Consumer Buying Behaviour With a Focus On

WEST BENGAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

A SUMMER TRAINING REPORTON

CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR WITH A FOCUS ONPERCEPTION TOWARDS INTERNET DATA CARD

WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO VODAFONE

FROM,

(20th June,2009-5thAugust, 2009)

SUBMITTED BYARPITA TEWARY

WBUT Regn no. 081670710019WBUT Roll no. 08167009061

Major: Marketing ManagementMinor: Human Resource Management

MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE OF DURGAPURRAJBANDH

1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all I would like to thank the Management at Vodafone for giving me the

opportunity to do my two month project training in their esteemed organization. I

am highly obliged to the marketing manager at vodafone. I would like to express

my gratitude to area Sales Manager, who has provided me with guidance,

inspiration, perspective and stimulating discussion, throughout the writing of this

report. His constant review and excellent suggestions throughout the project are

highly commendable. A study like this cannot be completed without help of other

persons. And therefore I would like to express my gratitude to provide me crucial

guidance in the analytical part of this Project. My heartfelt thanks goes to Mr.

Koushik. Mukherjee (sales manager) and to all the executives who helped me gain

knowledge about the actual working and the processes involved in various

departments. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the director of MID,

Dr. N.C. Ghosh & also to our principal, Dr. A.K. Ghosh. I would like to express

my gratitude towards our H.O.D. Mr. B.Chandra who had helped me lot in

preparing this project report. I would like to forward my gratitude to my internal

guide Mr. Avijit Aditya & to all the marketing faculties of MID, Rajbandh .

Finally, I would like to convey my gratitude to my friends & family members &

other faculty members who always endured me and stood with me and without

whom I could not have envisaged the completion of my project.

2

Students’ Declaration

I, Ms Arpita Tewary. hereby declare that the Project Work titled Consumer Buying

Behavior with a focus on perception towards internet data card is the original work

done by me and submitted to the MID, Rajbandh, Durgapur in partial fulfillment of

requirements for the award of Masters in Business Administration with major

Subject as Marketing Management and Minor subject as Human Resource

Management is a record of original work done by me under the supervision of Mr.

Avijit. Aditya (MID faculty).

Date:

Signature of the student

3

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Growth on the Data Cards. Especially happen when business travelers,

academicians as well as other professionals need to access emails and corporate

applications as well as personal requirements during urgent trips and travels. Now,

what kind of a company enters an industry with competitors already entrenched?

Which ones actually succeed? The answer to both the questions is VODAFONE

ESSAR, which is now known as VODAFONE. It is a confident and smart

company that was able to enter a saturated and highly competitive industry, and

emerge at the top. The project aims to identify the problems faced by Vodafone in

the internet data card market. Customers often feel that service providers do not

deliver what they promise. They feel players should present the terms and

conditions and tariff plans/schemes in clear terms. The research we conducted also

supports this fact. We have suggested a marketing plan for Vodafone data card

along with other suggestions for VODAFONE to face the competition in the near

future and the long run.

4

ContentsPg. no.

1. About Vodafone……………………………………………………..2. Introduction of project………………………………………………3. Litrature Survey………………………………………………………..

Chapter 1: Experts views on Indian Telecom Sector………………….Chapter 2: An overview of internet and wireless connectivity………..Chapter 3: Telecom Sector-An Outlook……………………………….

3.1 Industry Analysis……………………………………………3.2 About Internet Data Cards………………………………….

3.2.1 Vodafone……………………………................3.2.2 Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)……….3.2.3 Tata Indicom……………………………………3.2.4 Reliance Communication………………………..3.2.5 Airtel…………………………………………….

Chapter 4: Consumer behavior towards Internet data Card…………….4. Research Methodology……………………………………………….....5. Data Analysis……………………………………………………………

Chapter 1: Brand Recall…………………………………………………Chapter 2: Development of Hypothesis and Testing…………………….Chapter 3: Graphs and Charts……………………………………………

6. Recommendation and Conclusion……………………………………….7. Annexure…………………………………………………………………8. Bibliography………………………………………………………………

5

About Vodafone

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

operations in 1994 when its predecessor Hutchison Telecom acquired the cellular

license for Mumbai. Vodafone Essar now has operations in 22 circles with over

65.92 million customers. The company is a joint venture of Essar Communication

Holdings Ltd and the UK-based Vodafone Group. Vodafone has partnered with the

Essar Group as their principal joint venture partner for the Indian market. They are

in the business of cellular telephony. Over the years, Vodafone Essar, under the

Hutch brand, has been named the ‘Most Respected Telecom Company’, the ‘Best

Mobile Service in the country’ and the ‘Most Creative and Most Effective

Advertiser of the Year’. Vodafone is the world’s leading international mobile

communications company. It currently has equity interests in 27 countries across 5

continents and 40 partner networks with over 303 million proportionate customers

worldwide. Vodafone has partnered with the Essar Group as its principal joint

venture partner for the Indian market. Essar Global Limited (EGL) is a diversified

business group spanning the manufacturing and services sectors of Steel, Energy,

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

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

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

Essar Ltd provides services like 3G, which are based on 1800 MHz and 900Mhz

GSM digital technology. They offers voice and data services. In addition, they

offers postpaid connections activation, prepaid SIM cards and recharge coupons

sale, service activation/deactivation, postpaid tariff plan change, customer query

resolution, prepaid/postpaid SIM card replacement and up gradation, mobile

number change, and information on and subscription of value added services

through stores. The Essar Group is Vodafone’s principle partner in India. The

6

Essar Group is a diversified business corporation with a balaned portfolio of assets

in manufacturing and service sectors of Steel, Energy, Power, Communications,

Shipping prots & Logistics and Projects.

