43518810 market potential analysis towards internet data card

7/28/2019 43518810 Market Potential Analysis Towards Internet Data Card

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WEST BENGAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

SUMMER PROJECT REPORT

ON

MARKET POTENTIAL ANALYSIS TOWARDS INTERNET DATA CARD

SPECIAL REFERENCE

TO

VODAFONE

From 20th June 09-5th August 09

BY

PROSENJIT.R.SAHA

WBUT Regn No: 081670710070 of 2008-2009

WBUT Roll No: 08167009084

MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE OF DURGAPUR

Rajbandh

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PREFACE

The MBA course is well structured and integrated course of business studies.

The main objective of practical training at MBA level is to develop skill in

student by supplement to the theoretical study of business management in

general. Industrial training helps to gain real life knowledge about the

industrial environment and business practices. The MBA course provides

student with a fundamental knowledge of business and organizational

functions and activities, as well as an exposure to strategic thinking of

management.

In every professional course, training is an important factor. Professors giveus theoretical knowledge of various subjects in the college but we are

practically exposed of such subjects when we get the training in the

organization. It is only the training through which I come to know that what

an industry is and how it works. I have learn about various departmental

operations being performed in the industry, which would, in return, help me

in the future when I will enter the practical field.

Training is an integral part of MBA and each and every student has toundergo the training for 2 months in a company and then prepare a project

report on the same after the completion of training.

During this whole training I got a lot of experience and came to know about

the management practices in real that how it differs from those of

theoretical knowledge and the practically in the real life.

In todays globalize world, where cutthroat competition is prevailing in the

market, theoretical knowledge is not sufficient. Beside this one need to have

practical knowledge, which would help an individual in his/her carrier

activities and it is true that Experience is best teacher.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

An individual cannot do project of this scale. I take this opportunity to

express my acknowledgement and deep sense of gratitude to the

individuals for rendering valuable assistance and gratitude to me. Their

inputs have played a vital role in success of this project. I would like to

express my sincere thanks to all those instrumental in this project Work.

First, I would to thank Prof. Dr. N.C.Ghosh (Director of Management Institute

of Durgapur) Prof. A.K. Ghosh, (Principal Department of Business

Administration), forgiving me this opportunity to do this project and learn

from it. I am thankful to Vodafone for giving me helpful information to

complete this project (Research).I express my sincere thanks to Mr. Koushik

(Sales Manager), Mr. Bibhas Chandrs, (Asst Professor & HOD, MBA

department) Sr.Lecturer R.K.Jha (MID faculty), for helping me in giving me

all relevant information about the product and service. My heart full thanks

to the whole staff and customers of Vodafone, who gave me continuous

support in every possible manner to gain practical knowledge in Industry.

Finally, I would like thank all lecturers, friends and my family for the kind of

support and to all who directly or indirectly helped me in preparing this

project report.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Estimating the market or market potential for a new business or business

expansion is critical in determining the economic feasibility of a

venture. Estimating the market potential will determine if the market

is large enough to support the businesses. This checklist will address

a number of questions that need to be answered before an estimate

can be calculated.

What type of customer will buy the product or service?

Where are these customers located?

How often do they use it?

What is the Competition?

What are people paying?

What is the Potential for the Market to Develop?

What is my share of the Market?

Estimating the market potential for a business is critical in evaluating its

viability and provides an estimate of the maximum total sales potential

for a given market. Once the estimated market potential has been

calculated, it is possible to determine if the market is large enough to

sustain the proposed business or sustain an addition competitor in the

marketplace. It is important to remember that the estimated market

potential sets an upper boundary on the market size and can beexpressed in either units and/or sales. Unless there are no direct or

indirect competitors, a business will capture a share of the total

estimated market potential not all of it.

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The following provide the steps and data necessary to estimate the market

potential. These will be discussed in detail later.

Key Steps in Estimating Market Potential:

1. Define your target market and market segments.

2. Define the geographic boundaries of your market.

3. Determine the average annual or monthly consumption.

Growth on the Data Cards especially happen when business travelers,

academicians as well as other professionals need to access emails and

corporate applications as well as personal requirements during urgent

trips and travels. The cutthroat competition in the telecommunication

sector of India posed a great threat to the development of Vodafone.

The project aims to identify the market potential of Vodafone in the

internet data card in Burdwan, Durgapur and Asansol markets.

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Contents

Page no.

I. The company.

II. Literature Survey..

Chapter 1: About Indian Telecom Industry.

Chapter 2: Broadband services to derive internet penetration in

India..

Chapter 3: The drivers for penetration of broadband in India.

Chapter 4: India, an ideal destination for investment in telecom

sector.

Chapter 5: History of Indian Telecom Industry..

Chapter 6: Facts about Indian telecom industry.

Chapter 7: Experts review on Indian telecom sector.

Chapter 8: The Internet in India

Chapter 9: India Telecom Report: Internet and Broadband Services..

III. Methodology.

Chapter 1: How the project has been carried out..

Chapter 2: Data Collection

Chapter 3: Statistical models used....

IV. About the Data Card..

V. Analysis and Results

Chapter 1: Market Potential Analysis..

Chapter 2: Development of Hypothesis and its testing.

Chapter 3: Graphs and charts

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VI. Conclusions and recommendations..

VII. Annexre..

VIII. Bibliography

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The company

Vodafone Essar in India is a subsidiary of Vodafone Group Plc and

commenced operations in 1994 when its predecessor Hutchison Telecom

acquired the cellular license for Mumbai. Vodafone Essar now has operations

in 22 circles with over 65.92 million customers. The company is a joint

venture of Essar Communication Holdings Ltd and the UK-based Vodafone

Group. Vodafone has partnered with the Essar Group as their principal jointventure partner for the Indian market. They are in the business of cellular

telephony. Over the years, Vodafone Essar, under the Hutch brand, has

been named the Most Respected Telecom Company, the Best Mobile

Service in the country and the Most Creative and Most Effective Advertiser

of the Year. Vodafone is the worlds leading international mobile

communications company. It currently has equity interests in 27 countries

across 5 continents and 40 partner networks with over 303 millionproportionate customers worldwide. Vodafone has partnered with the Essar

Group as its principal joint venture partner for the Indian market. Essar

Global Limited (EGL) is a diversified business group spanning the

manufacturing and services sectors of Steel, Energy, Power,

Communications, Shipping & Logistics, and Projects. The group has

operations and investments in India, Canada, USA, Africa, the Middle East,

the Caribbean and South East Asia and employs 30,000 people worldwide.

Vodafone Essar Ltd provides services like 3G, which are based on 1800 MHz

and 900Mhz GSM digital technology. They offers voice and data services. In

addition, they offers postpaid connections activation, prepaid SIM cards and

recharge coupons sale, service activation/deactivation, postpaid tariff plan

change, customer query resolution, prepaid/postpaid SIM card replacement

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and up gradation, mobile number change, and information on and

subscription of value added services through stores. The Essar Group is

Vodafones principle partner in India. The Essar Group is a diversified

business corporation with a balaned portfolio of assets in manufacturing and

service sectors of Steel, Energy, Power, Communications, Shipping prots &

Logistics and Projects.

About Hutchison-Essar Vodafone Negotiations

The name Vodafone comes from Voice data fone HQ in Berkshire,

England, is the worlds leading international mobile communications

group with 29Million revenues 27 countries, 303 million customers, 40

partner networks. Advanced mobile telecommunications services

provided by vodafone are 3G, data related services. The Joint venture -

67% stake by HTIL and 33% owned by Essar.HTIL Li Ka-Shing , Essar

Ruia Family.HTIL is HK Based Telecom Company and Essar is India

based diversified corporation 4th largest cellular operator in India 74.08

million customer.

