A PROJECT REPORT ON

“ACQUISITION TREND OF TELECOM INDUSTRY IN THE RETAIL MARKET OF

GUWAHATI, WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON AIRCEL POSTPAID”

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of MASTER

OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MBA), in the North Eastern Regional Institute
of Management (NERIM), affiliated to Dibrugarh University and approved by
AICTE, New Delhi.

Submitted by :
JAYDEEP SAIKIA
PUJA NATH

SATISH SHAH
PURABI BHAISYA

HRISHIKESH DAS
SANGEETA BORA

IDUL ALI
ANKITA SAIKIA

SHEKHAR JYOTI BHUYAN

MOUSMI MAHANTA

MAMITA LAHKAR

MBA 3rd semester

(Session 2009-11)

North Eastern Regional Institute of Management (NERIM),

 Post Graduate College of Management and Computer Education

Affiliated to Dibrugarh University and approved by AICTE, New Delhi.

Padma Nath Sarmah Bhawan, Jayanagar, Khanapara, Guwahati-22

PREFACE

This project work is a partial fulfillment of MBA, course curriculum

which is subjected to undertaken in any business unit. As a partial
fulfillment of MBA course curriculum project knowledge & skills from
the actual work situation. Our text book and classroom teachings
gives us the thorough background & up to date knowledge of various
operations and functional areas devoid of practical experience and
the knowledge to use these in the practical fields , i.e., how those
areas are managed and administered respectively. This project gives
us the opportunity to analyze problems and decisions, different
services and facilities of different operations in the telecom sector,
and also their real importance, what they are doing in the practical
field and about different views of the retailers regarding them.

With a view to understand the concept better, we have undertaken a

project in AIRCEL, which equipped us to prepare a report on A STUDY
OF “ACQUISITION TREND OF TELECOM INDUSTRY IN THE
RETAIL MARKET OF GUWAHATI, WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON
AIRCEL POSTPAID”. The selection of the organization has been on
the basis of its being one of the most crucial & largest telecom
operators in the country and giving some extra-ordinary services to
the customers. We were glad to know not only about their services
and different facilities for the customers, about their practical
importance in the field of telecom operations but also the hidden
reason behind why a huge number of people of the country are
connected with it in the present time.

The entire study is carried out exclusively for AIRCEL LIMITED, and
in very systematic manner and hoping that the findings and
recommendations will go a long way to help the organization.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

No work can be completed successfully without the inspiration,

encouragement, cooperation and guidance of well wishers. At
the very outset, we take the privilege of thanking all the persons
without whose constant guidance, support, suggestion & co-
operation the project report would not have been completed.

We are very thankful to the whole AIRCEL family for giving

the permission for doing this project report. First of all we want
to express our sincere thanks & gratitude to our organizational
guide Mr. Syed Mabidul Hussein for allowing us to carrying
out the project work & for giving his valuable time & guidance in
preparing this project report.

Our sincere gratitude is extended to Mrs. Sangeeta Bora,

placement head & faculty member, NERIM for all the help she
has rendered in completing the project report in AIRCEL.

Finally, we express our sincere thanks to Dr. Sangeeta

Tripathi, Dean & Head of the department, Business
Administration of North Eastern Regional Institute of
Management (NERIM) for smooth completing the project.

We shall accept blame for any errors of commission &

omission that may be discovered in this report.
 DECLARATION

We the student of MBA 3rd semester of North Eastern

Regional Institute of Management (NERIM) , Guwahati ,affiliated
by Dibrugarh University & approved by AICTE , do hereby
declare that the project report in AIRCEL is confide work taken
by our team and we have not submitted the project for any
academic purpose elsewhere.

JAYDEEP SAIKIA

PUJA NATH

SATISH SHAH

PURABI BHAISYA

HRISHIKESH DAS

SANGEETA BORA

IDUL ALI

ANKITA SAIKIA

SHEKHAR JYOTI BHUYAN

MOUSMI MAHANTA

MAMITA LAHKAR
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. TITLE OF THE PROJECT: “Acquisition trend of telecom industry

in the

retail market of Guwahati, with special

emphasis on AIRCEL Postpaid”.

2. NAME OF ORGANISATION: Aircel limited.

3. LOCATION OF THE OFFICE: G.S. Road, Ullubari, Guwahati.

4. NAME OF THE INSTITUTE: North Eastern Regional Institute of

Management.

