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Chapter 2 Conceptual Framework of Brand Image, Consumer
Perception & Company Performance
2.1 History of Cellular Telephony
2.2 History of Cellular Telephony - India
2.3 Systems
2.3.1 GSM
2.3.2 CDMA
2.4 Current Status of Indian Telecom Industry
2.4.1 Introduction
2.4.2 Key Statistics
2.4.3 Market Dynamics
2.4.4 Telecommunication: Key Developments & Investments
2.4.5 Government Initiatives
2.4.6 Road Ahead
2.5 Brand
2.6 Brand Image
2.7 Consumer Perception (QoS)
2.8 Company Performance (Market)
2.9 References
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2.1 History of Cellular Telephony
1947 Bell Laboratories introduced the idea of cellular communications
with the police car technology.
1947 The basic concept of cellular phones began, when researchers
looked at crude mobile (car) phones and realized that by using
small cells (range of service area) with frequency reuse they could
increase the traffic capacity of mobile phones substantially.
However at that time, the technology to do so was nonexistent.
1947 AT&T proposed that the FCC allocate a large number of radio-
spectrum frequencies so that widespread mobile telephone service
would become feasible.
1947 The FCC decided to limit the amount of frequencies available, the
limits made only twenty-three phone conversations possible
simultaneously in the same service area.
1968 AT&T and Bell Labs proposed a cellular system to the FCC of
many small, low-powered, broadcast towers, each covering a 'cell' a
few miles in radius and collectively covering a larger area. Each
tower would use only a few of the total frequencies allocated to the
system. As the phones traveled across the area, calls would be
passed from tower to tower.
1968 The FCC reconsidered its position by stating "if the technology to
build a better mobile service works, we will increase the
frequencies allocation, freeing the airwaves for more mobile
phones."
1973 (April) The first call on a portable cell phone is made by Dr Martin Cooper,
a former general manager for the systems division at Motorola, who
is also considered the inventor of the first modern portable handset.
1977 AT&T and Bell Labs had constructed a prototype cellular system.
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A year later, public trials of the new system were started in Chicago
with over 2000 trial customers.
1979 The first commercial cellular telephone system began operation in
Tokyo.
1980 Analog cellular telephone systems were experiencing rapid growth
in Europe, particularly in Scandinavia, United Kingdom, France
and Germany. Each country developed its own system, which was
incompatible with everyone else's in equipment and operation
1981 Motorola and American Radio telephone started a second U.S.
cellular radio-telephone system test in the Washington/Baltimore
area.
1982 FCC authorizes commercial cellular service for the USA.
1982 The Conference of European Posts and Telegraphs (CEPT) formed
a study group called the Groupe Spécial Mobile (GSM) to study
and develop a pan-European public land mobile system. The
proposed system had to meet certain criteria:
· Good subjective speech quality
· Low terminal and service cost
· Support for international roaming
· Ability to support handheld terminals
· Support for range of new services and facilities
· Spectral efficiency
· ISDN compatibility
1983 The first American commercial analog cellular service or AMPS
(Advanced Mobile Phone Service) was made available in Chicago
by Ameritech.
1987 Cellular telephone subscribers exceeded one million and the
airways were crowded.
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1989 GSM responsibility was transferred to the European
Telecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI),
1990 Phase I of the GSM specifications were published.
1991 Commercial launch of cellular service based on GSM standard in
Finland.
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2.2 History of Cellular Telephony in India
1992 Telecommunication sector in India liberalized to bridge the gap
through government spending & to provide additional resources
for the nation’s telecom target. Private sector allowed participating
1993 The telecom industry gets an annual foreign investment Rs 20.6
million
1994 License for providing cellular mobile services granted by the
government of India for the Metropolitan cites of Delhi, Mumbai,
Kolkata & Chennai. Cellular mobile service to be duopoly (i.e. not
more than two cellular mobile operators could be licensed in each
telecom circle), under a fixed license fee regime for 10 years.
1995 19 more telecom circles get mobile licenses
1995(August) Kolkata became the first metro to have a cellular network
1997 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is set up
1998 Annual foreign investment in telecom stands at Rs 17,756.4
million.
1999 FDI inflow into telecom sector falls by almost 90% to Rs. 2126.7
million
1999 Tariff rebalancing exercise gets initiated
1999(March) National Telecom Policy is announced.
2000(June) FDI inflow drops further down to Rs 918 million coming
2000 (January) Amendment of TRAI Act.
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2.3 Mobile Telecommunication Systems
2.3.1 GSM System
In a cellular system, the geographical area is divided into adjacent, non-overlapping,
hexagonal shaped cells. Each cell has its own transmitter and receiver (called base
stations) to communicate with the Mobile units in that cell; a mobile switching station
coordinates the handoff of mobile units crossing cell boundaries. Cellular systems are
based on the concept of frequency reuse : the same frequency is used by several sites
which are far enough from one another, resulting in a tremendous gain in system
capacity. The counterpart is the increased complexity, both for the network and the
mobile stations, which must be able to select a station among several possibilities, and
the infrastructure cost because of the number of different sites. The system hands over
calls from transmitter to transmitter as customers move around in their vehicles. This
new technique would allow more customers access to the system simultaneously, and
when more capacity was needed, the area served by each transmitter could be divided
again which is popularly known as CELL SPLITTING. One of the most important
concepts for any cellular telephone system is that of multiple access meaning that
multiple, simultaneous users can be supported through frequency reuse. In other
words, a large number of users share a common pool of radio channels and any user
can gain access to any channel (each user is not always assigned to the same channel).
A channel can be thought as merely a portion of the limited radio spectrum, which is
temporarily allocated for a specific purpose, such as someone's phone call.
Cellular Architecture:
GSM System Components
A schematic overview of the GSM system is shown in the figure given below. The
system is composed of three main elements; the switching subsystem, the base station
subsystem, and the mobile. The switching part makes the connection between the two
users, the base station part controls the communication across the radio interface, and
the mobile acts as the transmitter receiver for the user.
