Live Project On "a Study On Inc Porvorim Students Preference Towards Various Mobile Service Providers"

A LIVE PROJECT REPORT ON ‘A STUDY ON INC PORVORIM

STUDENTS PREFERENCE TOWARDS VARIOUS MOBILE SERVICE PROVIDERS’

BY

Mr. BASANGOUDA GONAL 8NBGP020 (MBA 2008-2010) 1

DECLARATION I Hereby declare that the project report entitled “A STUDY ON INC PORVORIM STUDENTS PREFERENCE TOWARDS VARIOUS MOBILE SERVICE PROVIDERS” submitted for the degree of Master of Business Administration, is my original work and the project report has not formed the basis for the award of any diploma, degree, associate ship, fellowship or similar other titles.

Place: Date: BASANGOUDA GONAL 8NBGP020 MBA-II Sem 2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Survey is an excellent tool for learning and exploration. No classroom routine can substitute which is possible while working in real situations. Application of theoretical knowledge to practical situations is the bonanzas of this survey. Without a proper combination of inspection and perspiration, it’s not easy to achieve anything. There is always a sense of gratitude, which we express to others for the help and the needy services they render during the different phases of our lives. I too would like to do it as I really wish to express my gratitude toward all those who have been helpful to me directly or indirectly during the development of this project. I would like to thank my Faculty Guide Mr. Chetan Hiremath who was always there to help and guide me when I needed help. His perceptive criticism kept me working to make this project more full proof. I am thankful to him for his encouraging and valuable support. Working under him was an extremely knowledgeable and enriching experience for me. I am very thankful to him for all the value addition and enhancement done to me. Above all I shall thank my friends who constantly encouraged and blessed me so as to enable me to do this work successfully.

-BASANGOUDA GONAL 8NBGP020 3

MBA 2008-2010

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY All companies emphasize the importance of marketing in general and customer preference in particular. The competition among various mobile service providers is increasing steeply with the entry of new players. Also very high expectations of the mobile users and their increased demand towards specific esrvices have forced these service providers to analyze and constantly keep track of the customer expectations and needs. This indeed forms the need for study about various services to be provided and how to analyze the customer preferences towards different factors. The title of the Live Project undertaken by me is “A STUDY ON INC PORVORIM

STUDENTS

PREFERENCE

TOWARDS

VARIOUS

MOBILE SERVICE PROVIDERS” The basic objective of this study was to understand the various factors which the INC students give importance when they have to make a choice among various mobile services available. My research objective was to analyze the student’s satisfaction towards various service providers. Also to analyze the impact of various advertisement and promotional schemes launched by these service providers. I have done a descriptive research survey on INC Porvorim 4

students about their preference and behavior towards these service providers. The findings and analysis were focused on whether advertisement has any effect on the preference or not. I have undertaken a descriptive research methodology which includes an analysis of primary as well as secondary data.

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TABLE OF CONTENT SR NO.

CONTENT

PAGE NO.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1

INTRODUCTION

8

2

OBJECTIVES

9

3

BACKGROUND

10

4

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

21

5

DATA ANALYSIS

23

6

FINDINGS

27

7 8

CONCLUSIONS BIBLIOGRAPHY

30 32

6

SCOPE OF THE STUDY As learning is a human activity and is as natural, as breathing. Despite of the fact that learning is all pervasive in our lives, psychologists do not agree on how learning takes place. How individuals learn is a matter of interest to marketers. They want to teach consumers in their roles as their roles as consumers. They want consumers to learn about their products, product attributes, potential consumers benefit, how to use, maintain or even dispose of the product and new ways of behaving that will satisfy not only the consumer’s needs, but the marketer’s objectives. The scope of my study restricts itself to the analysis of student’s preferences, perception of different mobile service providers. The scope of my study is also restricts itself to INC Porvorim students only.

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OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The subject matter for this research Project is to study the INC Porvorim student’s preference towards the various mobile service providers. This project consists of different objectives. They are as follows: 

To know about the student preference level associated with different mobile service providers.

 To find out the students satisfaction towards the various service providers. 

To know which advertisement media puts more impact on the buying decision of students.

INTRODUCTION 8

Telecom Industry in India 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. 

Much of the growth in Asia Pacific Wireless Telecommunication Market is spurred by the growth in demand in countries like India and China.

 India‘s 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 India’s share in Asia Pacific Mobile Phone market is 6.4%.