Vodafones Objective

To venture into the worlds most lucrative cellular market

Strengthen its operation worldwide

To obtain the majority stake of Hutchison

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Literature survey

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CHAPTER 1: ABOUT INDIAN TELECOM INDUSTRY

In recent years, the Indian telecom industry has witnessed phenomenal

growth. A conducive business environment, favorable demographic

outlook and the political stability enjoyed by the country have

contributed to the growth of the industry. India achieved the distinction

of having the world's lowest call rates (23 US cents), the fastest sale of

million mobile phones (1 week), the world's cheapest mobile handset

(USD 19) and the world's most affordable colour phone (USD 31).

One of the fastest growing cellular markets in the world in terms of number

of subscriber additions 261.07 million (March 2008)

Expected to reach total subscriber base of about 500 million by 2010

(i.e., more than one phone for every household)

Annual growth rate of the telecom subscribers 42 percent (200809)

More GSM subscribers than fixed-line subscriber

Total telecom subscribers 300.49 million (March 2009 Cellular +

Fixed Line

Tele density 26.22 percent (March 2009)

Number of new mobile subscribers added last quarter 27.62 million

(March 2009)

ARPU for GSM USD 5.28* (USD./sub/ month)

Telecom equipment market USD 34,100 million (200809)

Handset market USD 7,250 million (200809)

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Telephony services (mobile and basic) and Internet services dominate

the Indian telecom services.

The Indian telecom market generated revenues of approximately USD 32

billion in 200809. It registered a CAGR of approximately 32 percent from

200203 to 200809. The CAGR from 200809 to 201112 is expected to

stabilize at 21 percent. Apart from mobile telephony services, other value-

added services are also gaining importance. The Indian telecom services can

be divided predominantly into basic, mobile and Internet services. It also

comprises smaller segments, such as radio paging services, Very Small

Aperture Terminals (VSATs), Public Mobile Radio Trunked Services (PMRTS)

and Global Mobile Personal Communications by Satellite (GMPCS). Thegrowth witnessed in the mobile services and Internet services segments was

much higher as compared to other services, such as basic services and radio

paging services which are nominal in terms of numbers.

Source** TRAI

Revenues of Indian Telecom Industry: 200208 (USD billion)

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CHAPTER 2 : Broadband services to drive Internet

penetration in India

The emergence of private players and new technologies has provided a

strong impetus to the growth of Internet and broadband services. The

quality and penetration of these services have undergone changes, with

significant improvement in the telecom infrastructure. The Internet

subscriber base registered a CAGR of 60 percent for the period 199798 to

200708.

Source: TRAI report 2008

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BSNL and MTNL caters to more than two-thirds of Internet subscribers in

India. Private players are catching up fast due to increased penetration of

Internet and broadband services in India. The telecom market will

experience high penetration of Internet services with the support from

government policies and introduction of novel technologies in India. The

total no. of Broadband Subscribers of these 13 Service Providers have

increased from 3.1 million to 3.82 million by adding 0.72 million (23.35%)

subscribers in the quarter ending March, 2008.

Source: TRAI report on market shares of telecom companies in India.

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CHAPTER 3: The drivers for penetration of broadband in

India

The drivers for penetration of broadband in India are:

Decreasing cost per line: The decrease in cost per line has come from

two factors- decrease in the cost of equipment and from the inherent

advantage of wireless when adding new lines. The base stations which

cost $3000-$5000 is now costing $400-$800 from the end of 2008.

The CPE (Customer Premise Equipment) which costs $200-$400 is now

costing $30-$80 from the end of 2008. The cost of a wireless network

is high in the first stage of deployment, because of factors like taking

up space for tower, erecting the tower, cabling, housing, and

connecting the tower to the network, installing base stations, etc.

However, once those costs are recovered from enterprise services,adding new subscriber will come at a minimal cost.

Decreasing operating expense: We are witnessing more and more

infrastructure sharing between various operators which was

completely absent before. Especially, in rural networks, this

infrastructure sharing has turn out to be mere common sense. The

operators who own the spectrum are now reselling the spectrum to

other smaller players who will mushroom in various parts of India to

cater to non-metros. In addition, the coming of Virtual Network

Operators will add to competition.

Decreasing cost of PC (or similar device): With projects like one laptop

per person, and other initiatives, the cost of PC is going to be less than

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Rs. 5000 by the end of 2009. Other concepts like Novatium, if they

tend to be aggressive can also make a marginal impact on the

penetration of broadband. (BSNL is rolling out its broadband services

to one lakh schools across the country from December 2008)

Social attitudes and habits embracing broadband facilities: Every

school in India is going to have a PC and also an internet connection.

Those kids who never knew PCs will now be used to using them at

these schools. These kids in turn will make way for their families

owning a PC and therefore an Internet connection. All government

employees are now moving towards using PCs and broadband

connectivity.

More Indian content: What will further fuel the penetration is the

content which is more relevant to the masses of India. Subscribers

would like to see more content tailored to their needs and desires.

More Indian language content, more applications suitable to Indian

social context will come up in the next few years which will in turn

contribute to increasing broadband penetration.

Broadband connection:

6.22 million (March 2009) "Present scenario" In the fixed line arena, BSNL

and MTNL are the incumbents in their respective areas of operation and

continue to enjoy the dominant service provider status in the domain of

fixed line services. For example BSNL controls 79%; of fixed line share in the

country.

On the other hand, in the mobile telephony space, Airtel controls 21.4%

subscriber base followed by Reliance with 20.3%, BSNL with 18.6% &,

Vodafone with 14.7%, subscriber base (as per June 2009 data)

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http://www.blonnet.com/2007/04/10/stories/2007041003220700.htmhttp://www.blonnet.com/2007/04/10/stories/2007041003220700.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSNLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTNLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incumbentshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSNLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airtelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliancehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSNLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vodafonehttp://www.blonnet.com/2007/04/10/stories/2007041003220700.htmhttp://www.blonnet.com/2007/04/10/stories/2007041003220700.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSNLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTNLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incumbentshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSNLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airtelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliancehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSNLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vodafone


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CHAPTER 4: India, An Ideal Destination for Investments in

Telecom Sector

India is an ideal destination for investments in the telecom sector, the

reasons are as follows:

1. Worlds largest democracy

2. Independent judiciary

3. Skilled and competitive labour force

4. Fifth largest telecom network in the world; second largest among the

emerging economies after China

5. on an average, about 67 million new users added per month, making

India the worlds fastest growing wireless services market

6. Liberal Foreign Investment RegimeFDI limit increased from 49 percent

to 74 percent; the rural telecom equipment market is also open to large

investments

7. Among the countries offering the highest rates of return on investment

8. The large untapped potential in Indias rural markets1.9 percent

teledensity in rural markets as compared to the national level of 18 percent

9. Expected to become the second largest telecom market by 2010

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10. The government promoting telecom manufacturing by providing tax

sops and establishing telecom specific Special Economic Zones

11. Fully repatriable dividend income and capital invested in telecom

equipment manufacturing.

CHAPTER 5 : HISTORY OF INDIAN TELECOM INDUSTRY

1881 Telecom Services Introduced in India.

1947 Posts, Telegraph and Telephones(PTT) come under the aegis of

the Ministry of Communication.

1985 The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) comes into

existence which would be a self regulator.

1986 DoT converted into two wholly government-owned companies:

The Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) for international

telecommunications and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL)

for service in metropolitan areas.

