STARTAGIC ANALYSIS OF RELIANCE COMMUNICATION WITH COMPETITOR IN CHANDIGARH AND SURROUNDING OFFICE OF RELIANCE COMMUNICATION LTD.

A PROJECT REPORT / SUMMER TRAINING REPORT

Submitted By SIKANDER SINGH In partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of Bachelors of Business Administration

RIMT INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY PUNJAB TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY: JALANDHAR

(2010-2013)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

There are a few things that come in the life of a person, may be for a short span of time, but leaves on ever shining impression in to the mind. My summer training is one of the events which will be ever green in my life. As I had been placed in RELIANCE COMMUNICATION LIMITED, at Chandigarh. I shared the real marketing skills and knowledge from their experienced, enthusiastic and cordial executives, without whom I would have not been able to achieve my aim.

First of all I would like to express my thanks to _________________ cluster head of Reliance communication Limited, Chandigarh for permitting me to do the training at his concern. I am also very grateful to Miss kiran(distributor lead) for sharing valuable experience and suggestions regarding training and preparation of report. I express my special thanks to my mentor miss shivani gautam who has given me proper guidance in spite of having his busy schedule. I would like to convey special thanks to my friends for providing me help and co-operation needed. I also owe sincere gratitude to my family members whose love, affection, co-operation and moral support have provided me the strength to carry out this project

PREFACE

A project is a scientific and systematic study of real issues on a problem with the application of management concept and skills. The study can deal with small or big issues in any division of an organization. It can be case study where a problem has been dealt with, through the process of management. The essential equipment of project is that, it should contain scientific collection of data, analysis and interpretation of data leading to valid conclusion.

Summer Training is an essential part in BBA curriculum. It enables the student to share the real experience in industry. My summer training has placed in Reliance communication limited for the period of four weeks in Chandigarh, Punjab.

The topic of my project was STRATAGIC ANALYSIS OF RELIANCE COMMUNICATION with competitor in Punjab and surrounding office. This project report tends to give a sharp picture of the telecom industry. I hope, this study can be of some help to the telecom industry of his Product and service.

Reliance communications

1. COMPANY INFORMATION Reliance - India's largest business house

Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, an offshoot of the Reliance Group founded by Shri Dhirubhai H Ambani (1932-2002), ranks among Indias top three private sector business houses in terms of net worth. The group has business interests that range from telecommunications (Reliance Communications Limited) to financial services (Reliance Capital Ltd) and the generation and distribution of power (Reliance Energy Ltd). Reliance ADA Groups flagship company, Reliance Communications, is India's largest private sector information and Communications Company, with over 40 million subscribers. It has established a pan-India, high-capacity, integrated (wireless and wire line), convergent (voice, data and video) digital network, to offer services spanning the entire infocomm value chain. Other major group companies Reliance Capital and Reliance Energy are widely acknowledged as the market leaders in their respective areas of operation.

What Reliance is all about?

 Reliance Energy Ltd. Reliance Mutual Fund Harmony Reliance Communications Reliance Life Insurance Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group Reliance General Insurance

2. BUSINESS DESCRIPTION
RELIANCE COMMUNICATION

2.1 OVERVIEW

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 Indias 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 kilometers of a pan-India fibre optic backbone. This backbone was commissioned on 28 December 2002, the auspicious

occasion of Dhirubhais 70th birthday, though sadly after his unexpected demise on 6 July 2002. Reliance Communications has a reliable, high-capacity, integrated (both wireless and wire line) 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. Today, Reliance Communications is revolutionizing the way India communicates and networks, truly bringing about a new way of life.

2.2.1 VISION:
We will leverage our strengths to execute complex global -scale projects to facilitate leading-edge information and communication services affordable to all individual consumers and businesses in India. We will offer unparalleled value to create customer delight and enhance business productivity. We will also generate value for our capabilities beyond Indian borders and enable millions of India's knowledge workers to deliver their services globally.

2.2.2 Indias leading integrated telecom company

Reliance Communications is the flagship company of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) of companies. Listed on the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange, it is Indias leading integrated telecommunication company with over 40 million customers.

Our business encompasses a complete range of telecom services covering mobile and fixed line telephony. It includes broadband, national and international long distance services and data services along with an exhaustive range of value-added services and applications. Our constant endeavour is to achieve customer delight by enhancing the productivity of the enterprises and individuals we serve. Reliance Mobile (formerly Reliance India Mobile), launched on 28 December 2002, coinciding with the joyous occasion of the late Dhirubhai Ambanis 70th birthday, was among the initial initiatives of Reliance Communications. It marked the auspicious beginning of Dhirubhais dream of ushering in a digital revolution in India. Today, we can proudly claim that we were instrumental in harnessing the true power of information and communication, by bestowing it in the hands of the common man at affordable rates.

CHART: 1

Fig: 1 Reliance uses C.D.M.A. ( Code Division Multiple Access ) technology for its wireless communication service which is used for Mobile as well as Fixed line services. C.D.M.A. is known for better voice quality and higher data throughput across the air interface at low operating cost .

