Company Profile

Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
COMPANY PROFILE
Bharti Airtel
Telecom giant Bharti Airtel is the flagship company of Bharti Enterprises. The Bharti Group
has a diverse business portfolio and has created global brands in the telecommunication
sector. Bharti has recently forayed into retail business as Bharti Retail Pvt. Ltd. under a MoU
with Wal-Mart for the cash & carry business. It has successfully launched an international
venture with EL Rothschild Group to export fresh agri products exclusively to markets in
Europe and USA and has launched Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company Ltd under a joint
venture with AXA, world leader in financial protection and wealth management.
Airtel comes to you from Bharti Airtel Limited, India’s largest integrated and the first private
telecom services provider with a footprint in all the 23 telecom circles. Bharti Airtel since its
inception has been at the forefront of technology and has steered the course of the telecom
sector in the country with its world class products and services.
The businesses at Bharti Airtel have been structured into three individual strategic business
units (SBU’s)- Mobile Services, Airtel Telemedia Services and Enterprise Services. The
mobile business provides mobile & fixed wireless services using GSM technology across 23
telecom circles while the Airtel Telemedia Services business offers broadband & telephone
services in 95 cities and has recently launched India's best Direct-to-Home (DTH) service,
Airtel digital TV. The Enterprise services provide end-to-end telecom solutions to corporate
customers and national & international long distance services to carriers. Incorporated on
July 7, 1995, Bharti Airtel Ltd is a division of Bharti Enterprises. The businesses of Bharti
Airtel are structured into two main strategic groups - Mobility and Infotel. The company also
has a submarine cable landing station at Chennai, which connects the submarine cable
connecting Chennai and Singapore. Bharti Tele-Ventures provides end-to-end data and
enterprise services to corporate customers by leveraging its nationwide fibre-optic backbone,
last mile connectivity in fixed-line and mobile circles,
By the end of October 2005, Bharti Tele-Ventures was serving more than 14.74 million GSM
mobile subscribers and 1.10 million broadband and telephone (fixed line) customers. The
equity shares of Bharti Tele-Ventures are currently listed on the National Stock Exchange of
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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
India Ltd (NSE) and the Stock Exchange, Mumbai (BSE). As of September 30, 2005, the
main shareholders of Bharti Tele-Ventures were: Bharti Telecom Ltd (45.65%), a subsidiary
of Bharti Enterprises; Singapore Telecom (15.69%), through its investment division Pastel
Ltd; and, Warburg Pincus (5.65%), through its investment company Brentwood Investment
Holdings Ltd). Other shareholders with more than a 1% stake were: Citi Group Global
Markets Mauritius Pvt. Ltd (2.99%); Euro pacific Growth Fund (2.04%); Morgan Stanley &
Co International Ltd (1.93%); CLSA Merchant Bankers Ltd A/C Calyon (1.33%); Life
Insurance Corporation of India (1.34%); and, The Growth Fund of America Inc (1.11%).
Sunil Bharti Mittal, the founder-chairman of Bharti Enterprises (which owns Airtel), is today,
the most celebrated face of the telecom sector in India. He began his journey manufacturing
spare parts for bicycles in the late 1970s. His strong entrepreneurial instincts gave him a
unique flair for sensing new business opportunities. In the early years, Bharti established
itself as a supplier of basic telecom equipment. His true calling came in the mid 1990s when
the government opened up the sector and allowed private players to provide telecom services.
Bharti Enterprises accepted every opportunity provided by this new policy to evolve into
India's largest telecommunications company and one of India's most respected brands. Airtel
was launched in 1995 in Delhi. In the ensuing years, as the Airtel network expanded to
several parts of India, the brand came to symbolize the very essence of mobile services.

 Product
Airtel provides a host of voice and data products and services, including high-speed GPRS
services. Airtel also offers a wide array of 'postpaid' and 'prepaid' mobile offers, with a range
of tariff plans that target different segments. A comprehensive range of value-added,
customized services are part of the unique package from Airtel. The company's products
reflect a desire to constantly innovate. Some of these are reflected in the fact that Airtel was
the first to develop a 'single integrated billing system'. Airtel comes to you from Bharti Airtel
Limited - a part of the biggest private integrated telecom conglomerate, Bharti Enterprises.
Bharti is the leading cellular service provider with an all India footprint covering all 23
telecom circles of the country. It has over 21 million satisfied customers.
Established in 1976, Bharti has many joint ventures with world leaders like SingTel
(Singapore Telecom); Warburg Pincus, USA, Telia, Sweden; Asian infrastructure find,
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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
Mauritius; International Finance Corporation, USA and New York Life International, USA.
Bharti provides a range of telecom services, which include Cellular, Basic, Internet and
recently introduced National Long Distance. Bharti also manufactures and exports telephone
terminals and cordless phones. Apart from being the largest manufacturer of telephone
instruments in India, it is also the first company to export its products to the USA.
Airtel's journey to leadership began in Delhi in 1995. Since then, Airtel has established itself
across India in sixteen states covering a population of over 600 million people. Airtel will
soon cover the entire country through a process of acquisitions and green field projects. With
a presence in over 1,400 towns, Airtel today has the largest network capacity in the country.
An excellent example is Easy Charge - India's first paperless electronic recharging facility for
prepaid customers. As evidence of its fine record, Airtel has also been conferred with
numerous awards. It won the prestigious Techies Award for 'being the best cellular services
provider' for four consecutive years between 1997 and 2000 - a record that is still unmatched.
And in 2003, it received the Voice & Data Award for being 'India's largest cellular service
provider' amongst others..