About Hutchison-Essar Vodafone Negotiations

The name Vodafone comes from “Voice data fone” HQ in Berkshire, England, is

the world’s leading international mobile communications group with 29Million

revenues 27 countries, 303 million customers, 40 partner networks. Advanced

mobile telecommunications services provided by vodafone are 3G, data related

services. The Joint venture - 67% stake by HTIL and 33% owned by Essar.HTIL –

Li Ka-Shing , Essar – Ruia Family.HTIL is HK Based Telecom Company and

Essar is India based diversified corporation 4th largest cellular operator in India

74.08 million customer.

Vodafone’s Objective

To venture into the world’s most lucrative cellular market

Strengthen its operation worldwide

To obtain the majority stake of Hutchison

7

Introduction of Project

The objective of the study is to understand the consumer’s pre, post behavior,

during perception of data card and consumer buying behavior and attitude for

Vodafone data card. To understand the former part, the researcher created a

questionnaire and conducted a survey. The researcher analyzed the questionnaire

and the survey to create an extensive questionnaire understanding the buying

behavior of consumers of Vodafone data card and other brands. The researcher had

an analysis done on the 600 respondents from Durgapur, Asansol & Burdwan to

identify how much of buying intension is due to attributes and how much due to

influence by referrals.

The research analysis had revealed that the consumers are satisfied with the brand

Vodafone data card and its attributes. However, Vodafone has not performed well

with the customers who are considerably concerned about internet connection with

its cost and tariff plans. This following detailed analysis is presented in the project

report.

8

LITERATURE SURVEY

Chapter 1: Experts views on Indian Telecom Sector

9

Girija (1998), in its article “Socioeconomic Implications of Telecommunications

Liberalization: India in the International Context” says that Telecommunications

restructuring have evolved differently in Asia and Latin America. While Asian

governments have moved, cautiously in bringing changes to the sector, Latin

American Nations have implemented radical ownership and market

transformations. The Indian telecommunications reform falls in between these two

general regional trends. The choice of a high component of competition, increased

private participation, and no privatization of the national carrier set conditions that

will trigger unique socioeconomic effects. This article identifies and highlights the

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

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

universal services, employment, and the possible rise of an information-intensive

economy. It does so by comparing and contrasting the Indian experience with

dominant reform strategies elsewhere in the developing world.

Chowdary (1999) discusses how Telecom reform, or demonopolization, in India

has been bungled. Shaped by legislation dating back to the colonial era and post

Second World War socialist policies, by the mid-1980s India realized that its poor

telecommunications infrastructure and service needed reform. At the heart of the

problem lay the monopoly by the government’s Department of

Telecommunications (DOT) in equipment, networks and services. The National

Telecom Policy 1994 spelt out decent objectives for reform but tragically its

implementation was entrusted to the DOT. This created an untenable situation in

which the DOT became policymaker, licenser, regulator, operator and also

arbitrator in disputes between itself and licensed competitors. He discusses the

question: ‘Why did India get it so wrong? and What India should do now?

10

Anand (1999), in his article named “India's economic policy reforms” says that

India was embarked on economic reforms in July 1991, in the wake of a balance of

payments crisis. In this article, an attempt is made to review two books and a set of

World Bank reports concerning the progress of these reforms. Issues concerning

economic policy, impact of the reforms on poverty, sectoral issues relating to

agriculture, industry and infrastructure are briefly discussed. As reforms enter a

more difficult phase, several challenges remain. Some of this fall under the

“economic agenda'' of measures needed to maintain economic growth; others can

be termed the “development agenda'' - of improving human development. Progress

with regard to the former is not sufficient to produce results concerning the latter.

Bhattacharya (2000) constructs a vision of the Indian telecommunication sector

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

international experiences and situates India in the development continuum. The

agents of change have been broadly categorized into economic structure,

competition policy and technology.

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

telecommunications services which started in mid nineties with no change in the

existing public monopoly structure, entirely controlled by Department of

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

is essential to analyze the production technology of DoT so as to determine the

rationale of liberalization and sustainability of competition. Accordingly, the

researcher estimates a frontier multi-product cost function for DoT, where the cost

function has been duly modified to account for the production technology of a

public monopoly. The study finds that although DoT displays high allocation

inefficiency, it is still a natural monopoly with very high degree of sub additively

11

of cost of production. This study implies that the choice of any reform policy

should consider the trade-off between the loss of scale and scope economies and

cost saving from the reduction in inefficiency of the incumbent monopoly in the

event of competition.

Rao (2000), in her article named “Internet service providers in India”, provides a

broad view of the role of an Internet service provider (ISP) and the factors to be

considered before entering the ISP market. Describes the Internet/ISP scene within

India and discusses the configuration of local, regional and national level ISPs, and

the supporting infrastructure. She also identifies the various success factors. The

global Internet scenario is discussed regarding the phases of the Internet in India,

i.e. pre and post commercialization. The main players are described: ERNET,

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

legal implications are highlighted in the Indian context. Many companies entered

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

foreknowledge of new Internet technologies, connecting issues, competitiveness,

etc. would help in their sustainability. She concludes that though many companies

entered the nascent ISP businesses in India due to deregulation, many of them are

unlikely to survive in the longer term.