2.1.1 RELIANCE MOBILE

POSTPAID

FEATURES OF POSTPAID

a)1 INDIA- Now call any phone, anywhere in India for just ONE RUPEE per min. b) My Plans- Presenting a range of Postpaid plans designed to fit every lifestyle .So go ahead get on to Local gossip , chat for hours on STD , get close to your group or jest get lost in new horizon. c) Joy Plans- Reliance Mobile postpaid is a joy to use. Our postpaid plans help you save on costs. Take your pick from a wide choice of plans with economical tariff rates, according to your use and budget. d) On-net Talk time Pack- Get 1,000 minutes of FREE talk time. Thats right. Now, you can enjoy the first 1,000 minutes of calling to all Reliance mobiles and fixed wireless phones and terminals (FWP/T) in your circle, absolutely free!

e) Get Started Kit- Do not be tied down by a particular handset or phone number. Now set yourself free with the new Get started kit from Reliance Mobile. f) Bill Payments- Introducing convenient bill payments. Now pay your bills directly from your credit card or bank account, and save precious time. g) INMARSAT- Save up to 70 per cent on calls to satellite phones. Reliance exclusively offers its subscribers significant savings up to 70 per cent depending on the type of terminal and the location for voice calls made to any Inmarsat number. PREPAID

FEATURES OF PREPAID a) Prepaid Tariffs- Choose the tariff plan that suits you needs. b) E-Recharge- Now you can recharge your prepaid with any amount, from Rs.10 to Rs.10,000. So don't let your budget stop you. Choose a recharge value that suits you and stay mobile. c) 1INDIA- Introducing 1 INDIA recharge options of 1 day, 1 week and 1 month validity. d) Get Started Kit- Gone are the days when you were bound by a particular handset and a certain phone number. You can now set yourself free with the new Get Started Kit from Reliance Mobile. e) Chat & Play - Now you can recharge your prepaid with any amount, from Rs.10 to Rs.10,000. So don't let your budget stop you. Choose a recharge value that suits you and stay mobile.

 Reliance HELLO Reliance landline:

FEATURES A complimentary bouquet of features a) Next-Gen caller ID: Reliance Landline displays the name and/or number of a waiting caller while you are in the middle of a conversation. It allows you the flexibility to choose between two calls or switch from one caller to another. b) Mobile phone features: Now enjoy all the interactive benefits of a mobile phone. Store and recall numbers from the phone book, check the history of missed / dialed / received calls. Whats more, you can also use the history menu to make fresh calls. c) Delayed hotline: You can program your Reliance Landline to automatically call a predefined number by lifting the receiver and holding it for seven seconds. d) Navigation keys: Using the navigation keys on Reliance Landline you can activate phone features like delayed hotline, line locking, etc now you need not remember complicated feature codes and cumbersome procedures. You can also set your preferred ring tone, ringer volume and LCD contrast.

e) Remote phone management: You can lock or unlock the STD/ ISD facility or hotline settings on your Reliance Landline, remotely from anywhere, from any tone / DTMF phone. Plus, you get host of other interesting features like speaker phone, 3-way conferencing, quick dialing, and many more.

Fixed Wireless Phone

Benefits: a) No wires attached Get on the wireless connectivity bandwagon. And straight away become immune to cuts in the cable, rains etc. Carry the set along with you when you move from one room to another or when you shift your home/office.

b) Wireless Internet (Reliance Net connect) The FWP has an in-built modem for high speed internet connectivity. Surfat speeds up to 115 kbps. Whats more, you do not need a separate ISP connection for operating the set. c) Mobile Phone's Features Enjoy all the features of a mobile phone: SMS, In-built caller line identification, voice mail, 99-number phone book, speaker phone, a choice of many ringtones, etc. d) City Mobility

You can use your FWP anywhere within your city and still receive and make calls, at no extra cost.

FIXED WIRELESS TERMINAL(FWT)

Fixed terminal, limitless benefits BENEFIT

e) Great Savings Unbelievably low call rates. Substantial savings on ISD calls.

f) Zero Effective Rentals Value of free calls almost equivalent to monthly plan charges. g) Parallel Connection Facility Two voice ports to connect two telephone instruments to be used as parallel connections. h) No Wires Attached Wireless connectivity-immune to cable cuts, rains etc. Carry it along when you shift your home/office. i) Wireless Internet (Reliance Net connect)

In-built modem for high speed Internet connectivity at speeds of upto 115 kbps. No separate ISP connection required. j) State-of-the-art features Three-way Call Conferencing, Speed Dialing, Hotline, Call Restrict/Call Lock, Call Wait/Call Hold, Call Divert, Alarm and Caller Line Identification enabled.

Reliance broadband.

2.3 COMPETETORS

2.3.1 BSNL

The Grand Daddy of all Operators, The State owned B.S.N.L. was the first to launch P.C.O. service across the country under the guidance of Sam Pitroda who revolutionized the telecom industry in India. Besides its nationwide presence, it enjoyed the first mover advantage and had no competition for almost a decade. The advent of private operators made BSNL pull up its socks but still has an edge over others in the market.

