CHAPTER-I

1.1 TELECOM INDUSTRY AT A GLANCE

The telecom network in India is the fifth largest network in the world meeting up with global standards. Presently, the Indian telecom industry is currently slated to an estimated contribution of nearly 1% to Indias GDP. The Indian Telecommunications network with 110.01 million connections is the fifth largest in the world and the second largest among the emerging economies of Asia. Today, it is the fastest growing market in the world and represents unique opportunities for U.S. companies in the stagnant global scenario. The total subscriber base, which has grown by 40% in 2005, is expected to reach 250 million in 2007. According to Broadband Policy 2004, Government of India aims at 9 million broadband connections and 18 million internet connections by 2007. The wireless subscriber base has jumped from 33.69 million in 2004 to 62.57 million in FY20042005. In the last 3 years, two out of every three new telephone subscribers were wireless subscribers. 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 bypass 2.5 million new subscribers per month by 2007. The wireless technologies currently in use 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 telecom circles and 4 metro cities, covering 2000 towns across the country. In India cellular service were made available to the public after liberalization of telecom policy way back in1994. Since then ever operator in the cellular services sector has been vying to after of range of a new services. Each operator offers a variety of calling plans both pre-paid as well as post-paid to suit varying needs and requirements. Various service levels as well as coverage areas, quality of network coverage pertaining to three factors viz. network access, quality of network coverage pertaining to three factors viz. network access, call retentions and call quality make the job of service provides very challenging. In addition to this various charges in from of activation fees, monthly access charges, number, of included minutes, surcharge for extra minutes, contract periods, etc.
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Evolution of the Industry - Important Milestones: Year 1851 Description First operational land lines were laid by the govt. near Calcutta(seat of British Power) 1881 1883 1923 1932 Telephone Service introduced in India Merger with the postal system Formation of Indian Radio Telegraph Company (IRT) Merger of ETC and IRT into the Indian Radio and Communication Company(IRCC) 1947 Nationalization of all foreign telecommunication companies to form the Posts, Telephone and Telegraph(PTT), a monopoly run by the governments Ministry of Communication 1985 Department of Telecommunications (DOT) established, an exclusive provider of domestic and long-distance service that would be its own regulator (separate from the postal system) 1986 Conversion of DOT into two wholly government-owned companies: the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) for international telecommunications and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) for service in metropolitan areas. 1997 1999 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India created Cellular Services are launched in India. New National Telecom Policy is adopted. 2000 DoT becomes a corporation, BSNL

Major Players: There are three types of players in telecom services: State owned companies (BSNL and MTNL)

 Private Indian owned companies (Reliance Infocomm, Tata Teleservices) Foreign invested companies (Vodafone-Essar, Bharti Tele-Ventures, Escotel, Idea Cellular, BPL Mobile, Spice Communications) India's mobile telecom sector is one of the fastest growing sectors. Unlike in the 1990s when the mobile phone was an elitist product, mobile operators now tap a mass market with mass marketing techniques. "Unified licensing" rules allow basic and mobile operators into each others territory, and have ushered in perhaps the final phase of industry consolidation. It seems that only companies with deep pockets can effectively compete as primary operators mobile markets. Economies of scale, scope, and end-toend presence in long-distance as well as local telecom, are desirable. There are, besides, new challenges. Operators have to find new growth drivers for the wire line business. There are problems of getting broadband to take off, of technology choice, of when to introduce new technologies, and of developing a viable business model in an era of convergence. Growth of mobile technology: India has the fastest growing mobile markets in the world. The mobile services were commercially launched in August 1995 in India. In the initial 5-6 years the average monthly subscribers additions were around 0.05 to 0.1 million only and the total mobile subscribers base in December 2002 stood at 10.5 millions. However, after the number of proactive initiatives taken by regulator and licensor, the monthly subscriber additions increased to around 2 million per month in the year 2003-04 and 2004-05. Although mobile telephones followed the New Telecom Policy 1994, growth was tardy in the early years because of the high price of hand sets as well as the high tariff structure of mobile telephones. The New Telecom Policy in 1999, the industry heralded several pro consumer initiatives. Mobile subscriber additions started picking up. The number of mobile phones added throughout the country in 2003 was 16 million, followed by 22 millions in 2004, 32 million in 2005 and 65 million in 2006. The only countries with more mobile phones than India with 156.31 million mobile phones are China 408 million and USA 170 million. India has opted for the use of both the GSM
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(global system for mobile communications) and CDMA (code-division multiple access) technologies in the mobile sector.The mobile tariffs in India have also become lowest in the world. A new mobile connection can be activated with a monthly commitment of US$ 5 only. In 2005 alone 32 million handsets were sold in India. The data reveals the real potential for growth of the Indian mobile market.