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PSTN
A schematic overview of the GSM system is shown in the figure given below. The
system is composed of three main elements; the switching subsystem, the base station
subsystem, and the mobile. The switching part makes the connection between the two
users, the base station part controls the communication across the radio interface, and
the mobile acts as the transmitter receiver for the user.
Mobile Station
The best known part of the cellular network is certainly the mobile stations. Different
types of mobile stations are distinguished by power and application. The mobile
station (MS) types include not only vehicle mounted portable equipment but also
handheld stations popularly known as mobile handsets. A significant architectural
aspect of the MS relates to the concept of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). The SIM
card contains a unique International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) used to
identify the subscriber to the system. The SIM is basically a smart card, containing all
the subscriber-related information stored on the user side of the radio interface.
A potential user may off course buy mobile equipment, but he may also lease or
borrow the equipment or purchase it through other channels. Fixed Mobile Stations
are permanently installed in a car and may have a maximum allowed RF output of up
to 20W. Portable (bag phones) can emit up to8 W and handheld portable units up to 2
W. With Second Generation mobiles (on the market since 1993), the GSM system is
becoming more and more attractive. Hand-portable units are becoming much smaller
and are coming with numerous features on it. This is giving the system boost
popularity, especially in those markets with a particular demand for small mobiles
such as in Asian and Pacific areas.
Base Station Subsystem
Base Station Subsystem groups the infrastructure machines, which are specific to the
radio cellular aspect of GSM. The BSS is in direct contact with the mobile station
through the radio interface. As such, it includes the machines in charge of
transmission and reception on the radio path, and the management thereof. On the
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other side, the BSS is in contact with the switches of Network Subsystem (NSS). The
BSS includes two types of machines:
Base Station or Base Transceiver Station
The counterpart to a mobile station within a cellular network is the base transceiver
station (BTS), which is the mobile's interface to the network. Each cell site is
equipped with a BTS. A BTS is usually located in the center of a cell. A cell site is
used to refer to the physical location of radio equipment that provides coverage within
a cell. The transmitting power of the BTS determines the absolute cell size. The BTS
houses the radio transceivers that define a cell and handles the radio-link protocols
with the Mobile station. BTSs are placed in the field to transfer a call to a customer's
handsets, and there are between one and sixteen transceiver, each of which represents
a separate RF channel. A BTS may cover an area of 30 - 40 sq kms. However, in a
congested, urban location, the BTS coverage area is much smaller. BTS can be
considered as complex radio modems and have little other function. A list of hardware
located at a cell site includes power sources, interface equipment, radio frequency
transmitters and receivers, and antenna systems.
Base Station Controller BSC
Base station controller is in contact with the switches of NSS. It monitors and controls
several base stations, the number of which depends on the manufacturer and can be
between several tens and several hundred of stations. A typical BSC can manage from
one BTS to the entire BTS in service area, depending on their traffic capacity. The
chief tasks of the BSC are frequency administration, the control of a BTS, and
exchange functions, it handles radio - channels setup, frequency hopping, and
handovers. The BSC is the connection between the mobile station and the Mobile
Service Switching Centre and is in charge of all radio interface management through
the remote command of the BTS and the mobile station, mainly the allocation and
release of radio channels and the handover management. The BSC is connected, on
one side, to several BTSs and on the other side, to the Network and Switching Sub
System (more appropriately to a Mobile Switching Centre). A BSC is in fact a small
switch with substantial computational capability. The hardware of the BSC may be
located at the same site as the BTS, at its own standalone site, or at the site of the
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Mobile Switching Centre (MSC). BSC and BTS together form a functional entity
sometimes referred to as the Base Station Subsystem.
Network and Switching Subsystem / Switching subsystem
The NSS includes the main switching functions, as well as the data basis needed for
subscriber data and mobility management. The main role of NSS is to manage the
communications between the GSM users and the other telecommunications network
users. The NSS is responsible for performing call processing and subscriber-related
functions.
Mobile Services Switching Centre
The MSC is the interface of the cellular network to the PSTN. MSC performs the
telephony switching functions of the system, it acts like a normal switching node of
the PSTN, and additionally provides all the functionality needed to handle a mobile
subscriber, such as registration, authentication, location updating, handovers, and call
routing to a roaming subscriber. MSC is the primary switching interface between the
mobile telephone systems, and the PSTN. It is capable of routing calls from the fixed
network - via the BSC and the BTS- to an individual mobile station. The MSC also
provides the network with specific data about individual mobile stations. The MSC
interfaces with BSS on one other side (through which it is in contact with GSM users)
and with the external networks on the other. The NSSs also need to interface with the
external networks to make use of their capability to transport user data or signaling
between GSM entities. In particular, the NSS make use of a signaling support
network, at least partly external to GSM, usually referred to as the SS7 network.
Home Location Register (HLR)
The HLR is a database about subscribers; it stores the identity and user data of all the
subscribers belonging to the area of related MSC. These are permanent data, such as
the International Mobile Subscriber Number (IMSI) of an individual user,
authentication key, including a subscriber's service profile, location information,
activity status and some temporary data. Temporary data on the SIM include such
entries as (1) the address of the current visitor location register (VLR), which
currently administers the mobile stations (2) the number to which the calls must be
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forwarded (if the subscriber select call forwarding), and (3) some transient parameters
for authentication and ciphering .
The IMSI is permanently stored on the SIM card. The IMSI is one of the pieces of
important information used to identify a subscriber within GSM system. The first
three digits of the IMSI identify the Mobile Country Code (MCC) and the next two
digits are the mobile network code (MNC). Up to ten additional digits of the mobile
subscriber identification number (MSIC) complete the IMSI.
Visitor Location Register
The VLR contains the relevant data of all mobiles currently located in a serving (G)
MSC. It is the database that contains temporary storing subscription data for those
subscribers currently situated in the service area of the corresponding MSC as well as
holding data on their location at a more precise level than the HLR. The VLR is
always integrated with MSC. The permanent data are the same as data found in the
HLR; the temporary data differ slightly. For example, the VLR contains the
temporary mobile subscriber identity (TMSI), which is used for limited periods of
time to prevent the transmission of the IMSI via the air - interface. The substitution of
the TMSI for the IMSI serves to protect the subscriber from high-technology intruders
and helps point to the location of the mobile station through the cell identity.