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
CORPORATE STRUCTURE

The Company is a part of Bharti Enterprises, and is India's leading provider of
telecommunications services. The businesses at Bharti Airtel have been structured into three
individual strategic business units (SBU’s) - mobile services, broadband & telephone services
(B&T) & enterprise services.The mobile services group provides GSM mobile services across
India in 23 telecom circles, while the B&T business group provides broadband & telephone
services in 90 cities. The Enterprise services group has two sub-units - carriers (long distance

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
services) and services to corporate. All these services are provided under the Airtel brand. It
includes:

SERVICES OF BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED

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Bharti Airtel became the first private fixed-line service provider in India. It is now promoted
under the Airtel brand. Recently, the Government opened the fixed-line industry to unlimited
competition. Airtel has subsequently started providing fixed-line services in the four circles
of Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu & UP (West).
Airtel Enterprise Services, India's premium telecommunication service, brings to you a whole
new experience in telephony. From integrated telephone services for Enterprises and small
business enterprises to user-friendly plans for Broadband Internet Services (DSL), we bring

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
innovative, cost-effective, comprehensive and multi-product solutions to cater to all your
telecom and data needs.

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
1. Voice - Product Portfolio
Airtel Enterprise Services telephone services go beyond basic telephony to offer our users a
whole host of Value Added Services as well as premium add-ons. Each telephone connection
from Airtel Enterprise Services is backed by a superior fibre-optic backbone for enhanced
reliability and quality telephony. Few of the Value Added Services offered are Calling Line
Identification, Three Party Conferencing, Dynamic Lock, Hunting Numbers, and Parallel
Ringing etc. Airtel Enterprise Services Voice Services provide Free Dial-up Internet access
that is bundled along with your Telephone connection from Airtel. It’s fast, reliable and gives
you unlimited Internet access.

2. Mobile Services
Airtel’s mobile footprint extends across the country in 21 telecom circles. It’s service
standards compare with the very best in the world. In fact, that’s how Bharti has managed to
win the trust of millions of customers and makes it one of the top 5 operators in the world, in
terms of service and subscriber base.
The company has several Firsts to its credit:

 The First to launch full roaming service on pre-paid in the country.
 The First to launch 32K SIM cards.
 The First in Asia to deploy the multi band feature in a wireless network for efficient
usage of spectrum.

 The First to deploy Voice Quality Enhancers to improve voice quality and acoustics
 The First telecom company in the world to receive the ISO 9001:2000 certification
from British Standards Institute.

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel

3. Satellite Services
Airtel Enterprise Services provides you connectivity where ever you take your business Our
Satellite Services bring you the benefits of access in remote locations. Airtel Enterprise
Services is a leading provider of broadband IP satellite services and DAMA/PAMA services
in India. Our solutions support audio, video and voice applications on demand.
Satellite Services include:


PAMA/DAMA



BIT - Internet



VPN



Satellite based IPLCs for redundancy reasons

4. Managed Data & Internet Services
Airtel Enterprise Services brings you a comprehensive suite of data technologies. So we are
able to support all types of networks and ensure that our customers can migrate their network
in future seamlessly. Our Managed Data & Internet services make our customers future proof.
Managed Data & Internet Services include:
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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel


MPLS



ATM



FR



Internet



IPLC



Leased Lines



Customized Solutions



International Managed Services



Metro Ethernet

5. Managed e-Business Services
Airtel Enterprise Services offers an internationally benchmarked, carrier class hosting,
storage and business continuity services. A range of services that help to keep your business
running the way you want- 24x7. Thanks to our world-class high tech Data Centers.
Managed e-Business Services include:

 Co-lo: Dedicated and Shared
 BCRS Services
 Web hosting
THE BRAND-“Airtel”

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
Airtel was born free, a force unleashed into the market with a relentless and unwavering
determination to succeed. A spirit charged with energy, creativity and a team driven “to seize
the day” with an ambition to become the most globally admired telecom service. Airtel, in
just ten years of operations, rose to the pinnacle to achievement and continues to lead.
As India's leading telecommunications company Airtel brand has played the role as a major
catalyst in India's reforms, contributing to its economic resurgence.

VISION AND PROMISE
By 2010 Airtel will be the most admired brand in India

 Loved by more customers
 Targeted by top talent
 Benchmarked by more businesses

“We at Airtel always think in fresh and innovative ways about the needs of our
customers and how we want them to feel. We deliver what we promise and go out of our
way to delight the customer with a little bit more.

