; attract attention towards neglected features; change the
consumers ideals.
In addition, in order to attract consumers preferences towards their own brands, producers
and retailers may chose the option of renting those brands having won the preferences of
consumers (names or symbols previously created by other producers, names of celebrities,
names of movie characters etc.).
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Fundamentals of studying the consumers preferences

The theory of rational choice comprises attitude components which, in the end, represent the
basis of forming a preference. This theory gives us a model contributing to a better
understanding of the way consumers preferences are formed and providing us, in an
appropriate way, with the necessary means of researching and foreseeing the evolution of the
consumers preferences.
After analysing the way consumers preferences are formed from the point
of view of the theory of rational choice, we can state that, in order to
understand the consumers preferences, it is necessary to determine their
demands and desires regarding the performance (functionality) involved
in the purchase, the expected emotional results, as well as the subjective
standards consumers use to identify the tendency for a product or a
service as against the others.
1.1 Industry profile:

The telecom industry has been divided into two major segments:
I.
II.
Fixed cellular services and

Wireless cellular services.
In todays information age, the telecommunication industry has a vital role to play.
Considered as the backbone of industrial and economic development, the industry has been
aiding delivery of voice and data services at rapidly increasing speeds, and thus, has been
revolutionising human communication. Although the Indian telecom industry is one of the
fastest- growing industries in the world, the current teledensity or telecom penetration is
extremely low when compared with global standards.
Indias teledensity of 36.98% in FY09 is amongst the lowest in the world. Further, the urban
teledensity is over 80%, while rural teledensity is less than 20%, and this gap is increasing.
As majority of the population resides in rural areas, it is important that the government takes
steps to improve rural teledensity. No doubt the government has taken certain policy
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initiatives, which include the creation of the Universal Service Obligation Fund, for
improving rural telephony. These measures are expected to improve the rural teledensity
and bridge the rural-urban gap in tele-density.
1.1.1
History of Tele-communication:
The history of Indian telecom can be started with the introduction of

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; Agra , Mumbai (then Bombay) through Sindwa
Ghats, and Chennai (then Madras) in the south; Ootacamund and
Bangalore. William OShaughnessy, 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 exchanges in India. The
permission was refused on the grounds that the establishment of
telephones was a Government monopoly and that the Government itself
would undertake the work. 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 Ahmadabad and the first formal telephone
service was established in the country.
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On 28 January 1882, Major E. Baring, Member of the Governor General of

Indias 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 Sand head.
1907 First Central Battery of telephones introduced in Kanpur.
19131914 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,
[{Uttar
Pradesh}
Noida
Sector
62SCMS].
1983 First analogue Stored Programme Control exchange for trunk

lines commissioned at Mumbai.
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1984
C-DOT
established
for
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indigenous
development
and
production of digital exchanges.
1995 First mobile telephone service started on non-commercial

basis on 15 August 1995 in Delhi.
1995 Internet Introduced in India starting with Laxmi Nagar, Delhi

15 August 1995.
1.1.2
Liberalisation and privatisation:
Liberalisation of Indian telecommunication 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 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 LiberalisationPrivatisation - 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.
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Liberalisation 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 multinationals 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, 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 proreforms and introduced better liberalisation 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
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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, 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 be connected to cellular
operators. 56 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 200304 and 200405.
1.1.3
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Role in Indias Development:

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Contribution to GDP:
According to the UNCTAD, there is a direct correlation between the growth in mobile
teledensity and the growth in GDP per capita in developing countries, which tend to have a
high percentage of rural population. The share of the telecom services industry in the total
GDP has been rising over the past few years (the telecom sector contribution in GDP went up
from 2.52% in FY05 to 2.83 in FY07).
Employment:
The Indian telecommunication industry employs over 400,000 direct employees and about
85% of these employees are from government- owned companies. The ratio of number of
subscribers to employees, an indication of efficiency and profitability, is much higher for
private companies than for government companies.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI):
Foreign direct investment has been one of the major contributors in the growth of the Indian
economy, and therefore, the need for higher FDI is felt across sectors in the Indian economy.
The telecom sector has played a crucial role in attracting FDI in India. The share of telecom
sector in the total FDI inflows in India has gone up to 10% in FY09 as compared with just
3% in FY05. The telecom sector requires huge investments for its expansion as it is capitalintensive and FDI plays a vital role in meeting the fund requirements for expansion of the
telecom sector. Telecom accounts for almost 10% of the total FDI inflows in the country and
has been the third-largest sector to attract FDI in India in the post-liberalisation era The
Indian telecom industry has been an attractive avenue for foreign investors over the years. As
per DIPP figures, the cumulative FDI inflow during August 1991 to June 2009 period, in the
telecommunication sector amounted to US$ 113 bn. FDI calculation takes into account radio
paging, cellular mobile and basic telephone services in the telecommunication sector. In the
2004-05 Budget, the government raised the FDI limit from 49% to 74% in the telecom
services segment subject to retention of local management control. According to the new
norms, 26% share out of the 74% should be held by an Indian company or an Indian citizen
with Indian management. Further, 100% FDI is permitted in telecom manufacturing, category
I infrastructure providers, ISPs without gateway, call centres and IT-enabled services. Further,
direct or indirect FDI up to 74% is permitted subject to licensing and security requirements
for ISPs with gateways, radio paging operators and category II infrastructure providers. The
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relaxation in FDI norms has attracted many foreign telecom majors to the sector. The
presence of foreign players has not only encouraged faster infrastructure development and
upgradation but also has opened up the domestic industry to foreign competition.
Since 2004, there has been a large inflow of FDI in the sector. During 2004-05 and 2005-06,
a period during which the FDI norms were relaxed, the FDI inflow grew by an astounding
300% to US$ 624 mn in 2005-06 from merely US$ 125 mn in 2004-05. The inflow of FDI
has provided tremendous impetus to the sector in the past few years and the attractiveness of
the sector has kept FDI inflows growing steadily. During FY09 the FDI in the telecom sector
at US$ 2,558 mn was 103% higher than that seen in FY08 at US$ 1,261 mn. Further, the FDI
in the sector has already reached US$ 2010 mn for a six month period of FY10 (Apr-Sep 09)
and is expected to surpass the total FDI for FY09.
The governments liberalised FDI policies have resulted in several foreign companies
entering into the Indian markets. The influx of foreign players in the Indian telecom industry
has led to capacity creation, and better infrastructure, which in turn has bettered the network
quality. The rise in FDI has also enabled technology transfer, market access and has improved
organisational skills; going forward, FDI could be used for providing telecom services to
rural areas, where teledensity is still very low. The change in FDI policy that has raised the
FDI limit from 49% to 74% for the sector has made it more attractive for foreign players. In
the long run the growth prospects of telecom players that have foreign partners will improve
and other players will get new avenues to raise capital.
Growth of IT-ITeS and Financial Sector:
India has entered the league of countries with the most-advanced telecommunication
infrastructure after the industry was deregulated. Furthermore, deregulation has stimulated
Indias economic growth through industry growth and through rise in investments. It is
evident that a well-developed communication sector improves access to social networks,
lowers transaction costs, increases economic opportunities, widens markets, and provides
better access to information, healthcare and educational services. The growth in Indian
telecom sector has been concomitant with overall growth in GDP, government revenue,
employment et al. Besides, telecommunication has increased efficiency, reduced transaction
costs, attracted investments and has created new opportunities for business and employment.
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The NTP-99 was particularly helpful for the ITeS-BPO industry as it ended the government
monopoly in international calling by introducing IP telephony. After the introduction of IP
telephony, there was rapid growth in the number of data processing centres and inbound/
outbound call centres, which ultimately led to the outsourcing revolution in India. The
telecom sector has been instrumental in creating jobs for a vast pool of talented and
knowledge professionals in the IT and ITeS-BPO industry, which thrives on reliable
telecommunication infrastructure.
India has become an important outsourcing destination for the world and the boom in this
sector also has transformed Indias economic dynamics. The evolution of telecom sector has
brought about a revolutionary change in the way some businesses operate.
Both the financial and the IT-ITeS segments rely on good domestic as well as international
network connectivity; therefore, there is a need for a sound telecommunication network.
Factors Facilitating Growth of the Sector:
The phenomenal growth in the Indian telecom industry was brought about by the wireless
revolution that began in the nineties. Besides this, the following factors also aided the growth
of the industry.
Liberalisation:
The relaxation of telecom regulations has played a major role in the development of the
Indian telecom industry. The liberalisation policies of 1991 and the consequent influx of
private players have led the industry on a high growth trajectory and have increased the level
of competition. Post-liberalisation, the telecom industry has received more investments and
has implemented higher technology.
Increasing Affordability of Handsets:
The phenomenal growth in the Indian telecom industry was predominantly aided by the
meteoric rise in wireless subscribers, which encouraged mobile handset manufacturers to
enter the market and to cater to the growing demand. Further, the manufacturers introduced
lower-priced handsets with add-on facilities to cater to the increasing number of subscribers
from different strata of the society. Now even entry-level handsets come with features like
coloured display and FM radio. Thus, the falling handset prices and the add-on features have
triggered growth of the Indian telecom industry.
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Prepaid Cards Bring in More Subscribers:

