Customer

Satisfaction
Towards Mobile
Network Service
Providers

Gaurav Moorjani and Rohan Pandya

Submitted to : Dr. Rina Mam

Index
TABLE OF CONTENTS
01)
Introduction
02)
Objectives
03)
Research Methodology
04)
Data Analysis
05)
Findings
06)
Suggestions
05)
Conclusion

Acknowledgement

There are a few words of gratitude for the individuals without whom this study would
not have been possible.
My first and foremost knee down gratitude goes to the almighty for his divine help
throughout this project work.
I take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude towards Dean, School of Business and
Law, Navrachana University for giving me an opportunity to gain practical knowledge about
corporate working through this project. Not forgetting the guidance given by Dr. Rina Mam.
Also, my gratitude lies with all non teaching staff members for their support and help
that they extended to me. I would like to thank all the respondents who gave me their
precious time and their views in filling the questionnaires. I am also grateful to all the
people who helped me in every possible way to take up the study. I also appreciate my
close friends and colleagues in motivating me to complete my research.
Finally, I am indebted to my dear parents for their love and support and for constantly
motivating me to excel.

Introduction
Theoretical Background of the Topic
Customer Satisfaction
According to Philip Kotler, satisfaction is a persons feelings of pressure or disappointment
resulting from products perceived performance (outcome) in relation to his or her expectations.
Customer satisfaction is the level of a persons felt state resulting from comparing a products
perceived performance (outcome) in relation to the persons expectations.
This satisfaction level is a function of difference between perceived performance and expectations. If
the products performance, exceed expectation the customer highly satisfied or delighted. If the
performance matches the expectations the customer is satisfied. If the products performance fall
shorts of expectations the customer is dissatisfied.

Many companies are aiming for high satisfaction because customers who are just satisfied still
find it easy to switch when a better offer comes along. High satisfaction or delight creates an
emotional affinity with brand.

Variety of factors that affect customer satisfaction includes product quality, product availability
and after sales support such as warranties and services. Customer satisfaction is seen as a proof
of delivering a quality product or service. It is believed that customer satisfaction brings sales
growth, and market share. A company can always increase customer satisfaction by lowering its
price or increasing its services but this may result in lower profits. Thus the purpose of marketing
is to generate customer value profitability.

India is on the threshold of a new millennium. India chose for global economy, exposing her to
winds of change in the market place, which has expanded vastly and become fiercely
competitive. In the changed environment, decision makers view the marketing concept as the key
to success. Marketing in practice has to manage products, pricing, promotion and distribution.

A successful product can be developed by exploding these opportunities. While delivering the
value of the consumer we make use of marketing support. This support is based on the
knowledge of consumers and distribution. Marketing support both at the introduction of products
and maturing is considered

Marketing, as suggested by the American Marketing Association is "an organizational function

and a set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering value to customers and for
managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders".

The two major factors of marketing are the recruitment of new customers (acquisition) and the
retention and expansion of relationships with existing customers (base management). Marketing
methods are informed by many of the social, particularly psychology, sociology, and economics.
Anthropology is also a small, but growing, influence. Market research underpins these activities.
Through advertising, it is also related to many of the creative arts.

For a marketing plan to be successful, the mix of the four "Ps" 1 i.e. product, price, place,
promotion must reflect the wants and desires of the consumers in the target market. Trying to
convince a market segment to buy something they don't want is extremely expensive and seldom
successful. Marketers depend on marketing research, both formal and informal, to determine
what consumers want and what they are willing to pay for. Marketers hope that this process will
give them a sustainable competitive advantage. Marketing management is the practical
application of this process. The offer is also an important addition to the 4P's theory.