2.3.2 TATA INDICOM

Pay Telephony Business Unit (PTBU) is a strategic business unit of Tata Teleservices Limited and has been the first private and branded player in the payphone industry in the country. It provides its services under the brand name of Tata. Starting with 5 circles in 2000 it has a nationwide presence in 20 circles and over 200 towns across the country today. Tata also uses C.D.M.A. wireless technology as used by Reliance but with a much smaller infrastructure which is concentrated in only a few states like Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. 2.3.3 AIRTEL

Airtel, the Basic phone service of Bharti emerged as the first private competitor in the basic phones market. Though using Landline phones (copper-wire

circuitry) the service turned out to be a welcome break from the inefficient government owned operators.

3. STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF THE COMPANY

3.1. ANSOFFS MATRIX

The Ansoff product-market matrix helps to understand and assess business development strategy. It has two dimensions, products and markets. Four different growth strategies can be formulated and any business can choose which strategy to employ, whether purely or as a mix. The strategies are Market Penetration Market Development Product Development Diversification

Reliance FWT PCOs can be categorized as product development. Product development involves selling new products in existing markets.

MARKET PENETRATION Penetrating the market for Product A, B, C, D wherever leadership is there. MARKET DEVELOPMENT Introducing the Product B, C, D in newer markets(New territorial region within the country)

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT Introduction of new facilities, customer friendly service, attractive DIVERSIFICATION instruments etc. The company may try providing consultancy for Telecom infrastructure creation in developing countries in Middle East, South Asian regions. Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh

TABLE: 1

Fixed Wire line Phones

3.3 PEST ANALYSIS

POLITICAL
Permission of FDI (100%) New Telecom Policy 1999 Recommendations Of TRAI for growth in WLL phones Policy changes for public-private partnerships Unified Access Licensing Scheme

ECONOMICAL
Indias Per Capita holds higher teledensity potential Increasing demand for telephony strong association between service sector growth and telecom development

SOCIAL
High purchasing power of people. new sources of employment welfare enhancing consequences improved access in the fields of education, healthcare, governance

TECHNOLOGICAL

growth of telecommunications infrastructure shortage of telephone lines and high telephone charges Last Mile Connectivity Technological innovation in the form of CDMA and 3G.

TABLE: 2 The PEST analysis is a useful tool for understanding market growth or decline, and as such the position, potential and direction for a business. A PEST analysis is a business measurement tool. PEST is an acronym for Political, Economic, Social and Technological factors, which are used to assess the market for a business or organizational unit.

3.4 SWOT Analysis

INTERNAL ASSESSMENT OF ORGANISATION

STRENGTHS

WEAKNESS

Highest commission structure (RIL30%, MTNL 15-18%) among national long distance operators. State of art wireless technology. Hassle free installation. No security deposit Brand name Reliance. Sales backed by extensive customer care and after-sales services. Prepaid PCO system, therefore, hassle free billing mechanism

Hesitation among PCO owners in adopting relatively new technology in landline segment. Resentment among business class due to billing problems with RIM. Connectivity problems in some remote, rural areas of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh. Callousness on the part of LBA will effect customer satisfaction

SWOT ANALYSIS

OPPURTUNITY

THREATS

Curre nt te le-density o f Ind ia is only 9.15%. 90.85% o f peop le still depend o n PCO s fo r their co mmunicatio n needs. The co mpo und a nnua l gro wth rate of PCOs is 25 %. Curre ntly there are 16.55 lacs PCOs in Ind ia, wa iting to be churned. Custo mer service standards o f its ma in co mp etitor M TNL / BSN L is not very sa tisfacto ry Prob le ms o f b illing in po st-paid systems

Pitted against well-entrenched player like MTNL / BSNL which control approximately 85% of PCO market in metros, 90% of PCO market in urban, semi-urban areas and nearly 100% in rural areas. Entrance of new players like Bharti and TATA Teleservices Perceived saturation in PCO market. TRAI's impending regulations

EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT OF ORGANISATION

CHART- 2

4. ANALYSIS OF COMPANY STRATEGY 4.1 PORTERSs FIVE FORCE MODEL

SUPPLIER POWER
High Competition Concentration of Suppliers

BARRIERS TO ENTRY
High Initial Costs Government Regulations Specialty Assets Required

RIVALRY

THREAT OF

SUBSTITUTES

Moderate High Switching Costsrowth

Low Exit Barriers High Switching Costs Low Concentration Ratio

High (Price Sensitive Market)

High Switching Costs

BUYER POWER

High Bargaining Power High Switching Costs

CHART: 3

5 ANALYSIS OF COMPETITIVE POSITION 5.1 BCG MATRIX

BCG matrix is based on the product life cycle theory that is used to explain how different products should be prioritized in a companys portfolio. It has two dimensions: market share and market growth. The two dimensions are used to create a quadrant matrix in which all the products in a companys product portfolio are categorized into the four categories. This analysis helps avoid a strategy mistake made frequently that is of measuring the performance of different products on the basis of a single criteria e.g. generic growth rate. This framework assumes that an increase in relative market share will result in an increase in generation of cash.

5.1.1 STARS
These are high growth products which have a large market share in fast growing industries. In case of reliance Communications its FWT services can be called stars since they have a share of 21% of the market and are growing at the rate of 9%. This service contributes 18% of total revenues and justifiably accounts for a large

percentage of total investment. Continuous investments should be undertaken by the company to expand market share of WLL services because this could lead to them becoming cash cows for the company in the future.