Vrmani (2000) estimates the contribution of telecommunication (or telecom)

services to aggregate economic growth in India. Estimated contribution is

distinguished between public and private sectors to highlight the impact of telecom

privatization on economic growth. Knowledge of policy determinants of demand

of telecom services is shown to be essential to enhance growth contribution of

telecom services. Using a recent sample survey data from Karnataka State in South

India, price and income determinants of demand for telecom services are estimated

12

by capacity of telephone exchanges Estimation results offer evidence for

significant negative own price elasticity and positive income elasticity of demand

for telecom services.

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

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

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in developing countries that

can be helpful in improving governance including public safety and eradication of

illiteracy. The benefits of ICTs have not reached the masses in India due to lack of

ICT infrastructure, particularly in rural areas, where two-third of the population of

the country lives. Even in cities and suburban areas, use of ICTs is not popular due

to lack of awareness to its use,computer illiteracy, and absence of practical

applications. India is the largest country in South Asia, with a population of over

one billion people and its telecom sector is presently experiencing fast growth

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

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

service. Universal access to ICTs in rural areas has been planned and is being

implemented through Public Tele Info Centers having voice data and video,as

majority of villagers in India cannot afford a separate home connection. Illiteracy

in rural areas is as high as 40 percent and in some tribal belts hardly about 20

percent people are literate. There are 35 million children in age group of 6–11

years, who are out of school and one out of four drops out during primary classes.

Education and training, therefore, must be given the top priority if advantages of

ICTs are to be harnessed. Indian economy is agriculture based and employs

maximum workforce. Improvement in agriculture productivity can help in

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

important role in crop production and natural resource management. The other

13

critical factor is technological challenges for universal access to ICTs to bring

down the network access cost.

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

bridging the digital device. He reiterated - “India lives in villages” said the Father

of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. With 1,000 million people and 180 million

households, India is one of the biggest growing economies in the world. With the

advent of the Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) revolution, India

and its villages are slowly but steadily getting connected to the cities of the nation

and the world beyond. Owing to the late Rajiv Gandhi, India is now a powerful

knowledge economy, and though India may have been slow to start, it certainly has

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

corporate sector, NGOs and educational institutions have supported rural

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

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

where, by using ICT, the masses have been reached in this way. A follow-up paper

will outline collections of significant cultural material which, once national IT

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

heritage collection.

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

Communications Commission (FCC) and communications policy makers and

regulators in other countries and how they have gleaned several clusters of issues

where further research would directly benefit them. Recently, there have been two

notable shifts. First, as the acceptance of the competition model over the monopoly

model for telecommunications markets takes deep effect in regulators all over the

world, questions regarding process and procedure for regulation are becoming ever

14

more urgent. This paper discusses current questions regarding decision making,

enforcement, and understanding consumer issues that arise often in the FCC's

discussions with other regulators. Second, technological change is potentially

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

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

television has become more pronounced.

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

information society in India” describes the role that information and

communication technologies are playing for Indian society to educate them

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

information society. Though India has a huge population, the illiteracy rate is also

huge in this country. The paper has taken an approach to find the historical

situation and present the prevailing scenario as well as the change that are taking

place with the application of ICT to the advantage of the society in different areas

including daily life. India is making all out efforts to be counted among the

developed nations of the world. The article also describes the considerable

attention India is taking for application of technology, development of

infrastructure and human resource for meeting national needs. Basically India is

building an information society. Technology has helped society to cut across the

traditional boundaries for getting converted into an emerging information society.

The study concludes that The Indian software and services industry has

significantly helped to boost the Indian economy. In IT-enabled services too, India

has been clearly perceived to be the dominant hub. The Indian software sector is

being recognized as the single largest contributor to incremental market

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

especially when compared to other large sectors in the economy like agriculture

15

and manufacturing. Similarly, the telecommunication sector has contributed a lot

but still has a considerable way to go. The paper also enforces that comparisons of

India’s telecommunication statistics with those of developed and other emerging

economies show that the country is still far behind its contemporaries.

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

telecommunication industry. According to him Governments decision to raise the

foreign investment limit to 74% is expected to spur fresh rounds of mergers and

takeovers in India. He foresees a sector that represents humongous opportunity

waiting to be tapped by Indian and foreign conglomerates.

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

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

article aims to identify the state’s initial reluctance to recognize

telecommunications provision as a basic need as against the robust tradition of

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

service telecommunications via the Right to Information movement. The article

follows the methodology of studying the history of telecommunications approach

that is conversant with the political economy tradition. It uses archival sources,

personal correspondence, and published information as its research material. The

findings of the paper suggests that public service in telecommunication is a

relatively ‘‘new’’ concept in the annals of Indian telecommunications and that a

deregulated environment along with the Right to Information movement holds

significant hope for making public service telecommunications a real alternative.

The article provides a reflexive, critical account of public service

telecommunications in India and suggests that it can be strengthened by learning

gained from the continual renewal of public service ideals and action by the postal

16

services and a people-based demand model linked to the Right to Information

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

movement has contributed to the re-vitalisation of participatory democracy in India

and to a strengthening of public service telecommunications.

