A REPORT ON Loyalty Based Program For Mobile Telecom Operators

By Pragya Modi 12BSP0871 3HD Media

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Telecommunication Industry - Introduction Access to telecommunication services has become the prime mover of the socio economic development in this information age. The role of Telecommunication, an engine of growth with multiplier and the social leveler, has been globally well recognized. To bridge the prevailing information gap between the connected and the not connected, governments the world over have endeavored to ensure the ubiquity of telecommunication nationwide. Provision of universal access to basic telecommunication services at affordable price is considered important by the governments of all countries and mandated by their policies, regulation or legislation. The Indian telecom market has been displaying sustain high growth rates. Riding on expectation overall high economic growth and consequent rising income levels, it offers an unprecedented opportunity for foreign investment. A combination of factor is diving growth in the telecom market, promising rich return on investment. Universal service is a dynamic concept that provides for nation-wide coverage, nondiscriminatory access, and widespread affordability. Nationwide coverage requires huge investment and also entails high operating cost. To meet the criterion of affordable pricing, the revenue may fall short of cost and hence cause deficits. The universal service policy has to reconcile the three contending criteria, i.e. availability, accessibility and affordability. Availability Provision of telephone service, whenever and wherever required, i.e. even in uneconomic areas such as rural and remote.

Accessibility Uniform, Non-discriminatory tariff in the service area- No discrimination in terms of price, service and quality regardless of geographical location, based on the geographical averaging. Affordability telephone service should be priced so that most users can afford it. In uneconomic areas, this may mean tariff such as rental below cost.

The telecom industry is one of the fastest growing industries in India. India has nearly 200 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 the world. - Indias mobile phone subscriber base is growing at a rate of 82.2%. - China is the biggest market in Asia Pacific with a subscriber base of 48% of the total subscribers in Asia Pacific. Compared to that Indias share in Asia Pacific Mobile phone market is 6.4%. Considering the fact that India and China have almost comparable populations, Indias low mobile penetration offers huge scope for growth.

1.2 History of Indian Telecommunications 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 merged 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 of Communications..

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 MTNL.

In 1990s, telecommunications sector benefited from the general opening up of the economy. Also, examples of telecom revolution in many other countries, which resulted in better quality of service and lower tariffs, led Indian policy makers to initiate a change process finally resulting in opening up of telecom services sector for the private sector.
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Telecommunication sector in India can be divided into two segments: Fixed Service Provider (FSPs), and Cellular Services. Fixed line services consist of basic services, national or domestic long distance and international long distance services. The state operators (BSNL and MTNL), account for almost 90 per cent of revenues from basic services. Private sector services are presently available in selective urban areas, and collectively account for less than 5 per cent of subscriptions. However, private services focus on the business/corporate sector, and offer reliable, high- end services, such as leased lines, ISDN, closed user group and videoconferencing.

Cellular services can be further divided into two categories: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). The GSM sector is dominated by Airtel, Vodfone-Hutch, and Idea Cellular, while the CDMA sector is dominated by Reliance and Tata Indicom. Opening up of international and domestic long distance telephony services are the major growth drivers for cellular industry. Cellular operators get substantial revenue from these services, and compensate them for reduction in tariffs on airtime, which along with rental was the main source of revenue. The reduction in tariffs for airtime, national long distance, international long distance, and handset prices has driven demand. 1.3 Cellular Service 1.3.1 Overview
1.

There are five private service operators in each area, and an incumbent state operator. Almost 80% of the cellular subscriber base belongs to the pre-paid segment.

2.

The DoT has allowed cellular companies to buy rivals within the same operating circle provided their combined market share did not exceed 67 per cent. Previously, they were only allowed to buy companies outside their circle.

1.3.2 Growth Drivers Opening up of international and domestic long distance telephony services are growth drivers in the industry. Cellular operators now get substantial revenue from these services, and compensate them for reduction in tariffs on air time, which along with rental was the main source of revenue. The reduction in tariffs for airtime, national long distance, international long distance, and handset prices has driven demand. 1.3.3 Types of services: The telecommunication industry enrolls in itself a varied range of services that has been improving over a period of time. This services includes a various kind of services that are [A] Mobile services Mobile products can be divided into two parts on the basis of payments. 1. Prepaid 2. Postpaid There are two kinds of products in the mobile industry on the basis of technology. 1. GSM-product & services GSM is by the most broadly deployed digital wireless standard in the world. It has over 400 million customers to date in over 150 countries, with service provided by over 400 operators. Other technologies used are CDMA & TDMA. 2. CDMA- product & services CDMA is a digital communication technology to provide PCS service used by some carries in which an air interface assigns a code to each data packet sent over the air. The name CDMA is often used to refer to the IS-95 communication standard.

With both the above products all the operators are providing following services. a) Call management services b) SMS based services c) Value added service d) Roaming e) Other services operator specific

(a) Call management services CLIP-Caller line identification presentation Call wait/ call hold Call conference CLIR- caller line identification restriction Itemized bill Call Divert Call Barring Missed Call Alerts (MCA) Voice Mail Service

(b) SMS based services Text messaging Mobile mail Magic Messaging (Group Message) Global SMS M-chat (chatting thru SMS) M-chat (messenger)

(c) Value Added Services News Travel Dictionary

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Stocks Mobile banking Reminder TV services Ringtone Logos Picture messages Y! mail Y! messenger Cricket Astrology Flash SMS, Blink SMS Caller tune or dialer tone

(d) Roaming Within India -in circle -outside circle Outside India

(e) Other operator specification services GPRS Services (GSM only) -polyphonic ringtone -java games -downloads -news -cinema -3D wallpapers -Web site Fax and data services

Microsoft Outlook R-world 3-way call conferencing

[B] Fixed line services Fixed line service providers provides following services. These services may vary from operator to operator. Following are the most services provided by them. 1. Change no announcement 2. Public grievance sale 3. STD code information 4. International calls 5. Password protected STD/ISD facilities 6. Wake up call services 7. Call transfer services 8. Call waiting services 9. Hotline services 10. CLIR 11. Internet services 12. Voice mail services [C] Internet Service Provider There are various types of products are coming under internet services. Some are purely related to internet surfing by individual while some are purely corporate products. Dial up Broadband Bandwidth & corporate solutions Wi-Fi hot spots Virtual private network Server co-location
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Enterprise business solution PC to phone telephoning Device based internet telephoning Domain based e-mail services

[D] Others 1. V-SAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) Data communication at speed up to 64 kbps Support of X.28 & X.25 protocols for data communications. Voice facility on the V-SAT with connection to public telephone network (PSTN of BSNL) Access to BSNLs RABMN network & I-net phase 1 & 2 networks. Access to international data networks through GPSS of VSNL.

