PROJECT REPORT

ON
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

UNDERGONE
AT

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF MASTER OF

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT (MBA)

BY
BHARTI-HEXACOM TELE-VENTURES

"As we spread wings to expand our capabilities and explore the

New horizons, the fundamental focus remains unchanged: seek
out the best technology in the world and put it at the service of our
ultimate user: our customer."

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Any work of this magnitude requires the inputs, efforts and encouragement
of people from all sides. In this project report, I have been very fortunate in
having got the active co-operation of many people, whom I would like to
humbly thank.
First of all, I am thankful to ------------, for giving me an opportunity for
summer training. I am thankful to ----------------- Officer, for the same.

The true credit of my completing the work successfully goes to my guide

--------------- Business Development Manager, who with his patience and
knowledge guided me through the project. He helped me to understand
telecom industry, markets, project objectives and execution.
I have been obliged to take value assistance and co-operation of a number of
eminent personalities, therefore I would like to express my deep sense of
thanks and sincere regards to all these members.
I owe special thank to all the respondents whom I approached with my
questionnaire and who took time off their busy schedules to answer them
patiently.

PREFACE
Indian industry is waking up to the challenges thrown in by market
economy, policies and globalization. To survive in this highly competitive
scenario, heavy emphasis is laid on getting to know the customer’s basic
needs and keeping abreast with the latest technology. The collective efforts
of both assume relevance in this context.

Airtel’s need to self analyze its position to enter the Bangalore sector plus be
aware of the market scenario and the atmosphere prevailing in bangalore, the
tasks need insight about the ground realities.

Knowledge of market is essential for the development of the product. The

needs of the consumers change very often and so the companies are forced
to incorporate these changes within themselves.

The present study attempts to capture the economics of telecom prevalence

in Bangalore with a view to facilitate increased and value added services to
the customers. The main purposes of the project are following:

 To study the market players in telecom in Bangalore.

 To survey customer satisfaction level.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 Preface
 About Bharti Group 1

 Airtel in Karnataka 38

 GSM Technology 43

 Research methodology 51

 Findings and Conclusions 62

 Annexure 65

 Bibliography 69
About The Company
 ABOUT THE BHARTI GROUP

Bharti Enterprises has been at the forefront of technology and has

revolutionized telecommunications with its world class products and
services.

Established in 1976, Bharti has been a pioneering force in the telecom sector
with many firsts and innovations to its credit. Bharti provides a range of
telecom services, which include Cellular, Basic, Internet and recently
introduced National Long Distance. Bharti also manufactures and exports
telephone terminals and cordless phones.

Bharti is the leading cellular service provider, with a footprint in 15 states

covering all four metros. It has over four million satisfied customers.

JOINT VENTURES
Bharti has many joint ventures with world leaders like Singtel (Singapore
Telecom); Warburg Pincus, USA; Telia, Sweden; Asian infrastructure find,
Mauritius; International Finance Corporation, USA and New York Life
International, USA.

Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited was incorporated on July 7, 1995 for

promoting investments in telecommunications services. Its subsidiaries
operate telecom services across India. Bharti Tele-Ventures is India's leading
private sector provider of telecommunication services based on a strong
customer base consisting of approximately 8.37 million total customers
which constitute, approximately 7.67 million mobile and approximately
704,000 fixed line customers, as of June 30, 2004.

MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE

The group has been structured to create functional and operational

specialization with a linear vision of business lines and functional areas.

The Company is headed by Chairman and Group Managing Director- Sunil

Bharti Mittal who is assisted by two Joint Managing Directors- Akhil Gupta
and Rajan Bharti Mittal. The Company also has two Presidents- President
Mobile Services and President Infotel Services, this responsibility includes
Fixed-line, Long Distance and Broadband Services. The Presidents report to
the Group Chairman and Managing Director. The head of units and Strategic
Business Units (SBU) report to the respective business's President.
BHARTI’S VISION

“To make mobile communications a way of life and be the

customers first choice”.
BHARTI’S MISSION

Meet the mobile communication needs of the customer through

1) Error free service

2) Innovative products and services and
3) Cost efficiency.
4) Unified messaging solutions

Airtel from Bharti Cellular Limited is a part of the biggest private

integrated telecom conglomerate, Bharti Enterprises.
CORE VALUE OF BHARTI

The core values of Bharti are:

Innoventuring
 Generating and implementing entrepreneurial and innovative ideas, to
create new growth engines.

Customer First
 Committed to delivering service beyond the expectations of the
customer.

Performance Culture
 Benchmarking processes and performance against world-class
standards helps to distinguish between performers and non-performers
by valuing achievement at the individual as well as the team level.
The culture encourages and invites feedback, learning and ideas
sought and acted upon.

Valuing Partnership
 Committed to building exemplary relationship with partners, which
stands on the principles of mutual trust and mutual growth.
Valuing People
 Nurtures an environment where people are respected and their
uniqueness is valued. Firmly believing that people are key
differentiates.