1996 Cellular Services launched in India. Introducing private players

in the market.

1997 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) formed.

2000 DoT becomes a corporation, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited

(BSNL).

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2005 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) increased to 74%.

2008 India becomes 2nd largest Telecom Market in the World.

CHAPTER 6: Facts about Indian Telecom Industry

The Indian Telecom sector is third largest network in the world.

Subscriber numbers already crossed 250 million.

Average growth rate of over 40% in respect of subscribers.

Monthly additions of above 7 million phones.

Growth impetus from wireless segment with 84% wireless and 16%

wired.

National teledensity at 26%.

Rural teledensity stands at 7%, while the urban at 57%.

Further access is provided by 54 lakh PCOs and 5 lakh VPTs.

9 million Internet and 2.5 million broadband subscribers.

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More than a thousand cities have been provided with broadband

connectivity out a total of five thousand cities.

CHAPTER 7: EXPERTS REVIEW ON INDIAN TELECOM

SECTOR

Girija (1998), in its article Socioeconomic Implications of

Telecommunications Liberalization: India in the International Context says

that Telecommunications restructuring have evolved differently in Asia and

Latin America. While Asian governments have moved cautiously in bringing

changes to the sector, Latin American nations have implemented radical

ownership and market transformations. The Indian telecommunications

reform falls in between these two general regional trends. The choice of a

high component of competition, increased private participation, and no

privatization of the national carrier set conditions that will trigger unique

socioeconomic effects. This article identifies and highlights the likely

implications of the Indian reform on key economic and social issues, such as

the cost of services, cross-subsidies, network interconnection, private

investments, universal services, employment, and the possible rise of an

information-intensive economy. It does so by comparing and contrasting theIndian experience with dominant reform strategies elsewhere in the

developing world.

Chowdary (1999) discusses how Telecom reform, or de-monopolization, in

India has been bungled. Shaped by legislation dating back to the colonial

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era and post Second World War socialist policies, by the mid-1980s India

realized that its poor telecommunications infrastructure and service needed

reform. At the heart of the problem lay the monopoly by the governments

Department of Telecommunications (DOT) in equipment, networks and

services. The National Telecom Policy 1994 spelt out decent objectives for

reform but tragically its implementation was entrusted to the DOT. This

created an untenable situation in which the DOT became policymaker,

licenser, regulator, operator and also arbitrator in disputes between itself

and licensed competitors. He discusses the question: Why did India get it so

wrong? and What India should do now?

Anand (1999), in his article named India's economic policy reforms saysthat India was embarked on economic reforms in July 1991, in the wake of a

balance of payments crisis. In this article, an attempt is made to review two

books and a set of World Bank reports concerning the progress of these

reforms. Issues concerning economic policy, impact of the reforms on

poverty, sectoral issues relating to agriculture, industry and infrastructure

are briefly discussed. As reforms enter a more difficult phase, several

challenges remain. Some of this fall under the economic agenda'' of

measures needed to maintain economic growth; others can be termed the

development agenda'' - of improving human development. Progress with

regard to the former is not sufficient to produce results concerning the

latter.

Bhattacharya (2000) constructs a vision of the Indian telecommunication

sector for the year 2020. The paper aims at isolating agents of change

based on international experiences and situates India in the developmentcontinuum. The agents of change have been broadly categorized into

economic structure, competition policy and technology.

Das (2000), in her paper described the Liberalisation of the Indian

telecommunications services which started in mid nineties with no change in

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the existing public monopoly structure, entirely controlled by Department of

Telecommunications (DoT). In order to evaluate any proposed industry

structure, it is essential to analyse the production technology of DoT so as to

determine the rationale of liberalisation and sustainability of competition.

Accordingly, the researcher estimates a frontier multi-product cost function

for DoT, where the cost function has been duly modified to account for the

production technology of a public monopoly. The study finds that although

DoT displays high allocation inefficiency, it is still a natural monopoly with

very high degree of sub additively of cost of production. This study implies

that the choice of any reform policy should consider the trade-off between

the loss of scale and scope economies and cost saving from the reduction in

inefficiency of the incumbent monopoly in the event of competition.

Rao (2000), in her article named Internet service providers in India,

provides a broad view of the role of an Internet service provider (ISP) and

the factors to be considered before entering the ISP market. Describes the

Internet/ISP scene within India and discusses the configuration of local,

regional and national level ISPs, and the supporting infrastructure. She also

identifies the various success factors. The global Internet scenario is

discussed regarding the phases of the Internet in India, i.e. pre and post

commercialization. The main players are described: ERNET, NICNET, STPI,

VSNL, MTNL, Satyam Infoway and Bharti-BT. The financial and legal

implications are highlighted in the Indian context. Many companies entered

the nascent ISP business in India due to deregulation. Building local content,

foreknowledge of new Internet technologies, connecting issues,

competitiveness, etc. would help in their sustainability. She concludes that

though many companies entered the nascent ISP businesses in India due to

deregulation, many of them are unlikely to survive in the longer term.

Vrmani (2000) estimates the contribution of telecommunication (or

telecom) services to aggregate economic growth in India. Estimated

contribution is distinguished between public and private sectors to highlight

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the impact of telecom privatization on economic growth. Knowledge of

policy determinants of demand of telecom services is shown to be essential

to enhance growth contribution of telecom services. Using a recent sample

survey data from Karnataka State in South India, price and income

determinants of demand for telecom services are estimated by capacity of

telephone exchanges Estimation results offer evidence for significant

negative own price elasticity and positive income elasticity of demand for

telecom services.

Narinder (2004), in his article Enhancing Developmental Opportunities by

Promoting ICT Use: Vision for Rural India talks about the foremost benefits

of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in developingcountries that can be helpful in improving governance including public

safety and eradication of illiteracy. The benefits of ICTs have not reached

the masses in India due to lack of ICT infrastructure, particularly in rural

areas, where two-third of the population of the country lives. Even in cities

and suburban areas, use of ICTs is not popular due to lack of awareness to

its use, computer illiteracy, and absence of practical applications. India is

the largest country in South Asia, with a population of over one billion

people and its telecom sector is presently experiencing fast growth phases.

However telephony penetration in villages is less than two percent of the

rural population and about 15 percent of the villages are still without any

telephony service. Universal access to ICTs in rural areas has been planned

and is being implemented through Public Tele Info Centers having voice

data and video, as majority of villagers in India cannot afford a separate

home connection. Illiteracy in rural areas is as high as 40 percent and in

some tribal belts hardly about 20 percent people are literate. There are 35

million children in age group of 611 years, who are out of school and one

out of four drops out during primary classes. Education and training,

therefore, must be given the top priority if advantages of ICTs are to be

harnessed. Indian economy is agriculture based and employs maximum

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workforce. Improvement in agriculture productivity can help in reducing

rural poverty. Adoption of ICT in agriculture will play an increasingly

important role in crop production and natural resource management. The

other critical factor is technological challenges for universal access to ICTs

to bring down the network access cost.

Nikam, Ganesh, Tamizhchelvan (2004), analyses that changing face of

India in bridging the digital device. He reiterated - India lives in villages

said the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. With 1,000 million people

and 180 million households, India is one of the biggest growing economies

in the world. With the advent of the Information, Communication and

Technology (ICT) revolution, India and its villages are slowly but steadilygetting connected to the cities of the nation and the world beyond. Owing to

the late Rajiv Gandhi, India is now a powerful knowledge economy, and

though India may have been slow to start, it certainly has caught up with

the West and is ahead in important respects. The Government, the

corporate sector, NGOs and educational institutions have supported rural

development by encouraging digital libraries, e-business, e-learning and e-

governance. The aim of this paper is to touch upon and highlight some of

the areas where, by using ICT, the masses have been reached in this way. A

follow-up paper will outline collections of significant cultural material which,

once national IT strategies are fully achieved, could form part of a digitally

preserved national heritage collection.