Introduction to Telecom Industry

IndiantelecomsectorthenumberoftelephonesubscribersinIndiaincreasedfrom957.61millionat
theendofSeptember2014to962.63millionattheendofOctober2014,therebyshowingamonthly
growthrateof0.52%.Theurbansubscriptionincreasedfrom569.56millionattheendofSeptember
2014to570.58millionattheendofOctober2014andtheruralsubscriptionincreasedfrom388.05
million to 392.05 million during the same period. The monthly growth rates of urban and rural
subscriptionwere0.18%and1.03%respectively.
TheoverallTeledensityinIndiaincreasedfrom76.75attheendofSeptember2014to77.07atthe
endofOctober2014.TheUrbanTeledensityincreasedfrom148.07to148.10andRuralTeledensity
increasedfrom44.96to45.39inthemonthofOctober2014.Thesharesofurbansubscribersand
ruralsubscribersattheendofOctober2014were59.27%and40.73%respectively.
Totalwirelesssubscriberbaseincreasedfrom930.20millionattheendofSeptember2014to935.35
millionattheendofOctober2014,therebyregisteringamonthlygrowthrateof0.55%.Wireless
subscriptioninurbanareasincreasedfrom547.70millionattheendofSeptember2014to548.78
millionattheendofOctober2014.Thewirelesssubscriptioninruralareasincreasedfrom382.50
million to 386.57 million during the same period. The monthly growth rates of urban and rural
wirelesssubscriptionwere0.20%and1.06%respectively.
Indiasawthefastestgrowthinnewmobilephoneconnectionswith18millionnetadditionsinthe
thirdquarterof2014,accordingtoareportbySwedishmobilenetworkequipmentmakerEricsson.
Thenumberofsmartphones,whichaccountforjust37percentofallmobilephonesubscriptions,
willreach2,700millionby2014,andgrowingat15percentcompoundedannualgrowthrate,will
cross6,100by2020.Thefallingcostofhandsets,coupledwithimprovedusabilityandincreasing
network coverage, are factors that are making mobile technology a popular phenomenon in the
country.ThebroadbandservicesuserbaseinIndiaisexpectedtogrowto250millionconnectionsby
2017,accordingtoGSMA.ItalsoexpectstoseeincreasedmobilebroadbandpenetrationinIndia,
withover250milliononeither3G/4Gby2017.

CompositionoftelephonesubscribersinIndiaThewirelesssegment(96.9percentoftotaltelephone
subscriptions)dominatesthemarket,whilethewirelinesegmentaccountsfortherest.
Evolution of the industry-Important Milestones
Year
1851

First operational land lines were laid by the government near Calcutta (seat
of British power)

1881

Telephone service introduced in India

1883

Merger with the postal system

1923

Formation of Indian Radio Telegraph Company (IRT)

1932

Merger of ETC and IRT into the Indian Radio and Cable Communication
Company (IRCC)

1947

Nationalization of all foreign telecommunication companies to form the

Posts, Telephone and Telegraph (PTT), a monopoly run by the
government's Ministry of Communications

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

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India created.

1999

Cellular Services are launched in India. New National Telecom Policy is

adopted.

2000

DoT becomes a corporation, BSNL

Market Size
Telecommunications is one of the prime support services needed for rapid growth and modernisation
of various sectors of the economy. Driven by strong adoption of data consumption on handheld
devices, the total mobile services market revenue in India will reach US$ 29.8 billion in 2014 and is
expected to touch US$ 37 billion in 2017, registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2
per cent, according to research firm IDC.
According to a study by GSMA, it has been expected that smartphones will account for two out of
every three mobile connections globally by 2020 and India is all set to become the fourth largest
smartphone market.
India is projected to have 213 million mobile internet users by June 2015, a 23 per cent rise over a six
month period, according to Mobile Internet in India 2014 report.
The broadband services user-base in India is expected to grow to 250 million connections by 2017,
according to the UK-based GSM Association (GSMA).
India saw the fastest growth in new mobile-phone connections with 18 million net additions in the
third quarter of 2014, followed by China with 12 million new additions, according to a report by
Swedish mobile network equipment maker Ericsson.
The Indian telecom sector is expected to create four million direct and indirect jobs over the next 5
years on the back of the governments efforts to increase penetration in rural areas along with the
growth in the smartphone numbers and internet usage, according to estimates by Randstad India. The
telecom sector has been growing aggressive at an average for 35 per cent a year for close to two
decades, said Mr K Uppaluri, CEO, Randstad India.