Responsible Corporate Citizenship

 Committed to making a positive and proactive contribution to the
community and as a responsible corporate citizen will contribute to
and abide by environmental and legal norms.

Ethical Practices
 Will uphold the highest ethical standards in all internal and external
relationship and will not allow misuse or mis-representation of any
facts.
BUSINESS STRATEGY

Bharti Airtel’s strategic objective is:

“To capitalize on the growth opportunities that the Company believes

are available in the Indian telecommunications market and consolidate
its position to be the leading integrated telecommunications services
provider in key markets in India, with a focus on providing mobile
services”.

The Company has developed the following strategies to achieve its strategic
objective:

 Focus on maximizing revenues and margins;

 Capture maximum telecommunications revenue potential with

minimum geographical coverage;

 Offer multiple telecommunications services to provide customers with

a "one-stop shop" solution;

 Position itself to tap data transmission opportunities and offer

advanced mobile data services;

 Focus on satisfying and retaining customers by ensuring high level of

customer satisfaction;

 Leverage strengths of its strategic and financial partners.

Emphasis is laid heavily on human resource development to achieve
operational efficiencies.

MOBILE STRATEGY

  Capture maximum telecommunications revenue potential with

minimum geographical coverage to maximize its revenues and
margins.

 Build high quality mobile networks by deploying state-of-the-art

technology to offer superior services.

 Use the experience it has gained from operating its existing mobile
networks to develop and operate other mobile networks in India and
to share the expertise across all of its existing and new circles. 

 Provide affordable tariff plans to suit each segment of the market with
a view to expand the reach, thereby increasing the mobile customer
base rapidly.

 Attract and retain high revenue generating customers by providing

competitive tariffs, offering high quality customer services.
Competitive Strengths

1. Bharti Airtel believes that the following elements will contribute to

the Company's success as an integrated telecommunication services
provider in India and will provide the Company with a solid
foundation to execute its business strategy:

2. Nationwide Footprint - As of June 30, 2004, approximately 92% of

India's total mobile subscribers resided in the Company's sixteen
mobile circles. These 16 circles collectively accounted for
approximately 56% of India's land mass;

3. Focus on telecommunications to enable the Company to better

anticipate industry trends and capitalize on new telecommunications-
related business opportunities;

4. The strong brand name recognition and a reputation for offering high
quality service to its customers;

5. The Company's strong relationships with international strategic and

financial investors such as Singtel, Warburg Pincus, International
Finance Corporation, Asian Infrastructure Fund Group and New York
Life Insurance.

6. Quality management teams with vision and proven execution skills.

MOBILE DIVISION

The Indian mobile market, according to the (COAI), has increased from
approximately 1.2 million subscribers as of March 31, 1999 to
approximately 37.38 million subscribers as of December 31, 2004.

Despite this rapid growth, the mobile penetration rate in India, at

approximately 3.6% as of December 31, 2004, is significantly lower than the
average mobile penetration rate in other Asian and international markets.

The number of mobile subscribers in India is expected to show rapid growth

over the next four years, 2006 projected it at 50 million by COAI and 44
million by Gartner.

Bharti Tele-Ventures believes that the demand for mobile services in India
will continue to grow rapidly as a result of the following factors:

 Lower tariffs and handset prices over time;

 Growth in pre-paid customer category;

 Greater economic growth and continued development;

 Higher quality mobile networks and services; and

 Greater variety and usage of value added services.

Bharti Airtel, through its subsidiary has the licenses to provide GSM
services in all the twenty-three telecom circles in India.

It proposes to consolidate all its subsidiaries providing mobile services under

Bharti Cellular Limited.  

MOBILE FOOTPRINT
The map below depicts the location of, and provides certain information for,
Bharti Airtel’s existing mobile circles in India:
 All India
AIRTEL’s Position

Chennai - 4,055,704

Delhi - 2,468,016

Mumbai - 1,823,532

Kolkata - 1,852,838

Maharashtra & Goa - 4,345,945

Gujarat - 3,004,824

Andhra Pradesh - 6,516,332

Karnataka - 7,316,500

Tamil Nadu - 4,218,705

Kerala - 1,703,298

Punjab - 3,239,200

Haryana - 1,067,990

Uttar Pradesh (West) - 1,624,001

Uttar Pradesh (East) - 3,897,278

 Rajasthan - 4,242,006

Madhya Pradesh - 3,084,776

West Bengal & Andaman and Nicobar - 2,106,163

Himachal Pradesh - 809,829

Bihar - 4,912,900

Orissa - 1,911,070

Assam - 939,746

North Eastern States - 585,213

Jammu & Kashmir - 1,100,069

The key demographics of Bharti Airtel's mobile circles are set forth below.