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2. MOBILE SERVICE PROVIDERS

The total number of mobile (GSM and CDMA) subscribers has reached 391.76 million at the end of March 2009 as compared to 261.07 million in March 2008. The overall tele-density has increased to 50.06% in March 2009 as compared to March 2008.

Subscriber Base of Mobile (GSM and CDMA) Services from March, 2005 to March, 2009 (in millions) Service Providers
Bharti BSNL Reliance Vodafone Tata Idea Aircel MTNL Spice BPL HFCL Sistema

FY-2005
10.98 9.9 10.45 7.8 1.09 5.07 1.76 1.08 1.44 2.58 0.05 0.03

FY-2006
19.58 17.65 17.31 15.36 4.85 7.37 2.61 2.05 1.93 1.34 0.06 0.03

FY-2007
37.14 30.99 28.01 26.44 16.02 14.01 5.51 2.94 2.73 1.07 0.15 0.10

FY-2008
61.98 40.79 45.79 44.13 24.33 24.00 10.61 3.53 4.21 1.29 0.30 0.11

FY-2009
93.92 52.15 72.67 68.77 35.12 38.89 18.48 4.48 4.13 2.16 0.60 0.39

% growth over FY2008

51.53% 58.70% 55.84% 27.85% 44.35% 62.03% 74.18% 26.91% -1.90% 67.44% 30.00% 445.45%

Total

52.23

90.14

165.11

261.07

391.76

50.06%

Source: TRAI Annual report 2008-2009

Above table shows number of subscriber each company has and its growth over financial year 2008. Table shows that Sistema has highest growth rate of (445.45%) and Spice has lowest growth rate of (-1.90%). Airtel is the market leader in India right now followed by Reliance mobile. Vodafone is at 3rd position followed by BSNL and Idea. Other companies fight well to get more number of subscribers with giants like Airtel, Reliance mobile, BSNL, Idea and Tata.

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In Gujarat, currently 6 operators are operating. Gujarat is categorized in A-circle. The 6 companies are listed as below.

BHARTIAIRTEL BSNL VODAFONE -ESSAR IDEA CELLULAR RELIANCE TATA TELE

Now, following tables shows corporate structure, financial and operational performance, company strategy, products and services offered by each company.

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BHARTI CELLULAR LTD.

Corporate structure

Bharti Cellular td. Is the mobile operating arm of the Bharti Televentures. Bharti Televentures is 28.5%-owned by SingTel. The operator is listed on the national, Mumbai and New Delhi stock exchange.

Financial and operational performance

Bharti cellulars offer mobile services under its Airtel brand.

Bharti reported mobile revenue of 13,431 Crores for the year 2008-09- a year on-year growth of 63%.

Bharti had 93.92 mn mobile subscribers for year 2009, at growth rate 51.53%.

Company strategy

Bharti is the largest GSM player in the Indian mobile service market. The company has operational networks in 22 out of 23 circles across India.

The operator is investing in expanding its network nationwide. It is working with Ericsson, Siemens and Nokia in a network management outsourcing arrangements to help speed

deployment and increase the efficiency of its network expansion.

Products and services

Bharti operates a GSM network, over which it is currently rolling out edge technology.

It offers pre-paid and post-paid voice, MMS and Internet access services.

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BSNL

Corporate structure Financial and operational performance

BSNL is state owned incumbent operator, serving all areas of the country apart from Mumbai and New-Delhi.

BSNL offers mobile services under the brand name CellOne. BSNL reported a mobile subscriber base of 52.15 mn with growth rate 58.70%. BSNL entered in the mobile market in 2002, some six years after the first private operators started services. The company has operational a networks in 23 out of 23 circles across India (it does not operate in Mumbai and New Delhi).

Company strategy

The operating is targeting lower-income users (it is the largest GSM operator in the poorer states of Bihar, Orissa, Assam, and North-East.

BSNL has followed Reliances aggressive tariff stance in the pre-paid sector, while also lowering its fixed national tariffs to improve its competitiveness in the voice sector.

Products and services

BSNL operates a near-nationwide GSM network, covering every operating circle expect Mumbai and New Delhi.

It offers pre-paid and post-paid voice services.

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VODAFONEESSAR

Corporate structure Financial and operational performance

It is the joint venture of the England based mobile group and the Indian conglomerate Essar Group.

Vodafone reported a mobile subscriber base of 68.77 mn with growth rate 27.85%. VodafoneEssar previously Hutchison-Essar entered the mobile market in 1995 in the first wave of operator licensing. The operator has a presence in all four metro circles in India. The operator is expanding its business and increasing market share through a combination of growth by acquisition (it has acquired the operation of Fascle and Aircel in the year to September 2004) as well as network investment.

Company strategy

Products and services

The operator launched EDGE services in July 2004. Vodafone- Essar currently offers GSM services across 22 circle in India.

It offers Pre-paid and Post-paid voice, MMS and Internet access services.

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IDEA CELLULAR

Corporate structure Financial and operational performance

Idea cellular is owned by AT&T group Idea cellular had 38.89 mn subscribers with growth rate of 62.03%. The operator is currently placed fourth in the mobile market. Telecom Malaysia and Singapores STT Telemedia are poised to become the largest shareholders in the largest shareholders in the operator, once they acquire AT&Ts 33% stake in it.

Company strategy

The operator is expanding primarily through acquisition- in June 2004, it fully incorporated the Kerala, Haryana and UttarPradesh West Operation of Escotel. The operator is also interested in making further acquisition in the market but such moves must wait until the shareholder structure of the operator has been finalized.

Products and services

Idea offers GSM services across 21 circles in India, including the metro area of the Delhi.

It offers Pre-paid and Post-paid voice, MMS and Internet access services.

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RELIANCE COMMUNICATION

Reliance communication is the local telecom service provider unit of diversified conglomerate Reliance Group

Corporate structure

that is Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. The company offers mobile services under the brand Reliance Mobile.

Financial and operational performance

Reliance Mobile had 72.67 mn subscribers with growth rate of 55.84 %. Reliance is the second largest player in the mobile service market. The company targets the prepaid mobile market in india, primarily with its CDMA service, which offers both full and (cheaper ) limited mobility services to end users.

Company strategy

The operator is aggressively pricing its prepaid services and the particular on net tariffs, as a means of increasing its market share.

Rural sector is targeted through launch of tariffs low priced handset with a price range of Rs 999 to Rs 18000. The operator has CDMA2000 1x network, covering 23 circles operating across India

Products and services

Reliance offers prepaid and post-paid voice services, International Calling Card, as well as MMS and Internet access. It also offers limited mobility services over its WLL network.