”

BHARTI’S MISSION

“To be globally admired for Telecom Services that delight customers.”
We will meet global standatds for Telecom Services that delight customers through:

 Customer service focus
 Empowered employees
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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
 Cost efficiency
 Unified messaging solutions
 Innovative products and services
 Error-free service delivery

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Overview
At Bharti, CSR is a way of life. Each department and employee strives to be sensitive to the
stakeholders and environment within their work context. Bharti encourages employees to take
decisions and design business-linked processes that are sensitive to communities and
environment.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Bharti encompasses much more than only social
outreach programs. It is an integral part of the way Bharti conducts its business. The essence
of Bharti’s commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility is embedded in the ‘Corporate
Values’, which stem from its deepest held beliefs. These values are:

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
INDUSTRY PROFILE
The telecom network in India is the fifth largest network in the world
meeting up with global standards. Presently, the Indian telecom industry is
currently slated to an estimated contribution of nearly 1% to India’s GDP.
The Indian Telecommunications network with 110.01 million connections is the fifth largest
in the world and the second largest among the emerging economies of Asia. Today, it is the
fastest growing market in the world and represents unique opportunities for U.S. companies
in the stagnant global scenario. The total subscriber base, which has grown by 40% in 2005,
is expected to reach 250 million in 2007.
According to Broadband Policy 2004, Government of India has 9 million broadband
connections and 18 million internet connections in 2007. The wireless subscriber base has
jumped from 33.69 million in 2004 to 62.57 million in FY2004- 2005. In the last 3 years, two
out of every three new telephone subscribers were wireless subscribers. Consequently,
wireless now accounts for 54.6% of the total telephone subscriber base, as compared to only
40% in 2003. Wireless subscriber growth is expected to bypass 2.5 million new subscribers
per month by 2007.
The wireless technologies currently in use are Global System for Mobile Communications
(GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). There are primarily 9 GSM and 5
CDMA operators providing mobile services in 19 telecom circles and 4 metro cities, covering
2000 towns across the country.

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
Evolution of the industry-Important Milestones
History of Indian Telecommunications:

 1851 First operational land lines were laid by the government near Calcutta (seat of
British power)

 1881 Telephone service introduced in India
 1883 Merger with the postal system
 1923 Formation of Indian Radio Telegraph Company (IRT)
 1932 Merger of ETC and IRT into the Indian Radio and Cable Communication
Company (IRCC)

 1947 Nationalization of all foreign telecommunication companies to form the Posts,
Telephone and Telegraph (PTT), a monopoly run by the government's Ministry of
Communications

 1985 Department of Telecommunications (DOT) established, an exclusive provider of
domestic and long-distance service that would be its own regulator (separate from the
postal system)

 1986 Conversion of DOT 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.

 1997 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India created.
 1999 Cellular Services are launched in India. New National Telecom Policy is
adopted.

 2000 DoT becomes a corporation, BSNL
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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel

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BSNL
On October 1, 2000 the Department of Telecom Operations andGovernment of India became
a corporation and was renamed Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). BSNL is now
India’s leading Telecommunications Company and the largest public sector undertaking. It
has a network of over 45 million lines covering 5000 towns with over 35 million telephone
connections.
The state-controlled BSNL operates basic, cellular (GSM and CDMA) mobile, Internet and
long distance services throughout India (except Delhi and Mumbai). BSNL, which became
the third operator of GSM mobile services in most circles, is now planning to overtake Bharti
to become the largest GSM operator in the country. BSNL is also the largest operator in the
Internet market, with a share of 21 per cent of the entire subscriber base.

MTNL
MTNL was set up on 1st April 1986 by the Government of India to upgrade the quality of
telecom services, expand the telecom network, and introduce new services and to raise
revenue for telecom development needs of India’s key metros – Delhi and Mumbai. In the
past 17 years, the company has taken rapid strides to emerge as India’s leading and one of
Asia’s largest telecom operating
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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel

companies. The company has also been in the forefront of technology induction by
converting 100% of its telephone exchange network into the state-of-the-art digital mode. The
Govt. of India currently holds 56.25% stake in the company. MTNL has over 5 million
subscribers and 329,374 mobile subscribers.

RELIANCE INFOCOMM
Reliance is a $16 billion integrated oil exploration to refinery to power and textiles
conglomerate (Source: http://www.ril.com/newsitem2.html). It is also an integrated telecom
service provider with licenses for mobile, fixed, domestic long distance and international
services. Reliance Infocomm offers a complete range of telecom services, covering mobile
and fixed line telephony including broadband, national and international long distance
services, data services and a wide range of value added services and applications.
However, it has now acquired a unified access license for 18 circles that permits it to provide
the full range of mobile services. It has rolled out its CDMA mobile network and enrolled
more than 6 million subscribers in one year to become the country’s largest mobile operator.

IDEA CELLULAR
Indian regional operator IDEA Cellular Ltd. has a new ownership structure and grand designs
to become a national player, but in doing so is likely to become a thorn in the side of Reliance
Communications Ltd. IDEA operates in eight telecom “circles,” or regions, in Western India,
and has received additional GSM licenses to expand its network into three circles in Eastern
India -- the first phase of a major expansion plan that it intends to fund through an IPO,
according to parent company Aditya Birla Group .