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

Performance Analysis of Companies (April-June 2008)” has analysed the Indian

telecom industry in the awake of recent global recession and its overall impact on

the Indian economy. The analysis is done in the background of wake of global

recession and rising inflation. Cygnus estimates, the Indian telecom industry is

expected to maintain the growth trajectory in the next quarter as well. With almost

5-6m subscribers are being added every month, and the country is witnessing wild

momentum in the telecom industry.

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

industry and ascertain that Indian telecommunications has been zooming up the

growth curve at an mounting pace, and India is has surpassed US to become the

second largest wireless network in the world. This growing subscriber base is

basically created by tapping into rural India, which is an emerging market for the

industry. The estimate for the next five to ten years is that the rural market will

form 40 % of the subscriber base. The study has analysed the human resource

management process of the industry, and specially the latest trends of recruitment

of this massively growing industry.

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

market strategy for mobile communications in rural India An interview with

Gurdeep Singh, Operations Director, Uttar Pradesh, Hutch India”suggests that

17

managers need to go beyond traditional approaches to serving the poor, and

innovate by taking into account the unique institutional context of developing

markets. His practical implication says that

the experience of Hutchison Essar in India provides some important lessons for

mobile network operators (MNOs) and other firms in other developing markets

who are hoping to serve the rural poor: Hutchison has recognized the value of

corporate and noncorporate partners. The company has proactively established

relationships with individual entrepreneurs, and has provided has provided

development support to other partners such as distributors. The company has

recognized the value of leveraging existing local institutions, and has seen gaps in

local infrastructure or missing services as potential opportunities rather than

barriers to growth. The company has seen the rural market as an opportunity – not

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

article demonstrates that MNOs can deliver availability and affordability to

achieve increased individual or household penetration through business model

innovation.

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

services in India since the mid-1990s. It also discusses a number of spillover

effects for the rest of the economy and one of the more important effects is the

potential to develop a major manufacturing hub in the country for telecom

equipment and for downstream industries such as semiconductor devices. The

telecom industry in India could slowly become an example of the service sector

acting as a fillip to the growth of the manufacturing sector. A beginning towards

this has been made. The formation of a Telecom Equipment Export Forum and the

announcement of the Indian Semiconductor Policy 2007 are steps in this direction.

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

18

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

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

economy from having both a strong services and manufacturing segments in the

telecom sector cannot be undermined.

Narayana (2008) estimates the contribution of telecommunication (or telecom)

services to aggregate economic growth in India. Estimated contribution is

distinguished between public and private sectors to highlight the impact of telecom

privatization on economic growth. Knowledge of policy determinants of demand

of telecom services is shown to be essential to enhance growth contribution of

telecom services. Using a recent sample survey data from Karnataka State in South

India, price and income determinants of demand for telecom services are estimated

by capacity of telephone exchanges. Estimation results offer evidence for

significant negative own price elasticity and positive income elasticity of demand

for telecom services.

Sharma (2009) deals with the major challenges faced by India’s telecom

equipment manufacturing sector, which lags behind telecom services. Only 35% of

the total demand for telecom equipment in the country is met by domestic

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

sector. The country is also far behind in R&D spending when compared to other

leading countries. India needs to see an increase in R&D investment, industry-

academia-government partnership, better quality doctoral education and incentives

to entrepreneurs for start-ups in telecom equipment manufacturing. In 2006-07,

65% of the total consumption of equipment was met through imports. This trend

has far-reaching implications for the economy and should not be allowed to

continue for long. In a country like India which has a problem of massive

19

unemployment, the manufacturing sector should be promoted to create more

employment opportunities.

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

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

background of recent global meltdown. The study suggests that though there is no

sign of slowdown in this sector, but surely a strong turmoil is going on in the

industry. The study states that the sector is fairly immune from the current

economic downturn & does provide a good defensive bet in medium term. With

the help of newer technologies, wireless penetration is expected to increase in the

near future, which is basically fuelling the growth of the sector. While the 3G /

Broadband adoption would ensure long term growth momentum,the article has

thoroughly investigated about the intense competitive scenario, pricing pressure,

high capital intensity & substantial regulatory uncertainties currently faced by the

industry. The article has also described the cause of being relatively safe of this

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

affordability, declining handset/subscription costs, substantially low tariffs &

established brand/distribution. However, the study also cautions the telecom

industry that a steeper economic slowdown could start impacting the subscriber

usage patterns as well as operator capital investments & thereby could substantially

restrict revenue growth rate.

Chapter 2: An overview of internet and wireless connectivity

Definition of internet

20

The Internet is a worldwide, publicly accessible series of interconnected computer

networks that transmit data by packet switching using the standard Internet

Protocol (IP). It is a "network of networks" that consists of millions of smaller

domestic, academic, business, and government networks, which together carry

various information and services, such as electronic mail, online chat, file transfer,

and the interlinked web pages and other resources of the World Wide Web

(WWW).

Common uses of the Internet

E-mail

World Wide Web

Remote Access

Collaboration

Streaming Media

File Sharing

Voice Telephony

DRIVING GROWTH OF INTERNET DATA CARD

Growing business in all segments, necessity to access emails and corporate

applications during urgent business trips and the urge for some entertainment

While on the move are some drivers increasing the demand for data card usage.