In the late nineties, India was introduced to prepaid cards, which was yet another milestone
for the wireless sector. Prepaid cards lured more subscribers into the industry besides
lowering the credit risk of service providers due to its upfront payment concept. Prepaid cards
were quite a phenomenon among first-time users who wanted to control their bills and
students who had limited resources but greater need to be connected. Pre-paid cards greatly
helped the cellular market to grow rapidly and cater to the untapped market. Further, the
introduction of innovative schemes like recharge coupons of smaller denominations and life
time incoming free cards has led to an exponential growth in the subscriber base.
Introduction of Calling Party Pays (CPP):
The CPP regime was introduced in India in 2003 and under this regime, the calling party who
initiated the call was to bear the entire cost of the call. This regime came to be applicable for
mobile to mobile calls as well as fixed line to mobile calls. So far India had followed the
Receiving Party Pays (RPP) system where the subscriber used to pay for incoming calls from
both mobile as well as fixedline networks. Shifting to the CPP system has greatly fuelled the
subscriber growth in the sector.
Changing Demographic Profile:
The changing demographic profile of India has also played an important role in subscriber
growth. The changed profile is characterised by a large young population, a burgeoning
middle class with growing disposable income, urbanisation, increasing literacy levels and
higher adaptability to technology. These new features have multiplied the need to be
connected always and to own a wireless phone and therefore, in present times mobiles are
perceived as a utility rather than a luxury.
Increased Competition & Declining Tariffs:
Liberalisation of the telecom industry has fuelled intense competition, especially in the
cellular segment. The ever-increasing competition has led to high growth of subscribers and
has put pressure on tariffs, which have seen a sharp drop over the years. When the cellular
phones were introduced, call rates were at a peak of Rs 16 per minute and there were charges
for incoming calls too. Today, however, incoming calls are no longer charged and outgoing
calls are charged at less than a rupee per minute. Thus, the tariff war has come a long way
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indeed. Increased competition and the subsequent tariff war has acted as a major catalyst for
attracting more subscribers. Apart from these major growth drivers, an improved network
coverage, entry of CDMA players, growth of value-added services (VAS), advancement in
technology, and growing data services have also driven the growth of the industry.
Outlook:
The telecom industry in India has experienced exponential growth over the past few years
and has been an important contributor to economic growth; however, the cut-throat
competition and intense tariff wars have had a negative impact on the revenue of players.
Despite the challenges, the Indian telecom industry will thrive because of the immense
potential in terms of new users. India is one of the most- attractive telecom markets because it
is still one of the lowest penetrated markets. The government is keen on developing rural
telecom infrastructure and is also set to roll out next generation or 3G services in the country.
Operators are on an expansion mode and are investing heavily on telecom infrastructure.
Foreign telecom companies are acquiring considerable stakes in Indian companies.
Burgeoning middle class and increasing spending power, the governments thrust on
increasing rural telecom coverage, favourable investment climate and positive reforms will
ensure that Indias high potential is indeed realised.
1.1.4
History of 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 narrowband 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 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),
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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 per cent. 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), Hathaway (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 Internet penetration rate in India is one of the lowest in the world and only
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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 subsidized 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.
1.1.5
History of Broadband in INDIA:
Broadband is the common term for a high bandwidth internet connection. The current
definition of broadband in India is always on' with the speed of more than 256 Kbps. By this
yardstick, India has around 9 million broadband customers. In western countries like Finland
the 1 Mbps is already available to 90% of the citizens and the government is planning to
provide 100 mbps by 2013 to all its citizens. TRAI has recommended raising the definition
of broadband to 2 Mbps in India. If we consider 2 mbps speed the total broadband
connections will come down to 200,000 subscribers. The high cost of providing broadband
connection through wire line, contributed to this slower growth. With the launch of 3G and
BWA, the country is now poised to witness huge growth in broadband connections. 3G is
promising 14 mbps speed and BWA could deliver 100 mpbs. The main driver for the growth
of broadband will be applications like watching online video, using IP based telephony
services, and downloading music files.
VSNL launched Internet services in August 1995 in India. Till November 1998, VSNL was
the monopoly provider of internet services in the country. The Government allowed
provisioning of internet services by private operators in 1998 and the ISP licences were
issued with liberal conditions. There was no licence fee and the policy allowed unlimited
number of players who could install their own international gateways and decide their own
tariff plans.
The Government of India announced the Broadband policy during 2005. Even though India
continues to be one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the world, the growth of
Broadband is not very spectacular till now. There are around 180 operational ISPs in the
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country as on date but a very few players control the entire broadband market. It is estimated
that 90% of the connections are with 10% of the ISP providers.
As the PC penetration is very low in the country, the Indian population depends on the cyber
cafes for their internet requirement. There are around 10,000 cyber cafes in the country and
nearly 60% of the subscribers access to the internet through these cyber cafes.
The monthly broadband subscription starts from Rs 199 (US $ 4.50) and the Government is
also taking initiative to make computers available under Rs 10000 (US $ 226). The low cost
broadband has helped increase internet usage in the country. The growth of e-commerce like
mobile banking increased demand for .in domain registrations are the other factors indicating
the growth the internet usage in the country. The other initiative which will further improve
the growth is the development of local language fonts and localization of content issues.
According to an IAMAI study, Indian customers use internet for e-mail and instant messages
(98%) job search (51%) banking (32%) bill payment (18%) stock trading (15%) and
matrimonial search (15%).
Broadband access technology:
Broadband technology uses different access media.
a) Digital subscriber line (DSL)
b) Cable modem
c) Wireless access through handsets and data card
d) Optical fiber access
Globally 90% use DSL, mobile wireless and cable modem to access internet. While DSL,
Cable modem and Optical fiber are wired access, handsets and data card are providing
wireless access. The Government has created a roadmap for extending affordable broadband
connectivity to all villages by augmenting optical fiber in the country. The Government is
proposing to support the operators by subsidizing consumer premise equipment through USO
Fund. The launch of 3G and BWA services during the early next year is expected to provide
more affordable access and make broadband a mass market consumer proposition in India.
Wimax Vs LTE
The Government has recently concluded the sale of BWA (Broadband Wireless Access)
spectrum through an open, transparent and highly successful auction. While the RIL owned
Infotel has successfully bid for all the 22 circles, Aircel won 8 circles, Bharti Airtel and
Qualcomm won in 4 circles, Tikona won 5 circles and Augere 1 circle. The State owned
BSNL and MTNL have already been given spectrum, ahead of the private players. The BWA
operators have to choose between Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
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(Wimax) and Long Term Evolution (LTE) as the core technology for offering wireless
broadband services. LTE which is a future technology is expected to come in the two years.
Wimax was launched 5 years back and available to the Indian operators.
Broadband subscriber base in India is 9.45 million in June 2010. The current house hold
penetration level is 3%.This is totally inadequate if we consider the 4% population who are in
the upper middle and higher class category. The house hold penetration in other Asian
countries like Vietnam is 20%, Japan 65% and South Korea 97%. The household penetration
is expected to go up very soon after the launch of 3G and BWA. But this will help only the
upwardly mobile users. If the broadband has to go to rural areas, the mobile operators need to
be encouraged through government policies. Broadband is going to be the most fundamental
game changer for India as it will create substantial difference in education, banking and travel
and revolutionize music and entertainment. The country deserves a revolution in broadband
just as it has in mobile telephone.
1.2 Company profile:

Bharti Entreprise:
Bharti enterprise was founded in 1976, by Sunil Bharti Mittal, has grown from being a
manufacturer of bicycle parts to one of the largest and most respected business groups in
India. With its entrepreneurial spirit and passion to undertake business projects that are
transformational in nature, Bharti has created world- class businesses in telecom, insurance,
retail, and foods.
Bharti started its telecom services business by launching mobile services in Delhi (India) in
1995. Since then there has been no looking back and Bharti Airtel, the groups flagship
company, has emerged as one of the top telecom companies in the world and is amongst the
top four wireless operators in the world. Through its global telecom operations Bharti group
operates under the Airtel brand in 20 countries across Asia and Africa India, Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh, Seychelles, Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of
Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone,
Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. In addition, the group also has mobile operations in Jersey
and Guernsey.
Over the past few years, Bharti has diversified into emerging business areas in the fast
expanding Indian economy. The group has forayed into the retail sector by opening retail
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stores small and medium formats. The group offers life insurance and general insurance
to customers across India. Bharti also serves customers through its fresh and processed foods
business. The group has growing interests in other areas such as mobile internet, real estate,
training and capacity building, and distribution of telecom / IT products. What sets Bharti
apart from the rest is its ability to forge strong partnerships. Over the years some of biggest
names in international business have partnered Bharti.
Currently, SingTel, Qatar Foundation Endowment, IBM, Ericsson, Nokia Siemens and
Alcatel-Lucent are key partners in telecom. AXA Group is the partner for the insurance
business and Del Monte Pacific for the processed foods division. Bharti strongly believes in
giving back to the society and through its philanthropic arm the Bharti Foundation it is
reaching out to over 39,000 underprivileged children and youth in India.
1.3 Company History:

In 1984, Sunil Mittal started assembling push-button phones in India, which he earlier used to
import from a Taiwan company, Kingtel, replacing the old fashioned, bulky rotary phones
that were in use in the country then. Bharti Telecom Limited (BTL) was incorporated and
entered into a technical tie up with Siemens AG of Germany for manufacture of electronic
push button phones. By the early 1990s, Bharti was making fax machines, cordless phones
and other telecom gear. He named his first push-button phones as 'Mitbrau'.
In 1992, he successfully bid for one of the four mobile phone network licences auctioned in
India. One of the conditions for the Delhi cellular license was that the bidder have some
experience as a telecom operator. So, Mittal clinched a deal with the French telecom group
Vivendi. He was one of the first Indian entrepreneurs to identify the mobile telecom business
as a major growth area. His plans were finally approved by the Government in 1994 and he
launched services in Delhi in 1995, when Bharti Cellular Limited (BCL) was formed to offer
cellular services under the brand name Airtel. Within a few years Bharti became the first
telecom company to cross the 2-million mobile subscriber mark. Bharti also brought down
the STD/ISD cellular rates in India under brand name 'Indiaone'.
In 1999, Bharti Enterprises acquired control of JT Holdings, and extended cellular operations
to Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. In 2000, Bharti acquired control of Skycell
Communications, in Chennai. In 2001, the company acquired control of Spice Cell in
Calcutta. Bharti Enterprises went public in 2002, and the company was listed on Bombay
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Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India. In 2003, the cellular phone
operations were rebranded under the single Airtel brand. In 2004, Bharti acquired control of
Hexacom and entered Rajasthan. In 2005, Bharti extended its network to Andaman and
Nicobar. This expansion allowed it to offer voice services all across India. Airtel Centre,
Gurgaon Airtel launched Hello Tunes, a Caller ring back tone service (CRBT), in July
2004 becoming to the first operator in India to do so. The Airtel theme song, composed by
A.R. Rahman, was the most popular tune on that year. In May 2008, it emerged that Airtel
was exploring the possibility of buying the MTN Group, a South Africa based
Telecommunications Company with coverage in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East.
The Financial Times reported that Bharti was considering offering US$45 billion for a 100%
stake in MTN, which would be the largest overseas acquisition ever by an Indian firm.
However, both sides emphasize the tentative nature of the talks, while The Economist
magazine noted, If anything, Bharti would be marrying up, as MTN has more subscribers,
higher revenues and broader geographic coverage. However, the talks fell apart as MTN
group tried to reverse the negotiations by making Bharti almost a subsidiary of the new
company. In May 2009, Bharti Airtel again confirmed that it was in talks with MTN and the
companies agreed to discuss the potential transaction exclusively by 31 July 2009. Talks
eventually ended without agreement, some sources stating that this was due to opposition
from the South African government. In 2009, Bharti negotiated for its strategic partner
Alcatel-Lucent to manage the network infrastructure for the fixed line business. Later, Bharti
Airtel awarded the three-year contract to Alcatel-Lucent for setting up an Internet Protocol
access network across the country. This would help consumers access internet at faster speed
and high quality internet browsing on mobile handsets. In 2009, Airtel launched its first
international mobile network in Sri Lanka. In June 2010, Bharti acquired the African business
of Zain Telecom for $10.7 billion making it the largest ever acquisition by an Indian telecom
firm. In 2012, Bharti tied up with Wal-Mart, the US retail giant, to start a number of retail
stores across India. In 2014, Bharti planned to acquire Loop Mobile for INR 7 billion, but the
deal was called off later.
1.3.1
Bharti Airtel:
Bharti Airtel Limited is an Indian multinational telecommunications services company

headquartered in New Delhi, India. It operates in 20 countries across South Asia, Africa, and
the Channel Islands. Airtel provides GSM, 3G and 4G LTE mobile services, fixed line
broadband and voice services depending upon the country of operation. It is the largest
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cellular service provider in India, with 228.25 million subscribers as of April 2015. Airtel is
the largest mobile operator in South Asia and the third largest in the world with a 303 million
subscriber base. Airtel was named Indias second most valuable brand in the first ever Brandz
ranking by Millward Brown and WPP plc.
Airtel is credited with pioneering the business strategy of outsourcing all of its business
operations except marketing, sales and finance and building the 'minutes factory' model of
low cost and high volumes. The strategy has since been adopted by several operators. Airtels
telecom equipment is provided and maintained by Ericsson and Nokia Solutions and
Networks whereas IT support is provided by IBM. The transmission towers are maintained
by subsidiaries and joint venture companies of Bharti including Bharti Infratel and Indus
Towers in India. Ericsson agreed for the first time to be paid by the minute for installation
and maintenance of their equipment rather than being paid up front, which allowed Airtel to
provide low call rates of 1/minute (US$0.02/minute).
Vision and values:

Our vision
Building a brighter tomorrow by:
Always empowering and backing our people.
Being loved and admired by our customers and respected by our partners.
Transforming millions of lives and making a positive impact on society.
Being brave and unbounded in realizing our dreams.
Our values
Empowerment
We respect the opinions and decisions of others. We encourage and back people to do their
best.
Entrepreneurship
We always strive to change the status quo. We innovate with new ideas and energise with a
strong passion and entrepreneurial spirit.
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Transparency
We believe we must work with honesty, trust and the innate desire to do good.
Impact
We are driven by the desire to create a meaningful difference in society.
Flexibility
We are ever willing to learn and adapt to the environment, our partners and the customers
evolving needs.
Airtel Logo:
Our unique symbol is an interpretation of the a in Airtel. The curved shape & the gentle
highlights on the red colour make it warm & inviting, almost as if it were a living object. It
represents a dynamic force of unparalleled energy that brings us and our customers closer.
Our specially designed logo type is modern, vibrant & friendly. It signals our resolve to be
accessible, while the use of all lowercase is our recognition for the need for humanity.
Red is part of our heritage. It is the colour of energy & passion that expresses the dynamism
that has made Airtel the success it is today, in India, and now on the global stage.
Telemedia:
Bharti Airtel is structured into three strategic business units:
I.
II.
III.
Mobile services,
Telemedia services and
Enterprise services.
Mobile services: The mobile business provides mobile & fixed wireless services using
GSM technology across 23 telecom circles.
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Telemedia services: The Telemedia business provides broadband & telephone services
in 94 cities and is foraying into the IPTV and DTH segments. Under the Telemedia
segment, Airtel provides broadband internet access through DSL, internet leased lines
as well as MPLS (multiprotocol label switching) solutions, as well as IPTV and fixed
line telephone services. Until 18 September 2004, Bharti provided fixed line telephony
and broadband services under the Touchtel brand. Bharti now provides all telecom
services including fixed line services under a common brand Airtel. As of September
2012, Airtel provides Telemedia services to 3.3 million customers in 87 cities. As on 30
November 2012, Airtel had 1.39 million broadband subscribers. Airtel Broadband
provides broadband and IPTV services. Airtel provides both capped as well as
unlimited download plans. However, Airtels unlimited plans are subject to free usage
policy (FUP), which reduces speed after the customer crosses a certain data usage limit.
In most of the plans, Airtel provides only 512kbit/s beyond FUP, which is lower than
the TRAI specified limit of half the subscriber original speed. The maximum speed
available for home users is 16Mbit/s.
In May 2012, Airtel Broadband and some other Indian ISPs temporarily blocked file
sharing websites such as vimeo.com megavideo.com, thepiratebay.se etc. without
giving any legal information to the customers.
Enterprise services: The Enterprise services provide end-to- end telecom solutions to
corporate customers and national & international long distance services to carriers. All
these services are provided under the Airtel brand.
Airtels high-speed optic fibre network currently spans over 67,138 kms covering all
the major cities in the country. The company has two international landing stations in
Chennai that connects two submarine cable systems - i2i to Singapore and SEA-MEWE-4 to Europe.
Milestones:
1980-84
Bharti Overseas Trading Corporation set up. Bharti imports and markets stainless
steel products, brass and plastic products, and zip fastners etc. Bharti ties up with
Suzuki, Japan to import and distribute portable gensets. By 1984 Bharti is the largest
importer of portable gensets in India.
1985-88
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Bharti makes it entry into the telecom sector with Bharti Telecom. Enters into a
technical tie-up with Siemens AG of Germany and becomes the first company in India
to manufacture electronic push button telephones in Gurgaon. Bharti Telecoms
Ludhiana factory commences operations for manufacturing push button phones.
Bharti also makes an entry into Indias pharma sector with Bharti Healthcare, which
manufactures empty hard gelatin capsules.
1989
Bharti ties-up with Takacom Corporation, Japan to become the first company in India
to manufacture telephone answering machines.
1990
Bharti ties-up with Lucky Gold Star, South Korea to become the first company in
India to manufacture cordless telephones.
1991
Bharti Telecoms products reach international markets. Company signs OEM contract
with Sprint, USA for manufacture and export of telephone sets.
1992
Bharti Cellular Ltd. is born. Bharti forms a consortium with SFR-France, Emtel
Mauritius and MSI-UK, to bid for mobile service provider licenses in Indian metros.
1993
Bharti Telecoms Gurgaon factory becomes the first manufacturer of push button
phones to be awarded ISO 9002 accreditation. Bharti provides technical assistance to
Uganda for manufacture of push button phones.
1994
Bharti wins GSM mobile service provider licence for Delhi NCR. Bharti Telecoms
Ludhiana factory gets ISO 9002 accreditation.
1996
Airtel launched mobile services in the state of Himachal Pradesh, the first by any
private telco. Telecom Italia acquires 20% equity interest in Bharti Tele-
Ventures.
Bharti Telenet bids for fixed line licence in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Bharti forays
into manufacture of HDPE Silicore ducts. Form a joint venture with Dura-Line Corp,
USA.
1997
British Telecom acquires equity interest in Bharti Cellular. Airtel becomes the first
mobile service provider in the country to cross the 100,000 customers mark. Bharti
gets licence to provide comprehensive telecom services in Seychelles. Bharti wins
fixed-line service provider licence for Madhya Pradesh. Becomes the first private
company in India to win a fixed-line licence. Bharti Telecom and British Telecom
form joint venture - Bharti BT Ltd. for offering VSAT services. Bharti-Duraline
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commences operations. Becomes the first company in India to manufacture HDPE