VODAFONE ESSAR
Vodafone Essar, previously Hutchison Essar is a cellular operator in India that covers 23
telecom circles in India . Despite the official name being Vodafone Essar, its products are
simply branded Vodafone. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage
throughout India with good presence in the metros.
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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
Vodafone Essar provides 2.75G services based on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz digital GSM
technology, offering voice and data services in 23 of the country's 23 license areas. It is
among the top three GSM mobile operators of India. Vodafone Essar is owned by Vodafone
52%, Essar Group, 33% and other Indian nationals, 15%.
On February 11, 2007, Vodafone agreed to acquire the controlling interest of 67% held by Li
Ka Shing Holdings in Hutch-Essar for US$11.1 billion, pipping Reliance Communications,
Hinduja Group, and Essar Group, which is the owner of the remaining 33%. The whole
company was valued at USD 18.8 billion. The transaction closed on May 8, 2007.

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
MAJOR PLAYERS OF INDIAN TELECOMMUNICATION

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
COMPANY MARKET SHARES

COMPANY

MILLION SUBSCRIBERS

% SHARE

(January 2009)
BSNL

3,03,03,230

Reliance

43,47,593

Bharti

4,88,75,664

MTNL

27,72,120

Vodafone

3,56,57,546

Idea Cellular

1,86,71,860

BPL

11,53,357

0.75

Spice

34,81,710

2.27

Aircel

80,39,355

5.24

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19.77
2.84
31.88
1.81
23.26
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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
MAJOR MARKET TRENDS
The telecoms trends in India will have a great impact on everything from the humble PC,
internet, broadband (both wireless and fixed), and cable, handset features, talking SMS,
IPTV, soft switches, and managed services to the local manufacturing and supply chain.
This report discusses key trends in the Indian telecom industry, their drivers and the major
impacts of such trends affecting mobile operators, infrastructure and handset vendors.
Higher acceptance for wireless services
Indian customers are embracing mobile technology in a big way (an average of four million
subscribers added every month for the past six months itself). They prefer wireless services
compared to wire-line services, which is evident from the fact that while the wireless
subscriber base has increased at 75 percent CAGR from 2001 to 2006, the wire-line
subscriber base growth rate is negligible during the same period.
In fact, many customers are returning their wire-line phones to their service providers as
mobile provides a more attractive and competitive solution. The main drivers for this trend
are quick service delivery for mobile connections, affordable pricing plans in the form of prepaid cards and increased purchasing power among the 18 to 40 years age group as well as
sizeable middle class – a prime market for this service.

MERGERS
Demand for new spectrum as the industry grows and the fact the spectrum allocation in done
on the basis of number of subscribers will force companies to merge so as to claim large
number of subscribers to gain more spectrum as a precursor to the launch of larger and
expanded services. However it must also be noted that this may very well never happen on
account of low telecom penetration.

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
AIRTEL CURRENT PLANS AND PRODUCTS

AIRTEL PLAN

AIRTEL SUPER 199

AIRTEL MAGIC 199

Monthly Rent

199

199

Free Airtime per month

N.A.

199 mins A2M Local

Incoming Call

Free

Free

Within the group-CUG

0.10

Pay Rs. 30/- & get CUG @ 10 p

Outgoing Calls- Local

Per Min

Per Min

Airtel to Airtel

0.3

0.5

Airtel to Local

0.5

0.5

Airtel to Landline

1

1

Outgoing Calls- STD

Per Min

Per Min

Airtel to Airtel

1

1

Airtel to Local

1

1

Airtel to Landline

1.32

1.5

SMS

Per SMS

Per SMS

Lcal SMS

0.5

1

National SMS

1.5

1.5

International SMS

5

5

Local Free SMS

N.A.

N.A.

STD Toppings

N.A.

N.A.

Roaming Charges

AT ACTUAL

AT ACTUAL

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
FOC

CLIP CHARGES

FOC

AIRTEL PLAN

AIRTEL MAGIC 299

AIRTEL 444

Monthly Rent

299

444

Free Airtime per month

600 mins A2M Local

LOCAL & STD 444 Min (A2M)

Incoming Call

Free

Free

Within the group-CUG

0.10

Pay Rs. 30/- & get CUG @ 10 p

Outgoing Calls- Local

Per Min

Per Min

Airtel to Airtel

0.3

0.5

Airtel to Local

0.3

0.5

Airtel to Landline

0.5

0.5

Outgoing Calls- STD

Per Min

Per Min

Airtel to Airtel

1

1

Airtel to Local

1

1

Airtel to Landline

1.5

1

SMS

Per SMS

Per SMS

Lcal SMS

1

0.5

National SMS

1.5

1.5

International SMS

5

5

Local Free SMS

N.A.

444 Local SMS Free

STD Toppings

N.A.

N.A.

Roaming Charges

AT ACTUAL

AT ACTUAL

CLIP CHARGES

FOC

FOC
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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel

AIRTEL PLAN

New AES 699- Advance
Rental 699 (12 Months)

Monthly Rent

58.25(Effective)

Free Airtime per month

N.A.