1.2 CELLULAR SERVICE PROVIDERS: As on Apr 2007 India has 167 million mobile phone subscribers. Out of this 125 million are GSM users and 41 million CDMA users. BSNL, Bharti Airtel, Hutch, Idea, Aircel, Spice and MTNL are the main GSM providers in India. Reliance Communications and Tata Indicom are the main CDMA providers in India. Bharti Airtel Airtel is providing cellular services in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, UP and West Bengal. Airtel is the No.1 cellular service provider in India using GSM technology. Airtel has 23% market share in India with a total subscriber base of 38 million. Reliance Communications Reliance has both CDMA and GSM networks and total subscriber base of 29 million or 17% market share. It has GSM network in Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Kolkata, North East, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal. Reliance has CDMA networks in other states and cities.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) BSNL is a state owned telecom company which has GSM presence in almost every cities and towns. BSNL has 27 million subscribers with a market share of 16%. Vodafone

Vodafone is another emerging GSM provider in India with coverage in Kerala, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Punjab with a total subscriber base of 27 million. 1.3 INTRODUCTION TO VODAFONE Vodafone is a mobile network operator headquartered in Berkshire, England, UK. It is the largest mobile telecommunications network company in the world by turnover and has a market value of about 75 billion (August 2008). Vodafone currently has operations in 25 countries and partner networks in a further 42 countries. The name Vodafone comes from Voice data fone, chosen by the company to "reflect the provision of voice and data services over mobile phones." As of 2006 Vodafone had an estimated 260 million customers in 25 markets across 5 continents. On this measure, it is the second largest mobile telecom group in the world behind China Mobile. In the United States, Vodafone owns 45% of Verizon Wireless. Mission: Vodafone is primarily a user of technology rather than a developer of it, and this fact is reflected in the emphasis of our work program on enabling new applications of mobile communications, using new technology for new services, research for improving operational efficiency and quality of our networks, and providing technology vision and leadership that can contribute directly to business decisions. Vision: Our Vision is to be the worlds mobile communication leader enriching customers lives, helping individuals, businesses and Communities be more connected in a mobile world.

HISTORY In 1982 Racal Electronics plc's subsidiary Racal Strategic Radio Ltd. won one of two UK cellular telephone network licenses. The network, known as Racal Vodafone was 80% owned by Racal, with Millicom and the Hambros Technology Trust owning 15% and 5%

respectively. Vodafone was launched on 1 January 1985. Racal Strategic Radio was renamed Racal Telecommunications Group Limited in 1985. On 29 December 1986 Racal Electronics bought out the minority shareholders of Vodafone for GB110 million. In September 1988 the company was again renamed Racal Telecom and on 26 October 1988 Racal Electronics floated 20% of the company. The flotation valued Racal Telecom at GB1.7 billion On 16 September 1991 Racal Telecom was demerged from Racal Electronics as Vodafone Group. In July 1996 Vodafone acquired the two thirds of Talkland it did not already own for 30.6 million. On 19 November 1996, in a defensive move, Vodafone purchased Peoples Phone for 77 million, a 181 store chain whose customers were overwhelmingly using Vodafone's network. In a similar move the company acquired the 80% of Astec Communications that it did not own, a service provider with 21 stores. In 1997 Vodafone introduced its Speech mark logo, as it is a quotation mark in a circle; the O's in the Vodafone logotype are opening and closing quotation marks, suggesting conversation. On 29 June 1999 Vodafone completed its purchase of AirTouch Communications, Inc. and changed its name to Vodafone Airtouch plc. Trading of the new company commenced on 30 June 1999. To approve the merger, Vodafone sold its 17.2% stake in E-Plus Mobilfunk. The acquisition gave Vodafone a 35% share of Mannesmann, owner of the largest German mobile network. On 21 September 1999 Vodafone agreed to merge its U.S. wireless assets with those of Bell Atlantic Corp to form Verizon Wireless. The merger was completed on 4 April 2000. In November 1999 Vodafone made an unsolicited bid for Mannesmann, which was rejected. Vodafone's interest in Mannesmann had been increased by the latter's purchase of Orange, the UK mobile operator. Chris Gent would later say Mannesmann's move into the UK broke a "gentleman's agreement" not to compete in each other's home territory. The hostile takeover provoked strong protest in Germany and a "titanic struggle" which saw Mannesmann resists Vodafone's efforts. However, on 3 February 2000 the Mannesmann board agreed to an increased offer of 112bn, then the largest corporate merger ever. The EU approved the merger in April 2000. The conglomerate was subsequently broken up and all manufacturing related operations sold off. On 28 July 2000 the Company reverted to its former name, Vodafone Group Plc. In April 2001 the first 3G voice call was made on Vodafone United Kingdom's 3G network. In 2001