The VLR has to support the (G) MSC during a call establishment and an
authentication procedure as it furnishes data specific to the subscriber. Locating
subscriber data in the VLR, as well as in the HLR, reduces the data traffic to the HLR,
because it is not necessary to ask for these data every time they are needed. Another
reason for storing the identical data at two different locations (in the HLR & VLR) is
that each serves a different purpose. The HLR has to provide the GMSC with the
necessary subscriber data when a call is coming from the public network. The VLR,
on the other hand serves the opposite function, providing the host (G) MSC with the
necessary subscriber data when a call is coming from mobile station.
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Authentication Centre
The Authentication center (AC) is related to the HLR. It provides the HLR with
different set of parameters to complete the authentication of a mobile station. The AC
knows exactly which algorithms it has to use for a specific subscriber in order to
calculate input values and issue the required results. Since all the algorithms for the
authentication procedures are stored within AC, they are protected against abuse. The
SIM card issued in area assigned to AC contains the same algorithms for
authentication as the AC does. If the AC provides input and output parameters for
these algorithms to either the HLR or the VLR, either location register can verify
(authenticate) the mobile station.
Equipment Identity Register
The equipment identity register (EIR) is a database that contains a list of all valid
mobile equipment on the network, where each mobile station is identified by its
International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI). An IMEI is marked as invalid if it
has been reported stolen or is not type approved. Within the EIR we find all the serial
numbers of the mobile equipment that is either stolen or, due to some defect in their
hardware, may not be used in a network. The idea is to check the identity at each
registration or call setup of any mobile station, and then depending on its IMEI, admit
or bar access of the mobile station to the system. The implementation of EIR is
relatively a new security feature of the GSM system.
Operation & Maintenance Centre
The Operation & Maintenance Centre (OMC) has access to both the (G) MSC and the
BSC, handles error messages coming from the network, and controls the traffic load
of the BSC and the BTS. The OMC configures the BTS via the BSC and allows the
operator to check the attached components of the system. As the cells become smaller
and the number of base stations increases, it will not be possible in the future.
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2.3.2 CDMA System
CDMA or Code Division Multiple Access is a form of access scheme that has been
widely used within 3G cellular telecommunications systems as well as being used in a
number of other technologies as well. CDMA technology gave some significant
advantages when compared to the technologies used for previous in terms of overall
performance and specifically in terms of spectrum efficiency.
CDMA uses spread spectrum technology with the use of different codes to separate
between different stations or users rather than different frequencies of time slots as in
the case of previous access technologies. In this way, CDMA is different to the
previous schemes used to provide different cellular users with access to the radio
network.
CDMA history
CDMA is based around a form of transmission known as Direct Sequence Spread
Spectrum. The CDMA history can be directly linked back to the 1940s when this
form of transmission was first envisaged. As electronics technology improved, it
started to be used for covert military transmissions in view of the facts that the
transmissions look like noise, it is difficult to decipher without the knowledge of the
right codes, and furthermore it is difficult to jam.
With the revolution in cellular telecommunications that occurred in the 1980s a then
little know company named Qualcomm working on DSSS transmissions started to
look at this as the basis for a cellular telecommunications multiple access scheme -
CDMA - code division multiple access.
The concept of CDMA had to prove in the field and accordingly Qualcomm was
joined by US network operators Nynex and Ameritech to develop the first
experimental CDMA system. Later the team was expanded as Motorola and AT&T
(now Lucent) joined to bring their resources to speed development.
As a result this it was possible to start writing a specification for CDMA in 1990.
With the support of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA)
and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) a standards group was set
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up. This group then published the standard for the first CDMA system in the form of
IS-95, resulting in the formal publication of IS-95-A in 1995.
The first CDMA system was launched in September 1995 by Hutchison Telephone
Co. Ltd. in Hong Kong and SK Telecom in Korea soon followed along with networks
in the USA.
This was only one cellular telecommunications system, although it was the first. Its
development led on to the CDMA2000 series of standards.
The use of CDMA did not stop with CDMA2000 as it became necessary to evolve the
GSM standard so that it could carry data and provide significant improvements in
terms of spectrum use efficiency. Accordingly CDMA, in the form of Wideband
CDMA (WCDMA) was adopted for this standard.
Key elements of CDMA
CDMA is a form of spread spectrum transmission technology. It has a number of
distinguishing key features to spread spectrum transmission technologies:
· Use of wide bandwidth: CDMA, like other spread spectrum technologies uses
a wider bandwidth than would otherwise be needed fort he transmission of the
data. This results in a number of advantages including an increased immunity
to interference or jamming, and multiple user access.
· Spreading codes used: In order to achieve the increased bandwidth, the data
is spread by use of a code which is independent of the data.
· Level of security: In order to receive the data, the receiver must have
knowledge of the spreading code, without this it is not possible to decipher the
transmitted data, and this gives a measure of security.
· Multiple access: The use of the spreading codes which are independent for
each user along with synchronous reception allow multiple users to access the
same channel simultaneously.
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CDMA technology advantages
The use of CDMA offers several advantages and it is for this reason that CDMA
technology has been adopted for many 3G cellular telecommunications systems.
· Improvement in capacity: One of the chief claims for CDMA is that it gives
significant improvements in network capacity. Original expectations for some
of the proponents of CDMA technology were for some very significant
improvements:
· 18 fold increase in capacity when compared to AMPS (1G technology
used in USA)
· 6 fold increase in capacity when compared to US TDMA (2G
technology used in USA) - similar increases were also claimed over
GSM.
In reality the original expectations were not fulfilled although increases of a
factor of about two were seen when compared to US TDMA and GSM. This
in itself was a significant improvement.
· Improvement in handover / handoff: Using CDMA it is possible for a
terminal to communicate with two base stations at once. As a result, the old
link only needs to be broken when the new one is firmly established. This
provides significant improvements in terms of the reliability of handover /
handoff from one base station to another.
CDMA has been a particularly successful technology. CDMA technology has been
used in all the 3G cellular telecommunications systems in one form or another and has
enabled significant improvements to be gained over previously technologies used in
2G systems, for example.