Apart from these factors, as the name of Tata Indicom’s data card,’Plug 2 surf’,

Suggests, ease of use with plug and play factor is also a driver for growth, S P

Shukla, president, Personal Buisness, Reliance Communations, says that faster

surfing and higher download speeds, convenience of surfing the Internet while on

the move, simple to use, and affordable tariff are among the key reasons for the

data card growth, in both the laptop and desktop segments. While broadband

connections are yet to penetrate the vast semi-urban and rural parts of the country

21

where entrepreneurs , officials, students, etc. have the need to surf the internet for

various purposes. Though the laptop penetration in these areas has not made a

significant mark, desktop penetration is comparatively more. with data cards

offering convenient access to the Internet, a number of companies have started to

tie up with service providers to avail bulk network connections for their employees

on the go and allow them to utilize their time during business travels. Since data

cards can be used with desktop also, it cuts down the office infrastructure costs as

well. With the data card segment witnessing steady growth, affordability will go

up, which, in turn, will drive growth.” As the data card growth increases, speed

evolves and prices come down, affordability will go up and more users can begin

to think of data card as an affordable solution,” says an Airtel spokesperson. And

growth of mobile telephony in India has created users with specific needs like m-

commerce that require wireless Internet, driving the wireless data card growth.

Once the concept of mobile wallet and its applications hit the market in India in the

near future, the wireless data card segment is also expected to witness an

exponential growth. Apart from this, Internet charges in costly hotels are very high.

With the availability of data cards and USB modems, frequent business travelers

who stay in costly star hotels can access the internet and corporate applications on

their laptops and avoid using the Internet facility at hotels, savings on high Internet

charges.

The Deterrents

All players are competing with each other to give affordable tariff rates for their

data cards. But still the rates are very high when compared to countries like the

UK. In the UK, wireless broadband connection through 3G technology costs about

£10 per month and that too with a data download speed faster than 256Kbps.

International travelers who have used data cards with faster speed are not satisfied

22

with data cards and USB modems services offered in India. So, in India, data cards

mean accessing a bare minimum net connectivity only for a sizable population.

That is why it is said that data cards have not exactly taken off in India.

Chapter 3: Telecom Sector-An Outlook

3.1 Industry Analysis

23

Indian Telecom industry is one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the

world. In telecom industry, service providers are the main drivers; whereas

equipment manufacturers are witnessing growth and decline in successive quarters

as sales is dependent on order undertaken by the companies. Airtel, Reliance, Tata

and Vodafone are some of the companies that are expected to spur the growth in

AMJ08, as compared to AMJ07. According to Cygnus estimates, telecom industry

is expected to grow by 25% in AMJ 09 as compared to AMJ 08, in terms of sales.

EBDITA and PAT are expected to grow by 32% and 34% respectively in AMJ09

as cost expenses are being control by major companies like Airtel and Reliance.

The major booster is the wireless mobile subscriber base; crossing over 261m in

March 2009. Other services like Internet subscriber base has also provided

significant impetus with its subscriber base reaching over 11m in March 2009.

3.2 About Internet Data Cards

24

An Internet Data card is a modem which can be connected to the PCs or Laptops

any where any time to get connected with the internet. A data card comes with

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

providers are mentioned below.

3.2.1 Vodafone

Vodafone has few models in the data card category, these are:

i. Vodafone Mobile Connect EDGE data card

Connect to Internet, the wireless way with Vodafone Mobile Connect EDGE Data

Card in India. Get quick, simple and secure access to the Internet. And your

company server.

Features of this Vodafone Data Card:

Gives us high-speed connectivity through the Vodafone EDGE network in

India and abroad.

25

Easy VPN connectivity, to give us secure access to our company server and

intranet

Keeps us connected even while travelling – in India or abroad

Saves our from high internet charges on your hotel bills

Is easy to install & simple to use – no wires, phones lines or cable

connections required

Comes with a choice of tariff plans, so one can pick the one that suits you

best

Supports SMS

Charges & Price

For Mumbai and Maharashtra except Goa Rs 7799

For rest circles including Goa Rs 6499

Tariff Plans

Monthly

rental (Rs)

499 699

Free data 500MB 1GB

Usage 5p 5p / 10KB

26

charges /10KB

ii. Vodafone Mobile Connect USB Modem

Gives wireless Internet – anywhere, anytime. With the Vodafone Mobile

Connect USB Modem you get real-time access to information. Plus, the

Vodafone Internet USB stick comes without any installation hassles. Just plug

the Vodafone USB modem into our laptop and get connected to the internet and

even your company server, at a speed that’s three times faster than our wired

dial-up connection. That’s not all – this Vodafone USB Modem gives us 3G

Broadband speeds while roaming abroad.

Features:

High-speed connectivity through the Vodafone EDGE network

Works with your preferred VPN software, to give us secure access to

our company server and intranet

Keeps us connected even while travelling – in India or abroad

27

Saves us from high internet charges on your hotel bills

Easy to install & simple to use – no wires, phones lines or cable

connections required

Comes with a choice of tariff plans, so we can pick the one that suits

best

Supports SMS

Charges

Vodafone Mobile Connect USB Stick costs: Rs 2599

Tariff Plans

Monthly

rental (Rs)

499 699

Free data 500MB 1GB

Usage

charges

5p /

10KB

5p / 10KB

iii. Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G USB Stick

28

Now you can make the most of a mobile internet connection for our laptop or

desktop. With the Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G USB Stick one can work from

anywhere with real-time access to information. Without any installation hassles.