the Company took over Eircell, then part of eircom in Ireland, and rebranded it as Vodafone Ireland. It then went on to acquire Japan's third-largest mobile operator JPhone, which had introduced camera phones first in Japan. On 17 December 2001 Vodafone introduced the concept of "Partner Networks" by signing TDC Mobil of Denmark. The new concept involved the introduction of Vodafone international services to the local market, without the need of investment by Vodafone. The concept would be used to extend the Vodafone brand and services into markets where it does not have stakes in local operators. Vodafone services would be marketed under the dual-brand scheme, where the Vodafone brand is added at the end of the local brand. (i.e., TDC Mobil-Vodafone etc.) In February 2002 Finland was added into the mobile community, as Radiolinja is signed as a Partner Network. Radiolinja later changed its named to Elisa. Later that year the Company rebranded Japan's J-sky mobile internet service as Vodafone live! and on 3 December 2002 the Vodafone brand was introduced in the Estonian market with signing of a Partner Network Agreement with Radiolinja (Eesti). Radiolinja (Eesti) later changed its name to Elisa. On 7 January 2003 the Company signed a group-wide Partner agreement with mobilkom Austria. As a result, Austria, Croatia, and Slovenia were added to the community. In April 2003 Og Vodafone was introduced in the Icelandic market and in May 2003 Vodafone Italy (Omnitel Pronto-Italia) was rebranded Vodafone Italy. On 21 July 2003 Lithuania was added to the community, with the signing of a Partner Network agreement with Bit. In February 2004 Vodafone signed a Partner Network Agreement with Luxembourg's LuxGSM and a Partner Network Agreement with Cyta of Cyprus. Cyta agreed to rename its mobile phone operations to Cytamobile-Vodafone. In April 2004 the Company purchased Single point airtime provider from John Caudwell (Caudwell Group) and approx 1.5million customers onto its base for 405million, adding sites in Stoke on Trent (England) to existing sites in Newbury (HQ), Birmingham, Warrington and Banbury. In November 2004 Vodafone introduced 3G services into Europe. In June 2005 the Company increased its participation in Romania's Connex to 99% and also bought the Czech mobile operator Oskar. On 1 July 2005 Oskar of the Czech Republic was rebranded as Oskar-Vodafone. Later that year on 17 October 2005 Vodafone Portugal launched a revised logo, using

new text designed by Dalton Maag, and a 3D version of the Speech mark logo, but still retaining a red background and white writing (or vice versa). Also, various operating companies started to drop the use of the SIM card pattern in the company logo. (The rebranding of Oskar-Vodafone and Connex-Vodafone also does not use the SIM card pattern.) A custom typeface by Dalton Maag (based on their font family InterFace) formed part of the new identity. On 28 October 2005 Connex in Romania was rebranded as Connex-Vodafone and on 31 October 2005 the Company reached an agreement to sell Vodafone Sweden to Telenor for approximately 1 billion. After the sale, Vodafone Sweden became a Partner Network. In December 2005 Vodafone won an auction to buy Turkey's second-largest mobile phone company, Telsim, for $4.5 billion. In 2006 the Company rebranded its Stoke-on-Trent site as Stoke Premier Centre, a centre of expertise for the company dealing with Customer Care for its higher value customers, technical support, sales and credit control. All cancellations and upgrades started to be dealt with by this call centre. On 5 January 2006 Vodafone announced the completion of the sale of Vodafone Sweden to Telenor. On February 2006 the Early in January 2007 Telsim in Turkey adopted Vodafone dual branding as Telsim Vodafone and on 1 April 2007 Telsim Vodafone Turkey dropped its original brand and became Vodafone Turkey. On 1 May 2007 Vodafone added Jersey and Guernsey to the community, as Airtel was signed as Partner Network in both crown dependencies. In June 2007 the Vodafone live! Mobile Internet portal in the UK was relaunched. Front page was now charged for and previously "bundled" data allowance was removed from existing contract terms. All users were given access to the "full" web rather than a Walled Garden and Vodafone became the first mobile network to focus an entire media campaign on its newly launched mobile Internet portal in the UK. On 1 August 2007 Vodafone Portugal launched Vodafone Messenger, a service with Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger. On 17 April 2008 Vodafone extended its footprint
to Serbia as VIP mobile was added to the community as a Partner Network and on 20 May 2008 the Company added VIP Operator as a Partner Network thereby extending the global footprint to Macedonia. In May 2008 Kall of the Faroe Islands rebranded as Vodafone Faroe Islands. On 30 October 2008, the company announced a strategic, non-equity partnership with

MTS group of Russia. The agreement adds Russia, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan to the group footprint.

1.4 SWOT ANALYSIS OF VODAFONE SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieving that objective. The technique is credited to Albert Humphrey, who led a research project at Stanford University in the 1960s and 1970s using data from Fortune 500 companies.

Strengths Leadership Position

Weaknesses Centralized Control Low Flexibility High Consumer churn rates Threats Increased Competition Market saturation in Europe Emergencies of Low cost Brands

Internal

Global Brand Strength High Geographical reach Opportunities

External

Expanding marketing boundaries Growth through 3G Strategic Alliances

Strengths: The main strength of Vodafone within the telecommunications market lies in its brand image and recognition. Vodafone, having established a global presence and having invested highly in marketing a differentiated image by promoting a Vodafone life style, currently enjoys a differentiating advantage that, if exploited properly, can offer a lead in competition. The presence of Vodafone in numerous countries within Europe as well

as in all part of the world enhances this image. It allows customers to travel and enjoy easily the services of their home country operator. In the few countries that Vodafone is not physically present (e.g. Norway) it has well established strategic alliances which allow for a better service of mobile clients. Weaknesses: The expansion of Vodafone has been completed at the expense of direct control of its operations. The company grew through a process of acquisitions of national telecommunications companies (e.g. the acquisition of the third biggest Czech mobile phone operator, Cesky mobile) rather than organic growth. This increased its subscribers base quickly, offering direct market knowledge and immediate additions of customer bases at the expense of direct effective control of the subsidiaries. At the same time though, it implicitly imposed a centralized operational structure for the group, nominating the UK headquarters as the leading business unit running a much centralised marketing and handset procurement at group level. This has resulted in the neglect of local markets and local differences, allowing market share to be gained by smaller local competitors. Due to the highly saturated Western European market this has resulted in an increase in the price elasticity of demand, with consumers becoming continuously price oriented. This has resulted in high customer churn rates reaching the level of 32.8% in the UK compared to O2s 24%. Opportunities: The telecommunications market, even though highly saturated in some regions offers great potential due to the ageing population and the sophistication of the consumers. It offers great opportunities through a careful market segmentation and exploitation of particular profitable segments. Different strategies should be pursued simple phones and simplified pricing plans to the ageing population and more updated, sophisticated solutions for younger generations. The expanding Boundaries of the market could provide further opportunities by allowing Vodafone to enter more aggressively into. Fixedline service and to better enjoy the benefits of its high investment in 3G technology. Moreover the company has undertaken its first steps in establishing strategic