Bharti as % of All India

Number of circles

22
16
73%

Area of the circles (in '000 sq. km)(1)

3,278
 1,848
56%

Population in the licensed areas (in Mn)(2)

1,027
593
58%

Market Mobile subscribers in the licensed areas (in Mn) (3)

37.38
36.31
97%

Market DELs in the licensed area (in Mn) (4)

37.7
30.7
81%

Number of vehicles in the licensed areas (in '000s)(5)

36,132
29,025
80%

(1) Area estimates are from National Census, 2001. 

(2) Population estimates for all the circles other than the metropolitan
areas are as per National Census, 2001 and are as of March 1, 2001.
 Population estimates for the Uttar Pradesh (West) circle is 37% of
the total population of the state of Uttar Pradesh. 

(3) Based on data released by the COAI on the total number of mobile
subscribers in the circles as of December 31, 2004.

(4) DELs as on March 31, 2002. Based on data released questions and
Government statistics as per The Financial Express dated  June
10,2002.

(5) Vehicles comprise four wheeler and two wheeler non-commercial.

(6) Vehicles and are derived from data released by the Motor Transport
Statistics of India as of March 31, 1997 in its most recent report.
 BHARTI OVER THE YEARS

The organization is designed to ensure identical businesses are run along

similar lines and best resources in any functional field, be tapped to serve the
best interests of the entire group. With it’s experience and expertise it has
totally empowered to manage respective companies and are fully responsible
for business operations to build world-class organizations with a high degree
of customer focus.

1995

 Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited incorporated on July 7, 1995

 Bharti Cellular launched mobile services ‘Airtel’ in Delhi

1996

 Bharti Telenet launched mobile services in Himachal Pradesh

1997

 Bharti Telenet obtained a license for providing fixed-line services in

Madhya Pradesh circle

 Bharti Telecom formed a joint venture, Bharti BT, for providing

VSAT services.
1998

 Bharti Telecom formed a joint venture, Bharti BT Internet for

providing Internet services

 First Indian private fixed-line services launched in Indore in the

Madhya Pradesh circle on June 4, 1998 by Bharti Telenet thereby
ending fixed-line services monopoly of DoT (now BSNL) 

1999

 Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired an effective equity interest in Bharti

Mobile (formerly JT Mobiles), the mobile services provider in
Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh circles.

 Warburg Pincus (through its investment company Brentwood

investment Holdings Limited) acquired equity interest in Bharti
Televentures.

 Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired an effective equity interest in Bharti

Mobile (formerly JT Mobiles), the mobile services provider in
Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh circles.

2000
  New York Life Insurance Fund, or NYLIF, acquired equity interest in
Bharti Cellular. 

 Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired an effective equity interest in Bharti

Mobinet (formerly Skytel Communications), the mobile services
provider in Chennai.

 Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired equity interest of Telecom Italia and

Bharti Telecom in Bharti Telenet thereby making Bharti Telenet a
100% subsidiary of Bharti Tele-Ventures.

 Singtel (through its investment company Pastel Limited) acquired

STET's equity interest in Bharti Tele-Ventures.

 Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired an additional effective equity interest

in Bharti Mobile resulting in Bharti Tele-Ventures holding an
effective 74% equity interest in Bharti Mobile.

2001

 Bharti Telesonic entered into a joint venture, Bharti Aquanet, with

Singtel for establishing a submarine cable landing station at Chennai.

 Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired NYLIF's equity interest in Bharti

Cellular.

 Bharti Cellular acquired a 100% equity interest in Bharti Mobile

(formerly Spice Cell), the mobile services provider in Kolkata.

 Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired equity interest in Bharti Cellular from

British Telecom, thereby making Bharti Cellular its 100% subsidiary.
  Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired an additional equity interest in Bharti
Mobinet from Millicom International and BellSouth International.

 Punjab license restored to Bharti Mobile by the DoT and migration to

NTP- 1999 accepted.

 Bharti Cellular entered into license agreements to provide mobile

services in eight new circles following the fourth operator mobile
license bidding process.

 Bharti Telenet entered into license agreements to provide fixed-line

services in the Haryana, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka circles.

 Bharti Telesonic has entered into a license agreement with DoT to

provide National Long Distance Services in India and has been the
first service provider to start service in the country.

 Bharti Aquanet, Bharti Telesonic and Bharti Cellular have entered

into license agreements with the DoT to provide ISP services in India.

2002

 Bharti launched mobile services in Gujarat, Haryana, Kerala, Madhya

Pradesh circle, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar
Pradesh (West) circle. Bharti listed on the National stock Exchange,
Bombay Stock Exchange and the Delhi Stock Exchange on February
18, 2002. 

 Bharti entered into a license agreement with the DoT to provide

international long distance services in India.
 
  Bharti launched fixed-line services in the Delhi, Haryana, and
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu license areas. 

 Bharti became the first private telecommunications services provider

to launch international long distance services.

2003

 Bharti to invest Rs. 150 crores in its mobile business in Tamil Nadu
state.
 AirTel Magic launches pre-paid international roaming for all its
customers.
 AirTel to add six new towns-Satna, Katni, Hoshangabad, Itarsi,
Morena.
 AirTel announces exciting national initiatives to expand the mobile
market.