Investment
With daily increasing subscriber base, there have been a lot of investments and developments in the
sector. The industry has attracted FDI worth US$ 16,994.68 million during the period April 2000 to
January 2015, according to the data released by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion
(DIPP).
Some of the major developments in the recent past are:

Sterlite Technologies Ltd has announced an annual seed fund of US$ 100,000 to strengthen
Indias investments in broadband technology research, by investing in Indian start-ups,
working on innovative broadband deployment technologies.

Maxx Mobilink plans to start production of mobile handsets at its Haridwar plant, beginning
with assembling devices from April 2015. Maxx will invest over Rs 6 crore (US$ 965,615.81)
initially in setting up the R&D laboratory.

Huawei Technologies has won two contracts worth a combined US$ 120 million from Bharti
Airtel and Idea Cellular to upgrade their wireline networks.

Tata Communications has invested in acquiring capacity in Seabras-1, a submarine cable

being developed between the US and Brazil, seeking to increase services in the Latin
American region.

Bharti Airtel and IHS Holding have signed an agreement under which latter will acquire about
1,100 telecom towers across Zambia and Rwanda.

Ericsson has won a seven-year deal worth more than US$ 1 billion to manage the network of
Reliance Communications across 11 service areas, making the Swedish telecom gear maker
the only service provider to manage the pan-India network of a mobile phone operator.

Government Initiatives
The government has fast-tracked reforms in the telecom sector and plans to clear the proposal
allowing spectrum trading and sharing ahead of the year-end deadline as it wants to lift the business
sentiment for the forthcoming airwave auction. Some of the other major initiatives taken by the
government are as follows:

The Government of Uttar Pradesh (UP) has secured investment deals valued at Rs 5,000 crore
(US$ 804.64 million) for setting up mobile manufacturing units in the state.

The Government of India plans to roll out free high-speed wi-fi in 2,500 cities and towns
across the country over the next three years and the programme, involving an investment of
up to Rs 7,000 crore (US$ 1.12 billion), will be implemented by state-owned Bharat Sanchar
Nigam Ltd (BSNL).

Citizens of India are expected to get a minimum of 2 megabits per second (MBPS) Wi-Fi
speed at every government owned service point such as railways stations, airports, bus stops,
hospitals and all government departments that deal with the public on a daily basis.

The Union Cabinet of India has approved the largest ever telecom spectrum auction that is
targeted to fetch at least Rs 64,840 crore (US$ 10.43 billion). The government will sell 380.75
megahertz (MHz) of second generation (2G) spectrum in three bandsthe premium 900
MHz, 1800 MHz and 800 MHz.

To speed up the national optical fibre network (NOFN) project, the Department of
Telecommunications (DoT) has advised officials to use public buildings such as post offices,
railway stations and schools.

The Government of Kerala has decided to allow mobile telecom service providers to set up
towers on government land and buildings. This is the first time that a State Government has
opened its own land, buildings and offices to mobile companies.

Road Ahead
India will emerge as a leading player in the virtual world by having 700 million internet users of the
4.7 billion global users by 2025, as per a Microsoft report.
With the governments favourable regulation policies and 4G services hitting the market, rapid growth
is expected in the Indian telecommunication sector in the next few years. Also, with developments in
this sector, services such as security and surveillance, remote monitoring of ATM machines, home
automation, traffic management, retail, logistics and grid energy could eventually facilitate
optimisation of resources.
Objectives of the study:

To study the evaluation of cell phones with particular reference to India.