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3. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS 3.1 Porters five force model:

Barriers to entry Bargaining power of supplier Limited no of players in equipment market Network and technology providers are limited In numbers A new technologi cal service provided by firms depends on supplier Rivalry among competitors high competition in major player in telecom industry high competition due to private sector and public sector operators CDMA providers pushing hard Low margin based intense competition Product differentiation very difficult Licensing requirement Investment in technology & network Government standards and laws Bargaining power of customer Customers loyalties are harder to retain Switching costs are lower because of no. of player in market Easy availability of products & services

Threats of substitutes Mobile subscribers use e-mail, fixed line, CDMA and vice-versa Technological development making substitute more accessible
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FORCE -1 RIVALRY AMONG THE EXISTING PLATERS

Rivalry among the existing players is intense even though only few players are permitted in each of the service areas or circles. The rivalry among existing players in the telecom industry is moderately high. The followings are the main reasons for such type of rivalry. Mergers/acquisitions and joint venture Rivalry is high in India because due to the mergers and acquisition among the existing players try to gain market share and economies Vodafone Essar joint venture scales. We can take example Vodafone Essar joint venture, Airtel acquired Hexacomm, and Idea acquired Escotel. The number of competitors: Rivalry intensifies as the number of competitors increases and as competitors become more equal in size and capability. In telecom industry there are number of competitors exist and also increasing. So that it is harder for one or two firms to win the competing battle and dominate the market. Further 64 more new player are given license to operate in india. Demand for the product: Rivalry is usually stronger when demand for the product is growing. Here the demand for the mobile is growing faster. The demand in all the user groups i.e. residential users, business users, educational users and health users is increasing at higher rate and as a result of this the Rivalry is increasing. Use of price cut methods and other competitive weapons: The higher use of price cut methods and other competitive weapons shows that the Rivalry is higher in the industry. Here all the telecom companies like BSNL, RELIANCE, TATA, AIRTEL, VODAFONE, IDEA and all others companies are cutting their prices for compete the other companies. They try to provide better services like instrument, coverage facility, internet facility and some other extra services. So we can say that the Rivalry is moderately high in this industry. Dissatisfaction of competitors: Rivalry is stronger when one or more competitors are dissatisfied with their market position and launch moves to bolster their standing at the expense of the
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rival. In telecom industry, especially in the mobile sector, the competitors are not satisfied with their current market position and they are trying to capture more market share by using various competitive weapons. And as a result of such dissatisfaction the Rivalry is becoming stronger. High exist barriers: Rivalry tends to be more vigorous when it cost more to get out of business than to stay in and compete. As the investment of the various companies is very high for entering in such industry (like reliance has invest thousands crore of rupees for establishing fiber optics network, BSNL has invest high amount of money for establishing is network), it is not easy for the companies to get out of the business easily so the only way for them is to stay in the business and compete. So the Rivalry is high in this industry.

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FORCE-2 THREATS OF NEW ENTRANTS

Threats of new entrants are moderate in telecom industry because of the high entry barriers to new inexperienced comer and foreign firms (like Vodafone) who have already existence in more than one country as telecom service providers. No surprise, in the capital-intensive telecom industry the biggest barrier to entry is access to finance. To cover high fixed cost, serious contenders typically require a lot of cash. When capital markets are generous, the threat of competitive entrants escalates,. When financing opportunities are less readily available, the pace of entry slows. Meanwhile, ownership of a telecom license can represents a huge barrier to entry. There is also a finite amount of good radio spectrum that lends itself to mobile voice and data applications. In addition, it is important to remember that solid operating skills and management experience is fairly scarce, making entry even more difficult. High entry barriers Because of the barriers to entry, it becomes very difficult for the new players to operate in India because of the government licensing policies. High competition Competition in telecom industry is very high because of numbers of domestic and foreign players into the market and their capability of providing innovative services and very well know-how of technology. High capital investment One of the important factor to consider while entering into the telecom industry is the huge capital requirement for the investment. Older and well established players who have a nationwide network Presently, there are many no. of strong players like Bharti Airtel, BSNL, MTNL, Vodafone, Idea, VSNL, and Reliance into the market with nationwide network. These players have established their position into the market as well as in the mind of customer also.

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License fee New entrance are required to pay the license fee, entry fee and fixed the revenue share license fee at 6 percent and follow the rollout obligations.

Continuously evolving technology The technology in telecom industry is changing and on mobile its changes from 1G to 3G at very fast rate as the every player in the industry is coming with new services and application.

Falling tariffs Call tariffs are declining in telecom industry due to high competition, which results in less revenue for telecom operator.

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FORCE-3 THREATS OF SUBSTITUTES

The threats from the substitute products are moderate in the telecom industry. Threats from wireless in local loop (WLL) based limited mobility was considerably reduced after TRAI imposed the mobility of WLL based basic operator to 25km revenue share domestic long to 5%. The threats are depend on the following tree factors. Whether attractive priced substitutes are available Whether buyers view the substitutes as being satisfactory in terms of quality, performance and other relevant attributes. Whether buyers can switch to substitute easily.

The following are some substitute for the telephone and mobile.

On line chat: On line chat, which can be done through internet is a major substitute for the telecom services. People can communicate with each other using web cameras and microphones. This substitute is good in performance as well as cheaper in price. So the industry has significant threats from growth of this substitute facility. Obviously earlier this facility required the use of telephone lines but Now a days using radio lines and other facilities one can use this facility without using telephone lines.

E-mail: The faster way of communication is through electronic mail. It is cheap as well as faster way of communication. But the main disadvantage of this substitute is that the use of email is not easy for everyone in compare of simple mail so far as backward areas of India are concern. So we can

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say that right now the threat is moderates from this substitute but it will be high in future. Online call through internet: The online calls, which are made by using internet, can be considered as a substitute of the telecom services. The calls are received through internet and then distributed on the local network. The uses of such facilities are actually illegal but still their use is increasing in metro cities. So it is becoming a threat for the telecom services.

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FORCE-4 BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIER

At first glance, it might look like telecom equipment suppliers have considerable bargaining power over telecom operators. Indeed, without high-tech broadband switching equipment, fiber-optic cables, and mobile handsets and billing software, telecom operators would not be able to do the job of transmitting voice and data from place to place. But there are actually a large number of large equipment makers around. There are a number of domestic private players like Himachal Futuristic, Global Telecommunication, Bharti Telecom, Tata Telecom, Shyam Telecom etc. are serious players in the field. Nortel, Lucent, Cisco, Nokia, Alcatel, Ericsson, Tellabs are just a few of the foreign supplier names. There are enough vendors, arguably, to dilute bargaining power. The limited pool of talented managers and engineers, especially those well versed in the latest technologies, places companies in a weak position in terms of hiring and salaries. In telecom industry the bargaining power of supplier is lower than moderate. The main reasons are as following. Grey markets The handset market is very competitive with substantially lower handsets prices offered by the grey markets. Number of suppliers The numbers of telecom equipment suppliers are in big size. There are many domestic as well as foreign players operating in India. With the government putting in place an attractive trade and investment policy for telecom equipments, it is expected that this step will intensify competition, as it will attract foreign players into the telecom equipment manufacturing sector. Some of the important measures announced by the government include no industrial license required to set-up a manufacturing unit; automatic approval of 100 per cent foreign equity; full reparability of dividend and capital invested and confessionals import
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duties of five per cent for import of certain equipment (for cellular, ISP networks). Commoditization of communications equipments Many communications equipments have been commoditized these days; Thereby, the equipment providers had turned their focus to providing good customer services in efforts to win customers. Telecom industry consolidation As the telecom industry consolidates, the number of communications equipment buyers will decrease. In this environment, equipment buyers (telecoms) are expected to gain more bargaining power over the equipment providers. The communications equipment industry is likely to go through its own wave of M&A. mergers will not only allow equipment providers to gain back market power, but also at the same time refresh their product portfolios with new and acquired technologies. Government policy With the government putting in place an attractive trade and investment policy for telecom equipments. It is expected that this step will intensify competition. Some of the important measures announced by the government include to industrial license required to set-up a manufacturing unit; automatic approval of 100 per cent foreign equity; full reparability of dividend and capital invested and confessionals import duties of five per cent for certain equipment (for cellular, ISP networks).

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FORCE-5 BARGAINING POWER OF CUSTOMERS

For the telecom industry the bargaining power of the customer is moderately low. The followings are the main reasons for this argument. Low penetration rate Penetration rate is low (compared to other countries with similar economies and population) but demand is increasingly at a high rate. Market fragmentation Buyers are fragment with no influence on price or product even though the new entrants of MTNL and BSNL as well as the option of WLL allow them to switch services. Switching cost The switching cost of buyers to competing brands is relatively high. Because switching from one service provider to another the customers have to face many problems like changing the number, problem of current account balance and problem of activation charge for new connection. So they mostly prefer the existing connection instead of switching to the new one. The number buyers As the number of buyers is low the bargaining power of the customer is high but here the number of buyers is very high so the customers are not that much important for the companies and their bargaining power is low. Buyers discretion in whether and when they purchase the product Here the customers have not discretion in whether and when they purchase the product. Because for ex. In mobile when the card is expiring after some time; the customer has to recharge it within the given period to remain its card number as it is.

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3.2 Problem Areas: Customer retention Gaining new customers Customers loyalty Low profit margins Government regulation Rate of technology obsolescent

3.3 Problem Statement: Consumer switching behavior across mobile service providers: Companies prime focus is to create loyal customers and retaining current customer & get benefitted from them. Customers are switching to other MSP because they are not satisfied. Consumers are not satisfied on account of marketing mix elements.

3.4 Objectives of study This project consists of different objectives. They are as follows: To find out the consumers satisfaction towards the various services provided by mobile service providers. To find out the relationship between consumers loyalty, consumers foster recommendation and consumers satisfaction with various services provided by the MSPs.

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4. LITERATURE REVIEW

Debnath (2008), in his study, he explained 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.

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. 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.

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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. 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. 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.

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5. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
5.1 Research model

Satisfaction with Basic Services: N/W coverage Call rates Roaming Facilities

Satisfaction with VASs: SMSs GPRS/Internet Caller tunes Various alerts Consumer Loyalty Satisfaction with Convenience: Availability of Customers Store Availability of Recharge Points/Bill Payment Options (Post-paid) Types of recharge vouchers/Plans Post-paid) Consumer Foster Recommendation

Dependent Variables

Satisfaction with Other Services: Customization Query Resolved by Customer Care Waiting time for having connected with representative Independent Variables

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5.2 Hypotheses: H1: Consumer Loyalty towards MSP is significantly related to Satisfaction with Basic Services. H2: Consumer Loyalty towards MSP is significantly related to Satisfaction with VASs. H3: Consumer Loyalty towards MSP is significantly related to Satisfaction with Convenience. H4: Consumer Loyalty towards MSP is significantly related to Satisfaction with Other services. H5: Consumers foster recommendation is significantly related to Satisfaction with Basic services. H6: Consumers foster recommendation is significantly related to Satisfaction with VASs. H7: Consumers foster recommendation is significantly related to Satisfaction with Convenience. H8: Consumers foster recommendation is significantly related to Satisfaction with Other services.

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5.3 Research Design 5.3.1 Sample Size: A sample of 258 respondents was taken on the basis of convenience. 5.3.2 Research Period: Research work is only carried for 2 or 3 weeks. 5.3.3 Research Instrument: This work is carried out through self-administered questionnaires. The questions included were of likert scale. 5.3.4 Data Collection: Primary Source: The data was collected directly from respondents with the help of structured questionnaires. Secondary Source: The secondary data was collected from internet and references from Library.

5.3.5 Data Analysis: The data is analyzed on the basis of suitable tables by using mathematical techniques. The technique used is bar graphs. The data is also analyzed by statistic software such as SPSS and Microsoft Excel etc.

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6. DATA ANALYSIS
6.1 Analysis of Demographic Variables: 1) Gender:

Gender
Male (72.86%) 200 150 100 50 0 Male Female

Female (27.14%)

In this research, out of 258 respondents 72.86% are male and 27.14% are female. 2) Occupation:

Occupation
140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 STUDENT EMPLOYEE BUSINESS RETIRED OTHER RETIRED (1%) OTHER (2%) EMPLOYEE (23.25%) BUSINESS (22%) STUDENT (51.55%)

In this research, out of 258 respondents, 51.55% are students, 23.25% are working employees, 22% are running their own businness, 1% are retired from their work and 2% are from other than these categories.
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3) Type of Service User:

Type of Service User

PRE-PAID (81.4%) 250 200 150 100 50 0 PRE-PAID POST-PAID POST-PAID (18.6%)

In this research, out of 258 respondents, 81.4% respondents are using pre-paid services and 18.6% respondents are using post-paid services. So, it shows that there are more number of pre-paid users than post-paid users. 4) Age:

Age
200 150 100 50 0 Below 20 20-30 30-40 40-50 Above 50 Below 20 (10%) 30-40 (12%) 40-50 (5%) Above 50 (5%) 20-30 (69%)

In this research, out of 258 respondents, 10% are respondents are below age 20, 69% are between age 20 to 30 years, 12% are between age 30 to 40, 5% are between age 40 to 50, and 5% are from age above 50.