2004

 Bharti Teletech introduces new standards of cordless telephony in

India.
 Airtel launches WI-FI service in Mumbai .
 Blackberry Launch: Airtel unveils another first in global business
mobile communication with the launch of Blackberry - the most
powerful instant e-mail mobile innovation.
 Airtel adds another first becomes the first private sector mobile
service to launch operations in J&K.
2005

 Airtel Becomes The First GSM Operator In The Country To Cross

The 10 Million-Customer Milestone.
 Sunil Bharti Mittal Inducted To The Global GSM Association Board.
 Bharti Launches Airtel In North East & Assam.

2006

 Airtel and Research In Motion launch the BlackBerry 8700g - the first
EDGE-enabled BlackBerry device in India.
 Results of Postal Ballot for change of company name from Bharti
Tele-Ventures Limited to Bharti Airtel Limited.

2007

 Airtel brings the Highly-Anticipated BlackBerry 8800 Smartphone to

India.

2008
 Airtel Partners with SingTel to Offer Free Incoming Calls while on
International Roaming in Singapore.
 Airtel makes its television debut - Set to redefine home entertainment
with Airtel digital TV.
 Airtel adds to the joy of festive season – launches digital TV.
 1999
Pre-4th License
Post-4th License
Number of Mobile Circles
2
5
20

Number of Fixed-Line Circles

1
1
6

Population covered in our licensed area (%)

2%
16%
58%

Area covered in our licensed areas (%)

2%
16%
56%
 Wireless Coverage Area(% of Mobile Customers covered)
16%
38%
97%

1) Comprises the circle of Delhi and Himachal Pradesh.

2) Comprises the circle of Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Andhra

Pradesh.

3) Comprises the circle of Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra

Pradesh and Chennai.

4) Comprise the sixteen operational circles of Bharti Tele-Ventures.

5) Based on data released by the COAI on the total number of persons

subscribing to mobile services in our licensed areas. 
 ACHIVEMENTS

 The largest private sector in integrated telecommunications services

group in India in terms of the number of customers.

 Largest Mobile footprint in India, covering 20 of the 23 licensed

areas.

 Proven track record of managing growth - both organic as well as by

way of acquisitions.

 Existing foreign shareholders have acquired direct and indirect equity

interests in the Company for a total consideration exceeding US$1
billion.

 First and largest private telecommunications services company

offering fixed-line services in India.

 First private telecommunications company to launch long distance

services.

 First off the block to launch fixed-line services in all the four circles
of Delhi, Haryana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
FIRST AMONGST

FIRST operator to revolutionize the concept of retailing with the

inaugurations of connects (exclusive showrooms) in 1995.

FIRST mobile communication service provider in India to be certified for

ISO9001: 2000.

FIRST in world certified by British Standards Institution for mobile

Communication.

FIRST to expand its network with the installation of second mobile

switching centers in 1997.

FIRST TO introduce the intelligent network platform first to provide

retail subscribers by forming an association called World 1 Network.

FIRST to provide roaming facility in USA.

FIRST to introduce a wide array of value added services like Smart mail,
fax facility, call waiting, Web-messages, information services etc. to
enhance the convenience of its subscribers.
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Bharti Tele-Ventures, its subsidiaries and management have received several

awards and recognition’s, including:

 Bharti Airtel crosses the 60 million customer mark in feb. 2008.

 Bharti Airtel enhances empowerment, strengthens business roles in

2007.

 Bharti Enterprises announces new Apex level Strategic Organization

Structure in 2007.

 India’s Most Famous Icons Fight For Supremacy in 2005.

 Airtel Becomes The First GSM Operator In The Country To Cross

The 10 Million-Customer Milestone in 2005.
 Bharti, India’s leading telecom conglomerate, declared country’s best-
managed company by Asiamoney in 2004.

 Airtel wins the “World Communications Best Brand Award” in 2004.

 Bharti makes it to the Hewitt top 25 Best Employers in 2003.

 Bharti moves ahead in the creation of a single power brand in 2003.

 Bharti gets international long distance service licence in 2002.

 Sunil Mittal is 'Businessman of the Year 2002'

 Sunil Bharti Mittal awarded the “Dataquest IT Man of the Year 2002”

 Bharti was recognized as one of the "Leading Lights of Telecom" in

Asia in November 2001 in the Asian edition of the "tele.com"
magazine with analytical inputs from research consultants Frost
&Sullivan.

 The leading telecommunications service provider in India in a survey

of Indian companies conducted by Business World in association with
Indian Marketing Research Bureau in September 2001.  
 The “Techies” award from Information Communications World, an
international business magazine, for four consecutive years (1997 to
2000) for brand excellence, network quality, customer service and
value added service in our Delhi mobile circle.