To ascertain the attributer who influenced the customers in selecting the particular services
provider.
To study the consumers satisfaction towards different cell phone service providers in
Vadodara City.
To offer valuable suggestions to improve the services of cell phones in Vadodara city.

Need of the study:

Exchange of information becomes the necessity of life to a common man. In the modern world an
individual tends to communicate anything to everything right from the place where he/she stands.
Even while riding vehicle he / she wants communicate within a fraction of second at quick speed with
clear voice, without any disturbance. Like line crossing, out of order, etc. most of which lack in the
connection given by the department of tele-communication. Cell phones emerges as a boon quench
such a thirst, the by providing facilities, which a common man cannot imagine. Though cell phone
industry has its origin in the recent past and the growth has been excellent. Day by day many new
competitors enter the market with new attractive schemes, provide additional facilities, add new
features to existing ones, reduce the charges of incoming and outgoing calls, introduce varieties of
handsets, models a healthy competition that benefits the subscribers. Hence in this context, it is
important to study how much a customer is satisfied.
8

Scope of study:
The present study is contained to Vadodara and it is decided to consider Airtel, Idea and etc. cell
phone service rendered to the customers. In Vadodara there are various cellular services available such
as Airtel, Idea and Vodafone etc. but the cellular services has been selected to study the consumers
satisfaction in it is the most popular private cellular services. The main objectives of this study is to
analyse the customers satisfaction and problems, faced by Airtel, Idea, etc., cellular services in
Vadodara city has been taken for the current research work.
Statement of problem:
Now-a-days, the customers are more dynamic. Their taste, needs and preference can the changing as
per current scenario. Hence the development of cellular industry mainly depends on the customer
satisfaction. However the following questions may arise regarding customer satisfaction.

What are all expectations by the customers regarding service provided by the cell phone
service provider?
Whether the service provided by cell phone industry is satisfying the customers?
Are the facilities available adequate to satisfy the customers?

Research Methodology
It is a way to systematically solve the research problem. This research methodology is
different research methods or technique. So it is necessary for their searcher to study both the
things. Researcher is a scientific inquiry and has three essential characteristic i.e. objectivity,
accuracy and continuity. Methodology has been an important bearing in the collection of
reliable and pertinent information as wells on the outcome of the study. Determination of an
appropriate methodology for is a pre-cursor for any research project to be meaningful, error
free and compressive. This refers to collection, analysis and interpretation of data and above
all the presentation of all those information in a systematic manner. For the present study, out
of the research techniques available, the historical method, statistical method, survey method
has been adopted
Historical method has been adopted to expound information regarding the past and phase
wise development of the organization till date.
Survey method has been adopted through structured questions asked in an informal set-up
with different target groups following it up by analysis of data and drawing inferences on the
general perception of the people on different issue under study.
The reason being detailed information can be obtained from a sample of large population and
over all a survey method was carried out for the fact that it requires less time.
Source of data
The study undertaken there to be mainly based on the primary data i.e. structured
questionnaire is designed. The study also contains secondary data i.e. data from authenticated
websites and journals for the latest updates just to gain an insight for the views of various
experts.
METHODOLOGY & PRESENTATION OF DATA
The data collected is then coded in the tables to make the things presentable and more
effective. The results are shown by tables which will help me out in easy and effective
presentation and hence results are being obtained.
Sampling Design
Research design
The design for this study is Exploratory and Random sampling.
Data collection
The data is collected randomly irrespective of the category of the people in the form of
questionnaire and the sample size is 122 respondents.

10

Data Analysis and Interpretation

1. Age

Inference: The majority of the

per our sources was between
cover 85.2% of the age group
40-60 4.1%.
2. Gender

16-25

104

85.2%

26-40

13

10.7%

40-60

4.1%

60 above

0%

Inference:
Male
60.7% of the Female
people are male while 39.3% are females.