5. ORGANISATIONAL GUIDE: Mr. Sayed Mabidul Hussein

Zonal Sales Manager,

Aircel ltd. (GUWAHATI)

6. DURATION OF STUDY : 15 days (27th September --- 13 th

October)

7. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE

“Acquisition trend of telecom industry in the retail market of

Guwahati, with special emphasis on AIRCEL Postpaid”.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES

 Trend of giving connections.

 Market share of various retailers, considering all the telecom
operators.

 Interest of the retailers in giving postpaid connections.

 Awareness level of retailers regarding postpaid products.

 CONTENTS

CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION

THE TELECOM SECTOR

COMPANY PROFILE

CHAPTER-2

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

CHAPTER-3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES

CHAPTER-4

PRELIMINIARY STUDY

QUESTIONNAIRIE DESIGN

DATA COLLECTION & ANALYSIS

SAMPLING PLAN

LIMITATION & SCOPE

CHAPTER-5

ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

CHAPTER-6

FINDINGS AT A GLANCE

CHAPTER-7

SWOT ANALYSIS

CHAPTER-8

RECOMMENDATION

CONCLUSION

ANNEXURE

SCHEDULE

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

TELECOM SECTOR
THE COMPANY PROFILE

THE INDIAN TELECOM SECTOR

Introduction
The telecom services have been recognized the world-over as an
important tool for socio-economic development for a nation. It is one
of the prime support services needed for rapid growth and
modernization of various sectors of the economy. Indian
telecommunication sector has undergone a major process of
transformation through significant policy reforms, particularly
beginning with the announcement of NTP 1994 and was subsequently
re-emphasized and carried forward under NTP 1999. Driven by various
policy initiatives, the Indian telecom sector witnessed a complete
transformation in the last decade. It has achieved a phenomenal
growth during the last few years and is poised to take a big leap in
the future also.

‘Indian Telecom Industry' is the fifth largest and fastest growing in

the world. The subscriber base has grown by 40% in 2005 and is
expected to reach 250 million in 2007.

Over the last 3 years, two out of every three new telephone
connections were wireless. Consequently, wireless now accounts for
54.6% of the total telephone subscriber base, as compared to only
40% in 2003. Wireless subscriber growth is expected to grow at 2.5
million new subscribers every month in 2007. The wireless subscriber
base skyrocketed from 33.69 million in 2004 to 62.57 million in FY
2004 -2005. The wireless technologies currently in use ' Indian
Telecom Industry ' are Global System for Mobile Communications
(GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). There are primarily
9 GSM and 5 CDMA operators providing mobile services in 19
telecommunication circles and 4 metro cities, covering more than
2000 towns across the country. And the numbers are still growing for '
Indian Telecom Industry '. ' Telecom Industry in India ' is
regulated by 'Telecom Regulatory Authority of India' (TRAI). It has
earned good reputation for transparency and competence. Three
types of players exists in ' Telecom Industry India ' community -

• State owned companies like - BSNL and MTNL.

• Private Indian owned companies like - Reliance Infocomm and
Tata Teleservices.
 • Foreign invested companies like - Hutchison-Essar, Bharti Tele-
Ventures, Escotel, Idea Cellular, BPL Mobile, Spice
Communications etc.

The ' Indian Telecom Industry ' services is not confined to basic
telephone but it also extends to internet, broadband (both wireless
and fixed), cable TV, SMS, IPTV, soft switches etc. The bottlenecks for
' Indian Telecom Industry ' are:

• Slow reform process.

• Low penetration. Service providers bears huge initial cost to
make inroads and achieving break-even is difficult.
• Huge initial investments.
• Limited spectrum availability and interconnection charges
between the private and state operators.

Status of Telecom Sector

The Indian Telecommunications network with 621 million connections

(as on March 2010) is the third largest in the world. The sector is
growing at a speed of 45% during the recent years. This rapid growth
is possible due to various proactive and positive decisions of the
Government and contribution of both by the public and the private
sectors. The rapid strides in the telecom sector have been facilitated
by liberal policies of the Government that provides easy market
access for telecom equipment and a fair regulatory framework for
offering telecom services to the Indian consumers at affordable
prices. Presently, all the telecom services have been opened for
private participation. This all has been possible because Government
has taken major initiatives for the growth of the Telecom Sector in
India.
 THE COMPANY PROFILE

Aircel is one of the largest mobile phone service provider in India. It

offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage
throughout India.

The Aircel group is a joint venture between Maxis Communications

Berhad of Malaysia and Sindya Securities & Investments Private
Limited, whose current shareholders are the Reddy family of Apollo
Hospitals Group of India, with Maxis Communications holding a
majority stake of 74% and the remaining 26% with Apollo hospitals.