Considering the fact that India and China have almost comparable populations, India’s low mobile penetration offers huge scope for growth.

Cellular Service Overview 9

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. 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. The Key players in the Telecom Market in India Cellular Service provider: 1. BSNL 2. Airtel 3. Vodafone 4. Reliance 5. Tata Indicom 6. Idea Subscribers: Wireless subscribers crosses 200 million mark 10

Tele density reaches 21.20% The total number of telephone subscribers has reached 241.02 million at the end of August 2007 as compared to 232.87 million in July 2007. The overall teledensity has increased to 21.20% in August 2007 as compared to 20.52% in July 2007. In the wireless segment, 8.31 million subscribers have been added in August 2007 while 8.06 million subscribers were added in July 2007. The total wireless subscribers (GSM, CDMA & WLL (F)) base reaches 201.29 million at the end of August 2007. Market Share of the telecom Company in India

Company Profile 11

INTRODUCTION “Bharti Airtel” formerly known as Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited (BTVL) is among India's largest mobile phone and Fixed Network operators. With more than 60 million subscriptions as of 13th February 2008.[2] It offers its mobile services under the Airtel brand and is headed by Sunil Mittal. The company also provides telephone services and Internet access over DSL in 14 circles. The company complements its mobile, broadband & telephone services with national and international long distance services. The company also has a submarine cable landing station at Chennai, which connects the submarine cable connecting Chennai and Singapore. The company provides reliable endto-end data and enterprise services to the corporate customers by leveraging its nationwide fiber optic backbone, last mile connectivity in fixed-line and mobile circles, VSATs, ISP and international bandwidth access through the gateways and landing station. Airtel is the largest cellular service provider in India in terms of number of subscribers. Bharti Airtel owns the Airtel brand and provides the following services under the brand name Airtel: Mobile Services (using GSM Technology), Broadband & Telephone Services (Fixed line, Internet Connectivity (DSL) and Leased Line), Long Distance Services and Enterprise Services (Telecommunications consulting for corporate). Leading international telecommunication companies such as Vodafone and SingTel held partial stakes in Bharti Airtel. 12

In April 2006 Bharti Global Limited was awarded a telecommunications license in Jersey in the Channel Islands by the local telecommunications regulator the JCRA. In September 2006 the Office of Utility Regulation in Guernsey awarded Guernsey Airtel with a mobile telecommunications license. In May 2007 Jersey Airtel and Guernsey Airtel announced the launch of a relationship with Vodafone for island mobile subscribers. In July 2007, Bharti Airtel signed a MoU with Nokia-Siemens for a 900 Million dollar expansion of its mobile and fixed network. [3] In August 2007, the company announced it will be launching a customized version of Google search engine that will provide an 'array of services' to its broadband customers.

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INTRODUCTION A DREAM COME TRUE

The Late Dhirubhai Ambani dreamt of a digital India — an India where the common man would have access to affordable means of information and communication. Dhirubhai, who single-handedly built India’s largest private sector company virtually from scratch, had stated as early as 1999: “Make the tools of information and communication available to people at an affordable cost. They will overcome the handicaps of illiteracy and lack of mobility.” It was with this belief in mind that Reliance Communications (formerly Reliance Infocomm) started laying 60,000 route kilometres of a panIndia fibre optic backbone. This backbone was commissioned on 28 December 2002, the auspicious occasion of Dhirubhai’s 70th birthday, though sadly after his unexpected demise on 6 July 2002. Reliance Communications has a reliable, high-capacity, integrated (both wireless and wireline) and convergent (voice, data and video) digital network. It is capable of delivering a range of services spanning the entire infocomm (information and communication) value chain, including infrastructure and services — for enterprises as well as individuals, applications, and consulting. Reliance Communications (formerly Reliance Infocomm), along with Reliance Telecom and Flag Telecom, is part of Reliance Communications Ventures (RCoVL). According to National Stock Exchange data, Anil Ambani controls 66.75 per cent of the company, which accounts for more than 1.36 billion shares of the company. Reliance Infocomm is an Indian telecommunications company. It is the flagship company of the Reliance- Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, comprising of power (Reliance Energy), financial services (Reliance Capital) and telecom initiatives of the Reliance ADA Group. Reliance 14