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alliances to develop customized solutions for endusers: Vodafone recently announced two new partnerships, one with supermarket group ASDA to launch an ASDA branded mobile service in the UK, and another with electrical retailer DSG International to provide mobile solutions to small businesses. This could further be enhanced to avoid being a lateentrant in this new method of distribution which offers access to a wide potential customer base. Threats: The European part of Vodafones market is characterized by existing high levels of competition. Major brands such as O2 and TMobile are exploiting the price sensitivity of customers and in this way they are building a stronger image and presence in the market. Indirect competition is also increasing further, through the presence of Skype and other related (not only voice) Internetbased services. This combined with the upcoming European legislative measures is expected to limit further the tariffs for the network providers imposing further need for price cuts which could harm the bottom line profitability of the company.

1.5 VODAFONE -ESSAR Introduction: Vodafone Essar, previously Hutchison Essar is a cellular operator in India that covers 21 telecom circles in India. Despite the official name being Vodafone Essar, its products are simply branded Vodafone. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone

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coverage throughout India and is especially strong in the major metros. Vodafone Essar provides 2G services based on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz digital GSM technology, offering voice and data services in 22 of the country's 23 licence areas. Ownership: Vodafone Essar is owned by Vodafone 52%, Essar Group 33%, and other Indian nationals, 15%. On February 11, 2007, Vodafone agreed to acquire the controlling interest of 67% held by Li Ka Shing Holdings in Hutch-Essar for US$11.1 billion, pipping Reliance Communications, Hinduja Group, and Essar Group, which is the owner of the remaining 33%. The whole company was valued at USD 18.8 billion. The transaction closed on May 8, 2007. Previous brands: In December 2006, Hutch Essar re-launched the "Hutch" brand nationwide, consolidating its services under a single identity. The Company entered into agreement with NTT DoCoMo to launch i-mode mobile Internet service in India during 2007. The company used to be named Hutchison Essar, reflecting the name of its previous owner, Hutchison. However, the brand was marketed as Hutch. After getting the necessary government approvals with regards to the acquisition of a majority by the Vodafone Group, the company was rebranded as Vodafone Essar. The marketing brand was officially changed to Vodafone on 20 September 2007. On September 20, 2007 Hutch becomes Vodafone in one of the biggest brand transition exercises in recent times. Vodafone Essar is spending somewhere in the region of Rs 250 crores on this highprofile transition being unveiled today. Along with the transition, cheap cell phones have been launched in the Indian market under the Vodafone brand. There are plans to launch co-branded handsets sourced from global vendors as well. A popular daily quoted a Vodafone Essar director as saying that "the objective is to leverage Vodafone Group's global scale in bringing millions of low-cost handsets from across-the-world into India." While there is no revealing the prices of the low-cost Vodafone handsets, the industry is abuzz that prices might start at Rs 666, undercutting Reliance Communications' muchhyped 'Rang Barse' with cheap handsets beginning at Rs 777. Meanwhile, Vodafone

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Essar sources said there would be no discounts or subsidized handset offers -- rather handset-bundled schemes for customers

1.5 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Customer satisfaction, a business term, is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. It is seen as a key performance indicator within business and is part of the four perspectives of a Balanced Scorecard. In a competitive marketplace where businesses compete for customers, customer satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator and increasingly has become a key
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element of business strategy. There is a substantial body of empirical literature that establishes the benefits of customer satisfaction for firms. Measuring customer satisfaction Organizations are increasingly interested in retaining existing customers while targeting non-customers; measuring customer satisfaction provides an indication of how successful the organization is at providing products and/or services to the marketplace. Customer satisfaction is an ambiguous and abstract concept and the actual manifestation of the state of satisfaction will vary from person to person and product/service to product/service. The state of satisfaction depends on a number of both psychological and physical variables which correlate with satisfaction behaviors such as return and recommend rate. The level of satisfaction can also vary depending on other options the customer may have and other products against which the customer can compare the organization's products. Because satisfaction is basically a psychological state, care should be taken in the effort of quantitative measurement, although a large quantity of research in this area has recently been developed. Work done by Berry, Brodeur between 1990 and 1998 defined ten 'Quality Values' which influence satisfaction behavior, further expanded by Berry in 2002 and known as the ten domains of satisfaction. These ten domains of satisfaction include: Quality, Value, Timeliness, Efficiency, Ease of Access, Environment, Interdepartmental Teamwork, Front line Service Behaviors, Commitment to the Customer and Innovation. These factors are emphasized for continuous improvement and organizational change measurement and are most often utilized to develop the architecture for satisfaction measurement as an integrated model. Work done by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry between 1985 and 1988 provides the basis for the measurement of customer satisfaction with a service by using the gap between the customer's expectation of performance and their perceived experience of performance. This provides the measurer with a satisfaction "gap" which is objective and quantitative in nature. Work done by Cronin and Taylor propose the "confirmation/disconfirmation" theory of combining the "gap" described by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry as two different measures (perception and expectation of performance) into a single