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5) Multiple Users:

Multiple Users
200 150 100 50 0 Consumers using more than 1 MSPs' services Consumers using only 1 MSPs' services Consumers using more than 1 MSPs' services (37%) Consumers using only 1 MSPs' services (63%)

In this research, out of 258 respondents, 37% consumers are using more than 1 MSPs services and 63% consumers are using only 1 MSPs services. 6) Income:

Income
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 <100k 100K-200K 200K-300K 300K-400K >400K <100k (13%) 100K-200K (20%) 200K-300K (28%) 300K-400K (18%) >400K (21%)

In this research, out of 258 respondents, 13% are having income less than 1 lac, 20% having income between 1 lac and 2 lacs, 28% having income between 2 lacs and 3 lacs, 18% having income between 3 lacs and 4 lacs, and 21% having income above 4 lacs.
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6.2 Mean Interpretation: Overall Mean Table:

Mean Table (All MSPs) Variables Network coverage Call rates Roaming Facilities SMSs GPRS/Internet Caller tunes Various alerts Availability of customer stores Availability of recharge points/BillPayment option Types of recharge vouchers/Plans Customization Query resolved by customer care Waiting time for having connected with representative Mean Value 3.85 3.79 3.66 4.12 3.57 3.60 2.83 3.98 4.35 4.27 3.19 3.82 3.46

This mean table shows mean of each variable as responded by the respondents. If we take cut-off mean as 3.5 then, there are several factors which have mean more than 3.5 and are highlighted in above table. From the respondents point of view, they are more satisfied to factors highlighted above. So, these 10 factors are more important to them for their satisfaction.

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6.3 Companywise mean tables: 1) AIRTEL: Mean Table (AIRTEL) Variables Network coverage Call rates Roaming Facilities SMSs GPRS/Internet Caller tunes Various alerts Availability of customer stores Availability of recharge points/BillPayment option Types of recharge vouchers/Plans Customization Query resolved by customer care Waiting time for having connected with representative Mean Value 3.90 3.76 3.79 4.43 3.76 3.87 2.98 4.02 4.51 4.32 3.48 4.30 3.97

This mean table shows mean of each variable as responded by the respondents. If we take cut-off mean as 3.5 then, there are several factors which have mean more than 3.5 and are highlighted in above table. From the respondents point of view, they are more satisfied to factors highlighted above with Airtel. So, these 11 factors are more important to them for their satisfaction.

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2) VODAFONE:

Mean Table (VODAFONE) Variables Network coverage Call rates Roaming Facilities SMSs GPRS/Internet Caller tunes Various alerts Availability of customer stores Availability of recharge points/BillPayment option Types of recharge vouchers/Plans Customization Query resolved by customer care Waiting time for having connected with representative Mean Value 4.23 4.23 4.05 4.32 3.82 3.71 3.26 4.27 4.79 4.79 3.60 4.15 4.05

This mean table shows mean of each variable as responded by the respondents. If we take cut-off mean as 3.5 then, there are several factors which have mean more than 3.5 and are highlighted in above table. From the respondents point of view, they are more satisfied to factors highlighted above with Vodafone. So, these 12 factors are more important to them for their satisfaction. So, Vodafone customers are satisfied with all factors taken in this research except various alert services.

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3) IDEA:

Mean Table (IDEA) Variables Network coverage Call rates Roaming Facilities SMSs GPRS/Internet Caller tunes Various alerts Availability of customer stores Availability of recharge points/BillPayment option Types of recharge vouchers/Plans Customization Query resolved by customer care Waiting time for having connected with representative Mean Value 4.12 3.42 3.14 3.72 3.56 3.72 2.84 4.26 3.96 3.82 3.28 3.86 3.86

This mean table shows mean of each variable as responded by the respondents. If we take cut-off mean as 3.5 then, there are several factors which have mean more than 3.5 and are highlighted in above table. From the respondents point of view, they are more satisfied to factors highlighted above with Idea. So, these 9 factors are more important to them for their satisfaction. So, above table shows that Idea customer are not much satisfied with call rates and roaming facilities which are part of basic services.

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4) BSNL:

Mean Table (BSNL) Variables Network coverage Call rates Roaming Facilities SMSs GPRS/Internet Caller tunes Various alerts Availability of customer stores Availability of recharge points/BillPayment option Types of recharge vouchers/Plans Customization Query resolved by customer care Waiting time for having connected with representative Mean Value 3.28 3.79 3.91 3.98 3.02 3.02 2.53 3.72 4.23 4.36 2.62 3.15 2.26

This mean table shows mean of each variable as responded by the respondents. If we take cut-off mean as 3.5 then, there are several factors which have mean more than 3.5 and are highlighted in above table. From the respondents point of view, they are more satisfied to factors highlighted above with BSNL. So, these 6 factors are more important to them for their satisfaction. So, above table shows that BSNL customer is not much satisfied with other services. They are also dissatisfied with VASs.

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5) RELIANCE MOBILE:

Mean Table (RELIANCE MOBILE) Variables Network coverage Call rates Roaming Facilities SMSs GPRS/Internet Caller tunes Various alerts Availability of customer stores Availability of recharge points/BillPayment option Types of recharge vouchers/Plans Customization Query resolved by customer care Waiting time for having connected with representative Mean Value 3.41 3.63 3.22 3.74 3.67 3.78 2.33 3.15 3.78 3.52 2.63 3.30 2.59

This mean table shows mean of each variable as responded by the respondents. If we take cut-off mean as 3.5 then, there are several factors which have mean more than 3.5 and are highlighted in above table. From the respondents point of view, they are more satisfied to factors highlighted above with Reliance mobile. So, these 6 factors are more important to them for their satisfaction. So, above table shows that Reliance mobile customer is not much satisfied with other services and basic services. They are satisfied with VASs most.

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6.4 Chi-Square Tests:

Hypothesis 1: Ho: Consumers satisfaction with Call rates of MSPs is not significantly related to Income of consumers H1: Consumers satisfaction with Call rates of MSPs is significantly related to Income of consumers

Income and Call rates Cross Tabulation

Consumers satisfaction with Call rates of MSPs

2 1 2
Income

3 4 11 15 7 5 42

4 10 20 30 13 24 97

5 11 17 29 27 24 108

Total 32 52 74 47 53 258

7 4 0 0 0 11

3 4 5 Total

Chi-Square Tests Value Pearson Chi-Square Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association N of Valid Cases 258 42.542 38.124 14.559 df 12 12 1 Significance .000 .000 .000

Here, significance value is 0.000 that is less than 0.05. So, null hypothesis is rejected and alternative hypothesis is accepted. So, test shows that Consumers satisfaction with Call rates of MSPs is significantly related to Income of consumers.
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Hypothesis 2: Ho: Consumers satisfaction with Availability of Customer stores is not significantly related to Age of consumers H1: Consumers satisfaction with Availability of Customer stores is significantly related to Age of consumers

Age and Availability of Customer Stores Cross Tabulation Availability of Customer Stores 1 1 AGE 2 3 4 5 Total 0 8 0 0 0 8 2 2 15 2 4 0 23 3 2 21 9 2 0 34 4 13 54 9 2 6 84 5 8 80 10 5 6 109 Total 25 178 30 13 12 258

Chi-Square Tests Value Pearson Chi-Square Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association N of Valid Cases 258 27.947a 28.361 .012 df 16 16 1 Significance .032 .029 .912

Here, significance value is 0.032 which is less than 0.05. So, null hypothesis is rejected and alternative hypothesis is accepted. So, test shows that Consumers satisfaction with Availability of Customer stores is significantly related to Age of consumers.