 Golden Peacock National Training Award – 1999 to Bharti Cellular

for our Delhi mobile operations from the Institute of Directors, a non-
profit association in India committed to improving the
competitiveness of Indian business by focusing on development of
business leaders, for the best human resources and training practices.

  Ascent – Times of India and Sodexho Pass award in 1999 from the
Asia Pacific HRD conclave to Bharti Cellular for corporate excellence
in the category of most innovative human resource practices. 

 Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal (Chairman and Group Managing Director)

was honored as " One of the Top Entrepreneurs Worldwide" for the
year 2000 and "Stars of Asia" for the year 2001 by international
business magazine, Business Week.

 Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal was selected as the "Businessman of the year
2002" by Business India.
 Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal was awarded the “Dataquest IT man of the
year 2002”.

 Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal was selected the "CEO of the year 2002" by
World HRD congress.

 Mr. Akhil Gupta (Joint Managing Director) was adjudged as the Chief
Financial Officer for year 2001 for Mergers & Acquisitions activities
by EIU.
Airtel In Karnataka
 AIRTEL IN KARNATAKA

Karnataka is a state in the southern part of India. It was created on

November 1, 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act.
Originally known as the State of Mysore, it was renamed Karnataka in 1973.

Karnataka is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, Goa to the northwest,
Maharashtra to the north, Andhra Pradesh to the east, Tamil Nadu to the
southeast, and Kerala to the southwest. The state covers an area of 74,122
sq mi (191,976 km²), or 5.83% of the total geographical area of India. It is
the eighth largest Indian state by area, the ninth largest by population and
comprises 29 districts. Kannada is the official and most widely spoken
language.

According to the 2001 census of India, the total population of Karnataka is

52,850,562.

Vodafone, Idea, Reliance, Tata Indicom, BSNL, Spiece are six existing
wireless service providers in the Karnataka circle.

AIRTEL has approximately 73,16,000 GSM customers in Karnataka.

CELLULAR ANALOGY

Introduction to telecomm technologies:

There are two types of telephone service infrastructure –

 Fixed – wired (standard telephones using copper or fibre cables) and
wireless (cordless analogue and DECT digital)
 Mobile – cellular analogue and digital (GSM), and satellite

The technologies used by these services may be analogue, or in the case of

newer technologies, digital. Most can be used for more than simple voice
telephony, for example to transmit faxes and to transfer files including data,
audio and video.

Fixed telephony
 POTS – the standard (or "plain old") telephone service, an analogue
system using copper wires.
 ISDN – Integrated Services Digital Network. ISDN uses the same
copper wires as POTS, but by (at its simplest) providing two channels
per physical line can be thought of as the equivalent of two lines. In
larger installations one physical line can carry up to 30 voice or data
channels.

 ADSL – Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line. ADSL, which also

uses existing copper wires, is a fast and permanent "always on"
 connection to the Internet, which includes one phone line or voice
channel which can be used at the same time.

 Cable modems – use the hybrid fiber coax (HFC) networks of the
cable companies. Shared bandwidth means speeds 5-10 times as fast
as single channel ISDN, similar to ADSL. ADSL and cable modem
connections are referred to as ‘Broadband’.

 Fixed wireless – fixed base station and wireless DECT type handsets
are gaining in popularity for voice telephony. Wireless LAN systems’
using a base station and cards with aerials inserted into computers are
on the market and becoming more popular. These wirelesses LANs
are also appearing in shared working spaces although there are some
concerns about security of such networks. They are referred to as
WiFi or 802.11 networks. An associated technology called ‘Mesh’
turns each wireless appliance into a repeater station so spreading the
range of the network.

Mobile telephony
 GSM – unlike cellular (analogue) mobile phones, GSM is a digital
service. It can provide e-mail/text messaging and WAP Internet
connectivity, but at a relatively low bandwidth, and therefore slow or
restricted functionality.
  GPRS – a new data network which offers an "always on" connection
to the Internet, and increases the speed at which data is transferred
over mobile phones. A GPRS device, such as a desktop/laptop/palm
top computer, can be permanently connected to the network through
an internal card or external box, with an aerial for Internet and other
services. Starting bandwidth is up to 28 or 56kbps depending on
strength of signal, with plans to increase this to 128kbps. At the higher
bandwidth the service could be a viable, always-on alternative to
ISDN.

 Third generation (3G) mobile or UMTS (Universal Mobile Telephone

Service) will provide fast Internet access, which will in practice
enable data transfer and network applications to be used from laptop,
notebook and handheld computers.

 Satellite phones are bulky and expensive but can be used most
anywhere in the world.

At the basic level, mobile phones are either analog or digital. Some are both.
Today's mobile phones are primarily digital, especially in India and run on
different technologies such as CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) and
GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications). Code Division Multiple
Access (CDMA) is a very new concept in wirelesses communications, which
has lead to improve both; the system capacity as well as the service quality.
CDMA is a form of spread-spectrum, a family of digital communication
techniques that have been used in military applications for many years. The
core principle of spread spectrum is the use of noise-like carrier waves,
which have bandwidths much wider than that required for simple point-to-
point communication for the same data rate.
GSM Technology
The development of GSM started in the early 1980s. It was the mainstay of
the plans for Europe’s mobile communication infrastructure for the 1990s.
Today, GSM and its DCS 1800 and PCs 1900 versions have spread far
beyond Western Europe with networks installed across all continents.