Aircel commenced operations in 1999 and became the leading mobile

operator in Tamil Nadu within 18 months. In December 2003, it
launched commercially in Chennai and quickly established itself as a
market leader – a position it has held since.

Aircel began its outward expansion in 2005 and met with

unprecedented success in the Eastern frontier circles. It emerged a
market leader in Assam and in the North Eastern provinces within 18
months of operations. Till today, the company gained a foothold in 21
circles including Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Assam, North East, Orissa,
Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Kolkata,
Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi, UP(West), UP(East),
Maharashtra & Goa , Mumbai, Haryana , Madhya Pradesh and Punjab.

Aircel Business Solutions (ABS), part of Aircel, is an ISO 9000 certified

company. ABS is a registered member of WiMAX forum – both in the
Indian and International Chapters. ABS’ product range includes
enterprise solutions such as Multiprotocol Label Switching Virtual
Private Networks (MPLS VPNs), Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and
Managed Video Services on wireless platform including WiMAX.

Aircel has won many awards for its services. Aircel was honored at the
World Brand Congress 2009 with three awards, Brand Leadership in
Telecom, and Marketing Campaign & Marketing Professional of the
Year. Aircel was honored by CMAI INFOCOM National Telecom Award
2009 for, ‘Excellence in Marketing of New Telecom Service’. Aircel had
been selected as the best regional operator in 2008 by Tele.net. Aircel
was rated as the top mid-size utility company in Business World’s ‘List
of Best Mid-Size Companies’ in 2007. Aircel got the highest rating for
overall customer satisfaction and network quality in 2006 by Voice
and Data.

Aircel is one of the sponsors of the Indian Premier League Cricket

Team Chennai Super Kings, which is captained by Mahendra Singh
Dhoni. It is also the major sponsors for Chennai Open (the only ATP
tennis tournament in India), and Professional Golf Tour of India. Maxis,
Aircel's majority stake holder at that time, raised RM11.2 billion (USD
3.36 billions) for its shareholders (UTSB), making it the largest IPO in
Malaysia and Southeast Asia.
 CHAPTER 2

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

 PRIMARY OBJECTIVE

“ Acquisition trend of telecom industry in the retail market of

Guwahati, with special emphasis on AIRCEL Postpaid.”

 SECONDARY OBJECTIVE

 Trend of giving connections.

 Market share of various retailers, considering all the telecom

operators.

 Interest of the retailers in giving postpaid connections.

 Awareness level of retailers regarding postpaid products.

 CHAPTER 3.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The study was essentially of qualitative nature and was based on

opinion survey.

 Data source

• Primary Data: Schedule

• Secondary sources of Data: Company booklets,

websites

 Research instrument

 Structured schedule for retailers

SAMPLE SIZE: 440 retail shops

SAMPLING METHOD: Convenience Sampling

LOCATION: Ganeshguri, Ganeshmandir, Kahilipara Road upto

Sijubari,Beltola, Lastgate, Uzanbazar, Kharghuli, Jaipur,
Tarun nagar, B.K. Kakati road upto Dgp office.
Guwahati Club, Chenikuti, Machkhowa, Bhorolomukh,Maligaon.
Bamunimaidan upto Noonmati ,Milanpur, Narikol Basti upto
Railway Colony link Road,Ulubari, Paltan
Bazar,Panbazar,Lakhtokia,Fancybazar, Guwahati
Club,Narangi,Chandmari,Zoo tiniali upto Nursery.Azara upto
Bijoy Nagar area.

Chapter-4

Preliminary study
Schedule Design
 Data Collection
Sampling Plan
Limitation & Scope

The following methodologies were adopted for this project--

Preliminary Study

The project study was undertaken through general discussion and

informal interview with customers.

The project required a set of schedule.

Schedule Design

Primary Data are collected with the help of pre-framed schedule for
retailers. Schedule was framed with information need in as per study
objectives. The schedule contains both open ended & close ended
questions. Questions with multiple choice answers etc. were also used
in the schedule. Efforts were made to keep the schedule simple and
precise.

Data Collection & Analysis

The data were mainly collected from primary sources—through the
schedule & face to face interview. Data were also collected from
secondary sources like company websites, journals, newspapers etc.

The data collected from the retail shops were analyzed using different
statistical tools and techniques, each of the questions were analyzed
to find out the required information.