Dey (2004), in her article talks about the discussions between the Federal

Communications Commission (FCC) and communications policy makers and

regulators in other countries and how they have gleaned several clusters ofissues where further research would directly benefit them. Recently, there

have been two notable shifts. First, as the acceptance of the competition

model over the monopoly model for telecommunications markets takes

deep effect in regulators all over the world, questions regarding process and

procedure for regulation are becoming ever more urgent. This paper

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discusses current questions regarding decision making, enforcement, and

understanding consumer issues that arise often in the FCC's discussions

with other regulators. Second, technological change is potentially shifting

market definitions. In the FCC's discussion with other regulators over the

last two years, the overlap of wireline telecom, wireless telecom and cable

television has become more pronounced.

Singh (2005), in his article The role of technology in the emergence of the

information society in India describes the role that information and

communication technologies are playing for Indian society to educate them

formally or informally which is ultimately helping India to emerge as an

information society. Though India has a huge population, the illiteracy rate isalso huge in this country. The paper has taken an approach to find the

historical situation and present the prevailing scenario as well as the change

that are taking place with the application of ICT to the advantage of the

society in different areas including daily life. India is making all out efforts to

be counted among the developed nations of the world. The article also

describes the considerable attention India is taking for application of

technology, development of infrastructure and human resource for meeting

national needs. Basically India is building an information society. Technology

has helped society to cut across the traditional boundaries for getting

converted into anemerging information society. The study concludes that

The Indian software and services industry has significantly helped to boost

the Indian economy. In IT-enabled services too, India has been clearly

perceived to be the dominant hub. The Indian software sector is being

recognized as the single largest contributor to incremental market

capitalization in India but the sector is still small in terms of contribution to

GDP, especially when compared to other large sectors in the economy like

agriculture and manufacturing. Similarly, the telecommunication sector has

contributed a lot but still has a considerable way to go. The paper also

enforces that comparisons of Indias telecommunication statistics with those

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of developed and other emerging economies show that the country is still

far behind its contemporaries.

Banka (2006) gives an overview of the mergers and acquisitions in the

telecommunication industry. According to him Governments decision to

raise the foreign investment limit to 74% is expected to spur fresh rounds of

mergers and takeovers in India. He foresees a sector that represents

humongous opportunity waiting to be tapped by Indian and foreign

conglomerates.

Thomas (2007), in his article describes the contribution made by

telecommunications in India by the state and civil society to public service,

this article aims to identify the states initial reluctance to recognize

telecommunications provision as a basic need as against the robust tradition

of public service aligned to the postal services and finds hope in the renewal

of public service telecommunications via the Right to Information

movement. The article follows the methodology of studying the history of

telecommunications approach that is conversant with the political economy

tradition. It uses archival sources, personal correspondence, and published

information as its research material. The findings of the paper suggests thatpublic service in telecommunication is a relatively new concept in the

annals of Indian telecommunications and that a deregulated environment

along with the Right to Information movement holds significant hope for

making public service telecommunications a real alternative. The article

provides a reflexive, critical account of public service telecommunications in

India and suggests that it can be strengthened by learning gained from the

continual renewal of public service ideals and action by the postal servicesand a people-based demand model linked to the Right to Information

Movement. All studies done by the researcher suggests that the right to

information movement has contributed to the re-vitalization of participatory

democracy in India and to a strengthening of public service

telecommunications.

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Cygnus Business Consulting & Research Pvt. Ltd. (2008), in its

Quarterly Performance Analysis of Companies (April-June 2008) has

analysed the Indian telecom industry in the awake of recent global recession

and its overall impact on the Indian economy. The analysis is done in the

background of wake of global recession and rising inflation. Cygnus

estimates, the Indian telecom industry is expected to maintain the growth

trajectory in the next quarter as well. With almost 5-6m subscribers are

being added every month, and the country is witnessing wild momentum in

the telecom industry.

Maheshwari (July-September 2008), in her report analysed the Indian

telecom industry and ascertain that Indian telecommunications has beenzooming up the growth curve at an mounting pace, and India is has

surpassed US to become the second largest wireless network in the world.

This growing subscriber base is basically created by tapping into rural India,

which is an emerging market for the industry. The estimate for the next five

to ten years is that the rural market will form 40 % of the subscriber base.

The study has analysed the human resource management process of the

industry, and specially the latest trends of recruitment of this massively

growing industry.

Anderson (2008), in his single executive interview titled Developing a

route to market strategy for mobile communications in rural India An

interview with Gurdeep Singh, Operations Director, Uttar Pradesh, Hutch

India suggests that managers need to go beyond traditional approaches to

serving the poor, and innovate by taking into account the unique

institutional context of developing markets. His practical implication saysthat the experience of Hutchison Essar in India provides some important

lessons for mobile network operators (MNOs) and other firms in other

developing markets who are hoping to serve the rural poor: Hutchison has

recognized the value of corporate and noncorporate partners. The company

has proactively established relationships with individual entrepreneurs, and

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has provided has provided development support to other partners such as

distributors. The company has recognized the value of leveraging existing

local institutions, and has seen gaps in local infrastructure or missing

services as potential opportunities rather than barriers to growth. The

company has seen the rural market as an opportunity not just an

obligation to be served because of universal service obligations. Also this

article demonstrates that MNOs can deliver availability and affordability to

achieve increased individual or household penetration through business

model innovation.

Mani (2008) addresses a number of issues arising from the growth of

telecom services in India since the mid-1990s. It also discusses a number ofspillover effects for the rest of the economy and one of the more important

effects is the potential to develop a major manufacturing hub in the country

for telecom equipment and for downstream industries such as

semiconductor devices. The telecom industry in India could slowly become

an example of the service sector acting as a fillip to the growth of the

manufacturing sector. A beginning towards this has been made. The

formation of a Telecom Equipment Export Forum and the announcement of

the Indian Semiconductor Policy 2007 are steps in this direction. Success

crucially depends on the response of the private sector to these incentives.

Given the importance that a regulatory agency can play in this crafting, no

effort should be lost in strengthening the powers of the TRAI. The benefits to

the Indian economy from having both a strong services and manufacturing

segments in the telecom sector cannot be undermined.

Narayana (2008) estimates the contribution of telecommunication (ortelecom) services to aggregate economic growth in India. Estimated

contribution is distinguished between public and private sectors to highlight

the impact of telecom privatization on economic growth. Knowledge of

policy determinants of demand of telecom services is shown to be essential

to enhance growth contribution of telecom services. Using a recent sample

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survey data from Karnataka State in South India, price and income

determinants of demand for telecom services are estimated by capacity of

telephone exchanges. Estimation results offer evidence for significant

negative own price elasticity and positive income elasticity of demand for

telecom services.

Sharma (2009) deals with the major challenges faced by Indias telecom

equipment manufacturing sector, which lags behind telecom services. Only

35% of the total demand for telecom equipment in the country is met by

domestic production. This is not favourable to long-term sustained growth of

the telecom sector. The country is also far behind in R&D spending when

compared to other leading countries. India needs to see an increase in R&Dinvestment, industry-academia-government partnership, better quality

doctoral education and incentives to entrepreneurs for start-ups in telecom

equipment manufacturing. In 2006-07, 65% of the total consumption of

equipment was met through imports. This trend has far-reaching

implications for the economy and should not be allowed to continue for long.