The story begins in 1982 when the European Conference of Posts and
Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT), consisting then of the
telecommunication administrations of twenty-six nations made two very
significant decisions. The first was to establish a team with the title "Groupe
Spéciale Mobile" (hence the term "GSM", which today stands for Global
System for Mobile Communications) to develop a set of common standards
for a future pan-European cellular network. The second was to recommend
that two blocks of frequencies in the 900 MHz band be set aside for the
system.

The CEPT made these decisions in an attempt to solve the problems created
by the uncoordinated development of individual national mobile
communication systems using incompatible standards. The impossibility of
using the same terminal in different countries whilst traveling across Europe
was one of these problems; another was the difficulty of establishing a
Europe-wide mobile communications industry that would be competitive in
world markets due to the lack of a sufficiently larger home market with
common standards .By 1986 it was clear that some of these analogue cellular
networks would run out of capacity by the early 1990s. As a result, a
directive was issued for two blocks of frequencies in the 900 MHz band,
albeit somewhat smaller than recommended by the CEPT, to be reserved
absolutely for a pan-European service to be opened in 1991.
The digital system would offer improved spectrum efficiency, better quality
transmission and new services with enhanced features including security. It
would also permit the use of Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI)
technology, which would lead to smaller, and cheaper mobiles, including
hand held terminals. Finally, a digital approach would complement the
development of the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) with which
GSM would have to interface. GSM initially stood for Group Spécial
Mobile, the CEPT (Conference of European Posts & Telegraphs) formed the
group to develop a Pan-European cellular system to replace the many
systems already in place in Europe that were all incompatible.

The main features of GSM were to be International Roaming ability, good

sound quality, small cheap handsets and ability to handle high volumes of
users. GSM was taken over in 1989 by the ETSI (European
Telecommunications Standards Institute) and they finalized the GSM
standard in 1990. GSM service started in 1991. It was also renamed this year
to Global System for Mobile communications (GSM).

Today there are approx. 105 countries with GSM networks or planned
networks and many more are planned with around 32 million subscribers
worldwide on the 139 networks. The MoU "Memorandum of
Understanding" has over 210 members from 105 countries, this organization
meets ever three to four months to look at new or better implementations to
the GSM system.

Home Location Register (HLR)

A Home Location Register (HLR) is a database that contains semi-

permanent mobile subscriber information for wireless carriers' entire
subscriber base. HLR subscriber information includes the International
Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), service subscription information,
location information (the identity of the currently serving Visitor Location
Register (VLR) to enable the routing of mobile-terminated calls), service
restrictions and supplementary services information.

The HLR handles transactions with both Mobile Switching Centers (MSCs)
and VLR nodes, which either request information from the HLR or update
the information contained within the HLR. The HLR also initiates
transactions with VLRs to complete incoming calls and to update subscriber
data.
Traditional wireless network design is based on the utilization of a single
Home Location Register (HLR) for each wireless network, but growth
considerations are prompting carriers to consider multiple HLR topologies.

Visitor Location Register (VLR)

A Visitor Location Register (VLR) is a database which contains temporary
information concerning the mobile subscribers that are currently located in a
given MSC serving area, but whose Home Location Register (HLR) is
elsewhere.
When a mobile subscriber roams away from his home location and into a
remote location, SS7 messages are used to obtain information about the
subscriber from the HLR, and to create a temporary record for the subscriber
in the VLR. There is usually one VLR per MSC.

International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) Number

The IMSI is a unique non-dialable number allocated to each mobile
subscriber in the GSM system that identifies the subscriber and his or her
subscription within the GSM network. The IMSI resides in the Subscriber
Identity Module (SIM), which is transportable across Mobile Station
Equipment (MSE). The IMSI is made up of three parts

(1) The mobile country code (MCC) consisting of three digits,

(2) The Mobile Network Code (MNC) consisting of two digits,
(3) The Mobile Subscriber Identity Number (MSIN) with up to 10
digits.

Mobile Subscriber ISDN (MSISDN) Number

The MSISDN is the dialable number that callers use to reach a mobile
subscriber. Some phones can support multiple MSISDNs - for example, an
U.S.-based MSISDN and a Canadian-based MSISDN. Callers dialing either
number will reach the subscriber.

