Measurement of Customer Perception regarding GSM vs WLL Services in India

INTRODUCTION

The global mobile phone industry is based on many different manufacturers and operators. The industry is based on advanced technology and many of the manufacturers are operating in different industries, where they use their technological skills, distribution network, market knowledge and brand name. Four large manufacturers of mobile phones are today dominating the global mobile phone industry &networks; Nokia, Sony Ericson, Samsung and Motorola . Airtel, Bsnl , tataindicom ,Vodafone, reliance, others. In addition to these companies there are many manufacturers that operate globally and locally.

It was Started in 1851 ,when the first operational land lines were laid by the government near Calcutta (seat of British power). Telephone services were introduced in India in 1881. In 1883 telephone services were emerged with the postal system. Indian Radio Telegraph Company (IRT) was formed in 1923. After independence in 1947, all the foreign telecommunication companies were nationalized to form the Posts, Telephone and Telegraph (PTT), a monopoly run by the government's Ministry. Telecom sector was considered as a strategic service and the government considered it best to bring under state's control. The first wind of reforms in telecommunications sector began to flow in 1980s when the private sector was allowed in telecommunications equipment manufacturing. In 1985, Department of Telecommunications (DOT) was established. It was an exclusive provider of domestic and long distance service that would be its own regulator (separate from the postal system). In 1986, two wholly government-owned companies were created: the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) for international telecommunications and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) for service in metropolitan areas.

• The telecom industry is one of the fastest growing industries in India. India has nearly200 million telephone lines making it the third largest network in the world after China and USA. • With a growth rate of 45%, Indian telecom industry has the highest growth rate in the8world. • Much of the growth in Asia Pacific Wireless Telecommunication Market is spurred by the growth in demand in countries like India and China. • China is the biggest market in Asia Pacific with a subscriber base of 48% of the total subscribers in Asia Pacific. • Compared to that India‘s share in Asia Pacific Mobile Phone market is 6.4%. • Considering the fact that India and China have almost comparable populations, India‘ slow mobile penetration offers huge scope for growth.

1. Robins (2008) This paper is about marketing the next generation of mobile telephones. The study is about third generation of cell phone technology, what is usually known as ―3G‖ for short. There are various issues about that new innovative. One is how to price 3G handsets and services at a level which will enable telephone operating companies to recoup the high prices they have already paid to governments for operating licenses. Second the technology is not yet complete, there are no agreed international standards and companies do not yet know what new services the technology will prove capable of delivering effectively. All variants of 3G remain dependent on largely unproven technology. 2. Debnath (2008) This study explain that the prime focus of the service providers is to create a loyal customer base by benchmarking their performances and retaining existing customers in order to benefit from their loyalty. With the commencement of the economic liberalization in 1991, and with a view to expand and improve telecom infrastructure through the participation of the private sector, the Government of India permitted foreign companies holding 51 percent equity stake in joint ventures to manufacture telecom equipment in India. The Indian Government has announced a new policy, which allows private firms to provide basic telephone services. There had been a monopoly of the state-owned department of telecommunications. However, several companies are expected to benefit from the policy change. 3. 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 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. 4. Jha (2008), 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. 5. Kalavani (2006) in their study analyzed that majority of the respondents have given favourable opinion towards the services but some problems exist that deserve the 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. 6. Kumar (2008), in their study titled ―Customer Satisfaction and Discontentment vis-a-vis BSNL Landline Service: A Study” analyzed that at 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. 7. 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

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. 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 observe the bipolar nature of bargaining powers between mobile network operators and content aggregators. 9. Bismut (2006) 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.

11. Fredric (2008) analyzed the importance of yield management and discrimination pricing in telecommunication sector. Yield management is the process of allocating the right type of capacity or inventory unit to the could be usefully applied to preserve and increase profitability. Yield management techniques can help telecom operators and similar companies to optimize the benefits they can derive from a subtle management of information networks and partnerships. However, such an approach is more difficult to implement in the telecommunications industry than in the airlines sector because of the difficulty to control (and sometimes to refuse) network access to customers

Objectives of the study The main objectives of the study are: 1. To study the customer satisfaction towards mobile service providers. 2. To understand the performance of different brands in the market on various parameters like product quality, performance of the customer relationship officer (CRO), service quality, range and selection of products available.

This study is Exploratory cum Descriptive research. 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. The data is collected randomly irrespective of the category of the people in the form of questionnaire and the sample size is 100 respondents. In this study the technique used for interpreting the results is CHI SQUARE test.

1. GSM 2. CDMA

3. WLL

Interpretation: - As the area of the study is in Hyderabad and Secunderabad, where the market leader is Airtel. That‘s why majority of the questionnaire I got filled by Airtel. Above data analysis shows that majority of the market that is approximately 50% is covered by two market leaders Airtel and vodafone. Minor is bsnl.

Interpretation: - Above data shows that most of the respondents in the area have pre-paid connections. And I got only 16% questionnaire filled by post-paid users.

Interpretation:- From the graphic it depict that Airtel is the most excellent and good service provider as 19 out 20 responded believes that the service of the company is excellent. Then vodaphone has also good rate of excellence as 16 out of 18 respondents rated Vodaphone as a good service provider. But the idea and Bsnl are not under good ratings. 8 respondents of BSNL and 5 of Idea have rated their service provider as Poor. BSNL is found to be worst service provider from all above as 12 respondents rate it as a average service provider and 8 as a poor service provider.

Interpretation: - Above data analysis shows that Airtel is being preferred because of its internet service. And vodaphone because of its Concession calls rates and full talk time VAS. Where Idea the most because of its Concession Call Rates and SMS pack. But BSNL because of its SMS pack mainly and then concession rates also. Q6:- How long have you used the service of that company? Interpretation:- Above table analysis depicts that most of the users are using their telecom service from last one year. Some of the users are also using it from last 3 year, where majority of the users are BSNL connection holders. Most of the users of the Vodaphone are using it from last 6 months. Very few

1. www.wikipedia.com 2. www.fonearena.com 3. www.google.com

Zeithaml, Valarie (2008), Service Marketing, 4th Ed. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Company Lmt.

• The Indian Telecom Industry, IIM Calcutta • Investment Surge in the Indian Telecom Space, Times Global, Issue 2 • A multiple-perspective model for technology assessment, Vol. 3, 2008