Infocomm is currently managed by Anil Dhirubhai Ambani.It uses CDMA2000 1x technology. HISTORY Reliance Infocomm was founded by Dhirubhai Ambani. Between 1999 to 2002 Reliance Infocomm built 60,000 km of fiber optic backbone in India. This network was commissioned on December 28, 2002. FOOTPRINT At present, Reliance Telecom's GSM cellular services are available in 340 towns within its eight-circle footprint. Reliance's CDMA services are available in 19 states and cover about 65% of the country, state wise. Reliance Infocomm also offered for the first time in India, mobile data services through its R-World mobile portal. This portal leverages the data capability of the CDMA 1X network. BUSINESS REVIEW Wireless EBITDA increased to Rs. 3,984 crore (US$ 924 million) from Rs. 2,250 crore (US$ 522 million). Margins expanded to 37% from 31%. EBITDA of the Global business increased by 98% during the twelve months ended March 31, 2007 to Rs. 1,271 crore (US$ 295 million). EBITDA margins increased to 24% from 12% last year. In the same period, the Broadband business achieved revenue growth of 123% to Rs. 1,144 crore (US$ 265 million), and EBITDA increased by more than 6 times, to Rs. 519 crore (US$ 120 million). The EBITDA margin crossed 45% in the twelve months ended March 31, 2007, from 15% in the corresponding period in the previous year.

BSNL 15

INTRODUCTION Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (known as BSNL, India Communications Corporation Limited) is a public sector communications company in India. It is the India's largest telecommunication company with 25.14% market share as on December 31, 2007. Its headquarters are at Bharat Sanchar Bhawan, Harish Chandra Mathur Lane, Janpath, New Delhi. It has the status of Miniratna - a status assigned to reputed Public Sector companies in India. BSNL is India's oldest and largest Communication Service Provider (CSP). Currently BSNL has a customer base of 68.5 million (Basic & Mobile telephony). It has footprints throughout India except for the metropolitan cities of Mumbai and New Delhi which are managed by MTNL. As on December 31, 2007 BSNL commanded a customer base of 31.7 million Wireline, 4.1 million CDMA-WLL and 32.7 million GSM Mobile subscribers. BSNL's earnings for the Financial Year ending March 31, 2007 stood at INR 397.15b (US$ 9.67 b) with net profit of INR 78.06b (US$ 1.90 billion). Today, BSNL is India's largest Telco and one of the largest Public Sector Undertaking with estimated market value of $ 100 Billion. The company is planning an IPO with in 6 months to offload 10 % to public. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. formed in October, 2000, is World's 7th largest Telecommunications Company providing comprehensive range of telecom services in India: Wireline, CDMA mobile, GSM Mobile, Internet, Broadband, Carrier service, MPLS-VPN, VSAT, VoIP services, IN Services etc. Within a span of five years it has become one of the largest public sector units in India. BSNL has installed Quality Telecom Network in the country and now focusing on improving it, expanding the network, introducing new 16

telecom services with ICT applications in villages and wining customer's confidence. Today, it has about 47.3 million line basic telephone capacity, 4 million WLL capacity, 20.1 Million GSM Capacity, more than 37382 fixed exchanges, 18000 BTS, 287 Satellite Stations, 480196 Rkm of OFC Cable, 63730 Rkm of Microwave Network connecting 602 Districts, 7330 cities/towns and 5.5 Lakhs villages. BSNL is the only service provider, making focused efforts and planned initiatives to bridge the Rural-Urban Digital Divide ICT sector. In fact there is no telecom operator in the country to beat its reach with its wide network giving services in every nook & corner of country and operates across India except Delhi & Mumbai. Whether it is inaccessible areas of Siachen glacier and North-eastern region of the country. BSNL serves its customers with its wide bouquet of telecom services. BSNL is numero uno operator of India in all services in its license area. The company offers vide ranging & most transparent tariff schemes designed to suite every customer. BSNL cellular service, CellOne, has more than 17.8 million cellular customers, garnering 24 percent of all mobile users as its subscribers. That means that almost every fourth mobile user in the country has a BSNL connection. In basic services, BSNL is miles ahead of its rivals, with 35.1 million Basic Phone subscribers i.e. 85 per cent share of the subscriber base and 92 percent share in revenue terms. BSNL has more than 2.5 million WLL subscribers and 2.5 million Internet Customers who access Internet through various modes viz. Dialup, Leased Line, DIAS, Account Less Internet (CLI). BSNL has been adjudged as the NUMBER ONE ISP in the country. BSNL has set up a world class multi-gigabit, multi-protocol convergent IP infrastructure that provides convergent services like voice, data and video through the same Backbone and Broadband Access Network. At present there are 0.6 million DataOne broadband customers. The company has vast experience in Planning, Installation, network integration and Maintenance of Switching & Transmission Networks 17