Mobile Station Equipment (MSE) Subscription Services

GSM carriers typically order Mobile Station Equipment (MSE) (or GSM
phones) from their suppliers (Nokia, Motorola, Sony, etc.) in large quantities
(e.g. 1000 Units). After receiving an order, the equipment supplier will
program the ordered MSE SIMs with a range of IMSI numbers.
Once the range of IMSI numbers has been determined, the HLR can be
populated with the new IMSI records that will be configured and activated at
a future date by authorized sales or service subscription representatives. The
fact that the HLR can be populated with ranges or blocks of IMSI numbers
creates efficiencies in the storage and retrieval of routing information.
The wireless carrier distributes the Mobile Station Equipment to Sales
Outlets that sell GSM subscription services. When a new subscriber orders a
GSM phone at one of the outlets, the service representative will create a
Service Order (SO) to enter the new subscriber's service subscription
information, including the MSISDN number.
The key to the Service Order is the IMSI that is programmed in the SIM.
The SO is sent to the HLR, where the IMSI record is created. It can either be
set to an active state immediately, allowing the new subscriber to send and
receive telephone calls or it can be activated at a future date.

GSM Call Routing

Mobile Subscriber Roaming

When a mobile subscriber roams into a new location area (new VLR), the
VLR automatically determines that it must update the HLR with the new
location information, which it does using an SS7 Location Update Request
Message. The Location Update Message is routed to the HLR through the
SS7 network, based on the global title translation of the IMSI that is stored
within the SCCP Called Party Address portion of the message. The HLR
responds with a message that informs the VLR whether the subscriber
should be provided service in the new location.

Mobile Subscriber ISDN Number (MSISDN) Call Routing

When a user dials a GSM mobile subscriber's MSISDN, the PSTN routes the
call to the Home MSC based on the dialed telephone number. The MSC
must then query the HLR based on the MSISDN, to attain routing
information required routing the call to the subscribers' current location.
The MSC stores global title translation tables that are used to determine the
HLR associated with the MSISDN. When only one HLR exists, the
translation tables are trivial. When more than one HLR is used however, the
translations become extremely challenging, with one translation record per
subscriber (see the example below). Having determined the appropriate HLR
address, the MSC sends a Routing Information Request to it.
When the HLR receives the Routing Information Request, it maps the
MSISDN to the IMSI, and ascertains the subscribers' profile including the
current VLR at which the subscriber is registered. The HLR then queries the
VLR for a Mobile Station Roaming Number (MSRN). The MSRN is
essentially an ISDN telephone number at which the mobile subscriber can
currently be reached. The MSRN is a temporary number that is valid only
for the duration of a single call.
The HLR generates a response message, which includes the MSRN, and
sends it back across the SS7 network to the MSC. Finally, the MSC attempts
to complete the call using the MSRN provided.

Adding a Second HLR to the GSM Network

As a GSM wireless carrier's subscriber base grows, it will eventually

become necessary to add a second HLR to their network. A service
subscription record storage capacity issue, or perhaps an SS7 message
processing performance issue might prompt this requirement. It might
possibly be prompted by a need to increase the overall network reliability.
Typically, when new subscribers are brought into service, the second HLR
will be populated with blocks of IMSI numbers that are allocated when new
MSE equipment is ordered.
Much more complicated SS7 message routing Global Title Translations are
required for Routing Information Request transactions between the MSCs
distributed over the entire wireless carrier serving area and the two or more
HLRs. MSC Routing Information Requests are routed to the appropriate
HLR based on the dialed MSISDN and not the IMSI.

Unlike the IMSI numbers, the MSISDN numbers can not easily be arranged
in groups to reside within a single HLR and therefore, the MSC must contain
an MSISDN to HLR address association record for every mobile subscriber
homed on each of the MSCs. As the example illustrates, the MSC routing
tables quickly grow much more extensive than the STP tables. The network
administration becomes increasingly complex and prone to error.

Research Design
 REASERCH METHODOLOGY

Definitions:
1. Research is the systematic investigation to establish facts or collect
information on a pre-decided subject.
2. Methodology is the specification of the system of principles and
techniques used in a particular discipline

Define the problem and research objective

Develop the research plan

Collect the information

Analyze the information

Finding & Recommendations

REASERCH PROCESS
RESEARCH DESIGN
Research design involves a general plan of how to go about answering the
research questions set keeping in mind the research objective.

SOURCES:

SECONDARY SOURCES:

For the completion of the research it was important that the secondary data
should be supplemented by primary data originated specifically for the
research in hand. The primary data was gathered through questionnaires. My
research findings are based on information collected from filled
questionnaires. The main sources of secondary data were: -

Internal Data:
Some previous market studies provided by the guide.
Reports and database of AIRTEL provided by guide.

PRIMARY SOURCES:
Method used to collect primary data is:
Questionnaire
Questionnaire Method: For the purpose of the study survey was conducted
across different areas of Jaipur city. The Questionnaire (a sample copy is
attached) was prepared according to the objectives of the project and was
administered accordingly. The data gathered through this exercise became
the primary data.

SAMPLING ERRORS:

While interpreting the results I kept in mind the potential errors.

Two sources of errors are random sampling error, which arises due
to the fact that the sample may not be a true representative of the
population, and non-sampling error which comes up because of
faulty coding, untruthful responses, respondent fatigue etc.