CDMA is based around the use of direct sequence spread spectrum techniques.
Essentially CDMA is a form of spread spectrum transmission which uses spreading
codes to spread the signal out over a wider bandwidth then would normally be
required. By using CDMA spread spectrum technology, many users are able to use
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the same channel and gain access to the system without causing undue interference to
each other.
Although as the number of users increases care has to be taken to ensure that
interference levels do not rise to the extent that performance falls, it is still possible to
provide access to a large number of different users and allow them access.
CDMA spread spectrum basics
The key element of code division multiple access CDMA is its use of a form of
transmission known as direct sequence spread spectrum, DSSS.
Direct sequence spread spectrum is a form of transmission that looks very similar to
white noise over the bandwidth of the transmission. However once received and
processed with the correct descrambling codes, it is possible to extract the required
data.
When transmitting a CDMA spread spectrum signal, the required data signal is
multiplied with what is known as a spreading or chip code data stream. The resulting
data stream has a higher data rate than the data itself. Often the data is multiplied
using the XOR (exclusive OR) function.
CDMA spreading
Each bit in the spreading sequence is called a chip, and this is much shorter than each
information bit. The spreading sequence or chip sequence has the same data rate as
the final output from the spreading multiplier. The rate is called the chip rate, and this
is often measured in terms of a number of M chips / sec.
The baseband data stream is then modulated onto a carrier and in this way the overall
the overall signal is spread over a much wider bandwidth than if the data had been
simply modulated onto the carrier. This is because; signals with high data rates
occupy wider signal bandwidths than those with low data rates.
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CDMA spread spectrum generation
To decode the signal and receive the original data, the CDMA signal is first
demodulated from the carrier to reconstitute the high speed data stream. This is
multiplied with the spreading code to regenerate the original data. When this is done,
then only the data with that was generated with the same spreading code is
regenerated, all the other data that is generated from different spreading code streams
is ignored.
CDMA spread spectrum decoding
The use of CDMA spread spectrum is a powerful principle and using this CDMA
technique, it is possible to transmit several sets of data independently on the same
carrier and then reconstitute them at the receiver without mutual interference. In this
way a base station can communicate with several mobiles on a single channel.
Similarly several mobiles can communicate with a single base station, provided that
in each case an independent spreading code is used.
CDMA spread spectrums encode / decode process
In order to visualize how the CDMA spread spectrum process operates; the easiest
method is to show an example of how the system actually operates in terms of data
bits, and how the data is recovered from the CDMA spread spectrum signal.
The first part of the process is to generate the CDMA spread spectrum signal. Take as
an example that the data to be transmitted is 1001, and the chip or spreading code is
0010. For each data bit, the complete spreading code is used to multiple the data, and
in this way, for each data bits, the spread or expanded signal consists of four bits.
1 0 0 1 Data to be transmitted
0010 0010 0010 0010 Chip or spreading code
1101 0010 0010 1101 Resultant spread data output
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With the signal obtained and transmitted, it needs to be decoded within the remote
receiver:
1101 0010 0010 1101 Incoming CDMA signal
0010 0010 0010 0010 Chip or spreading code
1111 0000 0000 1111 Result of de-spreading
1 0 0 1 Integrated output
NB: 1 x 1 = 0 1 x 0 = 1
In this way it can be seen that the original data is recovered exactly by using the same
spreading or chip code. Had another code been used to regenerate the CDMA spread
spectrum signal, then it would have resulted in a random sequence after de-spreading.
This would have appeared as noise in the system.
The spreading code used in this example was only four bits long. This enabled the
process to be visualized more easily. Commonly spreading codes may be 64 bits, or
even 128 bits long to provide the required performance.
CDMA spreading gain
The bandwidth of the CDMA spread spectrum signal will be much wider than the
original data stream. To quantify the increase in bandwidth, a term known as the
spreading gain is used. If the bandwidth of the CDMS spread spectrum signal is W
and the input data bit length or period 1/R then the CDMA spreading gain can be
defined:
Spreading gain = W / R
It is found that the larger the spreading gain of the CDMA spread spectrum signal, the
more effective the performance of the system is. This is because the wanted signal
becomes larger. In the example shown above, the spreading gain is four, as seen by
the fact that four "1"s are generated for each required data bit. Data produced by other
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dispreading codes would appear as noise and can be discarded as it would be lower in
value.
The principle behind CDMA spread spectrum communications is relatively
straightforward. The same code must be sued within generation and decoding of the
CDMA spread spectrum signal to enable the data to pass unchanged through the
system. The use of a different code in transmission and reception results in a signal
similar in character to noise being generated and this can be discarded.
The CDMA orthogonal spreading codes are one of the major elements within the
whole CDMA system. The CDMA orthogonal spreading codes are combined with the
data stream to be transmitted in such a way that the bandwidth required is increased
and the benefits of the spread spectrum system can be gained.
The CDMA codes are specific to each channel / user so that the different users can
gain access to the system and communicate as required.
CDMA codes and correlation
The concept of CDMA is based around the fact that a data sequence is multiplied by a
spreading code or sequence which increases the bandwidth of the signal. Then within
the receiver the same spreading code or sequence is used to extract the required data.
Only when the required code is used, does the required data appear from the signal.
The process of extracting the data is called correlation. When a code exactly the same
as that used in the transmitter is used, then it is said to have a correlation of one and
data is extracted. When a spreading code that does not correlate is used, then the data
will not be extracted and a different set of data will appear. This means that it is
necessary for the same spreading code to be used within the transmitter and receiver
for the data to be extracted.
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CDMA code types
There are several types of codes that can be used within a CDMA system for
providing the spreading function:
· PN codes: Pseudo-random number codes (pseudo-noise or PN code) can be
generated very easily. These codes will sum to zero over a period of time.
Although the sequence is deterministic because of the limited length of the
linear shift register used to generate the sequence, they provide a PN code that
can be used within a CDMA system to provide the spreading code required.
They are used within many systems as there is a very large number that can be
used.
A feature of PN codes is that if the same versions of the PN code are time
shifted, then they become almost orthogonal, and can be used as virtually
orthogonal codes within a CDMA system.