Incoming Call

Free

Within the group-CUG

Get 500 mins free in CUG
thereafter @ 10 p

Outgoing Calls- Local

Per Min

Airtel to Airtel

0.5

Airtel to Local

0.5

Airtel to Landline

0.5

Outgoing Calls- STD

Per Min

Airtel to Airtel

1.5

Airtel to Local

1.5

Airtel to Landline

1.5

SMS

Per SMS

Lcal SMS

1

National SMS

1.5

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
International SMS

5

Local Free SMS

50 SMS Free

STD Toppings

Pay Rs. 35/- & get Airtel to all
STD @Rs. 1 per min

Roaming Charges

AT ACTUAL

CLIP CHARGES

FOC

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SWOT ANALYSIS OF BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED

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Strengths
1. Bharti Airtel has more than 65 million customers (July 2008). It is the largest
cellular provider in India, and also supplies broadband and telephone services as well as many other telecommunications services to both domestic and
corporate customers.
2. Other stakeholders in Bharti Airtel include Sony-Ericsson, Nokia - and Sing Tel,
with whom they hold a strategic alliance. This means that the business has
access to knowledge and technology from other parts of the telecommunications
world.
3. The company has covered the entire Indian nation with its network. This has
underpinned its large and rising customer base.

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
Weaknesses
1.

An often cited original weakness is that when the business was started by Sunil Bharti
Mittal over 15 years ago, the business has little knowledge and experience of how a
cellular telephone system actually worked. So the start-up business had to outsource
to industry experts in the field.

2.

Until recently Airtel did not own its own towers, which was a particular strength of
some of its competitors such as Hutchison Essar. Towers are important if your
company wishes to provide wide coverage nationally.

3.

The fact that the Airtel has not pulled off a deal with South India's MTN could signal
the lack of any real emerging market investment opportunity for the business once the
Indian market has become mature.

Opportunities
1.

The company possesses a customized version of the Google search engine which will
enhance broadband services to customers. The tie-up with Google can only enhance
the Airtel brand, and also provides advertising opportunities in Indian for Google.

2.

Global telecommunications and new technology brands see Airtel as a key strategic
player in the Indian market. The new iPhone will be launched in India via an Airtel
distributorship. Another strategic partnership is held with BlackBerry Wireless
Solutions.

3.

Despite being forced to outsource much of its technical operations in the early days,
this allowed Airtel to work from its own blank sheet of paper, and to question industry
approaches and practices - for example replacing the Revenue-Per-Customer model
with a Revenue-Per-Minute model which is better suited to India, as the company
moved into small and remote villages and towns.

4.

The company is investing in its operation in 120,000 to 160,000 small villages every
year. It sees that less well-off consumers may only be able to afford a few tens of
Rupees per call, and also so that the business benefits are scalable - using its
'Matchbox' strategy.
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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
5.

Bharti Airtel is embarking on another joint venture with Vodafone Essar and Idea
Cellular to create a new independent tower company called Indus Towers. This new
business will control more than 60% of India's network towers. IPTV is another
potential new service that could underpin the company's long-term strategy.

Threats
1.

Airtel and Vodafone seem to be having an on/off relationship. Vodafone which owned
a 5.6% stake in the Airtel business sold it back to Airtel, and instead invested in its
rival Hutchison Essar. Knowledge and technology previously available to Airtel now
moves into the hands of one of its competitors.

2.

The quickly changing pace of the global telecommunications industry could tempt
Airtel to go along the acquisition trail which may make it vulnerable if the world goes
into recession. Perhaps this was an impact upon the decision not to proceed with talks
about the potential purchase of South India's MTN in May 2008. This opened the door
for talks between Reliance Communication's Anil Ambani and MTN, allowing a
competing

Indian

industrialist

to

invest

in

the

new

emerging

Indian

telecommunications market.
3.

Bharti Airtel could also be the target for the takeover vision of other global
telecommunications players that wish to move into the Indian market.

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
Strategic alliance
The Company has a strategic alliance with SingTel. The investment made by SingTel
is one of the largest investments made in the world outside Singapore in the company.
The company also has a strategic alliance with Vodafone. The investment made by
Vodafone in Bharti is one of the largest single foreign investments made in the Indian
telecom sector. The company’s mobile network equipment partners include Ericsson
and Nokia. In the case of the broadband and telephone services and enterprise services
(carriers), equipment suppliers include Siemens, Nortel, Corning, among others. The
Company also has an information technology alliance with IBM for its group-wide
information technology requirements and with Nortel for call center technology
requirements.


Outsourcing The call center operations for the mobile services have been outsourced
to IBM Daksh, Hinduja TMT, and Teletech & Mphasis.



Overseas Market. Airtel is looking for overseas market and already atarted operation
in Nigeria and Seychelles.



Competition Airtel is facing strong completion from MTNL and BSNL inspite of the
fact they are far away from Airtel technologically but these two have a inside ranch in
rural and urban area and have low tariff rates.



Brand Ambassador Airtel has strong brand ambassador, Sachin Tendulkar, Shahrukh
khan and A. R. Rehman, R Madhavan, Bidhya Ballan to promote the product and
services.