LIMITATIONS IN RESEARCH:

All research papers have its own limitations in terms of methodology and the
resources available for its conduct. This study is no exception to it and has
been carried under following limitation:

 Some of the respondents were not forthcoming with information as

they thought it to be a waste of time.
 A number of respondents were biased towards a particular brand,
which was giving them better returns.
 Some of the respondents were not available so, contacted person was
not able to present a fair view.
 Respondent’s lack of time to give information and their casual attitude
was a big hindrance in the study.
QUESTIONNAIRE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

In order to gather primary data, I used structured questionnaires, prepared in

advance to elicit the necessary response from the respondents.
Questionnaires help to facilitate communication and know the perceptions of
the respondents clearly. The following points were kept in mind while
structuring the questionnaire.

Content of the questions: the questions had been framed keeping in mind
the objective of the research.
Type of questions: the questionnaire consists of open-ended, closed-ended,
dichotomous and multiple-choice questions. Further I made use of likert
scale to get a more vivid response.
Wording of the questions: the questions are such that they are easy to
understand and the respondents do not have any hesitation in answering the
questions.

Note: - A sample questionnaire is enclosed with the report in Annexure- I at

the end.
MARKET SHARE OF TELECOM PLAYERS IN BANGALORE
CONNECTIVITY AND AREA OF NETWORK COVERAGE OF
AIRTEL
CALL TARIFFS OF AIRTEL
CLARITY OF VOICE OF AIRTEL
OVERALL SATISFACTION WITH AIRTEL
WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECOMMEND AIRTEL TO A
FRIEND OR RELATIVE
Findings and Conclusion
 FINDING AND CONCLUSION
India is the one of the largest telecom market in the world and one of fastest

growing market also. Indian telcos are netting up around 8 million telecom

subscriber monthly which is second only to China.

India has been divided into 23 telecom circles geographically. Separate

licenses are issued for operating in these circles.

Airtel is the first telecom company, who has launched mobile service in

India. It is the most faithful company in India. The network and service

provided by Airtel is the best in the Indian telecom sector.

Airtel has the largest telecom company in India on the basis of number of

customer with approx. 7.5 crores.

Airtel introduced in Karnataka in 1999. Airtel has 73,16,500 customers in

Karnataka till October, 2008. Airtel has approx 12.5% customers of total

population in Karnataka.
Major finding from customer satisfaction survey:
 Airtel is having largest number of customer in Bangalore.

 Connectivity and network coverage by airtel is very good.

 Call tariffs are bit high, but customers are satisfied because of service

provide by the company

 Clarity of voice of Airtel is very good.

 Overall customers of Airtel are very much satisfied.

 Customers of airtel would like to recommend a friends or relatives.

Annexure
QUESTIONNAIRE ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

1. Name : ____________________________________________________

2. Address : ___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

3. Age : _____________________

4. Gender : ___________________

5. Phone / Mobile : _____________________________________________

6. E-mail : ____________________________________________________

7. Occupation :

Professionals
Student
Self-employed/Own Company
Other

8. Which mobile services do you use?

Tata Any
Airtel Vodafone BSNL Reliance Spiece
Indicom Others

9. Which type of services do you use?

Prepaid Postpaid

10. How long have you been using these services?

 Less Than 6 Months 6 Months-1 Year
More Than 1 Year

11. What is your monthly expenditure in terms of your mobile usage?

Less Than Rs. 200 Rs. 200 to Rs. 500

Rs. 500 to Rs. 1000 More Than Rs. 1000

12. How do you rate your services provider in terms of connectivity and area of network coverage?

Good Bad

13. What do you feel about the call tariff linked with the connection you are currently using?

Very Economical Cheap

Normal Expensive

14. Service provider in terms of clarity of voice.

Very Bad
Bad
Neither Good Nor Bad
Good
Very Good

15. Attitude of sales executive :

Very Bad
Bad
Neither Good Nor Bad
 Good
Very Good

16. Way of communication of our sales executive :

Very Bad
Bad
Neither Good Nor Bad
Good
Very Good

17. How would you rate your level of overall satisfaction :

Extremely Satisfied
Satisfied
Neither Satisfied Nor Dissatisfied
Dissatisfied
Extremely Dissatisfied

18. Would you like to recommend AIRTEL to a friend or relative?

Yes No

Signature:
__________________
Bibliography
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

 Kothari C.R., Research methodology and Techniques, New Delhi,

Wishwa prakashan, 1990

Magazines

 Business World 7 May 2008, “Clash of Titans: Airtel V/S Reliance”,

S. Nagrajan, P. Ramamurti, p 36-41

Newspapers

 Ashok V. Desai, ‘Are Cartels Back’ The Economic Times, July 26,

2008, p-14

 B. Leeladhar, Bharti: ‘The Next Jump’, The Economic Times, June

17, 2008, p-12

Websites

 www.airtel.in

 www.wikipedia.org

 www.google.com