In a country like India which has a problem of massive unemployment, the

manufacturing sector should be promoted to create more employment

opportunities.

Shah (February, 2009), has analysed Indian telecom industry and studied

the sector keeping in mind three companies; namely Bharti, R.Comm and

idea in the background of recent global meltdown. The study suggests that

though there is no sign of slowdown in this sector, but surely a strong

turmoil is going on in the industry. The study states that the sector is fairly

immune from the current economic downturn & does provide a gooddefensive bet in medium term. With the help of newer technologies, wireless

penetration is expected to increase in the near future, which is basically

fuelling the growth of the sector. While the 3G / Broadband adoption would

ensure long term growth momentum, the article has thoroughly investigated

about the intense competitive scenario, pricing pressure, high capital

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intensity & substantial regulatory uncertainties currently faced by the

industry. The article has also described the cause of beingrelatively safe of

this industry. The causes described by Shah are increasing rural coverage,

rising affordability, declining handset/subscription costs, substantially low

tariffs & established brand/distribution. However, the study also cautions the

telecom industry that a steeper economic slowdown could start impacting

the subscriber usage patterns as well as operator capital investments &

thereby could substantially restrict revenue growth rates going forward.

CHAPTER 8: THE INTERNET IN INDIA

Internet History and Culture

The history of the Internet in India can be traced back to the early 1990s

when ERNet, a division of the Department of Electronics (DoE), and NICNet

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(Department of Statistics) began to experiment with Internet services. But it

was not until 1995 that government owned VSNL (Videsh Sanchar Nigam

Limited), became the countrys 1st official Internet Service Provider (ISP).

In 1997, the rise to power of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was

accompanied by a series of legislations that opened up opportunities for

business online. One of the most significant changes during this period was

The New Telecommunications Policy of 1999, which ended VSNLs ISP

monopoly and mandated that any Indian company with a maximum foreign

equity of 49% could provide hosting services.

Over time this policy has led to a rise in the number of Indian web hosting

companies, although the tough unregulated market has caused many to

close. These pieces of legislation ushered in a new era of internet growth

that has increased steadily. As early as 2000, foreign companies including

Yahoo, Ebay and MSN began establishing web portals in the country and

examining Indias strong e-commerce potential.

While the industry has been mainly free from content regulation, some high

profile instances of censorship have occurred and as of July 2006, the Indian

government had directed ISPs to block seventeen websites, including some

hosted on the Geocities, Blogspot and Typepad domains.

According to studies into the demographics of internet users in India, most

users are located near the countrys main population centers including Delhi

and Bangalore. While figures on the exact number of internet users varies, it

was estimated that between 22 and 30 million people were online in 2007

with a 3% penetration of Indias market, although penetration in major

urban areas is believed to be as high as 9%. Industry experts have predicted

this number to balloon to 100 million by 2010, making India one of the

worlds fastest growing markets.

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The early years of the internet saw users connecting primarily in public

spaces such as Internet cafes and kiosks, but this is rapidly changing.

Reports from consulting company JuxtConsult suggest that beginning in

2007, the majority of internet users are opting for personal computing, with

59% of new users using home based connections, up from 19% the year

before.

Business Outlook

Indias e-commerce and IT sectors continue to hold promise and are

expected to grow steadily in the coming years, despite a weak global

economy and lack of infrastructure. The growth is largely driven by requests

for outsourced services including web site design and Search Engine

Optimization.

Throughout India, web site design services are readily available in major

cities and the low cost of web design is one of the main factors companies

cite when choosing to outsource web design to India. Although accurate

figures on the amount spent on online advertising are difficult to verify,

trends suggest rapid growth and the need for Search Engine Optimization

Companies and Search Engine Optimization Specialists steadily increasing.

Even with this new growth, entrepreneurs considering starting an SEO

company in India are advised to be cautiously optimistic. Competition

among web site promotion firms on the rise, although there are still

opportunities for expert search engine optimization and marketing

professionals.

While outsourcing for SEO, web and graphic design have proved to be

profitable, e-commerce in general is still in the nascent phases even as

Internet advertising expenditures continue to grow. While industry giants

Yahoo, Google, Microsoft and Rediff.com are doing well and continue to

dominate the e-commerce landscape, most portals are still working towards

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financial success, citing cost of customer acquisition and lack of reliable high

speed broadband as major sticking points.

CHAPTER 9: India Telecom Report: Internet and

Broadband Services

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The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India released a comprehensive

report on the growth of Indian telecommunication Industry for quarter

ending March 2009.

Internet & Broadband services have been unable to emulate the growth

that is seen by Indian Mobile sector, but it is growing steadily nevertheless.The Indian government has heady plans when it comes to Broadband and

Internet services growth. To achieve is 500 million subscriber base in next 3

years seems to be near impossible target !

Lets look at the where Indian Internet & Broadband services stand for the

quarter ending March 2009:

Indian Internet & broadband services snapshot

Internet & BroadbandSubscribersTotal internet subscribers(including Broadband)

13.54 million

% of Growth During the Quarter 5.30%Broadband Subscribers 6.22 millionWireless Data Subscriber 117.82 million

According to TRAIs report, India currently has only 13.54 million Internet

subscribers, which includes broadband. This is a ridiculously low number !

Even the growth rate is only 5.3%, we seriously have problems when it

comes to internet penetration. While the wireless data internet subscriber

show close to 118 million subscribers majority of them are GPRS

connections on mobiles, which according to me should not be counted a

internet subscribers.

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Indian Internet Subscriber Growth

SOURCE: TRAI REPORT MARCH 2009

There were 13.54 million subscribers at the end of March 2009 as

compared to 12.85 million Internet Subscribers at the end of

December 2008, registering a growth of 5.30%.

The growth rate is higher as compared to growth rate of 5.01% at the

end of December 2008.

Besides above , there were 117.82 wireless data customers at the end

of March 2009 ( capable of accessing data services including internet

through mobile handsets (GSM/CDMA))

Broadband Subscriber Growth The number of Broadband

subscribers (with a download speed of 256 kbps or more) was 6.22

million at the end of March 2009 as compared to 5.52 million at the

end of December 2008. The growth rate of broadband subscribers in

this quarter is 12.68%.

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Technology Used to Access Internet

SOURCE : TRAI REPORT 2009

Broadband Subscribers Share (Technology wise)- Out of total 6.22

million Broadband,

5.364 million are DSL based;

0.474 million Cable Modem;

0.244 million Ethernet LAN;

0.042 million Fiber;

0.072 million Wireless ;

0.020 million Leased Line;

0.002 Million use other technologies.

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Internet Subscriber Growth Quarter to Quarter

Growth of Internet and Broadband Services

QEMar2008

QEJune2008

QESep2008

QEDec2008

QEMar2009

% ofgrowthoverMar08(12months)

% ofgrowthoverJune08(9months)

% ofgrowthoverSep08(6months)

% ofGrowthoverDec08(3months)

1.Subscriber base(inmillion)i).Internet 11.0

911.66

12.24

12.85

13.54

22.09

16.12

10.62

5.37

ii)Wirelessinternet

65.50

75.97

88.27

101.10

117.82

79.88

55.09

33.48

16.54

iii)Broadband

connection(>=256kbpsdownloadspeed)

3.87 4.38 4.90 5.52 6.22 60.72

42.01

26.94

12.68

2.Minutesof use(Dialupinternet)(MOU/Sub/Month)

220 225 212.34

214.23

226.58

2.99 0.70 6.71 5.76

3.ARPU(Dia

l upinternet)(Rs/Subs/Month)

220 225 213.