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measurement of performance according to expectation. According to Garbrand, customer satisfaction equals perception of performance divided by expectation of performance. The usual measures of customer satisfaction involve a survey with a set of statements using a Likert Technique or scale. The customer is asked to evaluate each statement and in term of their perception and expectation of performance of the organization being measured.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

1.6 Meaning of Research Methodology Marketing research means the systematic gathering, recording, analyzing of data about problems relating to the marketing of goods and services Marketing research has proved an essential tool to make all the need of marketing management. Marketing research therefore is the scientific process of gathering and analyzing of marketing information to meet the needs of marketing management. But

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gathering of observation is must be systematic. The systematic conduct of research requires: Orderliness, in which the measurements are accurate. Impartiality in analysis and interpretation. All of research can be categorized into basic and applied.
1. BASIC RESEARCH: - Basic Research is that intended to expand the body of

knowledge for the use of others.

2. APPLIED RESEARCH: - Applied Research is one, which is carried out to find

the solution for a particular problem or for guiding a specific decision. It is usually private in nature. My research on Vodafone is carried on for guiding specific decisions and its results are useful only to Vodafone for taking particular decision regarding product quality, staff and security. Hence the nature of my research study is APPLIED RESEARCH .

1.7 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY To Study the satisfaction level of the Vodafone customers regarding different services with there on going connection. To identify whether there is any similarity/difference between current network services with desired set of services. Which dimensions of service qualities are customer satisfied and dissatisfied. What is the switching intention among customer? 1.8 RELEVANCE OF THE STUDY

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There are many benefits related to take this study. Some of the benefits of taking this study are as follows: By analyzing this information, the company would be able to better design schemes & services & target right prospects needs & wants. More people will get aware about Vodafone that will increase profit level of Vodafone.
This study helps to identify the behavior of consumer

Process of Marketing Research: The marketing research is done in systematic process. The Researcher has pursued the below process of marketing for my study at Vodafone:

Problem Identification

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Research Design

Data Collection

Data Analysis & Interpretation

Research Report & Presentation

1.9 Research Design- Research design indicates the methods and procedure of conducting research study. Research design can be done in following three types:1 Exploratory Research: - Exploratory research focuses on the discovery of new ideas and is generally based on secondary data. 2 Descriptive Research:-Descriptive research is undertaken when the researcher want to know the characteristics of certain groups.

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3 Causal or Experimental Researches:-An experimental research is undertaken to identify causes and affect relationship between two variables. Descriptive research design is used in the study. 1.10 Sample size- A sample of 150 customers was taken randomly and was used for the purpose of data collection in which customers of VODAFONE Company operating in Kurukshetra (Haryana) region was taken into consideration. 1.11 Tool of Data Collection- The Research was carried out through questionnaire method with the help of self developed structured non disguised questionnaire for customers of cell phones. The close ended questionnaire helped to get a clear idea about the customers satisfaction.

1.12 Data Analysis- Percentage and graphs are used to analyze or interpret the data. 1.13 Scope of study- Scope of study is limited to the Kurukshetra region.

1.13 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY The coverage area of research was limited to the regions of Kurukshetra and nearby area. The study would certainly have been more representatives if it had been conducted in wider area. There is every chance that the respondent may be biased in answering the questions.

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These findings are based on the opinions of the respondents and we cannot say that whatever they have expressed is fully reliable.

There are some respondents who are not educated. Some respondents are not cooperative.

CHAPTER-II

LITERATURE REVIEW
1. .Kalavani (2004), in their study analyzed that majority of the respondents have given favorable opinion towards the services but some problems exist that deserve the

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attention of the service providers. They need to bridge the gap between the services promised and services offered. The overall customers attitude towards cell phone services is that they are satisfied with the existing services but still they want more services to be provided. 2. Tobias Kollmann (2004) did a research, attitude, adoption or acceptance

measuring the market success of telecommunication and multimedia technology. Frequently, the term acceptance" has been used in consumer marketing for an evaluation of the sales/ market success of products. On the basis of reflections considering the market success of telecommunication and multimedia systems (TC/MM-systems), a clearer distinction of the term is evaluated and an alternative construct of acceptance presented. On this basis, it is intended to empirically demonstrate an improved measurement and prognosis of the success of TC/MM-systems, using a comparative structure model 3. G.V.Chalam (2005) conducted a study on Quality of Services in Indian Telecom Sector: Users Perception- An Assessment. This study deals with growth, working and types of services provided by the Telecom circle in macro environment. The findings of the study reveal that the expectations of the telecom users are high among the subscribers of recent times because of their sense of time vs. money value and awareness of their rights. The basic motto of the telecom department is to provide excellent services to its customers against the present competition from the private sector. In this direction, it is doing its best to acquire and retain its new and old customers. 4. Amanjyot Singh et al. (2005)- conducted a study titled Customer Satisfaction And Quality Audit Report Of Escotel Mobile Communications Limited and suggested that for maximizing theservice quality in service industries the relationship between the dealers and customers should bestrong and pricing should be constantly reviewed.
5.