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Hypothesis 3: Ho: Consumers satisfaction with Caller Tunes services of MSPs is not significantly related to Age of consumers H1: Consumers satisfaction with Caller Tunes services of MSPs is significantly related to Age of consumers

Caller Tunes and Age Cross Tabulation AGE Bel 20 2 Caller tunes 3 4 5 Total 2 11 7 5 25 20-30 8 57 59 54 178 30-40 2 9 6 13 30 40-50 0 10 3 0 13 Abo 50 0 3 5 4 12 Total 12 90 80 76 258

Chi-Square Tests Value Pearson Chi-Square Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association N of Valid Cases 258 19.046a 22.205 .051 df 12 12 1 Significance .087 .035 .821

Here, significance value is 0.087 which is greater than 0.05. So, here there is not enough evidence to reject null hypothesis. So, test shows that Consumers satisfaction with Caller Tunes services of MSPs is not significantly related to Age of consumers.

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Hypothesis 4:

Ho: Type of Service opted by the consumers is not significantly related to Occupation of consumers H1: Type of Service opted by the consumers is significantly related to Occupation of consumers

Service and Occupation Cross Tabulation Occupation STU Service 1 2 Total 112 20 132 EMP 51 10 61 BUS 36 20 56 RET 3 0 3 OTH 6 0 6 Total 208 50 258

Chi-Square Tests Value Pearson Chi-Square Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association N of Valid Cases 258 13.585a 13.997 2.659 df 4 4 1 Significance .009 .007 .103

Here, significance value is 0.009 which is less than 0.05. So, null hypothesis is rejected and alternative hypothesis is accepted. So, test shows that Type of Service opted by the consumers is significantly related to Occupation of consumers.

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6.5 ANOVA Tests: Hypothesis 5: Ho: Means of Consumers satisfaction with Network Coverage of Vodafone, Airtel and Idea are same (voda= airtel= idea) H1: Means of Consumers satisfaction with Network Coverage of Vodafone, Airtel and Idea are not same (voda airtel idea)
ANOVA Sum of Squares Network Coverage Between Groups Within Groups Total 3.333 187.547 190.880 2 172 174 1.666 1.090 1.528 .220 df Mean Square F Sig.

Here, significance value is 0.220 > 0.05. So, there is not enough evidence to reject null hypothesis. So, Null hypothesis is accepted. So, test shows conclude that the means of Consumers satisfaction with Network Coverage of Vodafone, Airtel and Idea are same (voda= airtel= idea). It means that, consumers satisfaction with network coverage provided by Vodafone, Airtel and Idea are almost same. Hypothesis 6: Ho: Means of Consumers satisfaction with Convenience of Vodafone, Airtel and Idea are same (voda= airtel= idea) H1: Means of Consumers satisfaction with Convenience of Vodafone, Airtel and Idea are not same (voda airtel idea)
ANOVA Sum of Squares Between Groups Convenience Within Groups Total 10.315 86.670 96.984 2 172 174 5.157 .504 10.235 .000 df Mean Square F Sig.

Here, significance value is 0.000 < 0.05. So, null hypothesis is rejected. So, alternative hypothesis is accepted & it shows that the means of Consumers satisfaction with Convenience of Vodafone, Airtel and Idea are not same. It means that, consumers satisfaction with convenience provided by Vodafone, Airtel and Idea are different. 6.7

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Factor analysis: (Overall) Given the sample size of 258, factor loadings of 0.700 and higher will be considered significant for interpretative purpose.

Rotated Component Matrix Component 1 Network coverage .385 .048 .132 .336 .876 .829 .764 .157 .183 2 .113 .239 .033 .435 .122 .232 .070 .747 .894 3 .719 .134 .067 -.590 .018 .208 .247 .398 .043 4 .175 .772 .799 .336 .028 .048 .147 .041 .153

Call rates Roaming Facilities SMSs GPRS/Internet Caller tunes Various alerts Availability of customer stores Availability of recharge points/BillPayment option Types of recharge vouchers/Plans Customization Query resolved by customer care Waiting time for having connected with representative

.200 .775 .262 .365

.881 .267 .382 .386

-.018 .075 .537 .584

.173 .185 .355 .365

In above table, the factors which have value more than 0.700 are selected from each component. Now, below is the simplified rotated component matrix.

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Rotated Component Matrix 1 Component 1 Network coverage 2 3 .719 .772 .799 4

Call rates Roaming Facilities SMSs GPRS/Internet Caller tunes Various alerts Availability of customer stores Availability of recharge points/BillPayment option Types of recharge vouchers/Plans Customization Query resolved by customer care Waiting time for having connected with representative
1

.876 .829 .764 .747 .894

.881 .775

Loadings less than 0.700 are not shown.

Now, table below shows the new names for extracted components.

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Extracted Components New Name

Component

Extracted Factors

Factor Loadings Value 0.876 0.829 0.764 0.775 0.747 0.894 0.881 0.719 0.772 0.779

GPRS/Internet Customized VASs Component 1 Caller tunes Various alerts Customization Availability of customer stores Convenience Component 2 Availability of recharge points/Bill-Payment option Types of recharge vouchers/Plans Network Coverage Call Tariff Component 3 Component 4 Network coverage Call rates Roaming Facilities

So, above table shows name of the extracted 10 factors by new 4 factors. The 4 new factors are as follow. Customized VASs Convenience Network Coverage Call Tariff So, from this factor analysis, there are mainly 4 factors that influence the customers most. 6.8 Factor analysis: (Company wise) The factor analysis for individual companys data shows same result as it was for overall factor analysis except for Idea cellular. In Idea cellular there were two more factors such as Query resolved by customer care and waiting time for having connected with representative are included in component 3. So, for Idea cellular these two factors are also affecting satisfaction of the consumers, otherwise it is same as it is for other companies.
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6.9 Hypothesis Testing with Regression: (Before factor analysis) The variables taken for this analysis are the variables which were initially considered for the study. 6.9.1 Regression for Consumer Loyalty towards MSP as dependent variable and Satisfaction with Basic Services, Satisfaction with VASs, Satisfaction with Convenience, Satisfaction with Other Services as an independent variables.