Just plug it into your laptop and get connected to the internet and even your

company server, at a speed that's faster than our traditional dial up connection.

That’s not all – the Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G USB Stick also gives us 3G

Broadband speeds while roaming abroad.

Gets us high-speed connectivity to the internet through the Vodafone EDGE

network.

Is easy to install – just plug in and is ready, no CDs required.

Gives 3G Broadband speeds when we travel abroad.

Works with your preferred VPN software, to give us secure access to your

company server and intranet.

Has many different tariff plans, so we can choose the one that meets our

requirements.

29

Saves from high internet charges on our hotel bills.

Supports SMS

Supports Micro SD card upto 2 GB.

Price

For Mumbai and Maharashtra except Goa Rs 6599

For rest circles including Goa Rs 5499

3.2.2 Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)

3.2.2.1 Why BSNL?

i. First thing is the tariff?

While other service providers charge Rs.1500 + tax for the same service, BSNL

charge only Rs.400+tax that also including voice rental!! And it is truly

unlimited. No caps at all. No hidden charges, no strings attached nothing. Now

isn't it a cool reason?

ii. The subscriber need not buy the card !

No other service provider allows you to take the data card on rental basis.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam, Limited - BSNL - has option to take the card on rental,

that also just Rs.150 a month.

iii. Unmatched Coverage

30

The user is never away from a BSNL CDMA tower. If the subsriber have WLL

coverage or FWT coverage in your area, the data card will work perfectly.

iv. Internet in rural areas

As only Bharat Sanchar Nigam, Limited - BSNL - has coverage in lot of places

which are very remote and rural areas, this service is best suited for people

there. A very affordable internet facility for the people there.

v. Discontinue when there is no need of it

All other service providers ask us to purchase the data card and we do not have

any alternatives if you wish to discontinue. There is no way one can return the

data card to get your money. But for BSNL one can give the data card back

after the minimum rental period and will get the security deposit back.

vi. Truely Unlimited Internet

No caps, no limits. we can go online 24x7. Need not worry on the bills and we

know how much to pay every month as it is NOT based on the monthly traffic

or hourly usage. No confusing tariff tables and nothing complicated. Simple and

affordable.

vii. Cutting Edge Technology

The BSNL data card is Huawei - EC 321 which is the latest one and support

ROMSIM/R-UIM card. It is CDMA2000 1X RTT, compatible with IS-95 A/B.

31

It support Voice and SMS, Incoming Calling Display, ring prompt, call

receiving while data service online (for this function Call Waiting service must

be activated) and it has a large-capacity phone book.

Tariff / Other

Security deposit - Rs. 1000

Activation charges - Rs. 250

Security deposit (voice-

no STD) -

Rs.500

Advance rental for 3

months -

Rs. 450

Service tax - Rs. 87.00

Total initial charge - Rs. 2287.00

Monthly charges of BSNL data card Rs.400 - if you buy the card and Rs.550 if

you take the card on rental basis. Rate of BSNL data card for purchase Rs.2800

if you purchase it form BSNL.

Minimum hire period: Three months

The actual speed

32

The speed is mainly depend on the distance from the BSNL CDMA tower. If

we are near the tower we may get speed of 120 kbps, if we are away from the

tower it will go down to 80 or 60 kbps.

BSNL EVDO is a Wireless Based Broadband Service on CDMA network.

It offers Internet at 2.4 Mbps data rate. EVDO (Evolution Data Optimize, 3G

service in CDMA) is a technology for providing high Speed Internet on CDMA

network (Latest version of EVDO provides up to 7.2 Mbps Internet, but its not

available with BSNL now). As 3G is officially launched, BSNL is providing

this service on testing and unofficial basis like Reliance’s and Tata’s WIMAX.

BSNL EVDO comes as both USB Modem (Pen Drive like) and PCMCIA Card

form factor. BSNL started this service from small towns and some rural places

in South India and gradually expanding to all major cities in India. As BSNL is

currently in upgrading phase of its CDMA towers to EVDO enabled. The

availability of 2.4 EVDO connections depends on the city and the area in the

city where EVDO tower is present. Depending on the availability of the tower

in your area or your wish, you could choose between two speeds. Either EVDO

33

(2.4 Mbps) or CDMA 1x (144Kbps). Please note whatever you choose, the card

or modem will require to be pre configured at BSNL exchange for that. The

service totally depends on the area of availability and the signal you are getting.

The maximum practical speed is 1.5 Mbps (which I consider is very good).

However if the tower (in your area or the area you move) is not EVDO

enabled, the connection automatically switches to the CDMA 1x and provides

speed of 144 Kbps. BSNL EVDO provides roaming also however it’s available

in the state only, nationwide will be soon launched.

Rate and Tariff Plans:

EV-DO Device cost Rs 7,500 , Either USB Modem or PCMCIA card cost Rs.

3500 on out right purchase. For rental basis, you will have to give Rs. 1500

deposit (Rs. 1000 refundable) and the monthly modem rent will be Rs. 200.

