11-12-2012, 06:00 PM
Study and Comparative Analysis of Special Loyalty Program run by telecom operators
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Executive summary
The Indian telecom industry has been regularly beating targets. Recently, the telecom subscriber base exceeded the targeted 500 million almost 15 months before the end – 2014 deadlines. Going by the current growth, it is estimated that India will have 800 million mobile subscribers in 2012. In wireless segment GSM, CDMA and FWP wireless subscriber base has increase from 471.73 million in September 2009 to 488.40 million at the end of October 2009 at a monthly growth rate of 3.53%.
Vodafone Essar is the Indian subsidiary of Vodafone Group and commenced operations in 1994 when its predecessor Hutchison Telecom acquired the cellular license for Mumbai. The company now has operations across the country with over 106.34 million customers. Vodafone is the world's leading international mobile communications group with approximately 341 million proportionate customers as on 31 March 2010. Vodafone currently has equity interests in 31 countries across five continents and around 40 partner networks worldwide. Vodafone Essar is owned by Vodafone 67% and Essar Group 33%. It is the second largest mobile phone operator in terms of revenue behind Bharti Airtel, and third largest in terms of customers. Vodafone Essar Digilink Limited operates as a subsidiary of Vodafone Essar Limited in Rajasthan, UP (EAST) Haryana after acquiring AirCel Digilink in 2003. TRAI Report on the Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicate that Vodafone gross revenue change Rs 5,500.82 crore from quarter March 2009 to Rs 5,470.53 in quarter June 2009.
GLOBAL TELECOM INDUSTRY: AN OVERVIEW
Think of telecommunications as the world's biggest machine. Strung together by complex networks, telephones, mobile phones and internet-linked PCs, the global system touches nearly all of us. It allows us to speak, share thoughts and do business with nearly anyone, regardless of where in the world they might be. Telecom operating companies make all this happen.
Not long ago, the telecommunications industry was comprised of a club of big national and regional operators. Over the past decade, the industry has been swept up in rapid deregulation and innovation. In many countries around the world, government monopolies are now privatized and they face a plethora of new competitors. Traditional markets have been turned upside down, as the growth in mobile services out paces the fixed line and the internet starts to replace voice as the staple business.
Plain old telephone calls continue to be the industry's biggest revenue generator, but thanks to advances in network technology, this is changing. Telecom is less about voice and increasingly about text and images. High-speed internet access, which delivers computer-based data applications such as broadband information services and interactive entertainment, is rapidly making its way into homes and businesses around the world. The main broadband telecom technology - Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) - ushers in the new era. The fastest growth comes from services delivered over mobile networks.
AN INTRODUCTION - INDIAN TELECOM INDUSTRY
The telecom services have been recognized the world-over as an important tool for socio-economic development for a nation. Telecommunication is one of the prime support services needed for rapid growth and modernization of various sectors of the economy. It has become especially important in recent years because of enormous growth of information technology and its significant potential for the impact on the rest of the economy. In the past decade or so the distinction between communications & IT has been diminishing with emerging common infrastructures blurring the differentiation between content & carrier methods. At the same time, as has been the case in most of the developed world, the combination of enhanced computing power and improved telecommunications- equated by some to the introduction of steam power in the 18th century and electricity in the 19th, has spurred a major improvement in the productive capacities of the economies.
Reforms in Telecom Sector:
Telecommunications is one of the few sectors in India, which has witnessed the most fundamental structural and institutional reforms since 1991. Considering the great potential for the growth of telephone demand with the accelerated growth of economic activities, the Government of India announced the National Telecom Policy in 1994 and the New Telecom Policy in 1999. The National Telecom Policy provides for private sector participation to supplement the efforts of DoT in basic telephone services. The opening up of the basic services provided a big opportunity for private & foreign investors. More policy initiatives included Addendum to NTP -1999, Broadband Policy 2004, amendment to Broadband Policy 2004 etc.
To a great extent the perceived linkage between communications, information technology and growth has shaped the Indian telecommunications policy, market perception and consequently industry activity. Access to information infrastructure has been seen as a prerequisite not just to a robust IT industry but also to broad based growth and competitiveness in all other services and industries. The entire sector is now open to unrestricted competition in all segments except cellular services where spectrum is a limiting factor. The reforms process in the telecom sector is still on, aiming to remove the balance hurdles and limitations. One such hurdle is ensuring expansion of sustainable connectivity in rural areas. To encourage rural telephony, the government has set up a universal service fund earlier. Broadband policy has been announced with a view to providing better quality of services. One of the aims of this policy is to make rural connectivity remunerative and sustainable.
Vodafone Essar Ltd:
Vodafone Essar is a one of the major player of mobile telecommunications in India. Headquarter located in Mumbai Maharashtra, India. Vodafone Essar formerly known as Hutchison Essar is a cellular operator in India that covers 23 telecom circles in India based in Mumbai. Vodafone Essar is owned by Vodafone 67% and Essar Group 33%. It is the second largest mobile phone operator in terms of revenue behind Bharti Airtel, and third largest in terms of customers.
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, piping 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. 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.
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 Group plc
Vodafone Group plc is a British multinational mobile network operator headquartered in Newbury, England. Vodafone is the world's largest mobile telecommunication network company, based on revenue, and has a market value of about £71.2 billion (November 2009). It currently has operations in 31 countries and partner networks in a further 40 countries. Based on subscribers, it is the world's second largest mobile phone operator behind China Mobile and over Telefónica, with over 427 million subscribers in 31 markets across 5 continents as of 2009. In the UK, its home ground, Vodafone has badly underperformed in the last few years due to brisk change in administration. It has slipped from first to third largest telecom operator generating a revenue of £4.9 billion from its 18.7 million customers in 2008-09. As of March 31, 2009, the company employs more than 79,000 people worldwide.