5.1.2 CASH COWS

These are the products which are leaders in markets which are slow growing but the company has a large share of the market. As a result these products generate large amounts of cash and profits but because of the slow rate of growth of the market investments in these products should be kept low. These products are the foundation for a company and provide the cash required to turn question marks into market leaders. In context of Reliance its cellular services are growing at 4% p.a., are the cash cow which form the foundation of the company.

5.1.3 DOGS

These are the products in which the company has a small share in a slow growing market. As a result their contribution to overall revenues is limited and they can turn into cash traps because of money tied up in a business which has limited potential. Therefore the company should be beware of expensive turnaround plans and should try to divest in these products. In case of reliance its fixed line services can be called the dog for the company.

5.1.4 QUESTION MARKS

These are the products that are growing rapidly and thus consume large amounts of cash, but because they have a low market share they dont generate much cash. But if proactive measures are not undertaken to increase the market share they degenerate into dogs after years of cash consumption. Therefore the company should aim at either investing heavily to increase market share or sell off to generate whatever cash it can. In case of Reliance there are a number of products which can be put into this category for example ISPs and LPCs and WLL PCOs.

A major limitation of this model is that it assumes market growth rate to be the only factor of industry attractiveness and relative market share to be the only indicator of competitive advantage. Therefore it ignores the strategy where a business might use a dog to gain a competitive advantage in other business units.

STAR

QUESTION MARK

Fixed Wireless phone Fixed Wireless Terminal Phone

PCOs ISP and Broadband Services GSM cellular service.

CASH COWS

DOGS

Cellular Services Reliance India Card Recharge Coupons

Fixed Wire line Phones

TABLE: 3

6. STRATEGIES ADOPTED

6.1 SEGMENTATION

6.1.1 Geographic
Geographic segmentation divides markets into different geographical units. There are four main cellular segments

Metro the metropolitan areas of Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta, and Chennai are under this category of telecommunications circles and continue to lead. Category A circles mostly analogous to the states of India, comprising Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, (category a leaders) Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Category B circles mostly analogous to the states of India, comprising Uttar Pradesh (east and west), Punjab (category B leaders), Rajasthan, Haryana, Kerala, Madhya, Pradesh, and West Bengal. Category C circles mostly analogous to the states of India, comprising Bihar, Orissa, North-East Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands In context of Reliance PCOs, the company is specifically targeting non metros, highways, commercial areas in metros, small townships and low income clusters in urban areas for e.g. urban villages and industrial areas.

6.1.2 Demographic
In demographic segmentation, the buyers are divided into different groups on the basis of variables such as their age, family size, family life-cycle, gender, income, occupation, education, religion, race, generation, nationality and social class. Consumer wants, preferences and usage rates are often associated with demographic variables. The relevant categories that can be identified for Reliance PCOs are senior citizens, unemployed youth, small shop owners, kirana stores and existing PCOs owners

6.2 TARGETING

Reliance Communications current targeting approach is a mass-marketing method that tries to address the needs of the entire market and widen its subscriber base. In mass marketing, the seller engages in mass production, mass distribution, and mass promotion of one product to all its buyers. Mass marketing creates the largest potential market, which leads to the lowest costs, which in turn can lead to lower prices and higher margins.

Reliance successfully implemented this strategy and while it did help Reliance in expanding its customer base, its strength and spread remained limited to the Category C regions (See table 2). The apparent popularity of Reliance Communications in this category is due to its positioning in the market as a Common Mans Phone. Dhirubhai Ambani had dreamed of Roti, Kapda, Makaan aur Mobile which clearly reflects the strategy, adopted by Reliance. The low-tariff plans, low fared prepaid and postpaid offers have brought Reliance close to the price conscious people.

They focus on few key aspects while promoting Next Generation technology Widely available (Able to connect 90% of Indias population) Low tariff rates to attract a wide customer base

 Range of handsets offered with Reliance connections (Black and white handsets, colour handsets with camera, video camera phone, camera watch phone, PDA colour phone) Special offers for making calls to the Gulf, USA and Canada

6.3 POSITIONING

Positioning can be defined as the act of designing the companys offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the mind of the target market. The positioning of the target has to be such that a majority of the target market segment identifies with it.

7. 4 PS OF MARKETING

7.1 THE FIRST P PRODUCT

The action plan of launching a new product includes a decision on the four Ps of product, place, price, and promotion as well as the three Ps of services namely people, processes and physical evidence. Also it is not a pure product or a pure service that is being marketed. In terms of product Reliance is offering tangible good with accompanying services, with the handsets being tangible goods and their mainstay being the services. Now we can make this tangible on the basis of place, people, price, and communications material. Historically the thinking was that a good product will sell for itself. However there are no bad products anymore in todays highly competitive markets. Therefore its inevitable now for a company to ignore on the various aspects of a product. We have tried to analyze the product of Reliance Communications i.e. WLL on the basis of following parameters:

Quality
When we talk about the quality of any telecom service we basically focus on following aspects:

Voice qualityThe Voice quality in CDMA based Networks is much superior as compared to GSM Networks. Therefore Reliance WLL has a technological edge over its GSM counterparts.