Silicore Ducts. Bharti Telecom emerges as the largest manufacturer of telephones in
India with a capacity of 200,000 units.
1998
Bharti becomes the first Indian company to offer telecom services in international
markets. Launches mobile services in Seychelles. Bharti launches Indias first private
fixed line service in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. British Telecom consolidates its equity
interest in Bharti Cellular to 44%. Bharti BT Internet, a joint venture of Bharti
Telecom and British Telecom, formed for providing ISP services. Bharti commissions
Indias first private sector transmission network between Bhopal and Indore.
2000
Bharti and Singtel, Asias leading telco, form strategic partnership. Singtel invests $
400 million in Bharti. New York Life International acquires a 3% equity interest in
Bharti Cellular. Bharti acquires majority stake in SkyCell, establishes presence in the
Chennai circle. Bharti and Singtel announce a $ 650 million partnership for undersea
optic fibre cable between India and Singapore. Bharti and Singtel form Bharti
Telesonic to operate and manage National Long Distance operations. Mantra Online
launches Indias first International Satellite Gateway.
2001
Bharti wins mobile service provider licences in 8 circles and fixed- line service
provider licences in 4 circles. Bhartis mobile service provider licence in Punjab is
restored. Bharti acquires Spice Cell and enters theKolkata circle. Bharti Telesonic
launches National Long Distance services under the IndiaOne brand. Bharti
launched Touch Tel its fixed line service brand, launches fixed line services in
Haryana. Forms joint venture with SingTel for a submarine cable landing station
between India and Singapore. SingTel, Warburg Pincus, AIF, IFC, NYLIFand Seejay
Cellular make equity investments of approximately US$ 481.30million in Bharti TeleVentures and through Bharti Telecom. Bharti acquires British Telecoms equity
interests in Bharti Cellular, Bharti BT and Bharti BT Internet. Bharti acquires three
additional ISP licenses. Bharti Telesonic enters into a license agreement with DoT to
provide national long distance services across India.
2002
Bharti goes public, completes Indias first 100% book building issue and gets listed on
the National stock Exchange, Bombay Stock Exchange and the Delhi Stock Exchange
on February 18, 2002. Bharti launches mobile services in Gujarat, Haryana, Kerala,
Madhya Pradesh circle, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh
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(West) Bharti enters into a license agreement with the DoT to provide International
Long Distance services in India. Becomes Indias first private telecommunications
services provider to launch International Long Distance services. Bharti launched
fixed-line services in the Delhi, Haryana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
2003
Bharti enters the business outsourcing segment. Forms Teletech Services Ltd in
partnership with Teletech Holdings (USA). Airtel becomes Indias largest GPRS
network.
2004
Bharti, in a first in the telecom industry, signs a 10 year comprehensive IT
outsourcing deal with IBM. Bharti heralds a new paradigm in telecom, outsources
mobile network to Ericsson and Nokia in mutli-million dollar managed networks
deals. Bharti clocks revenues in excess of a billion dollars annually. Registers profits
in excess of $150 million. Bharti & Rothschild form a 50:50 JV FieldFresh- for
linking Indias farms to the world. Bharti launches mobile services in Uttar Pradesh
(East), West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir and Orissa. Airtel exclusively brings globally
acclaimed Blackberry to India.
2005
Bharti becomes Indias first mobile service provider to complete a national footprint
in all 23 telecom circles. Vodafone picks up 10% equity interest in Bharti for $1.5
billion, making it the single largest foreign investment in the country. Bharti continues
to build on its successful business model based on outsourcing. Enters into agreement
with four global BPOs - Hinduja TMT, IBM-Daksh, Mphasis & Teletech Services and Nortel to provide world-class customer care services. Bharti marks its foray into
financial services. Forms joint venture with Axa of France to offer life insurance
products. Bharti and IBM announce a Joint Go to Market program to offer managed
services in India. WestBridge Capital Partners, Sequoia Capital and Cisco Systems
pick up 10% stake in Bharti Telesoft.
2006
Bharti and Wal-Mart sign Memorandum of Understanding to jointly explore Retail
opportunities in India. Bharti becomes the first Indian telecom operator to launch 3G
services, starts 3G operations in Seychelles. Bharti wins mobile service provider
licence in Jersey and Guernsey, Channel Islands, Europe. Bharti Axa Life Insurance
launches national operations. Bharti and its Associates commit a corpus of Rs 200
crores to Bharti Foundation to provide education to underprivileged children in
villages across India.Bharti Televentures rechristened as Bharti Airtel.
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2007
Bharti becomes the fastest private telecom company in the world to cross the 50
million mark. Enters the league of top 5 mobile companies in the world. Bharti
launches Mobile Money Transfer pilot project in India in partnership with GSMA.
Bharti outlines strategic roadmap for its Retail venture. Commits investment of up to
US $ 2 to 2.5 billion by 2015. Bharti and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. form a joint venture
Bharti Wal-Mart Private Limited, for wholesale cash and-carry and back-end supply
chain management operations in India. Bharti brings in Del Monte as a strategic
partner in FieldFresh to enhance focus in the processed food segment. Bharti makes
its European debut. Launches mobile services in Jersey, Channel Islands. Bharti
Teletech manufactures its 20 millionth telephone. Bharti received licence to offer
Direct to Home (DTH) Satellite TV services in India. Jersey Airtel launches services,
brings a range Of innovative products and services to customers in Jersey under
Airtel-Vodafone brand. Sunil Bharti Mittal chosen for Padma Bhushan, one of Indias
highest civilian honours. Bharti and Axa form joint ventures to launch General
Insurance and Asset Management services in India. Bharti wins licence to offer
mobile services in Sri Lanka. Bharti Telesoft acquires Jatayu Software.
2008
Bharti launches its first set of retail stores in Ludhiana under the easy day brand.
Bharti crosses 60 million telecom customers landmark. Bharti launches services in
Guernsey, Channel Islands. Bharti joins hands with Idea and Vodafone to form Indus
Towers an independent tower infrastructure company. Eight leading international
leading PE funds pick up stake worth $1.25 billion in Bharti Infratel Bhartis tower
infrastructure company.
2009
Bharti Airtel launches its services in Sri Lanka (2G/3G network). Bharti Foundation
sets up Bharti Centre for Communication in partnership with Indian Institute of
Technology, Mumbai. Bharti Airtel and Alcatel-Lucent form JV to manage Bharti
Airtels pan-India Broadband and Telephone services. Bharti Walmart launches first
Cash & Carry Store under Best Price Modern Wholesale brand. Bharti Telesoft
renamed Comviva. Bharti Airtel launches iPTV service; Digital TV interactive.
Bharti Airtel crosses the 100 million telecom customers mark.
2010
Bharti Airtel unveils new youthful and dynamic global identity Airtel. Bharti Airtel
acquires 70% stake in Warid Telecom, Bangladesh. Bharti Airtel acquires the mobile
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operations of Zain in 15 African countries. Becomes the fifth largest mobile operator
in the world.
2011
Airtel launches 3G launch services in Bangalore
2012
Airtel launches mobile services in Rwanda Airtel crosses 50 million customers mark
in Africa. Bharti Airtel becomes the fourth largest mobile operator in the world. Bharti
Airtel crosses 200 million customer (mobile, fixed line & DTH) milestone in India
Bharti and Qualcomm announce partnership for 4G Airtel launches Indias first 4G
service in Kolkata.
2013
Bharti Airtel hives of Data Centre and Managed Services (DCMS) business to create a
wholly- owned subsidiary Nxtra Data Limited. Airtel acquires Warids Uganda
Operations. Bharti Airtel announces long-term strategic investment from Qatar
Foundation Endowment. Airtel acquires Warids Congo Brazzaville Operations.
2014
Airtel crosses 200 million mobile customer mark in India. Airtel launches its first 4G
service in Africa. Airtel Seychelles amongst Africas first state-of-the-art FD-LTE
networks to deliver best-in-class wireless broadband experience.
1.4 Chairman profile:

Sunil Bharti Mittal is the Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises which has interests in
telecom, retail, realty, financial services and agri-products. Bharti Airtel, the groups flagship
company, is a global telecommunications company with operations across South Asia and
Africa. Bharti has joint ventures with several global leaders: Singtel, SoftBank, AXA and Del
Monte. Sunil is currently the Vice Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce
(ICC). He also serves on the Prime Minister of Indias Council on Trade & Industry, World
Economic Forums International Business Council, Telecom Board of International
Telecommunication Union (ITU), Commissioner of the Broadband Commission, and the
Singapore Prime Ministers Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council.
He has been appointed by the Prime Minister of India as Co-Chair of the India-Africa
Business Council and India-Sri Lanka CEO Forum as well as member of the India-US, IndiaUK and India-Japan CEO Forums. Earlier, he served as the President of the Confederation of
Indian Industry (CII, 2007-08), the premier industry body in India.
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Sunil is a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, one of Indias highest civilian awards. He has also
been awarded the INSEAD Business Leader for the World Award 2011 and NDTV Profit
Business Leadership Award 2011 for Corporate Conscience. Earlier, he received the Global
Economy Prize 2009 by The Kiel Institute, Germany and the US- India Business Council also
honoured him with the Global Vision Award 2008. Sunil has received the GSM Association
Chairman's Award for 2008. He is also a member of the Academy of Distinguished
Entrepreneurs, Babson College, Wellesley, Massachusetts. An alumnus of Harvard Business
School, Sunil is on Harvard Universitys Global Advisory Council, Board of Deans Advisors
of Harvard Business School and Executive Board of the Indian School of Business. He is also
a Trustee of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a Member of the Board of
Directors of the Qatar Foundation Endowment.
Sunil believes that a responsible corporate has a duty to give back to the community in which
it operates. This belief has resulted in the Bharti Foundation, which operates 254 schools as
well as remedial centers and renders quality support to government schools, providing
holistic education to over 50,000 under-privileged children in rural India. Sunil was ranked
among the Top 25 Philanthropists in the World in 2009 by the Barrons Magazine. He is also
a Member of the Board of Trustees of Qatars Education Above All Foundation, an initiative
of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser.
1.5 Organization structure:
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1.6 Management profile:

Bharti Airtel announces new organisation structure for its India and South Asia operations
New structure to drive the next phase of companys growth
Creation of B2C and B2B business verticals for enhanced business efficiency and employee
value
Transformation from a technology facing organisation structure to a customer facing one
Will provide enhanced empowerment to employees
New Delhi, July 7, 2011:
Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 19 countries
across Asia and Africa, today announced a new organization structure for its operations in
India and South Asia. The new structure, which will be effective starting August 1, 2011, is
aimed at driving greater business and functional synergies, providing a common interface to
customers, and creating a de-layered and more agile organization. In addition, the new
structure will provide more meaningful, empowered roles and enhance employee
engagement. Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharti Airtel, said
Bharti Airtel has always adopted transformational business models that have set the industry
benchmark. As we move into the next phase of our growth journey, this new organization
structure marks a major step towards building an organization of the future.
Customers are at the core of our business and with this new structure we are proactively
creating an integrated customer centric organisation. I am confident that this will provide us a
solid platform to achieve our vision of making Airtel the most loved brand enriching the lives
of millions.
The transformed organization structure will have two distinct Customer Business Units
(CBU) with clear focus on B2C (Business to Customer) and B2B (Business to Business)
segments.
Bharti Airtels B2C business unit will comprehensively service the retail consumers, homes
and small offices, by combining the erstwhile business units - Mobile, Telemedia, Digital TV,
and other emerging businesses (like M-commerce, M-health, M-advertising etc).
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The B2C organization will consist of Consumer Business and Market Operations. The
Consumer Business group will lead the overall B2C strategy and will focus on customer
experience, product and service innovation (including data, VAS, new products/ services),
and build an ecosystem around the B2C services. K Srinivas will lead this vertical as the
President, Consumer Business: Market Operations group will lead the go-to-market
strategy. This vertical will take products and services to customers in South Asia with speed
and efficiency. Market Operations will complement the Consumer Business by building a
robust go-to-market ecosystem and leverage Bharti Airtels vast distribution reach. Market
Operations in India & South Asia will be divided in three regions, each headed by an
Operations
Director: the North, East & Bangladesh operations will be headed by Ajai Puri; South & Sri
Lanka operations will be headed by Vineet Taneja; and operations in the West will be headed
by Raghunath Mandava (along with National Distribution portfolio). The B2B business unit
will continue its focus on serving large corporate and carriers through Bharti Airtels wide
portfolio of telecommunication solutions. The B2B organization will continue to be led by
Drew Kelton.
In their new roles K Srinivas, Ajai Puri, Raghunath Mandava and Vineet Taneja, along with
Drew Kelton, will report to Sanjay Kapoor, CEO India & South Asia. Atul Bindal, who has
successfully led the Mobility Business for over 2 years, will move into a role within the
Group.
Changing Lives
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How our Mobile towers are reducing carbon footprint?

Mobile towers are the lifeline of any cellular network. A smooth network depends on
uninterrupted and adequate supply of power. In many parts of India, power supply is erratic.
Most towers have a diesel generator backup. The telecom industry, with over 3,80,000
towers, is the largest consumer of diesel today.
Bharti Infratel, one of Indias top tower companies, has taken a pioneering step towards
replacing diesel generators with solar energy, reducing Co2 emissions by 2.5 tonnes per tower
every year.
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The success of the analysis mostly depends on the methodology on which it is carried out.
The appropriate methodology will improve the validity of the findings.A proper methodology
will be helpful to get true and fair outcomes.
(2.1) OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The summer internship study helps the student to check whether the theory and practice
actually matches. Organizational exposure helps the student to know how effectively they
performed in the market. As well as the Summer training helps to know the corporate world
in real sense.
a) The primary objectives of the study was,

To study the preference of Broadband consumer's & factors affecting Preference of
broadband consumer of Surat City.
b) The secondary objectives of the study was,

i.
To study the Demand of Airtel Broadband
ii.
To study the perception of the consumer while choosing a broadband plan.
iii.
To examine the problems faced by the consumer while using Airtel broadband
iv.
To know the awareness of the offers of Airtel broadband in consumers
v.
To identify the factors affecting the customer preferences.
vi.
To make suggestion, if any to improve existing condition.
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Literature Review
1. R.SARANYA., M.Phil Research scholar conducted a study on A Study on Consumer
Preference Towards Airtel Broadband Connectivity in Triuchirapalli Town" main
objective of the study is to know the perception and satisfaction level of the consumer
while using Airtel Broadband and the factor that are influencing the consumer
perception. They found that quality plays a major role while selecting Airtel
broadband
2. Padma K. JHA (2010) conducted A study on consumer behaviour of Airtel
broadband services the main objectives were to analyse the satisfaction level of
customers towards Airtel broadband services and to find out the consumer awareness.
His findings were sixty eight percent people are aware of Airtel broadband. Airtel
subscribers are very much satisfied by the services and dont want to switch over to
other brands.
3. Dr. Mohd Rafi Bin Yaacob conducted A study on determinants of Customer
Satisfaction towards Broadband Services in Malaysia, to examine association
between level of customers satisfaction of broadband service with price factors. To
determine the customers satisfaction level on stability of broadband services and his
findings were broadband customers were price sensitive and higher pricing from each
broadband provider would lead to low demand. It was easy for them to get connected
at anytime and anyplace, the stability of internet service was important to them and
they would consider changing to other broadband service provider due to stability
factor.
4. Abdur Rahman BRAC Business school BRAC university conducted A study on
customers satisfaction level of prepaid subscribers of airtel broadband in Bangladesh
limited The broad objective of this report is to find out the customer satisfaction
level of Airtel broadband prepaid customers. and to figure out specific areas of
dissatisfaction of Airtel prepaid users. His findings were the major areas for customer
satisfaction are the availability of the recharge card / load for prepaid, the affordability
of new prepaid connection tariffs, features of the prepaid packages, value added
services , customer services through customer care line , after sale services, etc. the
study revealed airtel to upgrade its network coverage as soon as possible.
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5. V.Varatharaj(Asst.professor)in management, S.Vasantha Associate professor in