Regression output from Excel

Regression Statistics Multiple R R Square Adjusted R Square Standard Error Observations 0.778278 0.605717 0.599483

0.857958 258

ANOVA df Regression Residual Total 4 253 257 SS 286.0978 186.2312 472.329 MS F

71.52445 97.16783 0.736092

Coefficients

Standard Error 0.326659

t Stat

P-value

Intercept

-2.69182

-8.24047

9.31E-15

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AVG-BS AVG-VA AVG-CO AVG-OS

0.569968 0.55109 0.47892 -0.00159

0.088054 0.079437 0.076147 0.074823

6.47292 6.937464 6.289393 -0.0212

4.96E-10 3.33E-11 1.39E-09 0.983099

6.9.1.1 Prediction Equation: The prediction equation is LO = -2.6918 + 0.5699 (BS) + 0.5510 (VA) + 0.4789 (CO) 0.0015 (OS) Where, LO=Consumer Loyalty towards MSP BS=Satisfaction with Basic services VA= Satisfaction with VASs CO= Satisfaction with Convenience OS= Satisfaction with Other Services

telling you that LO is predicted to increase 0.5699 when the BS factor goes up by one, increase by 0.5510 when VA goes up by one, increase by 0.4789 when CO up by one, decrease by 0.0015 when OS goes up by one, and is predicted to be 0.43 which is equivalent to zero (0) when all factors rated as minimum that is 1 and also predicted to be 5.29 which is equivalent to five (5) when all factors rated as maximum that is 5. So, it shows that consumers loyalty towards MSP increases when consumers satisfaction level is high with all of above factors except OS and consumers loyalty towards MSP decreases when consumers satisfaction level is low with all of above factors.

6.9.1.2 Coefficient of determination (R2):

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The R-squared of the regression is the fraction of the variation in your dependent variable that is accounted for (or predicted by) your independent variables. For this regression equation R-squared is 0.6057 so, 60.57% of variance in dependent variable can be explained by four independent variables.

6.9.1.3 Significance Value for Hypothesis Testing (P): Now P values for the each independent variable is there in the regression table and if it is found to be less than 0.05 for each independent variable than the variable has significant relationship with the dependent variable. From the regression analysis it is found that BS (Satisfaction with Basic Services), VA (Satisfaction with VASs) and CO (Satisfaction with Convenience) have P value less than 0.05 so that all these three variables are significantly related to LO (Consumer Loyalty towards MSP). OS (Satisfaction with Other Services) has P value greater than 0.05 so, it has no significant relation with LO (Consumer Loyalty towards MSP).

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6.9.2 Regression for Consumers Foster Recommendation of MSP to others as dependent variable and Satisfaction with Basic Services, Satisfaction with VASs, Satisfaction with Convenience, Satisfaction with Other Services as an independent variables.

Regression output from Excel

Regression Statistics Multiple R R Square Adjusted R Square Standard Error Observations 0.812284 0.659806 0.654427

0.764168 258

ANOVA df Regression Residual Total 4 253 257 SS 286.5412 147.74 434.2812 MS 71.6353 0.583953 F 122.6731

Coefficients

Standard Error 0.290949 0.078428 0.070753 0.067823

t Stat

P-value

Intercept BS VA CO

-2.74988 0.672167 0.559605 0.498385

-9.45142 8.570469 7.909287 7.348315

2.37E-18 1.03E-15 8.06E-14 2.77E-12

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OS

-0.11289

0.066643

-1.69396

0.091504

6.9.2.1 Prediction Equation: The prediction equation is RE = -2.7498 + 0.6721 (BS) + 0.5596 (VA) + 0.4983 (CO) 0.1128 (OS) Where, RE=Consumers Foster Recommendation of MSP to others BS=Satisfaction with Basic services VA= Satisfaction with VASs CO= Satisfaction with Convenience OS= Satisfaction with Other Services

telling you that RE is predicted to increase 0.6721 when the BS factor goes up by one, increase by 0.5596 when VA goes up by one, increase by 0.4983 when CO up by one, decrease by 0.1128 when OS goes up by one, and is predicted to be 0.21 which is equivalent to zero (0) when all factors rated as minimum that is 1 and also predicted to be 5.33 which is equivalent to five (5) when all factors rated as maximum that is 5. So, it shows that Consumers Foster Recommendation of MSP to others increases when consumers satisfaction level is high with all of above factors except OS and Consumers Foster Recommendation of MSP to others decreases when consumers satisfaction level is low with all of above factors.

6.9.2.2 Coefficient of determination (R2): The R-squared of the regression is the fraction of the variation in your dependent variable that is accounted for (or predicted by) your independent variables. For this

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regression equation R-squared is 0.6598 so, 65.98% of variance in dependent variable can be explained by four independent variables.

6.9.2.3 Significance Value for Hypothesis Testing (P): Now P values for the each independent variable is there in the regression table and if it is found to be less than 0.05 for each independent variable than the variable has significant relationship with the dependent variable. From the regression analysis it is found that BS (Satisfaction with Basic Services), VA (Satisfaction with VASs) and CO (Satisfaction with Convenience) have P value less than 0.05 so that all these three variables are significantly related to RE (Consumers Foster Recommendation of MSP to others). OS (Satisfaction with Other Services) has P value greater than 0.05 so, it has no significant relation with RE (Consumers Foster Recommendation of MSP to others).

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6.10 Hypothesis Testing with Regression: (After factor analysis) Here the variables are taken after the factor analysis. It means that new four factors extracted from factor analysis are taken for this regression analysis. 6.10.1 Regression for Consumer Loyalty towards MSP as dependent variable and Satisfaction with Network Coverage, Satisfaction with Call Tariff, Satisfaction with Customized VASs, Satisfaction with Convenience as an independent variables.

Regression output from Excel

Regression Statistics Multiple R R Square Adjusted R Square Standard Error Observations 0.793241 0.629231 0.623369 0.831982 258

ANOVA df Regression Residual Total 4 253 257 SS MS F

297.204 74.30101 107.3414 175.125 0.692194 472.329

Coefficients Intercept NC -2.26292 0.326873

Standard Error 0.309242

t Stat -7.31763

P-value 3.34E-12 4.07E-09

0.053634 6.094556

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CT CV CO

0.221538 0.453124 0.498228

0.069531 3.186187 0.001623 0.064399 7.036146 0.070185 7.09881 1.85E-11 1.27E-11

6.10.1.1 Prediction Equation: The prediction equation is LO = -2.26292 + 0.32687(NC) + 0.22153(CT) + 0.45312(CV) + 0.49822(CO) Where, LO=Consumer Loyalty towards MSP NC=Satisfaction with Network Coverage CT= Satisfaction with Call Tariff CV= Satisfaction with Customized VASs CO= Satisfaction with Convenience

telling you that LO is predicted to increase 0.32682 when the NC factor goes up by one, increase by 0.22153 when CT goes up by one, increase by 0.45312 when CV up by one, increase by 0.49882 when CO goes up by one, and is predicted to be 1.23 which is equivalent to one (1) when all factors rated as minimum that is 1 and also predicted to be 5.23 which is equivalent to five (5) when all factors rated as maximum that is 5. So, it shows that consumers loyalty towards MSP increases when consumers satisfaction level is high with four of above factors and consumers loyalty towards MSP decreases when consumers satisfaction level is low with four of above factors.