Sampling Plan

The samples were selected on the basis of convenience sampling. A

total of 440 retail shops were surveyed.
The total sample size was segmented under the following zones:
Ganeshguri, Ganeshmandir, Kahilipara Road upto Sijubari,Beltola, Lastgate,
Uzanbazar, Kharghuli, Jaipur, Tarun nagar, B.K. Kakati road upto DGP office,
Guwahati Club, Chenikuti, Machkhowa, Bhorolomukh,Maligaon,Bamunimaidan
upto Noonmati Milanpur, Narikol Basti upto Railway Colony link Road,Ulubari,
Paltan Bazar,Panbazar,Lakhtokia,Fancybazar, Guwahati
Club,Narangi,Chandmari,Zoo tiniali upto Nursery,Azara upto Bijoy Nagar
area,Pandu,Jalukbari, Amingaon and Barowari.

LIMITATIONS:

The survey is dependent on primary data, the study may gain

vulnerability.

 The major constraint was the time factor, as the study has
to be finished under a stipulated time period.
  Lack of interest on the part of the respondents and
unenthusiastic response may allow biasness to creep in the
project.

 This being an academic study may suffer from cost & time
constraints.

 The study is limited to a few areas of Guwahati city only;

hence the results may differ from other areas of this city
and other cities.

 On many occasions the target respondents hesitated to

reveal their all views regarding the schedule, including their
phone numbers.

SCOPE

The scope of the project is limited to some particularly selected areas

of Guwahati city only.
The project report may be one of the most important tools for the
company for knowing the present market scenario of AIRCEL.

The company can also receive a brief idea regarding their strengths
weaknesses, threats& opportunities & also the strengths & weakness
of their competitors. Ultimately the company will be benefited in
making their strategies & policies accordingly and in improving the
performances by taking the right decisions at the right time.

From the survey it was came to known that most of the retailers and
customers prefers AIRCEL for its better service and at the same time
some telecom operators like RELIANCE, VODAFONE, AIRTEL etc.. are
rising as the strong competitors of AIRCEL
 Chapter-5

Analysis & interpretation

Analysis & Interpretation

This is the analysis of the Schedule which was given to the retailers in
the selected areas of Guwahati.

Analysis according to the data collected through field survey-

 A sample size of 440 retailers was taken and a brief idea was found
on the performances of different telecom operators in the market.

From the retailers it was come to known about the “Acquisition

trend of telecom industry in the retail market of Guwahati, with
special emphasis on AIRCEL Postpaid.”

Q1. HOW MANY TELECOM OPERATORS HAVE YOU BEEN ASSOCIATED

WITH ?

The purpose of this question is to find out the TELECOM OPERATORS with
which various retailers are associated.

NO OF
RETAILERS
ASSOCIATED
SL NO INDUSTRY WITH
1 AIRCEL 390
2 AIRTEL 380
3 VODAFONE 300
4 RELIANCE 400
5 TATA INDICOM 230
6 IDEA 280
7 BSNL 290
TOTAL 2270
Interpretation:
This has been seen that out of 440 retailers all 400 are associated with Reliance within
the areas surveyed, while Tata Indicom has associated with 230 numbers of retailers.

Q2. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THIS TELECOM RETAIL BUSINESS ?

The objective of this question is to find out the WORKING EXPERIENCE of

the
retailers in the telecom industry, in the areas surveyed

NO OF
RETAILE
SL NO PERIOD RS
1 0 TO 1 YEAR 50
2 1 TO 2 YEARS 80
3 2 TO 3 YEARS 80
4 3 TO 4 YEARS 110
4 YEARS AND
5 ABOVE 120
TOTAL 440
Interpretation:
It is observed that maximum numbers (120) of the retailers are having 4 year and above experience and
minimum numbers (50) are newly associated having 0 to 1 year experience.

Q3. HOW MANY TOTAL CONNECTIONS DO YOU GIVE IN A MONTH ?

This question tries to find out the TOTAL NUMBER OF MONTHLY CONNECTIONS given
by the various retailers in the areas surveyed.

For the purpose of analysis, the TOTAL NUMBER OF MONTHLY CONNECTIONS given by
various retailers is grouped as follows, based on the results of the survey.

This list EXCLUDES those retailers who provide ONLY RECHARGE VOUCHERS (RCVs) and DO
NOT give any connections(prepaid or postpaid) .

CONNECTIONS GROUP TOTALS of PERCENTAGE

RETAILERS

0 TO 100 283 76 %

100 TO 200 70 19 %

200 TO 300 14 4%

300 TO 40O & Above 7 1%

 300 TO 40O &
Above, 1%
TOTAL MONTHLY
100 TO 200 TO 300, 4%
200, 19%
CONNECTIONS

0 TO 100
100 TO 200
200 TO 300
300 TO 40O & Above

0 TO
100, 76%

IT IS FOUND THAT MAXIMUM RETAILERS ( 76 %) GIVE MONTHLY CONNECTIONS OF 0

TO 100 IN NUMBER. WHILE, THE MINIMUM NUMBER OF RETAILERS GIVE MONTHLY
CONNECTIONS WITHIN 300 & Above .