Working
Non-Working

group that has been covered as

age group of 16 25 who
while 26-40 cover 10.7 and

74
48

49
73

60.7%
39.3%

40.2%
59.8%

3. Occupation

Inference: Since our contacts were very limited we got 40.2% as working and 59.8% as nonworking. The non-working people include students.

4. If Working, You are into

Business
Service
Self Employed
Professional

18
20
10
13

14.8%
16.4%
8.2%
10.7%

Inference: As stated the non-working people cover a huge percentage over working gropus.
This is because our sources were very limited.

5.
Annual

Below 1 Lakhs
1 Lakhs - 5Lakhs
5.5 Lakhs - 10 Lakhs
Above 10 Lakhs

17
37
28
34

13.9%
30.3%
23%
27.9%

House Hold Income

11

Inference: 30.3% of the people are having an annual house hold income of 1-5 Lakhs while
27.9% of the people are having incomes over 10 Lakhs.
Vodafone
52
Idea
27
Airtel
28
Tata Docomo
6
BSNL
4
Uninor
2
Reliance
3
Other
0
6. Which cell phone (Service Provider) do you use?

42.6%
22.1%
23%
4.9%
3.3%
1.6%
2.5%
0%

Inference: Most of the people are using Vodafone (42.6%) while Idea has a share of 22.1%
while rests of the people are using different network service providers.

7. Which type of scheme is most preferable by you ?

Pre-Paid

71

58.2%

Post Paid

51

41.8%

Inference: 58.2% people prefer pre-paid while 41.8% are prefer postpaid. As there is more
number of non-working people which are students, they are using the pre-paid facility.
8. Who influenced you to by the particular cell phone service?
Colleagues

7.4%

Neighbors

0%

Advertisemen
t

29

23.8%

Friends

48

39.3%

Relatives

33

27%

Classmates

2.5%

12

Inference: Friends are being a better source of recommendation over advertisements and
relatives as per the given data. Rest of the people is using different options.
Scheme [9. Are you aware of the following details relating in your connection?]
Aware
Unaware

100
22

82%
18%

Inference: 82% people are aware about the schemes in their connection while 18% are not
aware.

Balance of Talk charges [9. Are you aware of the following details relating in your
connection?]
Aware
Unaware

97
25

79.5%
20.5%

Inference: 79.5% of the people know how to check their balance of talk charges in their cell
while 20.5% dont know.

13

Periodical offers [9. Are you aware of the following details relating in your connection?]
Aware

64

52.5%

Unaware

58

47.5%

Inference: there is a 5% difference among the people who are aware or not aware about
periodical offers with respect to their service providers.
Modes of payment [9. Are you aware of the following details relating in your
connection?]
Aware

109

89.3%

Unaware

13

10.7%

Inference: 89.3% of the people know that they can pay by cash, cheque etc. to pay for their
services.
Note:

Only

applicable

for

the

post-paid

people

paying

by

cheque.

Monthly rental charges [10. Are you influenced by the following factors relating in your
connection?]
Aware
Unaware

97
25

79.5%
20.5%

14

Inference: 79.5% are influenced if there is any sudden increase in their monthly rental
charges while 20.5% people are not much influenced about it.
Signal of tower networking [10. Are you influenced by the following factors relating in
your connection?]
Aware

84

68.9%

Unaware

38

31.1%

Inference: 68.9% are influenced by the signal of tower networking as there are working group
people who want to stay connected all the time while 31.1% people are not much influenced
about this factor.
Outgoings call charges [10. Are you influenced by the following factors relating in your
connection?]
Aware

99

81.1%

Unaware

23

18.9%

Inference: 81.1% people are influenced by the factor that what they are paying for their
outgoing calls while 18.9% are not influenced by this factor.
Price

[11.

Satisfaction

about

Highly Satisfactory
Non-Satisfacotry

the

particular

cell

phone

service

provider?]

79
43

64.8%
35.2%

Inference: 64.8% people are satisfied by

the service they are getting with respect to the price while 35.2% people are not.