Data Transfer RateThe Data rates throughput available to a WLL user using a 3G handset, being provided by Reliance is much higher than the data rates provided by the GSM Operators using GPRS, a 2.5 G technology inferior to Reliance 3rd Gen technology. So for a layman, it may mean that watching a Video Clipping or a multimedia application on a CDMA Handset will be much more fun as compared to the present day GPRS Services

Strong Optical BackboneReliance, being an operator with Pan India presence, and possessing a strong optical Backbone spread across the country, is expected to deploy and provide next generation telecom services quicker and cheaper than any other private operator in the country.

APPEARANCE Appearance and design, however, still remains the user's first turn-on trigger. Reliance WLL phone come as a refuge to the market as they are targeting the various segments of the society. The low end model starts for as low as Rs. 2000 and the range goes up to Rs. 30000. The various phone models available are quality phones being manufactured by the top firms like Nokia, Motorola, Samsung and LG etc.

BRAND

Reliance Communications is the outcome of the late visionary Dhirubhai Ambani's (1932-2002) dream to herald a digital revolution in India by bringing affordable means of information and communication to the doorsteps of India's vast population. Reliance Communications Ltd., an Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Enterprises group company, is India's largest private information and communications services provider, with a subscriber base of over 11 million. Reliance Communications has established a pan-India, high-capacity, integrated (wireless and wire line), convergent (voice, data and video) digital network, to offer services spanning the entire Communications value chain.

SERVICE Reliance Communications network is a pan India, high capacity, integrated (wireless and wire line) and convergent (voice, data and video) digital network, designed to offer services that span the entire Communications value chain infrastructure, services for enterprises and individuals, applications and consulting. The network is designed to deliver services that will foster a new way of life for a New India.

SUPPORT The major focus for any company in the service sector is how satisfied their customer is with the service being provided by the company. The service doesnt end with by selling the phone to the customer but also solving the concern, difficulties, queries and complaints of the customer. Reliance Communications has some innovative features like R-World apart from the usual customer support services being provided by other telecom players. Reliance has a 24 by 7, 365 days

a year, customer service in ten regional languages to ensure consumers have a smooth experience.

7.2 THE SECOND P PRICE

How much are the intended customers willing to pay? Here we decide on a pricing strategy - do not let it just happen! Although competing on price is as old as mankind, the consumer is often still sensitive for price discounts and special offers. Price has also an irrational side: something that is expensive must be good. Permanently competing on price is for many companies not a very sensible approach. Reliance India Mobile has revolutionized the Indian mobile telephony market through unique pricing models. In fact, thanks to Reliances innovative pricing, tariffs in India have fallen across the board by over 70 per cent, making it the world's lowest-cost mobile market today. India was the world's highest cost market in the nineties. As of now, RIM has concentrated in terms of its pricing in the economy to medium value segment. The products with high and good value have not been very successful. But that was partly because at that time, reliance was more than just a service provider, dealing in handsets and post paid plans and selling customized solution. Now, with a maturing market, as people are moving to upgrades reliance seriously needs to look into the high value segment. By high value we mean high quality and high price segment. A high service in terms of not just the value adding features but also the quality of your basic services. Airtel has projected itself as a service provider with superior network coverage. Reliance has had issues in the past with its billing and also its traffic congestion which has left many customers complaining. And as they look to expand into new segments that are more life style focused and brand conscious, negative word of mouth publicity is the last thing

they would want. Side by side, they also need to look for the latest offerings in the market to lure and retain customers. The first movers advantage they had accrued is now eroded as the competitors have come out with similar features and services like internet surfing, cricket scores and multimedia content in both GSM as well as CDMA segments. So reliance needs to heavily invest in developing new and unique differentiating features and products to project itself as the better option to the upwardly mobile youth. Like Airtels Blackberry initiative. Even though Airtel is fighting reliance bitterly in terms of the least priced services to the consumers, having a high end limited sales volume product in its range gives it a superior image because of its aspiration power in the minds of the affluent youth. In terms of the market pricing is concerned, RIM is faced with a unique situation. Although it is aiming for market penetration, the usual low pricing strategy will not be very successful as all the rivals are offering services at a very competitive rate and drastic undercutting will only lead to erosion of profit margins. Also the market is growing rapidly and further lowering of prices will not fuel the growth further.

SCHEMES:

TARIFF PLAN

FW 150

FW 290 290 -

FW 02 500 -

FW 03 1000 -

FW 04

FW 600

RENTAL(RS./MONTH) CLIP CHARGES

150 50

1500 600 -

FREE CALL UNITS FREE TALKTIME(RS/MONT H) RATE PER CALL UNIT RS/CALL UNIT SECURITY FEE

50 60

150 180

450 495

1000 1000

1750 2000 1575 600

1.20

1.20 1.10 1.00

0.90

0.30:TO RELIANCE 1.10:OTHERS

2800 280 0

280 0

2800

2800 2800

TABLE: 4

Amount of sales (per month): FWP/I Phone

AREA MAYUR VIHAR ADHCHINI GREEN PARK SAKET PREET VIHAR

FWP(SALE IN UNIT) 25 20 30 25 25 TABLE: 5

I FONE(SALE IN UNIT) 20 20 25 25 20

7.3 THE THIRD P PLACE

Available at the right place, at the right time, in the right quantities? Some of the revolutions in business have come about by changing Place. We have focused on different attributes related to reliance place strategy in successfully removing the bottlenecks associated with the timely availability of its products through a nationwide network of Web Worlds.