Q4. WHAT IS THE MONTHLY OPERATOR-WISE SHARE FROM YOUR STORE

?

The object of this question is to find out the TOTAL NUMBER OF MONTHLY
CONNECTIONS ( prepaid and postpaid ) given by the retailers , OPERATOR-WISE. It
EXCLUDES those retailers who give only RECHARGE VOUCHERS (RCVs) i.e. those
retailers who DO NOT GIVE CONNECTIONS.

%
SL NO INDUSTRY SHARE
1 AIRCEL 22%
2 AIRTEL 21%
3 VODAFONE 6%
4 RELIANCE 33%
5 TATA INDICOM 7%
6 IDEA 9%
7 BSNL 3%
TOTAL 100.00%
Interpretation :

From this question it is found that maximum number of retailers(33%) has share with
RELIANCE and minimum number of retailer’s has share (3%) with BSNL.

Q5. WHAT IS YOUR NUMBER OF MONTHLY PREPAID AND POSTPAID

CONNECTIONS ?

This question intends to find out the number of PREPAID AND POSTPAID
CONNECTIONS given by the retailers respectively, for each of the TELECOM
OPERATORS. It EXCLUDES those retailers who give only RECHARGE VOUCHERS
(RCVs) i.e. those retailers who DO NOT GIVE CONNECTIONS.

MONTHLY

PREPAID POSTPAID
AIRCEL 2430 600
AIRTEL 2230 383
VODAFONE 630 405
RELIANCE 3400 1514
TATA INDECOM 800 250
IDEA 1000 285
BSNL 320 538
TOTAL 10810 3975
Interpretation :
IT IS SEEN THAT AMONGST THE PREPAID CONNECTIONS, RELIANCE HAS THE
HIGHEST SHARE (3400), WITH THE LOWEST SHARE BEING THAT OF TATA
INDICOM (320).

FOR POSTPAID CONNECTIONS, IT IS FOUND THAT RELIANCE HAS GOT THE

HIGHEST SHARE (1514), WHILE TATA INDICOM HAS THE LOWEST NUMBER
OF MONTHLY CONNECTIONS (250).

Q6. ARE YOU INTERESTED IN SELLING ONLY RCV OR IN GIVING

CONNECTIONS AS WELL?

This question intends to find out whether retailers are engaged in selling
RECHARGE VOUCHERS ( RCVs) ONLY or they are interested in giving
CONNECTIONS AS WELL

REMARKS NO OF RETAILERS

YES 387

NO 53

TOTAL 440
Interpretation :
IT IS OBSERVED THAT FEW RETAILERS (53) ARE GIVING ONLY RCVs.

MOST OF THE RETAILERS (387) IN THE SURVEYED AREAS ARE ENGAGED IN

GIVING BOTH RCVs AND CONNECTIONS.

Q7. Do you have postpaid bill collection option ?

This question tries to find out whether the retailers are engaged in the
collection of POSTPAID BILLS of any telecom operator / (s).

REMARKS NO OF RETAILERS

YES 115

NO 325

TOTAL 440
Interpretation :
THUS IT IS SEEN THAT ONLY FEW RETAILERS (115) ARE ENGAGED IN POSTPAID
BILL COLLECTION. MOST OF THE RETAILERS (325) IN THE SURVEYED AREAS
ARE NOT ENGAGED IN POSTPAID BILL COLLECTION.

Q8. IF NO, ARE YOU INTERESTED IN AIRCEL POSTPAID BILL COLLECTION

OPTION ?

The purpose of this query is to find out whether the retailers are interested
for AIRCEL postpaid bill collection.

REMARKS NO OF RETAILERS

YES 118

NO 207

TOTAL 325
Interpretation :
THUS IT IS SEEN THAT(118) OF THE RETAILERS ARE INTERESTED IN AIRCEL
POSTPAID BILL COLLECTION, WHILE THE (207) OTHER HALF ARE NOT
INTERESTED.

Q9. WHY RETAILERS PUT MUCH EMPHASIS ON PREPAID CONNECTIONS ?