management, R.Varadharajan associate professor in statistics, school of management
studies, VELS university,conducted An empirical view on customer perception and
satisfaction towards BSNL broadband connection in Chennai city their main
objectives were to study the customer perception and satisfaction towards BSNL
broadband connection in Chennai city, and to identify the factors that influences the
customer to select BSNL broadband services, to suggest strategies to improve the
service of BSNL broadband. They found that respondents were satisfied with brand
image, additional services, cost, advertisements,and accessibility.
i.
Area of the study:

The study was mainly concentrated on surat city covering the Areas of Ring road, Adajan,
Bhatar , Citylight ,Ghoddod , Vesu etc.
ii.
Research Design:
Descriptive Research: Descriptive research includes survey and fact-findings enquire of
different kinds. The major purpose of descriptive research is description of the state affairs, as
it exists at present for first time.
Descriptive research is to be used to collect information about preference of broadband
consumer Therefore, it is used in the study to describe the characteristics or behaviours of a
particular population in a systematic and accurate fashion. In descriptive also Cross Sectional
design will be used. In cross sectional research designs sample taken out of population is
analyzed only once at a particular time interval.
iii.
Data Collection
Primary Information:-The nature of present study is highly based on information collected
from the various respondents through a complete questionnaire.
Secondary data has also taken From the airtel broadband database. While collect the data
through website, journals, articles and other available related literatures on the topic.
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Instrument
Questionnaire is used for the research work. Questions used in this research are Open ended
questions, multiple choice single questions and Single choice single question.
Personal Survey Method In-home Personal Survey Method is to be used to collect
responses through Questionnaire. Respondents are contacted in their Offices and homes in
order to collect information from them.
Electronic Survey Method Mail Survey Method is also used by sending e-mails of
Questionnaire and making it filled by the Respective Respondent through e-mail.
iv.
Sampling Design:
The sampling design consists of the sample to be choosen for the purpose of survey The non
probability respondents have been researched by selecting the persons who use the broadband
connection
v.
Population:
All customers using broadband connection in surat are taken as the population.
vi.
Sample Size:
From the Population, sample sizes of 100 customers were selected for the purpose of the
study.
vii.
Sampling Method:
Convenience sampling was used, based on the willingness and availability of the respondents.
The study was conducted on consumers with different type of business.
viii.
Research period:
The time for the project was limited to 60 days only (from 18 May - 18 July). From this, 18
days was spent for the collection of data.
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2.3 NEED AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY

In todays corporate world to survive in this world depends on the performance of the
company and be unique in providing new schemes and offers to consumer. Consumer
Preference helps every organization to serve the customers as per their needs and also to
provide with such a product that is liked by consumers.
This research is aimed at to identify the factors that are affecting a consumer while selection
of a broadband plan and improve company's position in the market. The information gathered
through this research can be used by the company to improve its services and to preapre such
offers which is accepted by consumer. This can increase the sales of the company and its
overall performance.
Thus this research study is done to provide the organization information about the plans
which a company should be making to get more consumers and also to try more customer
awareness. The study also gives the idea about the market position of the Airtel broadband.
2.5 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

a) Few respondents might be hesitant to divulge their information regarding broadband
b) The respondents are less interested in answering the questionnaire, as they felt that it is
an interruption to their regular work.
c) The sample was restricted to 100 customers, which may restrict the scope and
completion of study.
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Analysis and Interpretation
1) AGE OF THE CUSTOMER:
Table showing Age group of consumers

Age Group
Below 18
18 35 Years
35 55Years
Above 55
Total
No. of respondents
14
68
11
7
100
Percentage
14
68
11
7
100
Age Group
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Age Group
55
Ab
ov
e
35
18
35
18
Be
lo
w
11
55
Ye
ar
s
68
Ye
ar
s
14
INTERPERTATION
In this study, Most of respondent were in age bracket of 18 years to 55 years. In the age wise
distribution of respondents, 68% were in the age group of 18years to 35 years. And 11% were
in age group of 35 years to 55 years. 14% were in age group of below 18 & only 7% were
above 55 age group people. So, in age wise distribution majority is of 18 years to 35 years.
2) GENDER OF THE CUSTOMER

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Table showing Gender of the consumers:

Gender
No. of respondents
Percentage
Male
Female
72
72
28
100
28
100
Total
Gender Wise Distribution
80
Series 1
60
72
40
28
20
0
Male
Female
INTERPERTATION
In the gender wise distribution of respondents, majority is of male member, who were 72%
and female member were only 28 %
2) OCCUPATION OF THE CUSTOMER
Occupation
Business
Service
Professional
Student
Others
Total
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No. of respondents
24
34
19
15
8
100
Page 48
Percentage
24
34
19
15
8
100
OCCUPATION
15
19
Business
8
Service
24
Professional
Student
34
Others
INTERPERTATION
In the study, occupation wise distribution was done. Where customer doing the service
holds the majority, which was 34% and it was followed by customer doing Business, which
was 24%. And a professional holds the third position with 19%. And students and Others
were in minority with 15% and 8% respectively.
Table showing necessity of net connection for the consumers:

Table 1
Opinion
Very much needed
Some what needed
Not so needed
Total
No. of respondents
74
23
3
100
Chart 1
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Percentage
74
23
3
100
80
74
70
60
50
40
No of Respndent
30
23
20
3
10
0
Much Needed
Some what
Not so
INTERPERTATION
The Interpretation is that 74 % of the Respondent are primarily depending on Internet usage
as the service is very much needed by them. And 23 % of the Respondent are using it as
supporting activity for doing their minor usage as per there convenience. Only 3 % of the
Respondent are thinking that internet is not necessary for doing there usage there opinion is
that it is not required by them.
Table showing the type of connection used by the consumers.

Table 2
Connection type
Broadband
Dial-up
GPRS
others
Total
No. of respondents
94
0
0
6
100
Chart 2
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Percentage
94
0
0
6
100
No of Respondent
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
No of Respondent
Broadband Dial-up
GPRS
others
INTERPERTATION
The Interpretation is that the 94% sample units were using Broadband connection and 6% of
them were using other type of connection for internet usage. We can say that generally people
prefer to use the broadband service and people are also getting good usage experience so
there is a good market for the broadband provider. As well as many broadband and ISP
provider has entered in this field. The competition is between the private and public but there
is main competition between the private Broadband providers.
Table showing purpose of internet usage by respondents.

Connection type
Education
Business
Social networking
others
Total
No. of respondents
31
27
35
7
100
Table-3
Chart 3
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Percentage
31
27
35
7
100
No of Respondent
Educaton
Business
Social Networking
Others
7%
31%
35%
27%
INTERPRETATION
The Interpretation is that 31% of the sample units were using the broadband service for the
use of their educational purpose ,while 27% of them used for their day to day business
activities, 35% of the sample are using the broadband for using the social networking site
number of sample is more for using this service and the remaining sample of 7% are using it
for other purpose .
Table showing reason for choosing broadband connection for Price

Table-4
Ranking
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
Total
No. of responses
3
5
8
29
55
100
Chart 4
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Percentage
3
5
8
29
55
100
Responses
Strongly Disagree
55%
3% 5%
8%
29%
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
INTERPERTATION
The interpretation from the above chart is that price can be considered as a major factor
which determines the choice of broadband provider. Among the responses 55% have an
opinion that the strongly agree on price factor and 29% Agree on price as factor while the
remaining response toward neutral, disagree, strongly disagree is minor i.e. 8%,5% & 3%
Price should be decided considering the usage plans.
Table showing reason for choosing broadband connection for Service quality
Table 5
Ranking
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
Total
No. of responses
11
17
11
25
36
100
Chart 5
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Percentage
11
17
11
25
36
100
Responses
Strongly Disagree
36%
Disagree
11%
17%
Neutral
11%
Agree
25%
Strongly Agree
INTERPERTATION
The interpretation is made that service of the broad band provider also affect the preference
of consumers while selecting a plan 36% of samples have strongly agreed , 25% of them
agreed, 17% of them disagreed and 11% for both are neutral so it is also a crucial factor.
Service is to be also provided by the provider which match their choice
Table showing reason for choosing broadband connection for Offers