· Truly orthogonal codes: Two codes are said to be orthogonal if when they
are multiplied together the result is added over a period of time they sum to
zero. For example a codes 1 -1 -1 1 and 1 -1 1 -1 when multiplied together
give 1 1 -1 -1 which gives the sum zero. An example of an orthogonal code set
is the Walsh codes used within the IS95 / CDMA2000 system.
One of the problems encountered with CDMA is known as the "Near Far" problem.
This CDMA near far problem is a key element in CDMA and as a result close control
of the power within CDMA handsets is required.
The provision of a satisfactory solution of the CDMA near far problem was a key
element in enabling CDMA to become a viable technology for providing a multiple
access scheme for users within cellular and other radio based communications
systems.
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CDMA near far problem basics
The CDMA near far problem arises because handsets may be anywhere within the
particular cell boundaries. Some handsets will be close to the base station, whereas
others will be much further away.
In a free space scenario signals decay according to an inverse square law - in other
words double the distance and the strength falls away to a quarter.
Signal = k x 1 / d2
Where:
k = constant
d = distance
In cellular applications this situation may be worse. The effects of objects and other
obstructions in the signal propagation path mean that in reality a signal decays at a
greater rate than the simple inverse square law. It is somewhere between a law that
follows a curve of an inverse of the distance to the power three or four. Many system
planners may use a law of around 1 / d 3.4.
The result of this is that signals within a cell will have a huge variation in signal
strengths. However for CDMA to operate correctly the receiver must be able to
receive all the required signals within the same channel bandwidth and it must be able
to decode them.
For the receiver to be able to decode all the signals in the channel, they should ideally
all be at the same signal strength - giving the CDMA near far problem.
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CDMA near far problem solution
The CDMA near far problem is a serious problem, and requires an effective means of
overcoming the problem for CDMA to operate correctly.
The schemes used to overcome the CDMA near far problem utilize fast and accurate
power control systems.
Drawbacks caused by the CDMA near far problem
While the power control schemes that are adopted by the different cellular
telecommunications technologies work very well and allow the CDMA systems to
operate over a wide area, there are penalties for using them:
· Reduced data capacity: The power control mechanism requires data to be
sent in both directions across the radio interface. This utilizes data capacity
that could be otherwise used for carrying revenue earning data.
· High power handset power consumption at cell edges: In order to be able to
maintain the required signal level at the base station when the handset is close
to the edge of the cell, it will be required to transmit at a high power level.
This will reduce battery life. Other cellular systems might not require such
high signal levels at the base station and may be able to conserve battery
power as a result.
The CDMA near far problem is resolved in systems such as cdmaOne, CDMA2000
and W-CDMA by using sophisticated power control schemes to ensure that the power
levels at the base station fall within a given band. Although there are some penalties
to be paid for these schemes to overcome the CDMA near far problem, they operate
well and enable significant gains to be made by using CDMA over previous
technologies.
One of the major reasons for the choice of CDMA for the 3G cellular services as well
as a number of other communications systems, was the fact that it gave a significant
improvement in capacity.
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In fact CDMA capacity has been the subject of many papers and much discussion. It
is dependent upon many factors and as a result, the exact determination of the
improvements in CDMA capacity has been largely down to practical experience.
Original CDMA capacity claims
One of the chief claims for CDMA is that it gives significant improvements in
network capacity. Original hype for CDMA proposed some very significant
improvements. Expectations by some of the proponents of CDMA technology were
for some very significant improvements:
· 18 fold increase in capacity when compared to AMPS (1G technology used in
USA)
· 6 fold increase in capacity when compared to US TDMA (2G technology used
in USA) - similar increases were also claimed over GSM.
In reality the original expectations were not fulfilled although increases of a factor of
about two were seen when compared to US TDMA and GSM. This in itself was a
significant improvement.
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2.4 Current Status of Indian Telecom Industry
2.4.1 Introduction
India is one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the world wherein the
telecommunications sector has emerged as a key propeller of social-economic
development in an intensive, knowledge-driven global landscape. Introduction of
National Telecom Policy-2012 has furthermore accelerated equitable and inclusive
economic growth by laying special focus on providing affordable and quality
telecommunication services in rural and remote areas.
The sector's significant contribution to the economic development is clearly reflected
in the unprecedented increase in tele-density and sharp decline in tariffs in the Indian
telecom sector which accounts for almost 3 per cent of the gross domestic product
(GDP).
2.4.2 Key Developments
Aligning their efforts with international trends, Indian service providers are exploring
new ways to capture the markets. They are adopting new technologies like mobile
Value Added Services (MVAS), cloud and data-center services, according to a report
titled 'Indian Telecom Market Overview 2012'.
· India's telecom subscriber base stands at 935.18 million at the end of October
2012, according to data released by the sector regulator Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India (TRAI)
· The tele-density, based on total number of mobile connections, has reached
74.21, according to TRAI
· Furthermore, a study by Bangalore-based Zinnov states that the wireless
subscriber market stands at 933.7 million subscribers while the wireline stands
at 31.4 million wherein Bharti dominates the wireless segment and BSNL
dominates the wireline market
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2.4.3 Market Dynamics
The Indian mobile phone market is highly competitive with more than 150 device
manufacturers trying to woo the consumers with their offerings. Most of these
producers focus their efforts on the low-cost feature phone market, which constitutes
over 91 per cent of overall mobile phone sales, offering a huge scope for growth.
Manufacturers like ZTE, Micromax, Karbonn Mobile, Huawei stood at sixth, seventh
and twelfth positions respectively, in the Indian smartphone market in the first half of
2012. They are constantly enhancing their smartphone portfolio to compete with big
global manufacturers like Samsung and Nokia, which held the first and second
position respectively.
Samsung's share grew from 15 per cent in the first quarter of 2011 to 49.8 per cent in
the second quarter of 2012, owing to its brand strength and wide device portfolio.
Industry experts believe that if Samsung continues to take advantage of the high
growth opportunities in Indian market, it could end 2012 with more than 60 per cent
of the market share.