Szu-Yuan Sun, Teresa L. Ju, Chao-Fan Su (2006) did comparative valueadded mobile services in Finland and Taiwan. The purpose of this study was to understand the characteristics and current situations of services provided in Taiwan, as well as what areas need improvement. They compared the results
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with Anckar and D'Incau's research to determine the key differences between Taiwan and Finland. Mobile commerce or e-commerce over mobile devices, has become a major interest for the IS research community. They surveyed the three largest cell phone service providers in Taiwan and sorted these providers' valueadded services using the eight categories of BAL Subramanian Et Al. and Clarke's four-value propositions for m-commerce to examine each value-added service's characteristics.
6.

Kalpana and Chinnadurai (2006), in their study titled Promotional Strategies of Cellular Services: A Customer Perspective analyzed that the increasing competition and changing taste and preferences of the customers all over the world are forcing companies to change their targeting strategies. The study revealed the customer attitude and their satisfaction towards the cellular services in Coimbatore city. It was found that advertisement play a dominant role in influencing the customers but most of the customers are of opinion that promotional strategies of cellular companies are more sale oriented rather than customer oriented.

7. Bismut (2007), in his study titled Competition in European Telecom Markets analyzed that in recent years the European telecommunications market has witnessed major developments, with rapid expansion in access to telecommunications networks and a surge in the number of available services and applications. While many factors have contributed to the transformation of the telecommunications industry, competition has played a key role in driving telecom players to invest in new technologies, to innovate and to offer new services 8. Fernandez (2007), in their study titled Understanding Dynamics in an Evolving Industry: Case of Mobile VAS in India analyzed that Mobile Value Added Services (VAS) is a rising star in the fast growing wireless business. In the paper, attempt is made at understanding the strategic dynamics of the evolving environment within which the Indian players are operating, the challenges and structure of the same. Our literature and industry review indicates that - while the value chain of industry is complicated yet one can
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observe the bipolar nature of bargaining powers between mobile network operators and content aggregators.
9. Shailaja VR (May 15, 2007) studied the GSM-based cellular industry has added

over 41 lakh subscribers in April with Bharti Airtel capturing 30.97 per cent of the market share. With this, the all-India GSM subscriber base has touched 12.55 crore at the end of April 2007 compared to 12.14 crore at the end of March 2007, reflecting a growth rate of 3.40 per cent, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said in a statement. CDMA mobile figures are yet to be out. In April, the cellular subscriber base of Bharti touched 3.88 crore with additions of 17.51 lakh users, followed by BSNL at 2.77 crore with a market share of 22.10 per cent and additions of 3.26 lakh subscribers. Hutch-Essar has 2.77 crore subscribers, taking its market share to 22.06 per cent and Idea with a market share of 11.60 per cent has 1.45 crore subscribers in April. Hutch-Essar added 12.61 lakh subscribers in the month of April, while Idea added 5.52 lakh mobile users in the same month. MTNL's GSM subscriber base in Delhi and Mumbai touched 24.83 lakh, while Spice Telecom has over 28 lakh subscribers. Aircel's user base in April stood at 59.27 lakh, followed by Reliance Telecom's 43.47 lakh subscribers.
10. Seth et al (2008), in their study titled Managing the Customer Perceived

Service Quality for Cellular Mobile Telephone: an Empirical Investigation analyzed that there is relative importance of service quality attributes and showed that responsiveness is the most importance dimension followed by reliability, customer perceived network quality, assurance, convenience, empathy and tangibles. This would enable the service providers to focus their resources in the areas of importance. The research resulted in the development of a reliable and valid instrument for assessing customer perceived service quality for cellular mobile services.
11.

Kumar (2008), in their study titled Customer Satisfaction and

Discontentment vis-a-vis BSNL Landline Service: A Study analyzed that at

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present, services marketing plays a major role in the national economy. In the service sector, telecom industry is the most active and attractive. Though the telecom industry is growing rapidly, India's telecom density is less than the world's average telecom density as most of India's market is yet to be covered. This attracts private operators to enter into the Indian telecom industry, which makes the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) more alert to run its business and survive in the market.
12.

Bhatt (2008), in his study titled A Study of Mobile Phone Usage

Among the Post Graduate Students analyzed that it is important for mobile carriers, service providers, content developers, equipment manufacturers, as well as for parents and young people alike that the key characteristics of mobile technology is well understood so that the risks associated with its potentially damaging or disruptive aspects can be mitigated. This paper has tried to compare the usage difference by gender with respect to the difference manufacturing and service provider companies.
13.

Shikha Ojha (2009) conducted a study on Consumer Awareness of VAS

of Telecom Sector of India. She analyzed the contribution of the mobile phone services not only at the national or state level, but also its involvement in an individual's life. She found out that the less number of users are aware of all the VAS provided by the service providers and thus the companies should focus on the awareness campaign.
14.

Jha( 2010) , in his study analyzed that it is the youth which is the real

growth driver of the telecom industry in India. Considering this fact, the paper is an attempt to give a snapshot of how frequently young people use their mobile phones for several embodied functions of the cell phones. Data was collected from a sample of 208 mobile phone owners, aged between 20 and 29. The study sheds light on how gender, monthly voucher amount and years of owning mobile phones influence the usage pattern of this device. Findings of the study would be helpful for the telecom service providers and handset manufacturers to formulate a marketing strategy for different market segments.