and also has a world class ISO 9000 certified Telecom Training Institute. Scaling new heights of success, the present turnover of BSNL is more than Rs.351,820 million (US $ 8 billion) with net profit to the tune of Rs.99,390 million (US $ 2.26 billion) for last financial year. The infrastructure asset on telephone alone is worth about Rs.630, 000 million (US $ 14.37 billion). BSNL plans to expand its customer base from present 47 millions lines to 125 million lines by December 2007 and infrastructure investment plan to the tune of Rs. 733 crores (US$ 16.67 million) in the next three years. The turnover, nationwide coverage, reach, comprehensive range of telecom services and the desire to excel has made BSNL the No. 1 Telecom Company of India.

VODAFONE ESSAR

18

Vodafone Essar, previously Hutchison Essar is a cellular operator in India that covers 16 telecom circles in India Despite the official name being Vodafone Essar; its products are simply branded Vodafone. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout India and is especially strong in the major metros. Vodafone Essar provides 2G services based on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz digital GSM technology, offering voice and data services in 16 of the country's 23 license areas. Vodafone Essar, previously Hutchison Essar is a cellular operator in India that covers 16 telecom circles in India. Despite the official name being Vodafone Essar, its products are simply branded Vodafone. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout India and is especially strong in the major metros. Vodafone Essar provides 2G services based on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz digital GSM technology, offering voice and data services in 16 of the country's 23 license areas. OWNERSHIP: Vodafone Essar is owned by Vodafone 52%, Essar Group 33%, and other Indian nationals, 15%. On February 11, 2007, Vodafone agreed to acquire the controlling interest of 67% held by Li Ka Shing Holdings in Hutch-Essar for US$11.1 billion, pepping Reliance Communications, Hinduja Group, and Essar Group, which is the owner of the remaining 33%. The whole company was valued at USD 18.8 billion. The transaction closed on May 8, 2007. PREVIOUS BRANDS: In December 2006, Hutch Essar re-launched the "Hutch" brand nationwide, consolidating its services under a single identity. The Company entered into agreement with NTT DoCoMo to launch i-mode mobile Internet service in India during 2007. 19

The company used to be named Hutchison Essar, reflecting the name of its previous owner, Hutchison. However, the brand was marketed as Hutch. After getting the necessary government approvals with regards to the acquisition of a majority by the Vodafone Group, the company was rebranded as Vodafone Essar. The marketing brand was officially changed to Vodafone on 20 September 2007. On September 20, 2007 Hutch becomes Vodafone in one of the biggest brand transition exercises in recent times. Vodafone Essar is spending somewhere in the region of Rs 250 crores on this high-profile transition being unveiled today. Along with the transition, cheap cell phones have been launched in the Indian market under the Vodafone brand. There are plans to launch cobranded handsets sourced from global vendors as well. A popular daily quoted a Vodafone Essar director as saying that "the objective is to leverage Vodafone Group's global scale in bringing millions of low-cost handsets from across-the-world into India." While there is no revealing the prices of the low-cost Vodafone handsets, the industry is abuzz that prices might start at Rs 666, undercutting Reliance Communications' much hyped 'Rang Barse' with cheap handsets beginning at Rs 777.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Survey design: The study is a cross sectional study because the data were collected at a single point of time. For the purpose of present study a related sample of population was selected on the basis of census.

Sample Size and Design: A sample size of 70 students was taken on the basis of census. 20

S=Z2*P*(1-P) C2 Assuming significance level C=5% Then for c=5% Z=1.64 The proportion p=0.12 Hence we get

S=112

Research Instrument: This work is carried out through self-administered questionnaires. The questions included were open ended, dichotomous and offered multiple choices.

Data Collection: The data, which is collected for the purpose of study, is divided into 2 bases: 

Primary Source: The primary data comprises information

survey of target students. The data has been collected directly from respondent with the help of structured Questionnaires. 

Secondary Source: The secondary data was collected from

internet and References from Library.