Minimum commitment is 3 months. 250 Rs / Month (only if u buy the device

for 7,500 Rs at the Begining) 600 Rs / Month (On rental for device) Tariff for

EVDO (2.4 Mbps) is Rs. 550 + Tax/month unlimited download Tariff for

CDMA 1x (144 Kbps) is Rs. 250(reduced from 350) + Tax/month unlimited

download. Only above two tariff plans are available and Yes it’s too cheap than

Internet offered by other companies. So at starting, for Outright Purchase we

will have to pay 3500 + 550 or 250 plus tax. For Rental Basis we will have to

pay 1500 + 550 or 250 plus tax.

34

3.2.3 Tata Indicom

“STAY CONNECTED WHEREVER YOU ARE”

Now, stay connected to the internet from the comfort of your homes, offices, or

wherever you are with Tata Indicom. Presenting Vdata Card & Plug 2 Surf

(USB Modem), 2 innovative solutions that function as a wireless network

connection, a mobile phone and a modem. All in one and that too, with

attractive tariff plans.

ITS FAST. ITS EASY. ITS CONVENIENT.

Easy Installation & maintenance.

Now Surf the internet, intranet or the extranet with consistent & high speeds.

Send/Receive SMS or use voice capabilities. (Plug2Surf Whiz does not

support Voice calls)

Stay connected across the Tata indicom network 20 circles & 3500 cities

Actual internet speed will be dependent on multiple factors like time of the day,

number of simultaneous users, web page accessed etc.

THE 3-IN-1 ADVANTAGE

The Internet Advantage

35

The Plug 2 Surf / Vdata card offers data transfer and access at high speeds.

Just switch on your PC / laptop and get connected, so don't miss out on any

critical information even while we are on the move.

Connects directly to the Tata Indicom network with the minimal user steps

and fastest network registration.

The Voice Advantage

Now you can make and receive voice calls without any hassles. All you need

to do is connect the earphone jack provided with the Plug 2 Surf / Vdata

card. (Plug2Surf Whiz does not support Voice calls)

Provision of caller Id.

Voice calls at attractive call rates.

The SMS Advantage

Two way messaging facility available on both devices.

Send messages while we are connected on our voice call or internet mode.

Useful for being online, and being able to send and receive message.

Plug 2 Surf - Unparalleled Features

36

Features Data-for

Laptops

Photon for

PCs &

Laptops

Photon Whiz

for PCs &

Laptops

Speeds Upto 153.6kbps Upto 153.6kbps Upto 153.6kbps

Antenna External

retractable

Internal Internal

SMS Capacity 1000 msgs in

inbox and

outbox

1000 msgs in

inbox and

outbox

10 msgs in

inbox and

outbox

Phonebook

Capacity

1000 entries 1000 entries 250 entrie

Type T-SIM Based T-SIM Based T-SIM Based

Interface PCMCIA USB USB

Supported OS Windows 2000/

Windows XP/

Windows Vista

Windows 2000/

Windows XP/

Windows Vista

Windows 2000/

Windows XP/

Redhat

Enterprise

Linux 3 & 4/

Fedora Core 5

37

& 6/

SUSE Desktop

Linux 9 & 10/

Debian Linux 5

& 6/

Ubuntu Linux 5

& 6

Price Rs 2499/- Rs 2499/- Rs 2249/-

Photon & Photon Whiz – Tariffs

Plan

Name

Fixed

Charges

Free Usage Additional

usage charg

Time

Based

Budget

150

Value

325

Value

525

Rs.150/

mth

Rs.325/

mth

Rs.525/

mth

300 Mins (5

Hrs)

1800Mins

(30 Hrs)

3600Mins

(60 Hrs)

50p/min

50p/25p

50p/25p

Data

Based

ME

Economy

Rs.500/

mth

1 GB

1.5GB

Rs.2/MB

Rs.2/MB

38

ME

Jumbo

Rs.650/

mth

Unlimite

d Plan

Unlimite

d Data

Plan 799

Rs

799/mth

Unlimited

data usage

Tata Photon+ USB Modem

Tata Photon Plus is a new Mobile Broadband Service. Tata Photon+ - the next

generation technology offers a great mobile internet connectivity solution. With

Tata Photon Plus we now have access to the internet at never before speeds .

Never before speeds:

With Tata Photon+ - Mobile Broadband Service you now have access to

internet at super fast speeds using the new USB modem.

Internet on the go:

With the new USB Modem we also now have the convenience of being able to

access Tata Photon+ service ( Mobile Broadband Service) from wherever we

are.

Plug and Play:

39

All we now need to do is just plug the USB Modem into your Laptop/Desktop

PC and we are ready to access a whole new world of High speed internet

connectivity.

Style statement:

With Tata Photon+'s new sleek and stylish USB Modem , you are now

completely free from wires.

USB interface:

With the USB port interface one can now simply plug the USB Modem device

into either a Laptop or your Desktop PC & get ready to access high speed

internet connectivity.

Feature Specifications

Speed Upto 3.1 Mbps Downlink speed .

Actual internet speed will depend on

multiple factors like time of the day,

number of simultaneous users, web

40

page accessed, etc.

NON-RUIM Non-RUIM based programmed

device is provided to customers.

OS Win 2000, Win XP, Win Vista

Antenna External

Price: Rs 3500/- for the device.