7.3.1 LOCATIONS
Reliance Web World is a countrywide network of retail outlets offering a host of state-of-the art communication and information services along with food and beverages in a modern ambience. It probably is also the world's largest network of public access broadband centre. A total of 240 Web Worlds are operational in 111 cities and towns across India. The number of Web Worlds in this network will further increase to cover nearly 700 towns and cities. All Web World outlets have three components: Customer Convenience Centre, Broadband Centre and Gourmet Caf.

7.3.2 CHANNEL MEMBERSThe following are the desirable features for sales people: Competence First and foremost is the competence of the sales force. Reliance has had billing problems in the past and competent

handling of all customer complaints will be of utmost importance. Courtesy RIM has exclusive retail outlets, which can be monitored, but newer expansion plans will mean selling through other retailers for prepaid cards. Credibility This is a major issue as the previous policies were not very transparent and this has generated a negative perception for Reliance. Responsibility Communication Problems of area distribution between different franchises Continuous communication is needed for promoting newer policies and promotion schemes. Higher flexibility given to franchisees in offering customized plans.

7.3.3 DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL

Reliances FWT PCOs are distributed through a network local business associates (LBA). Every district is divided into a number of zones each of which is headed by a zone PCOs lead. In every zone there is a point of sales, the LBA who acts as the interface between the company and the local PCOs operator. The LBA gets in contact with existing and potential PCO owners and after they decide to take a

PCO connection from Reliance, he helps to arrange for the entire package which

consists of the phone instrument, FWT, billing machine, telephone booth and patch panel antenna.

7.3.5 MARKET COVERAGE

Reliance is the second largest player in FWT market which is growing at fast rate of 5.5%. The Lead player in the market is Tata Teleservices. But Reliance has shown major improvement in the market coverage and has grown its share from 34.15% in April05 to 37.12% in Oct.05.

7.4 THE FOURTH P PROMOTION

(How) are the chosen target groups informed or educated about the organization and its products? This includes all the weapons in the marketing armory advertising, selling, sales promotions, Public Relations, etc. While the other three P's have lost much of there meaning in today's markets, Promotion has become the most important P to focus on. Since its a highly competitive sector therefore Reliance had to work really hard on its promotional schemes in order to grab the market share. But the most important tool that Reliance should really be considering is the sales promotion as a strategy to reach out to a mass audience and grab attention. And

also to arouse the interest of the target segment in the product this strategy will be very useful. Just like what Nokia did sometime back for the N-gage and what the two wheeler companies have been successfully doing for a long time, RIM should come up with road shows as soon as they come out with their newer models to generate curiosity in the minds of the people. Online games as suggested should be an important feature of the mobiles and online one to one competitions can be organized for promotional schemes. This is nothing new for Reliance Communications as they had done this for the promotion of their Web world broadband services also. Partnering with KBC like game shows will also be a big draw as Airtel have successfully demonstrated. Another charm for the youth is the concerts, technology fares etc and organizing these as well as partnering as sponsors with such events in colleges and expos can also are used to draw attention.

8. CURRENT MARKET SCENARIO FOR WLL PHONES IN

INDIA

8.1 CDMA Mobile Segment

CDMA subscribers base grew 5.7% mom to 14.49mn with Tata contributing a chunk of additions in subscriber base. Tata witnessed a whopping 20.6% mom growth in subscriber base, touching the 2.5mn mark. Reliance witnessed a sluggish 3.2% growth in the month of October. However, it maintained its market leadership with a total subscriber base of 11.78mn. CDMA subscriber data Group Compan y Reliance Tata HFCL Shyam MTNL Total Subscribers as of Additions September'05 11,414,478 2,055,865 60,292 28,182 154,301 13,713,118 In Oct 366,888 423,265 542 43 (11,296) 779,442 Table: 6 Subscribers as of October'05 (%)Growth 11,781,366 2,479,130 60,834 28,225 143,005 14,492,560 3.2 20.6 0.9 0.2 (7.3) 5.7

Source: AUTSP

Market share of CDMA operators

CDMA share of net additions

Graph: 1

Graph: 2

8.2 Fixed Wireless Terminals (FWT)

FWT continues to be one of the fastest growing segments with 5.5% mom growth. Tata maintained it leadership position in FWT segment with 61% market share amongst private players. In net additions, too, Tata led with 55% share. However, Dots latest ruling removing FWT service from the ambit of basic service and instead terming it a limited mobile service liable to ADC levy may be a serious blow to the growth of this segment. Group Compan y Tata Subscribers as of Additions September'05 3,219,643 In Oct 158,437 Subscribers as of October'05 (%)Growth 3,378,080 4.9

Reliance Bharti HFCL Shyam Total

1,921,692 23,999 33,043 26,915 5,225,292

128,972 (265) 1,753 232 289,129 Fig: 12

2,050,664 23,734 34,796 27,147 5,514,421

6.7 (1.1) 5.3 0.9 5.5

We compared the above figures with the figures of March05 and realized that reliance market share has gone up from 34.15% to 37.2% in six months which shows that there is both potential in the market as well as in the company itself to increase its market share further.