08

221.

97

236.

47

7.49 5.10 10.9

8

6.53

*Accessing internet through wireless (GSM/CDMA) networks.

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Although Indian Broadband connections have doubled in last one year, the

growth rate is still not enough. With a country population of close to 1.2

billion, 6.22 million broadband connections is just ridiculous.

METHODOLOGY

CHAPTER 1: How the project has been

carried out

Following figure shows an overview over the works proceed.

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CHAPTER 2: Data Collection

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As the used methodic in figure shown, there are two types of data; primary

and secondary data.

Primary data

In this project primary data has been collected by:

Interviews with existing internet users for collecting of background

information such as: products explanation; market situation in

Burdwan, Durgapur, Asansol; and contact information for distributors.

Deep going discussions have been done with Vodafones

representatives in the investigated markets to apply information and

further discussions after the questionnaires.

Questionnaires have been used for extracting information from

representatives and distributors about internet usage. The

questionnaires are used to get exactly and comparable answers in

questions.

Primary data has given answer in following questions in each of the studied

markets:

Competitors name and position

Customers and the different segments they belongs.

Awareness of internet data cards and awareness of Vodafones

product.

Technology used for internet connections.

Perception of potential customers towards internet data card.

Secondary data

Printed literatures are used to get relevant theories for this Project.

Printed literatures are articles and books in telecom sector and

marketing.

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Homepages are used for information about competitors, features of

different companies data cards, tariff plans and price of different

products.

Secondary data has given answer in following questions in each of the

studied markets:

Information about competitors

Information about features and different products of the competitors.

Information about tariff plans and prices of data cards.

Information about different technologies used to connect internet.

Information about indian telecom sector.

Information about the current scenario.

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CHAPTER 3: STATISTICAL MODELS USED

The statistical models and analysis methods which are used in this project

are as following:

Chi-square test (2 test)

Chi square distribution is an important contineous probability

distribution, first formulated by Helmert and then discovered by Karl

Pearson.

ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE

Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) can be used to test for the equality of

three or more population means using data obtained fromobservational or experimental studies.

NORMAL DISTRIBUTION (z test)

Normal distribution is an important contineous probability distribution

having two parameters m and . Normal distribution plays a very

important role in Statistical theory and , in particular, in Sampling

theory.

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Objectives of the project

The objectives of this project is to find the answers to following questions:

1. What is the current situation in the market of Internet Data Cards at

Asansol, Durgapur & Burdwan?

2. Is there any significant difference between the markets?

3. What is the total market potential of these three markets?

4. What are the different segments in the market that uses Internet Data

Cards.

5. The awareness of internet data card in the market and the awareness

of Vodafones data card in the market.

6. Who are the competitors of Vodafone?

7. What people are paying for using internet?

8. What type of technology is more preferred to connect internet?

9. How potential customers perceive towards the internet data card?

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About the data card

A data card is a modem which can be connected to the PCs or Laptops anywhere any time to get connected with the internet. A data card comes with

different verities and models, some of the models of data cards of different

service providers are mentioned below.

Table shows different companies in data card business, their products and

their prices.

Company Product Name TechnologyUsed

Price in Rs.

Vodafone Vodafone Mobile Connect

Edge Data Card

PCMCIA 6499/-

Vodafone Mobile Connect USBModem

USB 2599/-

Vodafone Mobile Connect 3GUSB stick( Broadband)

USB 5499/-

BSNL Huawei - EC 321 USB 2800/-BSNL EVDO (Broadband) USB 7500/-

TATAINDICOM

Plug 2 Surf photon USB 2499/-

Plug 2 Surf photon whiz USB 2249/-

Data for laptops PCMCIA 2499/-Photon+ (Broadband) USB 3500/-

Reliance Net Connect MG880 USBModem

USB 2490/-

Huawei EC-121 USB Modem USB 2500/-Net connect PCMCIA Card PCMCIA 2500/-Net Connect Broadband plus(Broadband)

USB 3500/-

Airtel USB Modem USB 2999/-

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A DATA CARD OF USB TECHNOLOGY

A PCMCIA CARD

ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

CHAPTER 1: MARKET POTENTIAL ANALYSIS

I made a survey on the different outlets of the companies selling data

cards; I asked them, on an average how many data cards were sold by them

in a month? Then we got the following results:

46

A BROADBAND DATA CARD OF USB

TECHNOLOGY


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Survey report of Burdwan

Company Units/pm Average

Reliance 250-300 275Tata Indicom 200-250 225Bsnl 300-350 325Airtel 05-010 7.5Vdafone 15-20 17.5Total market potential 850

Survey Report of Durgapur


Reliance 375-400 387.5Tata Indicom 350-400 375Bsnl 400-450 425Airtel 05-010 7.5Vdafone 25-30 27.5Total market potential 1222.5

Survey Report of Asansol


Reliance 300-350 325Tata Indicom 350-375 362.5Bsnl 400-450 425Airtel 05-010 7.5Vdafone 15-20 17.5Total market potential 1137.5

Total market potential of Asansol, Durgapur & Burdwan is calculated by

summing up the average monthly sale by each company in these areas.

Company Units/pmReliance 987.5Tata Indicom 962.5Bsnl 1175Airtel 22.5Vdafone 62.5Total Market Potential 3210

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The result what we got is an average of 3210 units of data cards

sold in the market of Burdwan, Durgapur & Asansol.

CHAPTER 2: DEVELOPMENT OF HYPOTHESIS AND ITS TESTING

What is a Hypothesis?

A hypothesis is the assumption that we make about the population

parameter. This can be any assumption about a population parameter not

necessarily based on statistical data.

Development of Hypothesis:

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There is no significant difference in the market potential of data cards at

Burdwan, Durgapur and Asansol markets.

H0 : The market potential remains same with respect to the cities across the

competitive brands.

H1 : There is a variance in the market potential with respect to the cities

across the competitive brands.

To test this hypothesis I have used Two Way ANOVA, as it is a Bivariate

Analysis.

ANOVA TABLE

Source ofvariation

Sum ofsquares(SS)

D.F MeanSquare(MS

)

Variance ratio

Betweencities

1.32 2 0.66

F1 = 0.20/0.66 =0.30

Betweencompanies

40.85 4 10.21

F2 = 0.20/10.21= 0.01

Residual(error)

1.63 8

Total 43.80 14

Conclusion table

D.F Level of significance

F observed

F -tabulated

Status ofHypothesis

V1=8, V2 =2 5% 0.30 19.4 H0 AcceptedV1= 8, V2=4 5% 0.01 6.04 H0 Accepted

Decision: We accept the Null Hypothesis because we found out that there

is no significant difference among the competitive brands and the market

potential of data cards at Burdwan, Durgapur, Asansol.

Interpretation

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From the above analysis, it was found that the market potential of Asansol,

Durgapur, and Burdwan does not very much, one of the reasons of this

stability is that these three towns are well developed, and presence of

reasonable number of colleges offering both professional and educational

courses, especially private colleges offering professional courses are

involving technology as a part of their programme. Colleges providing free

laptops to the students, classroom teaching with help of power point

presentations, etc is some of the examples of adaptation of technology, and

this young generation is very much aware and adaptable towards the

internet technologies, they use internet as a medium to gather knowledge,

for entertainment purposes etc. Again, these three towns are rich in industry

also and today as we all know industries are being globalized, so there is a

need for continuous connectivity, concepts like virtual offices, e banking,

online transactions etc are getting popular day by day. All this become have

become possible because of technology of Internet. As a product of FMCGcategory, the masses are taking this product very consciously and the trial

purchase of this product is very high.