Table 6
Ranking
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
Total
No. of responses
2
11
16
31
40
100
Chart 6
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Percentage
2
11
16
31
40
100
Responses
Strongly Disagree
40%
2% 11%
Disagree
16%
Neutral
Agree
31%
Strongly Agree
INTERPERTATION
The interpretation is made that offers most likely attract the consumers while selecting a plan
40% of samples have strongly agreed they wish to choose a broadband with variety of offers ,
31% of them agreed, 16% of them disagreed and 11% are neutral & 2% has strongly
disagree so it is a decisive factor
Table showing reason for choosing broadband connection for Speed & Security
Table 7
Ranking
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
Total
No. of responses
9
15
17
35
24
100
Percentage
9
15
17
35
24
100
Chart 7
Responses
24%
35%
9%
Disagree
15%
Neutral
17%
Agree
Strongly Agree
INTERPERTATION
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Strongly Disagree
Page 55
The interpretation is made that speed and security of data has been needed by most of the
clients of the broadband consumer totally 69% have agree and strongly agree for the purpose
of speed while 17% remain on neutral side & 15%have disagree and 9% strongly disagreed
so a broadband provider should consider speed and security.
Table showing reason for choosing broadband connection for Brand Name
Table 8
Ranking
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
Total
No. of responses
19
23
7
38
13
100
Percentage
19
23
7
38
13
100
Chart 8
Responses
13%
38%
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
19%
Neutral
23%
7%
Agree
Strongly Agree
INTERPERTATION
It could be said that consumer likely to prefer a brand name having broadband provided
because 38% of sample has agree that they want a brand while 23%of them also disagree so
consumer like to have a broadband with brand name.
So overall we can say that price and offers are the important factors that determine the
consumers choice so focus should be kept for low price and variety of offer plus with good
service
Table showing the expense made by the consumer behind broadband

Table 9
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Amount
Below 1000
1000-2500
2500-5000
Above 5000
Total
No. of respondents
33
41
22
4
100
Percentage
33
41
22
4
100
Chart 9
No of respondent
50
40
30
20
10
0
<
50
00
50
00
25
00
-
25
00
10
00
-
>
10
00
No of respondent
INTERPERTATION
The interpretation is that 33 % of the customers have Data (internet) billing below 1000/- .
while the most 41 % of the customers have billing in between 1000 and 2500.so the major of
the response is that they want a less costly expense towards their broadband. 22 % of the
customers have billing of between 2500 and 5000. The remaining 5 % of the customers have
data billing above 5000/- Rs. It shows the monthly expenditure of the respondents.
Table showing the type of plan which consumers like to have.

Table 10
PLANS
Monthly
Quarterly
Half yearly
Yearly
Total
No. of respondents
29
18
39
14
100
Chart 10
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Percentage
29
18
39
14
100
Responses
14%
Monthly
29%
Quarterly
Half yearly
39%
18%
Yearly
INTERPERTATION
The interpretation can be made that consumer are likely to go for the half yearly plan more
because it provide them various benefits so there is 39%of sample choosing the half yearly
plan. While 29% prefer monthly plan so they can enjoy as per their needs 18% like to have
the quarterly and only 14% like to have yearly
Table showing the speed which a consumer like to have for broadband
Table 11
Speed
512kbps
1mbps
2mbps
4mbps
8mbps
Above 8mbps
Total
No. of respondents
13
Percentage
13
20
20
32
21
10
4
100
32
21
10
4
100
Chart 11
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Responses
Above 8mbps
8mbps
10
Responses
21
4mbps
2mbps
32
1mbps
20
512kbps
13
0
10 15 20 25 30 35
INTERPERTATION
So it could that most of the population like to have an speed of 2mbps as well as it is also
widely used now a days 32% of consumer use it and 4mbps is also used by 21% so people are
preferring to have high speed with a span of time but the market for above 4mbps is very less
its just 10% for 8mbps and 4% for above 8 mbps.
Table showing the preference of consumers priority for broadband plan for
Speed
Table 12
Ranking
Poor
Fair
Average
Good
Excellent
Total
No. of respondents
9
25
34
26
6
100
Chart 12
DBIM
Page 59
Percentage
9
25
34
26
6
100
Speed
6
26
Poor
9
Fair
25
Average
Good
Excellent
34
INTERPERTATION
The interpretation of the above chart is that mostly the consumer want a plan which provide
them a good speed 34% have showed a response that there is a Average speed required and
26% have said a good speed required 25% are there who require fair speed and 9% who agree
to use the poor speed.
Security
Table 13
Ranking
Poor
Fair
Average
Good
Excellent
Total
No. of respondents
16
14
20
18
32
100
Chart 13
DBIM
Page 60
Percentage
16
14
20
18
32
100
Security
Poor
Fair
16
32
14
20
18
Average
Good
Excellent
The interpretation is that most people believe they want there data to be secured while they
use a broadband plan because most of then are household user and businessmen. 32% require
excellent security in their broadband plan 26% require Good security in their broadband plan
and 14% are with fair security and 16% are with poor.
Safety
Table 14
Ranking
Poor
Fair
Average
Good
Excellent
Total
No. of respondents
13
7
26
36
18
100
Percentage
13
7
26
36
18
100
Chart 14
Safety
18
36
13
Poor
Fair
Average
26
Good
Excellent
INTERPERTATION
The interpretation for this chart is that people requires their broadband to work
continuously because they dont want any downtime so the sample have given the following
DBIM
Page 61
result which is they require 18% excellent in safety and 36% in Good and 26% in average
and 13% in poor and 7% in fair.
Table showing the preference of consumers priority for broadband plan for usage
Table 15
Ranking
Poor
Fair
Average
Good
Excellent
Total
No. of respondents
7
19
14
21
39
100
Percentage
7
19
14
21
39
100
Chart 15
Usage
7
39
Poor
Fair
19
14
21
Average
Good
Excellent
INTERPERTATION
Usages is required by most of the broadband user. Every Broadband user wish to use do
more usage of his plan to use it optimally so the result which are gathered is 39% require
excellent usages. 21% with Good 14% is average and 19% with fair while only 7% are with
poor.
Table showing the preference of consumers priority for broadband plan for After
sales service
Table 16
Ranking
Poor
Fair
Average
Good
Excellent
Total
DBIM
No. of respondents
5
18
17
39
21
100
Page 62
Percentage
5
18
17
39
21
100
Chart 16
After Sales Service

21
39
18
17
Poor
Fair
Average
Good
Excellent
INTERPERTATION
After sales service is required by every consumer they want a broadband provider which
provide them
a good after sales service. The consumer generally prefers a broadband
provider who is good with his after sales service performance. 39% requires that their after
sales service should be very fast and accurate and 21% require Excellency in that while 17%
are agreed with average service. 18% with fair and 5% with poor.
Table showing sources from which they came to select a broadband plan
Table 17
SOURCE
Relatives
Office
Newspaper
Others
Total
No. of respondents
27
16
25
32
100
Chart 17
DBIM
Page 63
Percentage
27
16
25
32
100
respones
35
30
25
respones
20
15
10
5
0
Relatives
27
Office
16
Newspaper
25
Others
32
INTERPERTATION
As we can see that major of the samples has gathered information from other sources that
might be the results of advertising or the effort of salesmen or it might be the use of internet
information. 32% of samples have selected the other sources that means they got the
information through Salesmen or other media. 25% of the samples have selected Newspaper
so it is also a good source. While that 27% of them from their relatives or peer friends and
16% of them have selected the broadband plan through office usage.
Table showing Preferences towards the Value Added Service offered:
Table 18
CHOICE
No. of respondents
Percentage
YES
87
87
NO
Total
13
100
13
100
CHART 18
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Page 64
CHOICES
13%
YES
NO
87%
INTERPERTATION
The interpretation could be made that mostly consumers are willing to have some extra Value
Added Services (VAS) to be offered by the broadband provider to get the extra benefits. 87%
of the samples want the VAS of the broadband provider while only 13% of the samples of
said no to the VAS services.
Table showing the preference of which VAS is to be provided:

Table 19
VAS
No. of respondents
Percentage
Free Wi Fi Router
Calling Packs
One Month Free Subscription
Free Installation
26
19
31
24
26
19
31
24
Total
100
100
Chart 19
DBIM
Page 65
VAS
31
26
19
24
VAS
O
ne
M
on
th
Fr
ee
Fr
ee
Su
bs
cr
ip
tio
n
W
iF
iR
ou
te
r
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
INTERPERTATION
It could be stated that people would like to have one month free subscription of their
broadband plan 31% have preferred towards one month subscription and 26% of the
respondents have said that they want free Wi Fi router & 24% have like to use the service of
free installation. 19% have showed interest in the calling packs.
Table showing which broadband provider the consumer prefer to use:

TABLE 20
Broadband provider
BSNL
Airtel
Reliance
Airlink
Tikona
You Broadband
Hathaway
Others
TOTAL
No. of respondents
9
24
15
4
6
18
20
3
100
Chart 20
DBIM
Page 66
Percentage
9
24
15
4
6
18
20
3
100
Broadband Provider
Others
3
20
Hathaway
18
You Broadband
Tikona
Broadband Provider
Airlink
Reliance
15
Airtel
24
BSNL
9
0
10
15
20
25
INTERPERTATION
From the above chart it could be said Airtel is having major market shares in broadband
sector but Airtel is also facing a tough competition from Hathaway & You Broadband they
also have captured the market. Airtel is having a total 24% of Shares, Hathaway is just behind
it with 20% of shares, You Broadband has 18% of market shares, Reliance is also having a
market share of 15%. While the share of BSNL is 9%. Tikona, Airlink & other broadband
provider have a share of 6%, 4% & 3%.
Table Showing the preference towards a demo while selecting a broadband

provider:
TABLE 21
CHOICE
No. of respondents
Percentage
YES
83
83
NO
Total
17
100
17
100
Chart 21
DBIM
Page 67
Demo
100
80
60
Demo
40
20
0
83
YES
17
NO
INTERPERTATION
The interpretation could be made that mostly the consumer like to have a demo while
selecting a broadband plan. 87% of the samples when asked that do they want to have a
demo of the service they said yes. While only 13% of the respondent said that they can take
the plan without a demo
DBIM
Page 68
FINDING AND RECOMMENDATION
FINDING OF THE STUDY
(1) Most of the respondent was in the age group of 18 to 35 years. This age group consists of
68% of total respondent.
(2) Most of the respondent were male members. And female members were in minority under
study. Male member consist of 72% of the total respondent.
(3) Most of the respondent under study were doing Service people, of the total respondent
were 34% of service. And 24% were doing service. And 19% were professional. And student
& other were in minority i.e 15% and 8%.
(4) Major of the respondent are using or willing to use the Broadband connection. In the
research 94% of the people has said that they want to have a broadband connection while 6%
is for other which is minor .
(5) 35% of the respondent have said that they use the internet service for the sake of social
networking sites. While 31% is for Education & 27% is for business purpose
(6) Price, After sales service and Offers of the ISP (Internet Service Provider) plays a major
role in the selection of the broadband service 55% of respondent have strongly agreed that
they elect on basis of price and 40% had preferred a broadband provider who provides a
variety of offers.
(7) Majority of the respondents have agreed to spend an amount of Rs.1000 2500. There are
41% of people who are ready for it. While 33% has agreed for an amount below 1000 Rs.
(8) When respondents were asked about what type of plan they would take then 39% of
respondents have agreed to take a half yearly plan the reason could be some extra benefits
offered in that plan. 29% have preferred a monthly plan.
(9) People like to use the speed of 2mbps as they are happy with it. 32% of respondent has
preferred it while there are some who like to use 4mbps there are 21% of people who want
that speed.
DBIM
Page 69
(10) People would tend towards those provider who provide Value Added Service with the
Broadband plan. 87% of the people have agreed to have a broadband plan which provide a
VAS pack with the plan.
(11) Airtel Broadband is having the maximum market share in the broadband sector. It has
captured an 24% of the market. But there is tough competition from Hathaway, You
Broadband, Reliance.
(12) People like to have a demo before taking a broadband plan. In the research 83%of the
respondent have preferred a brand that provides a demo.
CONCLUSION:
(1) From the study it can be concluded that most of the people are willing to use the
broadband service as it is cheaper so there is a good market for it.
(2) For keeping a customer retain with the company it is necessary for the company to
provide him with the benefits of extra discounts or bonus offers.
(3) Price & offers plays a major role for a consumer while selecting a broadband plan
from an internet service provider.
(4) There is lack of awareness about the offers of Airtel broadband, so necessary steps
should be taken to make it aware.
(5) Consumer are willing to prefer a brand which have a quick resolution to their
complaints. After sales service of the provider should be well enough
DBIM
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RECOMMENDATION:
(1) Airtel is having the major market share in broadband but it needs to innovate with
new offers and discount scheme for customers.
(2) Airtel is losing the chance of getting extra consumers in area like varrachha due to
connection problem so it needed to be sort out.
(3) Airtel has to expand its RSU (Remote Switching Unit) to cover more consumer as
well as it is losing the market because these reason.
(4) Airtel is not up to the mark in retaining it existing customer the reason is that they are
not provided any bonus offer or extra discounts.
(5) Airtel has less number of buyer in educational institution. So it should make some
effort to cover them.
(6) Airtel should also try to introduce the Day and Night plans to attract the consumer.
(7) Airtel consumers are not aware of the online help provided to them by Airtel to
overcome the troubleshoot problems while using internet.
(8) Airtel is facing a tough competition from You Broadband, Hathaway, and Reliance. It
should develop necessary stratergies to overcome them.
DBIM
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ANNEXUERE
Dear sir/Madam,
I Mr. Babu Jena T. pursuing MANAGEMENT OF BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION(MBA) from DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND INDUSTRIAL
MANAGEMENT (DBIM), VEER NARMAD SOUTH GUJARAT UNIVERSITY (VNSGU)
conducting a research study titled Consumer Preference While Selecting A Broadban Plan.
This research is only for study(educational) purpose.Your paticipation is voluntary and all
responses will be kept confidential. I request you to give 10 to 15 minutes from your precious
time to fill this questionnaire.Your participation will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance for your assistance.
Yours sincerely,
Babu Jena.
Name :
.............................................................
Age :
Below 18
18 35 Years
35 55Years
Above 55lakh
Gender :
Male Female
Occupation :
Business Service Professional Student Other
Income :
below 1 lakh 1- 3 lakh 3 - 5 lakh Above 5
1. The necessity of internet connection for you is:

very much needed some-what needed not needed
2. Which type of connectivity do you use ?
GPRS
Broadband
Dial-up
Others.
3. For what purpose do you use internet ?

Education
Social-networking
DBIM
Business
Others
Page 72
4. What is the reason behind to choose a particular Broadband provider?

NO.
Features
1
2
3
4
Price
Service quality
Offers
Speed
&
Security
Brand Name
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutra
l
Agree Strongly
Agree
5. How much amount do you spend behind your broadband plan per
month ?
>1000
1000 to 2500
2500 to 5000
<5000
6. Which type of plan you generally like to prefer ?

Monthly
Quarterly
Half yearly
Yearly
7. Which speed you Generally like to use for a broadband plan ?

512kbps
1mbps
2mbps
8mbps
More than 8mbps
4mbps
8. Rate the following on your preference which you like to have :

NO.
1
2
3
4
5
Features
Poor
Fair
Avg
Good
Excellen
t
Speed
Security of data
Safety
Usage experience
After sales service
9. By which source you came to select a particular broadband provider ?

Relatives Office use Newspaper Other source
If other please mention........................................ .
DBIM
Page 73
10. Will you choose a broadband plan which provide you Value Added
Service (VAS)?
Yes
No
11. Which of the following VAS would you like to have?

Free Wi Fi
Calling Packs
One month free subscription Free installation

12.Which Broadband provider you like to have ?
BSNL
Reliance Airtel
You Broadband Tikona
Airlink
Hathaway Others
If other please mention........................................ .

13. Would you prefer a Broadband provider which gives a demo ?
Yes
No
14. Do you have any suggestion about the preference of Broadband

provider?
..........................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................
..
Thank you
DBIM
Page 74
Bibliography:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_in_India
www.articlesbase.com/communication-articles/broadband-growth-in-india-3088675.html
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer
www.ask.com/world-view/definition-consumer-preference-b99ccd5791e4ba19
www.academia.edu/8739288/CONSUMER_PREFERNCE_TOWARDS_AIRTEL_BROADB
AND_CONNECTIVITY_UNDER_THE_HEADING_OF_MARKETING
6. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharti_Airtel
7. www.airtel.in/about-bharti/about-bharti-airtel
8. www.airtel.in/about-bharti/investor-relations/company-profile/organization-structure
9. Www.economictimes.indiatimes.com/bharti-airtel-ltd/infocompanyhistory/companyid2718.cms
10.www.globeco.ro/.../geo_2013_vol1_art_.
DBIM
Page 75

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FROM: 18th MAY, 2015 to 17th JULY, 2015