Performance [11. Satisfaction about the particular cell phone service provider ?]
15

Highly Satisfactory
Non-Satisfactory

94
28

77%
23%

Inference: 77% people are happy with the performance of their network service providers
depending upon the quality provided while 23% are not satisfied.
Customer Care Service [11. Satisfaction about the particular cell phone service
provider?]
Highly Satisfactory
Non-Satisfactory

87
35

71.3%
28.7%

Inference: 71.3% of the people are happy with their customer care service which means that
they are getting the feedback which is required while 28.7% are not.
Schemes [11. Satisfaction about the particular cell phone service provider?]
Highly Satisfactory
Non-Satisfactory

77
45

63.1%
36.9%

Inference: 63.1 % people are satisfied by the schemes which they are offered by various
telecom companies while 36.9% are not.
Periodical Offers [11. Satisfaction about the particular cell phone service provider?]

16

Highly Satisfactory
Non-Satisfactory

65
57

53.3%
46.7%

Inference:53.3% of the people are satisfied by the periodical offers which are provided by
which they enjoy some benefits over the time like roaming charges reduced at a reduced rate
for a very loyal customer where as 46.7% are not satisfied.

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

Billing related
Activation/deactivation related
Information about VASs
Network problem

13

10.7%

50
24
35

41%
19.7%
28.7%

Inference: The most troubled factor for the people is activation/deactivation accounting 41%.
13. How long have you used the service of that company?

17

Less than 1 year

1 year - 3 years
3.1 years - 6 years
Greater than 6 years

11
36
44
31

9%
29.5%
36.1%
25.4%

Inference: with 36.1% of the people using this service for 3.1 6 shows that they might
continue with the service while 25.4% are happy with the service provided.

14. You would continue with the current service provider for the next
6 months
1 year
3 years
Over 3 years

20
24
16
61

16.4%
19.7%
13.1%
50%

Inference: With 50% of the people stating that they would continue the service for more than
3 years shows the amount of satisfaction towards their network service providers.
15. You consider mobile as a?

18

Necessity
Status
Luxury

113
4
5

92.6%
3.3%
4.1%

Inference: whether the working group or non-working group everyone considers mobile as a
necessity in todays modern era as communication as become very easy for people.

19

Findings:

On the basis of consumer preference, majority of the people prefer Vodafone.

On the basis of occupation, the students are only used cell phones in more level.
On the basis of family income, 13.9% of the respondents are using cell phones, which
are all get family income of less than 1 Lakh Rupees.
Majority of the peoples are selecting the network service providers influenced by their
friends.
Majority of the peoples are using prepaid scheme.
On the basis of schemes at the time of the service, 82% of people are highly satisfied.
50% of the people are satisfied with their service providers and will continue for more
than 3 years.
On the basis of consumers attitude, majority of the people state that cell phones are
necessity to all.
4.1% of the respondents are only states that cell phones are luxury.

Suggestions:

BSNL, Uninor, Tata indicom and Reliance should try to expand their customers
network.
All the service providers should try to increase post-paid users.
41% of the people are unhappy with activation/deactivation services so they should
try to decrease the number of people unhappy with that service.
Customers between 3.1 years 6 years which is 36.1 % i.e the company should covert
these customers into loyal customers so that they are tied with them for a longer
period of time.
There is a small gap in the satisfaction of periodical offers and the telecom companies
should be offering such periodical offers which are more useful rather than just for
name sake.

Conclusion:
This study attempts to find out the satisfaction of consumer regarding cell phone service
providers.
This decade, most of the peoples using cell phones. So, service providers are increasing in
more level. So service providers should overcome one anothers competition. So, it leads
to adding new features, schemes, periodical offers to their service. So, the consumers get
maximum benefit from their service provider. Now-a-days, cell phones are very necessity
to all. Because, its giving safety to men, women and college students also by reaming in
touch with each other.

20