 Competitive Strategies
Competitive strategy prefers to how a company competes in a particular business.
Competitive strategy is concerned with how a company can gain a competitive advantage
through a distinctive way of competing. It is important to note the distinction between
competitive Advantage (CA) and Sustainable Competitive Advantage (SCA). A company is
said to have a competitive advantage over its rivals when its profitability is greater than the
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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
average profitability of all other companies competing for the same set of customers. A
company has a sustained competitive advantage when its strategies enable it to maintain
above-average profitability for a number of years. To be sustainable, the competitive
advantage must be distinctive and proprietary.
There are two basic types of competitive advantage a firm can possess; low cost or
differentiation. The two basic types of competitive advantage combined with the scope of
activities for which a firm seeks to achieve them, lead to three generic strategies for
achieving above average performance in an industry; cost leadership, differentiation, and
focus. In cost leadership, a firm sets out to become the low cost producer in its industry. The
sources of cost advantage are varied and depend on the structure of the industry. They may
include the pursuit of economies of scale, proprietary technologies, preferential access to raw
materials and other factors. In a differentiation strategy, a firm seeks to be unique in its
industry along some dimensions that are widely valued by buyers. It selects one or more
attributes that many buyers in an industry perceive as important, and uniquely positions itself
to meet those needs. It is rewarded for its uniqueness with a premium price.The generic
strategy of focus rests on the choice of a narrow competitive scope within an industry. The
focuser selects a segment or group of segments in the industry and tailors its strategy to
serving them to the exclusion of others.

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
The Mobile Network Operator Industry India
Mobile telephones were first introduced in the India market in 1992, but the real diffusion of
this technology and of affordable services started in 1999 when the Communication
Commission of India (CCK) was established and the newly privatized companies, Safaricom
and Ken Cell (now Airtel India) were licensed by CCK to provide mobile services. India is
currently ranked among the most advanced countries in the field of telecommunication
industry in India. Available literature indicates that by the year 2012, more than 80% of
Indians were covered by mobile network signals. The mobile industry is among the fastest
growing industries in India. According to the Communications Commission of India (CCK),
by the end of 2010 there were 22 million registered mobile cell phone subscribers with a
projected growth rate of 9.5% per annum. The penetration rate of mobile phones in India is
63%. The players in the industry, the Communications Commission of India (CCK) - the
regulatory body, the mobile network service providers, the Value Added Services (VAS)
companies – the businesses using mobile commercial products and the consumers. The
mobile industry’s rapid growth can be credited to the convenience and affordability of using
the mobile cell phone. When the first mobile phones were introduced in the country in the
1990’s, they were considered accessories for the rich, but that has all changed. A cell phone
now costs as little as Kshs. 1,000 compared to the Kshs. 20,000 when it was first launched in
India. It is now possible to communicate fort as little as Kshs. 1 for an SMS, carry out a
financial transaction for Kshs. 10 and pay for goods at a supermarket using your mobile
phone. The mobile telephone industry in India covers: Mobile voice data services, high speed
broadband Internet access provision, and telecommunication solutions for business
enterprises and mobile transfer services. The mobile industry in India has either directly or
indirectly had an impact in the lives of most people in the country. There are currently four
mobile telephone networks in India namely Safaricom, Airtel, Telcom-Orange and Yu.
Safaricom Ltd, is the leading mobile network operator in India in terms of revenue and
customer base. According to the CCK quarterly report (2010) Safaricom subscriber base was
approximately 19.8 million, by December 2012. Airtel India Ltd. Is the second largest mobile
network operator in India in terms of revenue and customer base. According to the CCK
quarterly report (2012) Airtel India had a subscriber base of over 5.2 Million by December
2012. Orange-Telkom is the third largest mobile network operator in Kenta in terms of
revenue and customer base.
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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
Competitive strategy Analysis At Airtel India Based On
Responses
Based on the data collected it is evident that Airtel India has applied various competitive
strategies in order to apply competitive advantage. There are several competitive strategy
approaches in the theory of competitive strategies that can be compares to the practices at
Airtel Indiato build this discussion. Firstly, a low-cost provider strategy that strives to achieve
lower overall costs than rivals and appealing to a broad spectrum of customers, usually by
underpricing rivals. Secondly, a broad differentiation strategy-seeking to differentiate the
company’s product offering from rival’s in ways that will appeal to a broad spectrum of
buyers. Thirdly, a focused (or market niche) strategy based on differentiation-concentrating
on a narrow buyer segment and outcompeting by offering niche members customized
attributes that meet their tastes and requirements better than rivals products
 Low Cost Provider Strategy
Striving to be the industry’s overall low cost provider is a powerful competitive approach in
markets with many price sensitive buyers. A company achieves low cost leadership when it
becomes the industry’s lowest cost provider rather than just. A company has two options for
translating a low-cost advantage over rivals into attractive profit performance. The first
option is to use the lower-cost edge to underprice competitors and attract price-sensitive
buyers in great enough numbers to increase total profits. The second option is to maintain the
present price, be content with the present market share, and use the lower-cost edge to earn
higher profit margin on each unit sold, thereby raising the firm’s total profits and overall
return on investment. Airtel Indiais using the first option. To ensure profitability when
underpricing rivals is either to keep the size of the price cut smaller than the size of the firm’s
cost advantage (thus reaping the benefits of both a bigger profit margin per unit sold and the
added profits on incremental sales) or to generate enough added volume to increase total
profits despite thinner profit margins (larger volume can make up for smaller margins
provided the underpricing of rivals brings in enough extra sales). Currently, Airtel has the
lowest call rate charges in the industry both within and without the network.