This query tries to find out WHY retailers put much emphasis on PREPAID

connections. Four reasons were given for this, as follows :-

REASONS OF RETAILERS PUTTING NO. of respondents

MUCH EMPHASIS ON PREPAID
CONNECTIONS

a. Free to customers 120

b. Plans are simple 107

c. Customers are aware of the plans 114

d. Incentives /schemes for the 99

retailers apart from the commission
Interpretation :
AFTER COMPLETION OF THE SURVEY, IT IS FOUND THAT ALL THE 440 RETAILERS
WITHIN THE SURVEYED AREAS ATTRIBUTE ALL THE ABOVE GIVEN FOUR
STATEMENTS AS REASONS FOR THE GREATER DEMAND OF PREPAID TELECOM
CONNECTIONS.

Q10. ARE YOU INTERESTED IN GIVING POSTPAID CONNECTIONS?

This question tries to find out whether retailers are INTERESTED in

providing POSTPAID connections.

Remark No. of respondents

yes 262

no 178
Interpretation:
IT IS BEING OBSERVED THAT MAJORITY (60%) OF THE RETAILERS ARE
INTERESTED IN GIVING POSTPAID CONNECTIONS. ON THE OTHER HAND,
MINORITY (40%) OF THE RETAILERS ARE NOT INTERESTED FOR POSTPAID
CONNECTIONS.

Q11. IF NO, WHY ARE YOU NOT GIVING POSTPAID CONNECTIONS?

This question intends to find out the reasons for not providing postpaid
connections by the retailers.

Based on the results of the survey, the following reasons are found:

 Excessive rules, regulations and procedures.

 Low or non-existent demand for postpaid connections.

 People are unaware of the postpaid plans.

 Prepaid plans are simple.

Interpretation:
IT HAS BEING FOUND THAT ALL THE 440 RETAILERS WITHIN THE SURVEYED
AREAS ATTRIBUTE ALL THE ABOVE GIVEN FOUR STATEMENTS AS REASONS
FOR NOT PROVIDING POSTPAID CONNECTIONS.

Q12. ARE YOU AWARE OF VARIOUS POSTPAID PRODUCTS OF AIRCEL?

This query tries to find out if the retailers are AWARE of the
various POSTPAID products of AIRCEL.

Remark No. of respondents

Yes 368
No 72

Interpretation:
IT HAS BEEN FOUND THAT MAJORITY ( 84% ) OF THE RETAILERS ARE AWARE
OF VARIOUS POSTPAID PRODUCTS OF AIRCEL.
Q13. IF NO, ARE YOU INTERESTED TO KNOW?

The purpose of this query is to find out if retailers are INTERESTED in

knowing about various POSTPAID products of AIRCEL, AMONGST those
retailers who DO NOT know about these products.

Remark No. of respondents

Yes 49
No 23

RETAILER

Interpretation :
THUS, IT IS FOUND THAT AMONG THE RETAILERS WHO ARE NOT AWARE OF
THE POSTPAID PRODUCTS OF AIRCEL, MAJORITY (61%) OF THE RETAILERS
ARE INTERESTED IN KNOWING ABOUT THESE VARIOUS POSTPAID PRODUCTS.
Q14. ARE CUSTOMERS INTERESTED IN POSTPAID CONNECTIONS?

This last question in the survey intends to find out from the retailers whether their
customers are ASKING for POSTPAID connections of the various telecom
operators

IF THE CUSTOMERS ARE NO. OF RESPONDENTS

INTERESTED IN POST PAID
CONNECTION
Yes 166
No 274

Interpretation :
IT IS HENCE OBSERVED THAT ACCORDING TO MOST ( 70% ) OF THE RETAILERS,
CUSTOMERS ARE NOT INTERESTED IN POSTPAID CONNECTIONS OF THE
VARIOUS TELECOM OPERATORS.
 CHAPTER- 6

FINDINGS AT A GLANCE
 MAJOR FINDINGS OF THE PROJECT

 Out of the 440 retailers maximum 400 retailers are associated

with RELIANCE and minimum number belongs to TATA
INDICOM.

 It is observed that, maximum number of retailers (120) are

having 4 years and above experience in the telecom business.

 Out of the survey, 76% retailers give 0 to 100 number of

connections in a month.

 Out of the 440 retailers, maximum operator-wise share (33%)

goes to RELIANCE . And minimum (3%) share is goes to BSNL.

 Highest number of PREPAID connections (31.5 %) comes from

RELIANCE.

 RELIANCE is also having the Highest number (38.08 %) of

POSTPAID connections.

 TATA INDICOM has the Lowest number (7.4 %) of Prepaid

connections in a month. It also has the lowest number (6.28 %)
of Postpaid connections.