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15.

Chris (2011), has analyzed Telecom advertising in print media. This

research attempted to investigate why Telecom theme are used in advertisement, and the motives that lead companies and advertisers to use sport celebrities and sport concept in advertisements. From study it has been revealed that the appearance of sport celebrities in advertising endorsement occurred more often in Telecom magazines than in other magazines, because their target group is more acquainted with athletes. The sport celebrities that dominated each printed media are related with their target group characteristics.

CHAPTER-III DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

3. 1.Gender Gender No. of respondents Percentage

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Male Female Total

93 57 150

62 38 100

Interpretation: From the above data it is concluded that, majority of the Vodafone users are male and 38% out of 150 respondents are female.

3.2 How long have you used the service of Vodafone Company?

Time period

No. of respondents

Percentage

Less than 1month

11

7.33

26

2-6 months 6-12 months More than 1 year Total

37 48 54 120

24.67 32 36 100

Interpretation: Above table analysis depicts that majority of the users are using their telecom service from last one year. 36 % users are using Vodafone service from last one year and 7.33% of total respondents are using service from last one year. Very few respondents are new users of Vodafone services.

3.3 What kind of service you have?

Particular Pre-Paid

No. of respondents 116

Percentage 77.33

27

Post-Paid Total

34 150

22.67 100

Interpretation: Above data shows that majority of the respondents in the area have pre-paid connections. And I got only 26% questionnaire filled by post-paid users.

3.4 Rank the following factors which influenced you to buy the service of your choice?

Factors Price Network Service

No. of respondents 40 46
28

Percentage 26.66 30.67

Brand Image Value Added Services Total

28 36 150

18.67 24 100

Interpretation: From the above table it is conclude that the majority of the users are influenced by the network services and pricing strategy of the Vodafone. Only 18.67% of total users are influenced by the brand image of the Vodafone.

3.5 How timely the delivery of your SMS, MMS, voice message and other service of your message? Particulars Much worse than desire Worse than desire Equal to my desire Better than desire No. of respondents 0 14 63 47
29

Percentage 0 9.33 42 31.33

Much better than desire Total

26 150

17.34 100

Interpretation: From the above it is concluding that 42%t of the users said the services of MMS, SMS & voice message are equal to their desire. Only few users said that these services provided by Vodafone are not equal to their desire

3.6 What kind of problems occurs the most for which you need to contact customer care/service department of your service provider? Rank them.

Problems Billing Related Activation/ Deactivation Information of VASs Internet problem

No. of respondents 25 40 45 40
30

Percentage 16.67 26.67 30 26.66

Total

150

100

Interpretation: From the above data analysis it has been found that 26.67% of the users of telecommunication contact to their customers care for activation and deactivation of various services. 16.67% Users were contact to customer care for their bill related problem and only 26.66% users contact to customer care for internet problem.

3.7 How satisfied are you with the process of getting your queries resolved Particulars Most Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied No. of respondents 14 55 50 22 Percentage 9.33 36.67 33.33 14.67

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Most dissatisfied Total

9 150

6 100

Interpretation: From above data analysis we can say that 36.67% of users are satisfied with the queries resolved by the customer care and 3.33% users have neutral response regarding it. 14.67% users of Vodafone are dissatisfied with process of getting queries resolved.

3.8 Are you satisfied with the convenient periods and term for activation, recharge and account suspension, free call time? particulars Most Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied No. of respondents 33 51 58 6 Percentage 22 34 38.67 4

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Most dissatisfied Total

2 150

1.33 100

Interpretation: From the above data analysis it is concluded that, 38.67% users have neutral response regarding services of activation, recharge account suspension and free call time only 1.33% users are most dissatisfied regarding these services. 3.9 How much you are satisfied with your cellular roaming facility?

Particulars Most Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Most dissatisfied

No. of respondents 13 59 43 24 11

Percentage 8.67 39.33 28.66 16 7.34

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Total

150

100

Interpretation: From the above diagram it is cleared that, 39% users of vodafone are satisfied with the roaming facility. 13% and 11% of total respondents are mostly satisfied and mostly dissatisfied respectively. 3.10 Particulars Most Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Most dissatisfied Total To what extent you are satisfied with your cellular recharge facility? No. of respondents 37 69 32 9 3 150 Percentage 24.67 46 21.33 6 2 100

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Interpretation: From the study we can see that 46% of the respondents were satisfied and only 9% of the respondents were satisfied. Only 3% respondents were mostly dissatisfied with recharge facility.

3.11

Are you satisfied with the new schemes and offers provided by

Vodafone? Particulars Most Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Most dissatisfied No. of respondents 30 49 46 18 7 Percentage 20 32.66 30.67 12 4.67

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Total

150

100

Interpretation: From the above data it is concluded that, majority of the respondents are satisfied with the schemes and offers are provided by Vodafone .12% respondents are dissatisfied.

3.12 Particulars Yes No Total

Do you use cellular internet services on your phone? No. of respondents 69 81 150 Percentage 46 54 100

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Interpretation: Out of 150 users of Vodafone only 46% were using internet service provided by the Vodafone and 54 % respondents were not using internet service.

3.13 . If yes, how much you are satisfied with you are cellular internet service?