Data Analysis: The data is analyzed on the basis of suitable tables by using mathematical techniques. The technique that I have used is pie charts, Spearmen’s Rank correlation coefficient and Kruskal-Wallis test. 21

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION Sex ratio of the respondents

Particulars Number % Male 36 52 female 34 48

1.Do you have any mobile Connection? 22

Particulars Yes No

Number 70 0

% 100 0

2.How many mobile connections do you have? Particulars Number % One 49 79 Two 18 25 Three 1 2 >three 2 3

3. Which service are you using? Particulars Prepaid Postpaid both

Number 58 10 2

23

% 83 14 3

5. Which Mobile connection are you currently using? Particulars Number % BSNL 6 9 Airtel 8 12 Vodafone 36 51 Reliance 3 4 Tata Indicom 2 3 Idea 15 21

6.Are you with services? Particulars Yes No

satisfied the Number 58 12

% 83 17

24

7. Which factor do you give the highest preference? Particulars

Number

%

Coverage

34

49

Call charges

22

31

Promotional Schemes 9

13

GPRS

5

7

OTHERS

0

0

8.

Does

advertisement important role in preference

play your making?

25

9. Which Advt. media puts more impact on your preference making?

10. Would you like to change your current service provider in the near future? Particulars

Number

%

Yes

17

24

No

53

76

STASTICAL ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

26

COVERAGE

CALL CHARGES

ADVERTISEMENT

BSNL

4

2

0

AIRTEL

2

6

5

VODAFONE

20

8

36

RELIANCE

3

0

3

TATA INDICOM

2

3

2

IDEA

6

9

15

37

28

61

Null Hypothesis Ho = No significant preference for coverage, call charges and advertisement as far as overall service is concerned. Alternate Hypothesis HA = a significant preference for various factors is given attention as far as the overall mobile service is concerned. Analytical Tool used = Kruskal-Wallis Test when more than two factors are considered testing. Assigning Ranks BSNL Airtel Vodafone Reliance Tata Idea ∑

Coverage 9 14.5 2 11 14.5 6.5 57.5 (R1)

Call charges 14.5 6.5 5 17.5 11 4 58.5 (R2)

Advertisement 17.5 8 1 11 14.5 3 55 (R3)

Formula: H= 12

[ R12/n1 + R22/n2 + R32/n3] – 3(n+1) 27

n(n+1) Calculated H= 0.389 DOF=2 Assuming α=5% Chi Square value X2=5.991

Since the calculated value is within the acceptance region, hence we accept the null hypothesis stating that there is No significant preference for coverage, call charges and advertisement as far as overall service is concerned.

This is again proved by the individual ranks also(R1, R2, R3) which show no significant variation.

But since the overall observations show that there is a high preference for the advertisement factor, so we have to analyze this test across the rows also.

Null Hypothesis Ho= No significant difference in preference exists even when individual service providers are considered. 28

Alternate Hypothesis HA= A significant difference exists when individual mobile service provider is considered. Coverage Call Charges Advertisement BSNL 9 14.5 17.5 Airtel 14.5 6.5 8 Vodafone 2 5 1 Reliance 11 17.5 11 Tata 14.5 11 14.5 Idea 6.5 4 3

∑ 41 29 8 39.5 40 13.5

Formula: H= 12 [ R12/n1 + R22/n2 + R32/n3] – 3(n+1) n(n+1) Calculated H= 12.34 DOF=5 Assuming α=5% Chi Square value X2=11.024 Result: The null hypothesis is rejected and we conclude that the preference for various factors plays an important role when individual mobile service providers are considered.

FINDINGS

29







As concluded from the stastical analysis there is No significant preference for coverage, call charges and advertisement as far as overall service is concerned. The most important variable which has a major impact or the most important factor is the coverage provided. As observed from the pie chart that more than 87% of the students feel that they are influenced by advertisements of their services.

CONCLUSIONS 

Vodafone provides the highest coverage area in Goa. 30

 T.V. is the best media advertisement media that put more impact on the INC students buying behavior.



One interesting analyses found out is that students using BSNL services say that any type of advertisement media has no impact on their preference while buying.

BIBLIOGRAPHY 31

BOOKS:  Principles of Marketing – Philip Kotler  Marketing Management – ICFAI Publications  Business Research Methods – ICFAI Publications

Web Resources:    

www.google.com www.trai.gov.in www.bsnl.co.in www.goaedu.org

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