 It is found from the survey that most of the retailers (87.95 %)

are engaged in giving both RCVs and CONNECTIONs as well.

 Out of 440 respondents, 325 retailers do not have any

POSTPAID BILL COLLECTION option.
 Out of the 440 retailers, maximum number of retailers (207) are
not interested in AIRCEL POSTPAID bill collection.

 Maximum number of retailers (120) put much emphasis on

AIRCEL PREPAID connection because IT IS FREE TO
CUSTOMERS.

 Maximum retailers ( 59.54 %) are interested in giving AIRCEL

POSTPAID connection.

 Out of the 440 retailers , 368 retailers (84%) are aware of the
AIRCEL POSTPAID products.

 It is found from the survey that customers are not interested in

POSTPAID connections.

 From the survey, it is found that majority of the retailers (61 %)

are interested in knowing about POSTPAID products.
 CHAPTER – 8

RECOMMENDATION
 RECOMMENDATION:

Based on the findings drawn from the project’s analysis, certain

recommendations are needed to be made as regards to the future
course of action for Aircel company ltd. which can go a long way in
improving the Brand awareness of the company in the telecom
market. The main recommendations are:

 AIRCEL should continue with its range of services. At the

same time it should try to add value to its existing services
so that it can cater to the present day requirements. As the
study reveals that most of the retailers do business of all
the telecom operators, so Aircel should make its services
more appealing to the customers than other operators.

 AIRCEL should make the existing as well as potential

retailers & customers know about the overall performance
of the company in comparison to its competitors, in other
words it should more aggressively highlight its
performance & achievements.

 It can make advertisement through television, radio etc to

inform the consumers about their new services & offer.
Advertisement with the help of radio will be helpful to
capture the rural market.
 There are many competitors for AIRCEL in the field of
telecom sectors. Presently Vodafone is rising in a great
way. So it should ensure that effective strategic planning is
in place to overcome any rising threats.

 There should be a wide variety of offers, so that customers

can choose any one of the desired offers. It should
introduce the free talk time facilities at recharge coupon of
less cost like Reliance & Vodafone and others. Aircel must
give emphasis on this vital issue.

CONCLUSION
 CONCLUSION

After conducting the survey through schedule and face to face

interview, the findings and analysis have reflected a lot of thing about
the telecom sectors scenario including AIRCEL on that specific area of
Guwahati where the survey was conducted. A general impression
what was gathered from the data collection was that almost all the
retailers as well as the customers are interested to AIRCEL than the
other telecom operators. It is true that many & more operators are
coming day by day with new facilities & offers, and with new
technologies, but the influence of AIRCEL among the customers are
still rising. Of course it should be agreed that more or less VODAFONE,
RELIANCE, and AIRTEL are some strong competitors to AIRCEL and
they may be the reason of market threats for AIRCEL. AIRCEL has
great potential and available customers from its Internet facilities. The
company should focus more on this field which could bring in a lot
more of consumers of Aircel. However due to its customer oriented
steps and fine services AIRCEL is growing one of the most wanted
telecom operators in all over India, and if it can continue its services
as it is providing today and also can improve it, then it can be said
without any hesitation that AIRCEL will be able to establish it as the
market leader in the near future in the whole country.
 ANNEXURE

SCHEDULE FOR RETAILERS

“Acquisition trend of telecom industry in the retail market of

Guwahati, with special emphasis on AIRCEL Postpaid”.

Respected Sir/Madam,

I have the honour to inform you that I am a student of MBA 3rd

semester
of North Eastern Regional institute Of Management,
(affiliated to Dibrugarh University and approved by AICTE). As a
part of our course curriculum, I am conducting study on the
“Acquisition trend of telecom industry in the retail
market of Guwahati, with special emphasis on AIRCEL
Postpaid” in your retail shop.
 I would be grateful if you could kindly spare some of
your valuable time to fill up the schedule provided, which would
be a great help for me in carrying out my study. At the same
time I assure you that all relevant information provided you will
be kept strictly confidential and it would be used the academic
purpose only.

Thanking you…….

SCHEDULE
NAME : ______________________________________________
ADDRESS : ______________________________________________
LANDMARK : ______________________________________________
CONTACT PERSON : ______________________________________________
PHONE NUMBER : ______________________________________________
GENDER : ______________________________________________

N.B. : PLEASE TICK WHEREVER APPLICABLE.