6.10.1.2 Coefficient of determination (R2):

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The R-squared of the regression is the fraction of the variation in your dependent variable that is accounted for (or predicted by) your independent variables. For this regression equation R-squared is 0.6292 so, 62.92% of variance in dependent variable can be explained by four independent variables.

6.10.1.3 Significance Value for Hypothesis Testing (P): Now P values for the each independent variable is there in the regression table and if it is found to be less than 0.05 for each independent variable than the variable has significant relationship with the dependent variable. From the regression analysis it is found that NC (Satisfaction with Network Coverage), CT (Satisfaction with Call Tariff), CV (Satisfaction with Customized VASs) and CO (Satisfaction with Convenience) have P value less than 0.05 so that all these four variables are significantly related to LO (Consumer Loyalty towards MSP).

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6.10.2 Regression for Consumers Foster Recommendation of MSP to others as dependent variable and Satisfaction with Network Coverage, Satisfaction with Call Tariff, Satisfaction with Customized VASs, Satisfaction with Convenience as an independent variables. Regression output from Excel
Regression Statistics Multiple R R Square Adjusted R Square Standard Error Observations 0.813554 0.661871

0.656525 0.761845 258

ANOVA df Regression Residual Total 4 253 257 SS MS F

287.438 71.85951 123.8086 146.8432 0.580408 434.2812

Coefficients Intercept AVG-BS-1 AVG-CT AVG-CVAS AVG-CO -2.35395 0.213621 0.389817 0.460757 0.480304

Standard Error 0.283172

t Stat -8.31279

P-value 5.78E-15 1.98E-05 3.49E-09 1.49E-13 1.27E-12

0.049112 4.349634 0.063669 6.12254

0.058971 7.813345 0.064268 7.473439

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6.10.2.1 Prediction Equation: The prediction equation is LO = -2.354 + 0.214 (NC) + 0.390 (CT) + 0.461 (CV) + 0.480 (CO) Where, RE=Consumers Foster Recommendation of MSP to others NC=Satisfaction with Network Coverage CT= Satisfaction with Call Tariff CV= Satisfaction with Customized VASs CO= Satisfaction with Convenience

telling you that RE is predicted to increase 0.214 when the NC factor goes up by one, increase by 0.390 when CT goes up by one, increase by 0.461 when CV up by one, increase by 0.480 when CO goes up by one, and is predicted to be 0.80 which is equivalent to one (1) when all factors rated as minimum that is 1 and also predicted to be 5.37 which is equivalent to five (5) when all factors rated as maximum that is 5. So, it shows that Consumers Foster Recommendation of MSP to others increases when consumers satisfaction level is high with four of above factors and Consumers Foster Recommendation of MSP to others decreases when consumers satisfaction level is low with four of above factors.

6.10.2.2 Coefficient of determination (R2): The R-squared of the regression is the fraction of the variation in your dependent variable that is accounted for (or predicted by) your independent variables. For this regression equation our R-squared is 0.6618 so, 66.18% of variance in dependent variable can be explained by four independent variables.

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6.10.2.3 Significance Value for Hypothesis Testing (P): Now P values for the each independent variable is there in the regression table and if it is found to be less than 0.05 for each independent variable than the variable has significant relationship with the dependent variable. From the regression analysis it is found that NC (Satisfaction with Network Coverage), CT (Satisfaction with Call Tariff), CV (Satisfaction with Customized VASs) and CO (Satisfaction with Convenience) have P value less than 0.05 so that all these four variables are significantly related to RE (Consumers Foster Recommendation of MSP to others).

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7. RESEARCH & FINDINGS:

Customers loyalty depends on Basic Services, Value Added Services and Convenience provided by the MSPs. Foster recommendation (positive word of mouth) by customers depends on Basic Services, Value Added Services and Convenience provided by the MSPs. Customers loyalty and foster recommendation (positive word of mouth) are depending on mainly four factors, i.e. Customized Value Added Services, Convenience, Network Coverage and Call Tariff.

Mostly BSNL and Reliance users are using another MSPs services along with their main MSP. Mostly Vodafone, Airtel and Idea users are using only one MSPs services. Mostly Vodafone, Airtel and Idea users are satisfied with the service provided by their respective MSPs. Most of BSNL users are not satisfied with Network Coverage, VASs and Customer care services. Most of Reliance Mobile users are not satisfied with Network Coverage, Roaming Facilities and Customer care services. Customers satisfaction with Call Rates is significantly related with Family Income of Users. Customers satisfaction with Availability of Customer Store is significantly related with Age of users. Type of service opted by users is significantly related with occupation of users. More number of users is using Pre-paid service than Post-paid service.

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8. CONCLUSION:

We have studied the Indian telecom industry by concentrating on mobile service providers, and observed that there is high competition among the players in the industry. All the players are giving special offers and schemes as per the market conditions to maximize their subscriber base. Competition in telecom industry is heating up, now its time for Indian telecom players to align up in the new dynamic business environment. Telco majors should think to launch the product according to the needs of customers to satisfy them and make them brand loyal as very soon this blue ocean of Indian telecom scenario will convert into Red Ocean where the loss of one is the gain of other. According to the results, the most important determinant for consumers satisfaction and their foster recommendation (positive word of mouth) to others are Customized VASs, Convenience, Network Coverage and Call tariff.

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9. BIBLIOGRAPHY:

9.1 References:

Debnath, Roma Mitra, Benchmarking telecommunication service in India, 2008 (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=236E2B 6B45CF101465D540FD4401AEB9?contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkhtml&co ntentId=1742535&history=true>) [Viewed 2/3/10]

Fernandez, Fronnie, Understanding Dynamics in an Evolving Industry: Case of Mobile VAS in India, 2007 (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=2086527 F0757A565F9A6CBAC8800F658?contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkhtml&co ntentId=881588&history=true>) [Viewed 2/3/10]

Kumar, Kaliyamoorthy, Influence of Demographic Variables on Marketing Strategies in the Competitive Scenario, 2007 (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=2086527 F0757A565F9A6CBAC8800F658?contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkhtml&co ntentId=881588&history=true>) [Viewed 3/3/10]

Seth et, Etal, Managing the Customer Perceived Service Quality for Cellular Mobile Telephone: an Empirical Investigation, 2008 (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=2086527 F0757A565F9A6CBAC8800F658?contentType=Book&hdAction=lnkhtml&cont entId=1758667&history=true>) [Viewed 3/3/10]

9.2 Web-sites searched: www.trai.gov www.dot.gov

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