Particulars Most Satisfied Satisfied Neutral

No. of respondents 11 34 14

Percentage 15.94 49.27 20.29

37

Dissatisfied Most dissatisfied Total

10 0 69

14.50 0 100

Interpretation: Out of the 69 respondents using the GPRS facility, 43.27% users were satisfied with the internet service provider by the Vodafone and 14.50% are not satisfied.

3.14 How would you rate the service's value for money?

Particulars Excellent Good Fair Poor Not sure

No. of respondents 29 58 39 9 15

Percentage 19.33 38.66 26 6 10

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total

150

100

Interpretation: From the above diagram it is concluded that, 38.66% users were gave good response of value for money and 26% gave fair response of value for money and only 6% gave poor rating and 10% were not sure about it.

3.15

Are you satisfied with the reputation and brand image of your mobile network? No. of respondents 49 67 28 6 Percentage 32.67 44.67 18.66 4

Particulars Most Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied

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Most dissatisfied Total

0 150

0 100

Interpretation: From the above table it is analyze that, 44.67% users of Vodafone were satisfied about the brand image and reputation of Vodafone and 32.67% are most satisfied with brand image. Only 4% were dissatisfied with brand image

3.16Do you have intention of switching to use a better network? Particulars Definitely yes A bit yes Neutral A bit no Definitely no No. of respondents 0 6 65 43 36 Percentage 0 4 43.33 28.67 24

40

Total

150

100

Interpretation: From the above data it is analyze that, most of the students had neutral response about the switching intention from Vodafone to another connection and 24% users do not want to change Vodafone connection.

3.17 . Would you like to recommend Vodafone to others?

particulars Yes No Total

No. of Respondents 112 38 150

percentage 90 10 100

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Interpretation: Out of the 150 respondents of Vodafone 90% users said that they recommend others to use Vodafone and only few users not recommended it to others.

CHAPTER-IV FINDIGS & SUGGESTIONS

4.1 FINDINGS Majority of the respondents are using the Vodafone connection for past more than one year while the lowest is only 7% respondents using the Vodafone services less than one month.

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 Majority of the respondents using the pre- paid services of Vodafone while 23% users are using the post-paid service of it. Majority of the respondents preferred Vodafone because of its network coverage and pricing strategies. 24% respondents are preferred it because of value added services and 19% users influenced by the brand image of Vodafone. Majority of the respondents says that the services related to SMS, MMS and voice message are equal to their desire means they are satisfied from it. 33% respondents say that these are better than their desire. 17% respondents said that they are most satisfied by these services of Vodafone and only few customers are dissatisfied from these services. Most of the users contact to their customers care for information about the value added services provided by Vodafone like validity, call rates, SMS pack, and caller tones etc. Then they also contact activation and deactivation of various services. Most of the users using post-paid services contact to customer care for bill related problem and the customer using internet contact to customer care for information about internet pack and problems. Majority of the respondents are satisfied with the process of getting quires resolved by the customer care and some customer are sometime satisfied by it only few users are their whose queries are not solved by the customer care properly. It must be because, lack of knowledge of customer service representative. Majority of the respondents have neutral response regarding the term of activation, account suspension and free call time services. 34% users of Vodafone are satisfied with the services. Only few users are dissatisfied with these services. Its means that the Vodafone provide these services better to their users. Majority of the users are satisfied with the roaming facility of the Vodafone because except bsnl all the connection provided same roaming facility. 16% users are dissatisfied with this facility they want to cut the roaming charges and 27% users of Vodafone have neutral response about it.

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 Most of the companies have the facilities of easy recharge and coupon recharge but the dissatisfaction comes through the time delay in the balance transfer and scheme activation Majority of the respondents are satisfied with the cellular recharge services provided by the Vodafone and only few respondents are dissatisfied. Though all the major players are providing GPRS (internet) facilities on the phone but still customers are not interested in availing such facilities.46% of the respondents were availing the GPRS facilities on their handsets. Majority of the respondents are satisfied with the internet service of the Vodafone.49% users are satisfied, 20% users have neutral response about it.15% respondents are not satisfied with the internet service provided by Vodafone. Majority of respondents gives good rate to the services value for money because of satisfaction of recharge facility, terms of activation, roaming facility, internet service etc. some respondents are fair response about Vodafone .19% respondents give excellent rate to Vodafone. 10% users are not sure about it and only 6% respondents give poor rating to Vodafone. Majority of the respondents are satisfied with the brand image and reputation of the Vodafone because it has a leading brand in telecommunication industry in India. Only 4% users are dissatisfied with it and some users have neutral response about it. Majority of the users say that they have no intention to switch to another network till now because they are satisfied with it. 24% users says that they do not want to change it. Only few users say that they may be switch to another network. 4% users have intention to change the Vodafone connection with the other connection. Majority of the users recommend Vodafone to other people because they are satisfied with the services of the Vodafone and 25% users do not recommend the Vodafone to the other people.

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4.2 SUGGESTIONS Vodafone should provide more offers to Post-Paid customers so that the number of Post-Paid customers increases. Vodafone should introduce more value added services so that it also influenced the customer to use the Vodafone network and provide information about these services to customers. Vodafone should bring introduce some new SMS schemes for the youngsters. Vodafone should proper training and knowledge to its customer care representatives so that they solve the queries of users properly. Vodafone should decrease call rates of STD and ISD.

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