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
 A Broad Differentiation Strategy
Differentiation strategies are attractive whenever buyers’ needs and preferences are too
diverse to be fully satisfied by a standardized product or by sellers with identical capabilities.
Airtel Indiastudies the buyers’ needs and behavior carefully to learn what they think has
value, and what they are willing to pay for. It then incorporates buyer-desired attributes into
its products or service offering that will clearly set it apart from its main competitor which is
Safaricom. Differentiation enhances profitability whenever the extra price the product
commands outweighs the added costs of achieving the differentiation. The competitive
advantage that Airtel Indiahas gained is that their customers have become strongly attached to
the differentiated attributes such as the data services that enable recognition of other caller’s
locations. This has allowed Airtel Indiato command a premium price for its products and gain
buyer loyalty to its brand (because some buyers are strongly attracted to the differentiating
features and bond with the company and its product).
 Combining Competitive Strategy with Strategic Responses
The study proceeded to determine the main strategic responses that the company adopts in a
bid to overcome the competition. All the respondents agreed unanimously that competition
had made the company run massive promotional campaigns so as to retain its market share
which share has led to increased costs. The data findings showed that the response strategies
employed by Airtel Indiato counter competition from other telecommunication industries
include vigorous promotion strategies, cost efficiency, product differentiation, continuous
research into emerging technologies and their impact on the market analysis, a strategy to
ensure that the right technology is provided at the right time, in-house development teams,
continual improvements to the network, Information Technology governance processes,
information security processes. The respondents were in agreement that the company’s
service that face’s the stiffest competition is the voice service. This is illustrated by the
current price wars among industry players with Safaricom lowering its calling rate to three
shillings per minute from an all-time high of eight shillings per minute coupled with the
lowering of the call rates by other players such as Orange, which lowered its rates to as low
as two shillings per minute. The respondents however indicated that Airtel has been able to
cope with the stiff competition by offering a low calling rates across all networks and a low
calling rate internationally. The respondents on the other hand indicate that the company does
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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
not have a separate department that deals with competition but this function is allotted to all
the departments to ensure they have a competitive edge. On how the company integrates the
various competitive strategies in its operations, the respondents were in agreement that the
company integrates the various competitive strategies by enhancing competence in all its
departments through investment in innovative strategies and structures of the business
enterprise, distinctiveness of technology and adopting a strategic choice perspective. They
also intimated that the company link competitive and technology strategies, using a hybrid
typology that combines previous classifications.
The respondents further intimated that the strategic response integration processes are mainly
technology based. They also indicates that the organization is set in this sense to withstand
competition by adoption of Information Communication Technology such as Management
information System (MIS); 2G network that transfers data at a very high speed which us
geared towards the completion from land-line and CDMA offered by Telkom wireless,
internal messaging system, automatic call distribution system and automated query handling.
 Discussions
All the respondents the researcher interviewed were unanimous that Airtel’s main competitor
is Safaricom. The respondents were asked to indicate the current challenges faced by their
company due to competition to which they said that the main challenge faced by Airtel due to
competition was the price wars in the telecommunication industry and those especially
initiated by the main competitor Safaricom. They also indicated that they believed Safaricom
intentionally sabotaged access to the Airtel network by way of denial of service for Safaricom
customers calling the Airtel network. The respondents also reiterated that the company was
facing challenges due to frequent technological change and increasing need to maintain high
quality services due to increased customer demand. On pricing the respondents indicated that
Safaricom gas greater financial power to compete. However, Airtel was more focused on
creating loyal clients that making more profits. Therefore pricing is not determined as a
defining competitive factor. Another response from the interviews indicated as a defining
competitive factor. Another response from the interviews indicated that the current pricing of
Airtel has put them in very competitive setting in the industry.
On competitive competitor service offerings, all respondents were of the view that they offer
the same services that Safariconm offers in the industry. When it came to customer services,
Airtel believes that they have the proper ratio of customer service against the number of their
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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
clients which they say is their competitive advantage. On competitor marketing and
promotion all agreed that Safaricom uses Corporate Social Responsibilities as means for
marketing and promotions, however, they believe that it is not the main reason for their
success. Airtel maintains that they are using lower prices and better customer care as a way to
win clients. The brand promise by Airtel is to make lives better through effective
communication channels. The respondents noted that Airtel’s competitive technique lies in
affordable prices for the consumer.
This involves strategic marketing practices. Responses from the interviews indicate that
Airtel appreciates that the dominant player in the industry is Safaricom. However, their
strengths are only based in the number of clients that have been able to get over time and
their weakness is poor customer care, high pricing for products and services and poor
network supply.
The data findings showed that the response strategies employed by Airtel to counter
competition from other mobile network operators include vigorous promotions strategies,
cost efficiency, product differentiation, continuous research into emerging technologies and
their impact on the market, market analysis, a strategy to ensure that the right technology is
provided at the right time, in-house development teams, continual improvements to the
network, information Technology governance processes, and network infrastructure leasing.
The respondents unanimously agreed that line managers implementing the strategic responses
within the department should insure that the strategies are reviewed regularly or amended
depending on their effectiveness. The respondents further intimated that the market
conditions that can lead to adoption of more than one strategic response at a given period of
time include change in customer demands, increase in other players’ competitiveness. The
interview respondents when asked how the competitiveness of the Airtel brand compared
with Safaricom during its initial entry into the market and after adopting new strategic
responses indicated that the brand was successful as compared to the time of its introduction
due to the vigorous marketing strategies and promotion of its products. When Airtel first
came into the market sales were low until customers became aware of its differentiated
products and their benefits. This was mainly due to rapidly increase in customer awareness of
the Airtel brand.
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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel

The interview guide used this research contained open ended questions. This was an
advantage as they permitted as unlimited number of possible answers and respondents were
able to answer in detail and could qualify and clarify responses. With open ended questions
anticipated findings can be discovered and can furthermore reveal a respondents logic,
thinking process, and frame of reference. However, there were challenges that came with this
kind of questions since different responders gave different degrees of detail in their answers
as some of the responses were irrelevant or concealed in irrelevant detail and thus
comparisons and analysis became difficult. Coding responses was difficult due to the varied
response.