Fig 13

Initiatives:
Introduction of Low cost telephony by launching Free Incoming service which took the telecom market by storm

Achievements:
Brought the mobile phone to the common man by introducing Monsoon Hungama and Happy Diwali offers in 2003

Milestones:

Became the second largest Mobile service in the country with more than 1 crore subscribers within 2 years of launch.

Channel
Initiatives: Introduced the Dhirubhai Ambani Entrepreneur scheme to involve the middle class to partner Reliance and profit from it. Achievements: Built enduring relationships with people cashing in on the name of Reliance.

Milestones:
Elevated dealers to the position of business associates giving them more importance and responsibilities which formed the backbone of the channel.

Costs

Initiatives: Low cost telephony ringing the mobile in the ears of the common man. Achievements: Instrumental in bringing down call rates across the entire mobile phone sector. Milestones:

Still riding the crest of the tide with large volumes of subscribers and subsequent high returns Service Initiative: Spread a network of Reliance Web worlds and Web world Express providing OneStop shops for all customer needs. Achievements: A dedicated sales and service staff took care of the customers and led to efficient management despite swelling subscriber figures Milestones: Web world home to a variety of Virtual courses, Gaming Zones and Video conferencing facilities .First one of its kind in the country

Systems Initiative: Introduction of C.D.M.A.1X. Technology into the Indian market on a large scale which resulted in high quality wireless service at low costs. Add to that a 60000 km fiber optic backbone network. Achievements:

Combining of Data and Voice service done on an extensive scale with C.D.M.A. 1X technology. Instrumental in bringing Mobile to the remotest corners of the country (Regulations not withstanding) Milestones: Reliance possesses 74 Mobile Switching Centres (MSC s) and about 7200 Base Transceiver Subsystems (BTS sites), providing a 98.6% Quality of Service (QOS) rating for areas under coverage.

Brand Initiative: Indias most reliable brand added another dimension by entering the telecom market. Its name preceded Reliance but the brand name Communications came into prominence. Achievements: Kar Lo Duniya Mutthi Mein, having the world in your palms, caught the imagination of people and launched Reliance India Mobile. Milestones: Ek Soch thi, Ek Sapna Thaa, Dhirubhais dream of a call at the cost of a postcard was realized and entire India called out Mujhme Hai Wo Baat.

9. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

We were more concerned about the factors that influence the consumer before choosing any new connection or switching from the present connection. We rated the different attributes on the scale of (1-5). We found the following results.
Attribute importance (1-5) 4.50 4.40 4.30 4.20 4.10 4.00 3.90 3.80 3.70 3.60 3.50 3.40 Network Coverage Easy availability voice quality customer care Billing system

The Network Coverage was the factor that concerned the people to the greatest extent. However the factors like the Billing System and the Voice Quality were also important. These factors were the desired attributes by any user.

Calculated Ratings on 5 Point Scale

4.50 4.00 3.50 3.00 2.50 2.00 1.50 1.00 0.50 0.00 Network Easy Coverag availabili e ty 3.75 3.64 4.00 3.20 3.80 4.16 4.00 3.56 3.46 3.00 3.60 3.80 3.89 3.00 voice quality 2.50 2.46 3.00 3.80 3.40 3.05 4.00 customer Billing care system 3.88 3.93 4.00 3.80 3.00 2.89 3.00 2.81 3.08 3.00 4.00 3.75 3.53 2.00 Reliance Airtel BPL Idea Hutch BSNL Tata indicom

Reliance Airtel BPL Idea Hutch BSNL Tata indicom

Graph: 6 This showed that Voice Quality and Billing System were the two areas where Reliance had performed pretty badly against its competitors. We came to know that the Billing System by Reliance is said to have many discrepancies. Here Reliance really needs to work upon.

The Road Ahead

P.B.O. The new age P.C.O. From Reliance Reliance Communications Ltd is looking at the successful public call office (PCO) model for delivery of e-governance initiatives to the rural areas. In the nextgen PCO, Reliance will use broad band to deliver the services, and will be aptly named Public Broadband Office (PBO). Prakash Bajpai, president, Reliance Communications, said the G2C (government to consumer) initiative on egovernance will popularize the use of broad band. However, he neither had the time-frame for Reliances projected PBO nor the investments needed. The PBO will need applications like e-mail, transactions, filing of returns, sales tax or excise duty filing or any other work requiring government interaction. Additionally, we will have to persuade government for spectrum availability and dedicated carriers for data will be needed. Investments will be needed for the creation of base stations, too, Bajpai said. Meanwhile, pushing its broad band service offering, Reliance Communications will add another eight products to its existing 12. The new products, to be launched in another two months time, will include collaborative services and consumer Internet.

The bouquet of collaborative products will include audio video and web conferencing services while consumer offerings would include health, games recreation

In an effort to improve its customer care services, the telecom services provider is set to launch Web World Express (WWE). These franchised outlets will initially attend to customer care issues and then expand to include broad band services.

Reliance Netway:Broadband TV at your home As far as the broadcast sector is concerned however, it is Reliance's broadband plans, Ethernet broadband 'Netway' for the home user in particular, that is the focus of attention. Netway is still nearly a year away from commercial launch, clarifies Khanna, though a "test run" of the service that "has no parallel anywhere in the world except in Italy on a very small scale" is already on at the Reliance centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat. 3,000 households of Reliance employees at the Jamnagar oil refinery have been wired up for this purpose, says Khanna.