1. Development of hypothesis

There is a difference in the preference of different technologies used to

connect internet.

H0 = All the different types technologies used to connect internet are

equally preferred by the customers.

H1 = All the different types of technologies used for connecting internet are

not equally preferred.

To test this hypothesis we did Chi-square test for Goodness of fit.

Sample size = 220

Value of 2

observedd.f Level Tabulated

valueStatus of

Hypothesis

29.56 3 5% 7.815 H0 Rejected

Decision: We reject the Null Hypothesis because we found out that the

different technologies used for connecting internet are not equally

preferred.

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Interpretation

In the research, it discovered that there are different types of technologies

used by the users of internet for internet connectivity. A simple landline

connection attached with a modem is traditionally used for internet

connectivity; Bsnl is the market leader in this type of technology. The datatransfer speed in this type of technology is also very high, comparing to

other technologies available. Now days Multimedia mobile phones are very

popular among the masses, and all the telecom service providers both GSM

and CDMA are providing GPRS connections at a cheap rate. These mobile

phones can be connected to the PCs or Laptops for browsing internet, and

this type of technology is popular because of multiple usability of mobile

phone and cheap tariff plans. The other type of technology for connecting

internet is Data Cards. Data Cards are USB modems or PCMCIA modems

which can be connected with the PCs (only USB one) and Laptops (both USBand PCMCIA) through USB slot and laptops supporting PCMCIA card slot for

internet connectivity. With the introduction of 3G and Broadband service in

this technology the speed of browsing internet has increased drastically

from 153.6 kbps to 3mbps and more. The biggest advantage of this type of

technology is its mobility, the user can connect internet anywhere till the

time he/she is in the coverage area of the service provider. The data card

can also be used for receiving, sending SMS, making, and receiving voice

calls etc. The next type of technology used for internet connectivity is cable

connections or fiber optic cable connections provided by the local service

providers. This service is cheap and getting popular day by day with newcompanies entering this segment.

2. Development of hypothesis

A significant relationship exists between the types of technologies used in

internet connections with the nature of occupation.

H0 = The types of technologies used to connect internet are independent of

the occupation categories.

H1 = The types of technologies used to connect internet are dependent ofthe different occupation categories.

To test this Hypothesis we did Chi-Square test for Independence of attribute.

Sample size = 220

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Value of 2


valueStatus of

Hypothesis

11.263 6 5% 12.59 H0 Accepted

Decision: We accept the Null Hypothesis because we found out that

different technologies like data cards, mobile phones, landline phones, etc

used for internet connectivity are independent of occupation categories like

students, jobholders and businesspersons.

Interpretation

The research discovered that different technologies used to connect internet

such as Data cards, mobile and landline phones, cable connections etc are

independent of occupation categories, it means that there is no specificpreference of a particular technology by any specific occupation segment

such as students, jobholders and businesspersons. The preference of the

technology depends on different factors. For example, students continuing

their studies from home probably opting for a landline or cable connection,

because of its low cost and low maintenance factors, while students residing

in rented apartments or hostels probably opting a Data card or Multimedia

mobile phone because of its mobility factor. In the same way jobholder who

does, not have to travel constantly opts for a fixed connection, and

executives with constant mobility chooses a Data card or Mobile phones toconnect internet.

3. Development of Hypothesis:

A significant relationship exists between the types of technologies used for

internet connections with different categories of students.


the students categories.

H1 = The types of technologies used to connect internet are dependent ofthe different students categories.


Sample size = 59

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Value of 2


valueStatus of

Hypothesis

3.243 3 5% 7.81 H0 Accepted

Decision: We accept H0 Hypothesis because we found out that the

technologies used for connecting internet are independent of different

categories of students such as students of educational and professional

courses.

Interpretation

The students are divided into two segments i.e., students perusing their

professional courses and students perusing their educational courses. The

use of internet in the educational course is less but it is constantly raising,where as the use of internet in educational courses is very high. However,

as the younger generation is very much tech friendly, a PC or laptop has

become a household product. It hardly matters anything for a student what

course he/she is perusing, they use internet for entertainment, downloading,

collecting information about different things, chatting, browsing etc. In this,

case the technology for connecting internet not at all dependent of

students categories.



internet connections with different job categories.


the different job categories.

H1 = The types of technologies used to connect internet are dependent of

the different job categories.


Sample size = 71

Value of 2


valueStatus of

Hypothesis

3.32 6 5% 12.59 H0 Accepted

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technologies used for connecting internet are independent of different

categories of jobs such as private jobs, government jobs and public sector

jobs.

Interpretation

Jobs are divided into three categories here i.e., private jobs, public sector

jobs and government jobs, and internet is used greatly in this entire sector.

Now the companies are being globalised and all the processes are using

online systems to operate, the technology used for internet connection plays

a significant role. The nature of the internet connection depends on the

profile of the job not on the category of the job. Executives with fixed offices

prefer fixed connections and executives with more mobility prefer Datacards and mobile connections.



internet connections with different types of businesses.


the different types of businesses.

H1 = The types of technologies used to connect internet are dependent ofthe different types of businesses.


Sample size = 90

Value of 2


valueStatus of

Hypothesis

2.764 6 5% 12.59 H0 Accepted


technologies used for connecting internet are independent of different types

of businesses such showrooms, franchisees, and other types of businesses.

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Interpretation

In this, research the businesses are divided into three categories i.e., the

showrooms, franchise and other types of businesses. Now days the online

billing is getting popularizing, most of the big showrooms and franchise are

adapting this technique, by this way the companies gets information abouttheir products performance in the market, sales figures and other valuable

informations. So it is important for the franchise, showroom and other types

of businesses to get connected with the server of the companies and for

that they need an internet connection, the type of connection depends on

the nature of the business, for regular transactions most of the time a fixed

connection is preferred. However, it s observed in the research that other

types of connections are also used.

6. Development of Hypothesis

There is a difference in the preference of service providers of internet

connections in the market.

H0 = All the different service providers of internet connections are equally

preferred in the market

H1 = All the different service providers of internet connections are not

equally preferred.


Sample size = 220

Value of 2


valueStatus of

Hypothesis

47.98 5 5% 11.07 H0 Rejected

Decision: We reject the Null Hypothesis because we found out that the

service providers who are providing internet connections are not equallypreferred.

Interpretation

The telecom companies present in the market provide the internet services.

Some of these companies like BSNL, Airtel, Tata indicom, Reliance are giants

in this business, and have established a good customer base. All these

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companies provide internet connections through GPRS services, Data cards,

fixed line connections and 3G. Vodafone is comparatively new in this

business but Vodafone is providing GPRS services in the past also, but they

are expanding now. The user of internet prefers the service providers based

on their requirements, such as tariff plans, net speed, network quality etc,

and different service providers specializes in different areas. Therefore, the

service providers are not equally preferred in the market.

7. Development of Hypothesis

There is a difference among the different purpose of using internet by the

internet users.

H0 = the internet users uses internet equally for all the purposes, such as

work, entertainment, business etc.

H1 = the internet users does not prefer internet equally for all the purposes,

such as work, entertainment, business etc.


Sample size = 220

Value of 2


valueStatus of

Hypothesis

17.19 3 5% 7.81 H0 Rejected

Decision: We reject the Null hypothesis because we found out that there is

a difference in the preference of using internet by the internet users.