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

PLAN TAKEN BY CUSTOMERS
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0

299

249

399

Others

PLANS
Column2

1
2
3
4

PLAN
My plan 299
249 delight
Super Saver 399
Others

NO. OF CUSTOMER
60
30
120
90

In my study I found that most of the customers (40%) having Supersaver – 399 plan. My plan
299 - (20%), 249 delight- (10%) & others (30%) It is shown in the above bar diagram.

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel

MODE OF PAYMENT
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0

Cash

Credit card

Cheque

Internet Banking

Column1

1
2
3
4

MODE OF PAYMENT
Cash
Credit Card
Cheque
Internet Banking

NUMBER OF CUSTOMER
135
105
54
6

In my survey I observed that most of the customers paid their bill through cash (45%) &
credit cards (35%) respectively. And the rest pay it through cheque (18%) & Internet banking
(2%).

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel

Toppings taken by customers

Others; 5%
Local SMS pack; 20%

Local Mobile pack; 10%

STD pack; 65%

TOPPING

CUSTOMER

PERCENTAGE

1

STD Pack

195

65%

2

Local SMS Pack

60

20%

3

Local Mobile Pack

30

10%

4

Others

15

5%

In my survey I found that most of the customers have taken STD pack (65%). It is shown in
the above pie diagram.

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel

CUSTOMER'S PROBLEM TOWARDS POSTPAID CONNECTION
250
200
150
100
50
0

NO OF CUSTOMERS

PROBLEM TOWARDS POSTPAID

PROBLEM

CUSTOMER

1 Bill Payment

210

2 Never Get Bill on Time

60

3 Wrongly Charged

21

4 Never Get Bill

9

Page 39

Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
In my survey I found that most of the customers (70%) have faced their Problems towards
bill payment in counter. 20%, 7% & 3% are those who Never receive bill on time, wrongly
charged & never get the bill.

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
BILL PAYMENT SYSTEM USED BY CUSTOMER
Airtel Relationship Center
E-seva
Drop Box

150
90
60

50 % customer are using airtel relationship centre for bill payment and 30 % using e-seva
while 20 % customer are usiing drop box.

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel

OVERALL SATISFACTION

Unsatisfied; 5%
Excellent; 25%
Average; 20%

Good; 50%

SATISFACTION LEVEL

CUSTOMER

PERCENTAGE

1 Excellent

75

25%

2 Good

150

50%

3 Average

60

20%

4 Unsatisfied

15

5%

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
In my survey I found that most of the customer’s view towards Airtel Post paid connections
& toppings are Good (50%) & Excellent (25%). But Airtel must take care towards unsatisfied
customers (5%), if they want to stay at top.

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
CONSISTENCY LEVEL OF CUSTOMER

Less than 6 Months ; 5%
6 months to 1 year; 10%

More than 2 years; 50%
1 to 2 years ; 35%

CONSISTANCY LEVEL

CUSTOMER

PERCENTAGE

1 More Than 2 Years

150

50%

2 1 to 2 Years

115

35%

3 6 Months to 1 Year

30

10%

4 Less Than 6 Months

15

5%

In my survey I observed that (50%) of the customers are constantly buying Post paid
connections for the past two years, 35% between 1to2 years, 10% between 6months to 1 year
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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
People know about AIRTEL cellular service through

5
30
friends

advertisements

other sources

65

30 %

Friends

70% Advertisements

5% Other Sources

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
Feature of AIRTEL forced people to use AIRTEL is

35
advertisement

35
connectivity

10

35% Advertisements

schemes

goodwill

20

20% Connectivity

35%Goodwill
Page 48

10%Schemes

Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel

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Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
People’s first choice of cellular service when they want to use mobile phone

5 2
10
8
AIRTEL

HUTCH

TATA INDICOM

30

Page 50

45
RELIANCE

IDEA

OTHERS

Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel

AIRTEL 45%
RELIANCE 10%

HUTCH 30%
TATA INDICOM 5%

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IDEA 8%
OTHERS 2%

Project on Strategy Adopted by Bharti Airtel
CONCLUSION

Airtel is fulfilling the needs of many people. The company should promote their product as
attractively as possible. They should also maintain the market reputation they has and retain
the customers. There are lot of competitors in the market, the company should face the tough
competition and come out with better policies and plans.
They should always focus on achieving the targets or objectives of the company. The
company has a tie up with many large organizations and which is because of their service and
reputation in the market. Hence, the organization should change its policies with the changing
market and maintain its position.

Page 52