In another two months, the testing process will move up a gear when 5,000 homes of Reliance Communications employees (there are 15,000 of them working in DAKC alone) get wired up. Suffice to say that what Reliance is committing to give its home user customers is 100 mbps bandwidth routed through a prototype set top box that will triple up as a TV remote, a phone, a keyboard and even a karaoke microphone. With this kind of bandwidth capacity, the question is of course what is the sort of content that will be made available for home users. According to the literature provided, aside from the obvious high speed Internet which also offers Voice over IP telephony, there will also be movies on demand, music on demand and digital TV. A vast library of movies with multiple language subtitles as well as an extensive music listing is being compiled at the moment. Netway is also promising interactive TV with over 160 channels

Reliance Data Center Reliance Data Centers are truly world class Level 3 IDC facilities with a total area of 205000 sq. ft. located at the sprawling Reliance Communications Headquarter campus, Navi Mumbai and at Bangalore. Reliance's data center project further includes setting up of world-class data centers in 6 major cities in India covering approximately 5,00,000 sq.ft. area in the next 2 years The Data Centers has been internationally benchmarked with respect to physical and network security, infrastructure, facilities, network connectivity and its operations, which achieves and surpasses the Level 3 world standards. The Data

Centers are connected to Reliance's country wide optic fiber based IP network with terabytes of capacity having points of presence at more than 700 cities. The data centre is further connected to 52 countries including US, UK, Mid-east and AsiaPac through Flag Telecom backbone (Reliance Communicationss group company), other undersea cable systems and are having private peering relationship with the largest Tier 1 ISPs and public peering at more than 15 Internet Exchange points across the globe. There also exists peering relationship with domestic ISPs on STM-1 bandwidth levels.

Recommendations

Reliance has for long been perceived as the common mans phone. It needs to come out of the mid-segment trap by catering to the high end subscribers who bring in larger arpu

It is highly important to retain customers as sooner or later the market will saturate and the low call tariffs will prompt subscribers to switch operators

 With uniform number across operators being a possibility in the near future, existing subscribers will be inclined to move to an operator offering better service, it is highly recommended that Reliance pulls up its socks and improves its service quality which is lacking in certain areas like network coverage and billing

Reliance has the most extensive private network in the country and needs to consolidate its position by improving its standards and living up to its famous brand name

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

Marketing Management -

Phillip Kotler

Marketing Research

Tull & Hawkins

MAGAZINE

Business Today

Advertising & Management

NEWSPAPERS

Economic Times

Hindustan Times

WEBSITE

www.COAI .in

www.AUSPI .in

The relevant information from the internal source of the organization

Questionnaire

1. Whether following things are available?

Monsoon offer

48%

Kit

90%

V-top

40%

E-Recharge

90%

The survey revealed that 48% retailers have monsoon Offer, 90% have kit, 40% have V-top and 90% have E-recharge.

2. What is the frequency of DSE visit?

Once a Week

20%

Twice a Week 50% Thrice a Week 30%

 None of above 0 %

The survey revealed that 20% retailers have said that DSE visits once a Week, 50% retailers have said that DSE visits twice a Week, 30% retailers have said that DSE visits thrice a Week.

3. What availability of stock you keep for sale in Your shop?

Daily weekly

9% 72%

In 15 days 18% Monthly 1%

The survey revealed that 9% retailers keep daily stock, 72% retailers keep Weekly stock , 18% retailers keep stock of 15 days and 1% retailers keep monthly stock.

4. What nature of problem you face with RCOMM?

Service level Claim level

31% 95%

Product availability 18% Product awareness 25%

The survey revealed that 31%, 95%, 18%, 25% retailers have problem with service level claim level, product availability and product awareness respectively.

5. How much time is taken by the distributor to reimburse your claims? 20 days 30 days 45 days 60 days

11% 25% 25% 39%

The survey revealed that 11%, 25%, 25%, 39% of the retailers are reimbursed by distributor at claim level respectively.

6. Who are the major competitors of RCOMM? Airtel Aircel BSNL Tata Indicom Smart

55% 15% 15% 30% 8%

The survey revealed that Airtel and Tata indicom are the major competitors of RCOMM.

60% 50% 40% 30% Series1 20% 10% 0% AirTel BSNL Smart

7. If you have any problem then whom you will prefer to talk? Distributor TSM DSE

10% 23% 67%

The Survey revealed that 10%, 23% and 67% retailers prefer to talk to Distributor, TSM and DSE.

8. How do you know about new scheme?

Companies Reliance

SMS

Poster

DSE

Airtel AirCel smart Tata Indicom

9. How much time do you take to activate a sim?

(i) (ii) (iii) (iv)

10-15 min. 15-30 min. 30-60 min. Above 60 min.

44% 38% 6% 12%

The survey revealed that 44% retailers take 10-15 min., 38% take 15-30 min., 6% take 30-60 min. and 12% take more than 60 min. in activation of a SIM.

10. From which company distributors you are more satisfied?

(i) (ii) (iii)

Airtel Reliance BSNL

34% 28% 17%

(iv) (v) (vi)

AirCel TATA None

16% 4% 1%