Interpretation

The interfere of internet in our lives is getting more and more day by day,

whatever you want you can search it on the net with sitting at the comfort of

your office or home. Online shopping, banking, hotel reservations, ticketingand many more things can be done by using internet, its just one click of

your mouse away. With this huge amount of versatility, the preference of

using internet by the users also differs according to their requirements. For

example a student most preferably use internet for collecting information

and for entertainment purpose, while a businessmen can use it for online

billing, while a job holder may use internet for reporting to his/her bosses,

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and that is why all the uses of internet are not equally preferred by all the

classes.

8. Development of Hypothesis for potential customersperception towards different features of data card.

i. Cost of data card: Price plays an pivotal role in the purchase of

data card.

H0 = Price plays an insignificant role in purchase of data card.

H1 = Price plays a significant role in purchase of data card.

ii. Installation of data card: Installation process of data card playsan important role in the purchase of data card.

H0 = Installation process of data card does not play an important

role in the purchase.

H2 = Installation process plays an important role in the purchase

decision.

iii. Durability of data card: Durability is an important feature, which

the buyer considers at the time of making purchase.

H0 = Durability of data card does not bothers the buyers purchase

decision.

H0 = Durability of data card is an important factor, which affects the

buyers purchase decision.

iv. User friendliness: User friendliness of the product is an important

factor for purchasing the data card.

H0 = User friendliness plays an insignificant role in the purchase of

data card.

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H1 = User friendliness plays a significant role in the purchase

decision of data card.

v. Tariff plans: Tariff plans play a pivotal role in the purchase

decision.

H0 = Tariff plans are not given much importance at the time of

purchase.

H1= Tariff plans plays an important role at the time of purchasing

the data card.

vi. Speed of Internet: Speed of the internet provided by the service

provider plays an important role in the purchase decision of the

data card.

H0 = Speed of the internet plays an insignificant role in the

purchase.

H1 = Speed of the internet plays a significant role in the purchase

of data card.

vii. After sales service: After sales service plays an pivotal role in

the purchase of data card.

H0 = After sale service is not an important factor of purchase

decision.

H1 = After sale services plays an important role in the purchase

decision of the data card.

viii. Image of the company: image of the service provider plays a

pivotal role in the purchase of the data card.

H0 = The image of the company plays an insignificant role in the

purchase of the data card.

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H1 = The image of the company plays a significant role in the

purchase of the data card.

The table below shows the perception of internet users towards different

factors.

Feature Gran

d

mea

n

Hypothe

sis

Stande

rd

error

of x

Test

Statist

ics

apply

ztest(t

wo

tailed)

Observ

ed

value

of Z

Tabl

e

valu

e at

95%

Status

of

hypothe

sis

Price 3.76 H0: = 3

H1: 3

0.07 3.76 3

/0.07

10.85 1.96 H0

RejectedInstallati

on

3.80 H0: = 3

H1: 3

0.07 3.80 3

/0.07

10.81 1.96 H0

RejectedDurabilit

y

3.94 H0: = 3

H1: 3

0.073 3.94 3

/0.073

12.87 1.96 H0

RejectedUser

friendly

4.08 H0: = 3

H1: 3

0.064 4.08 3

/0.064

16.87 1.96 H0

RejectedTariff 3.81 H0: = 3

H1: 3

0.07 3.81 3

/0.07

11.57 1.96 H0

RejectedSpeed 4.12 H0: = 3

H1: 3

0.06 4.12 3

/0.06

18.66 1.96 H0

RejectedAfter

sale

service

3.50 H0: = 3

H1: 3

0.07 3.50 3

/0.07

7.14 1.96 H0

Rejected

Compan

ys

image

3.31 H0: = 3

H1: 3

0.08 3.31 3

/0.08

3.87 1.96 H0

Rejected

Interpretations

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1. Price of the data card: In this research, it is discovered that price of

the Data card is playing an important role in the purchase decision of

the customer; Data cards with high prices are less preferred. BSNL is

the only company in the market, which is providing Data cards on

rental basis, and it is one of the main reasons behind BSNLs success.

Reliance Communication and Tata Indicom is also providing data cards

at cheaper rates. Normal Data cards ranges from Rs 2000 to Rs 3000

and 3G, Broadband Data cards range starts from Rs 3500 onwards.

2. Installation process:The installation process of data card should be

simple and can be easily understood by the user, because the user is

the one who is going to operate it with the machine, and if it is a

complicated process then user might think for other options. A user

wants simplest process to get connected with the internet, just plug inthe data card and connect, if he/she needs to install some special

softwares in the PC or Laptop for using the data card, it is not possible

for everyone to handle this installation process, so installation process

plays an pivotal role in the purchase decision.

3. Durability: Purchasing a Data card is mostly a long-term investment,

so a Data must have to be durable enough to meet the requirements

of the user. A Data card should not get over heated while in use,

should be made up of un-breakable plastic are some features of

durable Data card.

4. User Friendly: A Data should be user friendly in operations. Apart

from connecting internet, Data cards comes with multiple features

such as receiving and sending SMS, making and receiving voice calls,

etc, so all these functions should be easy to operate, if it is little

complicated it becomes a hassle for the user and ultimately affects

the purchasing decision.

5. Tariff Plans: Apart from the price of the Data, card how much the

internet service is costing to the pocket of the user is very important

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factor in the purchase of any Data card. A internet user wants tariff

plans which fits into his/her budget and fulfills all the other

requirements. Again BSNL is the market leader in this segment with

cheapest tariff plans and after that Reliance and Tata Indicom comes.

6. Net Speed: The internet speed is very important for the users and

slow internet is not at all preferred in our fast moving lives. With the

introduction of Broadband and 3G in the market of Data cards, the

competition has got even tougher. Customers prefers internet with

good downloading speed.

7. After Sale Service: After sales service like sending bills on time,

keep the customers updated with the new developments in different

areas etc improves the chances of increasing the sale of data card,

and plays an important role in the purchase decision of the customer

also.

8. Image of the company: The goodwill created in the market through

years of providing superior service quality helps the company to sale

its products, because its the image of the company in the minds of

the customer who is going to purchase the data card. If the brand is

trusted in the market, it makes a positive impact on the purchase

decision.

Conclusions & recommendations

On our research, we have found out the followings:

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1. Vodafone is not actively promoting its Data card products in the

market, thats the reason awareness about Vodafones data card is

very low, at the same time awareness about the data cards in the

market cannot be said bad, around 39% of the respondents are aware

of data cards.

2. Vodafone emphasizes on its high quality service, but the price at

which they are providing the services is a bit too high.

3. Vodafone mainly focusing on a niche segment in the market, i.e., they

target working professionals, executives, etc who needs to travel more

frequently and required to be connected with internet all the time.

4. We found out in the survey that, maximum of the population is using

either mobile phones or landline phones to get connected to the

internet, the reason behind this are :

Cheaper tariff plans.

Low installation cost.

Multiple usability.

5. There is a strong competition between Bsnl, Reliance, Tata indicom

and Airtel, they have 30%, 21%, 17%, 15% market share respectively

in our survey. It establishes the fact that they have a good customer

base and all four companies are old players in the field of providinginternet services, so it is not going to be easy for Vodafone to crack

the customer base of theirs.

6. Airtel and Bsnl have their expertise in providing internet connections

through mobile phones, landline connections and WLL phones. They

are having a good signal strength and network support in almost

every villages and towns, as the service is good Airtel charges a

43518810 market potential analysis towards internet data card

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