Q1. HOW MANY TELECOM OPERATORS HAVE YOU BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH?

a. AIRCEL [ ]
b. AIRTEL [ ]
c. VODAFONE [ ]
d. RELIANCE [ ]
 e. TATA INDICOM [ ]
f. IDEA [ ]
g. BSNL [ ]

Q2. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THIS TELECOM RETAIL BUSINESS?

a. 0 TO 1 YEAR [ ]
b. 1 TO 2 YEARS [ ]
c. 2 TO 3 YEARS [ ]
d. 3 TO 4 YEARS [ ]
e. 4 YEARS AND ABOVE [ ]

Q3. HOW MANY TOTAL CONNECTIONS DO YOU GIVE IN A MONTH?

Q4. WHAT IS THE MONTHLY OPERATOR-WISE SHARE FROM YOUR STORE?

a. AIRCEL ____ %
b. AIRTEL ____ %
c. VODAFONE ____ %
d. RELIANCE ____ %
e. TATA INDICOM ____ %
f. IDEA ____ %
g. BSNL ____ %

Q5. WHAT IS YOUR NUMBER OF MONTHLY PREPAID AND POSTPAID CONNECTIONS?

PREPAID POSTPAID

AIRCEL
AIRTEL
VODAFONE
RELIANCE
TATA INDICOM
IDEA
BSNL

Q6. ARE YOU INTERESTED IN SELLING ONLY RCV OR IN GIVING CONNECTIONS AS WELL?

a. YES [ ]
b. NO [ ]

Q7. DO YOU HAVE POSTPAID BILL COLLECTION OPTION?

a. YES [ ]
b. NO [ ]
Q8. IF NO, ARE YOU INTERESTED IN AIRCEL POSTPAID BILL COLLECTION OPTION?

a. YES [ ]
b. NO [ ]

Q9. WHY RETAILERS PUT MUCH EMPHASIS ON PREPAID CONNECTIONS?

a. FREE TO CUSTOMERS [ ]
b. PLANS ARE SIMPLE [ ]
c. CUSTOMERS ARE AWARE OF THE PLANS [ ]
d. INCENTIVES / SCHEMES FOR THE RETAILERS,
APART FROM THE COMMISSION [ ]

Q10. ARE YOU INTERESTED IN GIVING POSTPAID CONNECTIONS?

a. YES [ ]
b. NO [ ]

Q11. IF NO, WHY ARE YOU NOT GIVING POSTPAID CONNECTIONS?

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

Q12. ARE YOU AWARE OF VARIOUS POSTPAID PRODUCTS OF AIRCEL?

a. YES [ ]
b. NO [ ]

Q13. IF NO, ARE YOU INTERESTED TO KNOW?

a. YES [ ]
b. NO [ ]

Q14. ARE CUSTOMERS INTERESTED IN POSTPAID CONNECTIONS?

a. YES [ ]
b. NO [ ]
THANK YOU FOR GIVING YOUR TIME …!!
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
WEBSITES CONSULTED:

1. http://w.w.w.aircel.com
2. http://w.w.w.aircelindia.com
3. http://w.w.w.telecomoperators.com
4.http://en.wikipedia.org

BOOKS CONSULTED:

o C.R.KOTHARI: Research Methodology

Methods and Techniques (SECOND REVISED
EDITION)
NEW AGE INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHERS
o KOTLER & KELLER : Marketing Management,
Pearson
Education, Inc, NEW DELHI

DATABASE:

COMPANY BOOKLETS

SWOT ANALYSIS OF AIRCEL COMMUNICATION

SWOT analysis is done to know about the
factors, which are helpful for company to know
about their current position in the existing
market.

It helps company to know about their strength on

which success of the firm relies, it helps the
company to know about their trailing point which
are the basic cause for company degradation.

It also enables to suggest new areas where

company can flourish and can serve its purpose of
marketing profit. Whereas it also speaks about
the prevailing threats which can prove itself as
abstracts in the pathway of success of company.
 CHAPTER-7

SWOT ANALYSIS
 STRENGTHS

 Large coverage in Guwahati.

 Attractive & cheaper Postpaid plans and value

added services.

 Good commission structure for retailers.

 Fast activation process of new connections.

 Good network connectivity.

 Good brand image.

WEAKNESSES

 Billing problems.

 Poor advertisement and promotions.

 Lack of competitive strength.

 No CDMA technology is available.

 OPPORTUNITIES

 Increasing coverage at wide network

 Developing new sectors

 New tariff plans

 Distribution channel maintained

 Rural market penetration

THREATS

 Increased number of competitors.

 Customer dissatisfaction due to poor customer

service.

 Political destabilization.

 New market entrants.