2.4.4 Telecommunication: Key Expansions & Investments
· RPG Group's KEC International Ltd has won orders worth Rs 868 crore (US$
159.81 million) for supply and laying of transmission, power systems and
telecom lines in India, Abu Dhabi, Tunisia and Philippines. These include Rs
227 crore (US$ 41.88 million)-order from Power Grid Corporation of India
(PGCIL) for supply and erection of transmission lines in Jharkhand on turnkey
basis and Rs 278 crore (US$ 51.18 million)-order for laying transmission line
between Ruwais and Bab grid stations in Abu Dhabi on a similar basis, stated
an official release
· Vodafone India has inked an agreement with ICICI Bank to launch a mobile
payment service, m-pesa, which will take-off in Kolkata, West Bengal, Bihar
and Jharkhand, and will then be rolled out to other parts of the country in a
phased manner. The service will facilitate cash deposit and money transfer to
any mobile phone in India, and cash withdraw from designated outlets. The
service would also enable customers for mobile recharge, recharge for direct-
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to-home (DTH) services, utility bill payments and money transfer to any bank
account in India and payments at shops
· Tech Mahindra, the software services provider, in which vehicle manufacturer
Mahindra & Mahindra holds about 48 per cent stake, has set up three
laboratories for Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology in Delhi, Bangalore
and Pune. The company plans to work along with companies preparing to
launch the services in India. LTE, commonly called 4G, is a standard for high-
speed data communication for mobile phones and data networks.
2.4.5 Government Initiatives
· The Indian Government intends to make India a teleport hub, enabling it to
become an up-linking/down-linking centre, just like Hong Kong and
Singapore. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B), in
consultation with the industry, will explore modalities, challenges and finalize
the road map for the same. The initiative is expected to facilitate foreign
investments, better technology and sustainable employment opportunities in
the country. The Government has recently given its nod to 74 per cent of
foreign direct investment (FDI) in DTH, IPTV, and mobile TV.
· Meanwhile, in a bid to make International long distance calls cheaper and
intensify competition in this segment, the telecom regulator TRAI has allowed
telephone users of one operator to use calling cards issued by another operator.
For instance, a Vodafone user would now be able to make calls to the US or
UK using Reliance's global calling card.
· The new system is expected to open up markets for foreign giants such as BT,
AT&T and Orange that would now sell their voice calling cards to retail and
enterprise users in India. These multinational firms, at present are offering
only data services to large corporate.
· The telecom tower provider industry has been recently granted the
'infrastructure' status, a move that will make tower providers eligible for
viability gap funding, higher limit on external commercial borrowings (ECBs),
lower import duties and exemptions on excise duty on telecom infrastructure
equipment.
· Tower providers will also get advantage of lower lending rates at 3-4 per cent
on loan terms of 10-15 years as against the market borrowing rates of 12-13
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per cent. Along with other multiple benefits, the companies will also be given
a tax holiday under section 80-IA of the Income Tax Act. Industry body
Tower and Infrastructure Provider's Association (TAIPA) will coordinate with
the implementation committee to bring in commonality of interest to ensure
rapid progression of the new development.
· The Government will also soon give a green signal to a three-way partnership
between Russia's NIS Glonass (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Russian
public-private partnership company, Navigation-Information Systems), BSNL
and MTNL for delivering satellite-based navigation services in India. A draft
memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the entities involved is being
considered.
· The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued new guidelines
according to which foreign entities can participate in the upcoming 2G
auctions directly and obtain a licence. The initiative is expected to make the
upcoming auctions more attractive to certain foreign players such as Telenor,
which wanted to bid directly without an Indian partner in the auctions. The
notice inviting applications (NIA) for the same have stated that the debut
companies will have to pay Rs 1 crore (US$ 184, 059.68) for unified license in
a service area where they wish to operate. There will be a lock-in period of
three years.
2.4.6 Future Ahead
Mobile device sales in India are projected to reach 251 million units in 2013, an
increase of 13.5 per cent over the sales of 221 million units in 2012, according to a
study by Gartner. The study further anticipates that the mobile handset market would
witness a steady growth through 2016 when end-user sales will surpass 326 million
units.
Moreover, the data-center market is pegged at over US$ 4 billion currently and is
expected to reach approximately US$ 6 billion by 2014, said the study by Zinnov. The
players are increasingly getting inclined towards MVAS opportunities. Indian MVAS
market, presently valued over US$ 5 billion, is expected to shift from the
conventional SMS based services to internet based and application based services and
reach well over US$ 6 billion by 2013.
82
2.5 Brand
American Marketing Association defined that a brand is a name, term, sign, symbol,
or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods or services of one
seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors. This
definition emphasized on visual features as a differentiating factor.
Dibb, Simkin, Pride, & Ferrell (1997) modified this original definition to a name,
term, design, symbol or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as
distinct from those of other sellers. Any other feature here allows for intangibles such
as brand image as a point of differentiation and not only the tangible visual features.
Ambler (2003) defined further as a name, symbol or design that identifies one or more
product and it is something that is bought by the consumers. Ambler (2003) further
emphasize the difference between a product and a brand by highlighting that unlike a
product, which can be produced in a factory and it can be copied by a competitor, a
brand is unique. Earlier definitions by Ambler (1995) was based on a consumer
oriented approach by defining a brand as a promise of the bundles of attributes that
someone buys and provide satisfaction.
The attributes that make up a brand may be real or illusory, rational or emotional,
tangible or invisible. Wood (2000) supports this view and highlights that a brand can
be defined from different perspective such as consumers' perspective and/or from the
brand owner's perspective.
According to Leiser (2004), the understanding of brands today is far beyond the
simplistic view of a logo, tagline or advertising image but a set of expectations and
associations evoked from experience with a company or product. Furthermore, it is all
about how customers think and feel about what the business or product can deliver
across the board.
83
Davis (2002) reiterates that consumers do not have a relationship with a product or
service but he/she may have a relationship with a brand because a brand is a set of
promises and therefore the strongest brands own a place in the consumer‘s mind.
Furthermore, strong brands can increase the value of a company as investors are
willing to pay more for intangible asset such as a strong brand (Motameni and
Shahrokhi, 1998; Davis 2002; Ambler, 2003; Rooney, 1995).
According to Aaker (1996), a strong brand has a strong brand equity which is a set of
assets such as: brand name awareness, brand loyalty, perceived quality and brand
associations. However building strong brands is a challenge in today‘s environment as
there are substantial pressures and barriers both internal and external. Aaker (1996),
further highlights that one needs to understand these pressures and barriers in order to
develop strong brand strategies. Some of the barriers highlighted by Aaker (1996) are:
price, proliferation of competitors, fragmented media and so forth.
Nandan (2005) suggests that strong brands have two very key distinct features namely
brand image and brand identity however no matter how good a company is such as
having a unique vision, strong management or superior product if the core benefits of
the brand are not clearly communicated to the right target audience, the brand will
ultimately fail. Strong brands understand the changing needs of consumers and the
micro and macro environments.
According to Davis (2000), an understanding of competitors is vital in building a
strong brand and the failure to understand one's competitors is ultimately the failure to
know one's customers: who they are, how they think, and how the brand can be
adapted to meet their needs. Strong brands are developed over time and the branding
literature increasingly suggests that the strength of a brand is not due to the strength of
creating a difference in customer perceptions but rather brand strength is due to the
meaning that the brand creates (Kay, 2005).
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2.6 Brand Image
Brand image represents an important aspect of marketing activities; branding and
market offering with varied definition and approaches to its conceptualization
(Burleigh and Sidney, 1955; Dobni and Zinkhan, 1990; Martinez and Pina, 2003).
A widely accepted view is that brand image represents customers' perceptions of a
brand as reflected by the brand associations held in consumer memory (Herzog, 1963;
Keller, 1993a, b). Keller (1993a, b) argued that these associations could originate
from customers direct experience or from information obtained on a market offering
or due to the impact a pre-existing associations with an organization had on consumer.
Brand image is, therefore, the mental picture or perception of a brand or a branded
product or service and includes symbolic meanings that consumers associate with the
specific attributes of a product or service (Dobni and Zinkhan, 1990; Padgett and
Allen, 1997; Aperia and Back, 2004).
Brand image represents "the reasoned or emotional perceptions consumers attach to
specific brands" (Low and Lamb, 2000) a set of beliefs held by customers about a
particular brand, based upon some intrinsic and extrinsic attributes of a market
offering resulting to perceived quality, and customer satisfaction. Perceived quality
refers to the customer's perception of the overall quality or superiority of a product or
service with respect to its intended purpose, relative to alternatives.
While customer satisfaction although subject to debate as there are dichotomies to its
definition can be likened to customer feeling of pleasure or disappointment as a result
of experience or the act of comparing a product's perceived performance (or outcome)
in relation to a customer's expectations. It is, therefore, the degree to which customers
are satisfied or dissatisfied with a business, product, or specific aspect of a product or
service provided by a business. Customer satisfaction can be explained as the
outcome of a comparison between perceived product performance and pre-purchase
expectations. An outcome argued in Fornell et al. (2006) as leading to long-term
customer loyalty. Fornell et al. (2006) developed a model called the Customer
Satisfaction Index aimed at encouraging organizations adaptation of market-
85
orientation and to recognize that the outcomes of perceived quality and brand image
could be customer satisfaction. Fornell et al. (2006) study concludes that brand image
impacts on customer perceived quality and satisfaction with the result of strong
satisfaction being possible customer loyalty.
According to Hsieh, Pan, and Setiono (2004), "a successful brand image enables
consumers to identify the needs that the brand satisfies and to differentiate the brand
from its competitors, and consequently increases the likelihood that consumers will
purchase the brand". A company or its product/ services which constantly holds a
favorable image by the public, would definitely gain a better position in the market,
sustainable competitive advantage, and increase market share or performance (Park,
Jaworski, & MacInnis, 1986). In addition, several empirical findings have confirmed
that a favorable image (i.e. brand, store/retail) will lead to loyalty (e.g. Koo, 2003;
Kandampully & Suhartanto, 2000; Nguyen & LeBlanc, 1998), brand equity
(Faircloth, Capella, & Alford, 2001; Biel, 1992; Aaker, 1991; Keller, 1993), purchase
behavior (Hsieh et al., 2004) and brand performance (Roth, 1995).
Reynolds (1965) noted that "an image is the mental construct developed by the
consumer on the basis of a few selected impressions among the flood of the total
impressions; it comes into being through a creative process in which these selected
impressions are elaborated, embellished, and ordered". Kotler (2001) defined image
as "the set of beliefs, ideas, and impression that a person holds regarding an object".
On the other hand, Keller (1993) considered brand image as "a set of perceptions
about a brand as reflected by brand associations in consumer's memory". A similar
definition to Keller's was proposed by Aaker (1991), whereby brand image is referred
to as "a set of associations, usually organized in some meaningful way". Biel (1992)
however defined brand image as "a cluster of attributes and associations that
consumers connect to the brand name".
Brand image has been conceptualized and operationalized in several ways (Reynolds
& Gutman, 1984; Faircloth et al., 2001). It has been measured based on attributes (i.e.
Koo, 2003; Kandampully & Suhartanto, 2000); brand benefits/ values (i.e. Hsieh et al,
2004; Roth, 1995; Bhat & Reddy, 1998); or using Malhotra's (1981) brand image
86
scale (i.e. Faircloth et al., 2001). Measuring image based on the above definition
would help marketers to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their brand as well
as consumers' perceptions toward their product or services.
Zooming into Keller's (1993) conceptualization of brand image, it is considered a
perception about a brand as reflected by the brand associations held in consumers'
memory. He suggested that "brand associations" comprise of brand attributes, brand
benefits, and overall brand attitudes.
To Keller (1993), attributes are "descriptive features that characterized a product or
service - what a consumer thought the product or service is or has and what is
involved with its purchase or consumption". Attributes can be classified into product-
related attributes and non product-related attributes (i.e. price, packaging or product
appearance information, user and usage imagery). Product-related attributes refer to
the ingredients necessary for performing the product or service function sought by
consumers while non product-related attributes refer to the external aspects of the
product or services that relate to its purchase or consumption. As for benefits, these
are considered "the personal value consumers attach to the product or service
attributes - that is, what consumers think the product or service can do for them".
Keller (1993) described that this image benefits can be classified into functional,
experiential and symbolic benefits, which was originally derived from the work of
Park et al. (1986). Here, the functional benefits are related to the intrinsic advantages
of product or services consumption and usually correspond to the product related
attributes. For example, experiential benefits refer to "what it felt like to use the
product or services and usually correspond to the product related attributes", while
symbolic benefits were associated with the underlying needs for social approval or
personal expression and outer-directed self-esteem and basically corresponded to non-
product related attributes.
For brand attitude, Keller (1993) referred to Wilkie's (1986) definition of brand
attitudes which was "consumers' overall evaluations of a brand".
87
Overall, image can generate value in terms of helping customer to process
information, differentiating the brand, generating reasons to buy, give positive
feelings, and providing a basis for extensions (Aaker, 1991). Creating and maintaining
image of the brand is an important part of a firm's marketing program (Roth, 1995)
and branding strategy (Keller, 1993; Aaker, 1991). Therefore, it is very important to
understand the development of image formation and its consequences such as
satisfaction and loyalty.
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2.7 Consumer Perception
Study of consumers’ view of a product/ service is very vital because it may lead to the
success or failure of any product/ service. Consumer perception is the psychological
factor which means selecting, organizing and interpreting information to create a
meaningful picture of the world.
There can be numerous factors for a consumer to move towards or get away from a
product/ service. For a service quality is a major parameter which helps consumer
take a positive or negative note of a service and thereafter making the buying or
avoiding decisions.
Telecom services today touch many human lives and especially Mobile services have
paved very deep way in the routine lives of consumers. It plays a major role in
connecting people over distances almost instantly and thus has revolutionized the way
communication used to be done over the period of years.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has come up with parameters pertaining to
quality of services to measure the quality of services provided by various Mobile
Service Providers. These service providers are gauged on these parameters against set
benchmarks and figures on these parameters are reported at the end of every quarter.
Non-complying providers may me triggered to match the benchmarks in next quarter.
The following table shows these parameters and set benchmarks to be complied with
by wireless service providers:
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2.3 TRAI Network Benchmarks
Sr. No. Parameters Benchmarks Network Related Parameters 1 Network Availability
(i) BTSs Accumulated downtime (not available for service)
< 2%
(ii) Worst affected BTSs due to downtime < 2%
2 Connection Establishment (Accessibility)
(i) Call Set-up Success Rate (within licensee's own network)
> 95%
(ii) SDCCH/ Paging Chl. Congestion < 1%
(iii) TCH Congestion < 2%
3 Connection Maintenance (Retain ability) (i) Call Drop Rate < 2%
(ii) Worst affected cells having more than 3% TCH drop (call drop) rate
< 3%
(iii) Connection with good voice quality > 95%
4
Point of Interconnection (POI) Congestion (No. of POIs not meeting the benchmark) (Averaged over a period of quarter)
< 0.5%
Customer Service Quality Parameters 5 Metering and Billing (i) Metering and billing credibility - post paid < 0.1%
(ii) Metering and billing credibility - pre paid < 0.1%
(iii) Resolution of billing/charging/validity complaints
100% within 4 weeks
(iv) Period of applying credit/ waiver/ adjustment to customer's account from the date of resolution of complaints
within 1 week of resolution of complaint
6 Response time to the customer for assistance
(i) Accessibility of call centre/ customer care > 95%
(ii) %age of calls answered by the operators (voice to voice) within 60 seconds
> 90%
7 Termination / closure of service
(i) %age requests for Termination / Closure of service complied within 7 days
100% within 7 days
(ii) Time taken for refund of deposits after closures 100% within 60 days
90
Wireless service providers are able to track their performance and also come to know
the amount of further efforts to put to keep up with benchmarks and thus fine tune
their performance but how consumers perceive the services regards to these
parameters is an area not much touched. Some of these parameters such as call drop
rates, connection success/ failure, metering and billing etc. which can be understood
by a common consumer from Network Quality and Customer Quality Service should
be studied to get consumer’s perspective on these benchmarks.
91
2.8 Company Performance In business bottom line is of utmost importance. Because, when company itself makes
money, it can think of giving back to the society in other forms to serve for the social
cause and in turn to discharge the corporate social responsibility. Therefore, positive
company performance remains the common goal of companies. It gives us the idea of
company’s Market Position, financial position and also its overall performance
through analysis of various performance indicators of the company. For this study of
telecom industry market related parameters have been chosen to study the
performance of the companies.
Market share is the percentage or proportion of the total available market or market
segment that is being serviced by a company. It can be expressed as a company's sales
revenue (from that market) divided by the total sales revenue available in that market.
It can also be expressed as a company's unit sales volume (in a market) divided by the
total volume of units sold in that market. It is generally necessary to commission
market research (generally desk/secondary research) to determine, although
sometimes primary research) to estimate the total market size and a company's market
share.
Increasing market share is one of the most important objectives of business. The main
advantage of using market share as a measure of business performance is that it is less
dependent upon macro environmental variables such as the state of the economy or
changes in tax policy.
Here in this study subscribers’ share is considered as an indicator of market position
of telecom companies. Subscribers’ share increase and decrease can indicate the
company’s direction towards strong or weak position in the market.
Average revenue per user (sometimes average revenue per unit) usually
abbreviated to ARPU is a measure used primarily by consumer communications and
networking companies, it is the total revenue divided by the number of subscribers.
This term is used by companies that offer subscription services to clients for example,
telephone carriers, Internet service providers, and hosts. It is a measure of the revenue
92
generated by one customer phone, pager, etc., per unit time, typically per year or
month. In mobile telephony, ARPU includes not only the revenues billed to the
customer each month for usage, but also the revenue generated from incoming calls,
payable within the regulatory interconnection regime. This provides the company a
granular view at per user or unit basis and allows it to track revenue sources and
growth.
93
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McGraw-Hill Companies, INC.
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• http://finance.mapsofworld.com/brand/image.html
• http://www.themanager.org/marketing/Customer_Perception.htm