3.2.4 Reliance Communication

“The magic of mobile surfing”

Reliance Net connect Data and Voice Card

Now we don’t need to frantically search for a cyber café while on tour. Reliance

Netconnect gives us the freedom of mobile surfing anywhere in the country. Slip

the Reliance Netconnect Data & Voice Card into your laptop and you're ready to

go. This pocket-size wonder packs quite a punch — it works both as a modem and

a mobile phone, so you can surf at high speeds as well as make and receive calls

and SMSes from our laptop.

Reliance's cutting edge CDMA2000 1X technology offers pan-India coverage,

giving you wireless Internet access even from the remotest part of the country.

Experience it all at a cost that's incredibly affordable.

Reliance Netconnect Key Benefits:

41

Working while travel has never been this simple. Reliance Netconnect offers you

benefits that make it easy to connect to work or catch up with friends, no matter

where we go.

Coverage

Surf seamlessly across India in over 20,000 towns and 4.5 lakh villages and

counting.

Speed

Access files and download information at speeds up to 144kbps

Emails

Stay in touch by accessing mail while we're on the move.

Calls

Make and receive calls to any number in the world from our laptop.

SMS

Send and receive SMS messages from our laptop. Even multiple SMS is possible.

Address Book

Synchronise your address book with Outlook Express.

Convenience

Say goodbye to bothersome copper wires and the problem of dial-up connections

like timeouts, blackouts and frequent disconnections.

42

Easy to Install

Follow simple instructions after installing the software from the CD provided .

Unlimited Internet Surfing

Stay online always at just Rs 650 per month (up to 1 GB data transfer) without

bothering about running up huge phone bills.

i. Reliance Netconnect MG880 USB Modem

A revolutionary product from Reliance Netconnect that lets one access the Internet

anytime anywhere. This product is an unique sleek modem which can be attached

to the USB port directly and helps one to do the Internet, talk and send SMS.

Features: Connectivity

Wireless Internet access across 20000 towns and 4.5 lakh villages and

counting

Enhanced download & surfing speed with cutting-edge CDMA 1X

technology

43

Internet browsing and download speed upto 153.6 kbps

Compatible with Windows 2000, Windows XP & Vista

High-speed wireless data access for laptop or tablet PC.

Voice and SMS Compatible:

Make and receive voice calls

Send and receive SMS.

Price : Rs 2490/- for the device

ii. Huawei EC-121 USB Modem

First time in India a revolutionary product from Reliance Netconnect that lets one

to access the internet anytime anywhere. This product is a unique modem which

can be attached to the USB port directly and helps to do the internet, talk and send

SMS.

Features: Connectivity

CDMA 1x RTT 800Mhz.

44

Inner Antenna.

Auto Installation.

Voice Supported.

Packet Data Service supported.

Supports Incoming and Outgoing SMS.

Laptop/PC Speaker & Mic / Head Jack can be used for voice calls.

Windows 2000 (SP4), Windows XP (SP2), Windows Vista32/64bits, MAC

OS

Price: Rs 2500/- for the device

iii. PCMCIA card (Personal Computer Memory Card International

Association)

A revolutionary product from Reliance Netconnect that lets us access the Internet

anytime anywhere.

45

Price: Rs. 2500/- for the card.

Tariff Plans

Postpaid Plans

Tariff Plan Monthly Rental

Rs.

Free Usage Usage Charges

Beyond Free

Usage

Pay as you go 174 Nil 60 p/min day

30 p/min night

Swift 30 300 40 hrs day

40 hrs nigh

50 p/ min

Swift 40 Plus 400 Night unlimited 50 p/ min

Freedom 650 1 GB/ month Rs. 2.00/ MB

Freedom plus 900 1.5 GB/ month Rs. 2.00/ MB

Platinum 1500 Unlimited

Netconnect Prepaid Data Vouchers

5 Hour Pack 10 Hour Pack 25 Hour Pack Unlimited Pack

Prepaid Data RCV (in Rs.)

Rs. 111/- Rs. 202/- Rs. 404/- Rs. 1099/-

Validity (in Days)

0 0 30 30

46

Free SMS 50 100 300 300Minutes of usage (If entire usage is in Peak Hours)

300 600 1500 unlimited

Minutes of usage (If entire usage is in Off Peak Hours)

600 1200 3000 unlimited

iv. Netconnect Broadband Plus

47

Features Wireless Broadband for laptops & desktops

20 times faster with speed upto 3.1 Mbps

Simply plug & play

Fastest uploads at a speeds of upto 1.8 Mbps

Seamless network across 20,000 towns and 4.5 lac villages

Reliance Communications has launched the Netconnect Broadband+ (Plus) service

which they call the “Fastest” internet broadband service and that also

wireless.According to Reliance Communications, the Netconnect Broadband+

(Plus) service will offer up to 3.1 Mbps download and up to 1.8 Mbps upload

speed.Netconnect Broadband Plus service will be available in 35 cities with

seamless handover to high speed 1x (CDMA Datacard) service covering 20,000

towns and 4.5 lakh villages.

Charges : Rs 3500/-

Tariff Plans

Plan Name Monthly

Rental

Bundled

Usag

Usage

Charges

beyond Free

Usage

Roaming

Pay As you Go Rs. 299/- Nil Rs. 2/- per

MB

Nationwide*

Broadband+

10GB @Night

Rs. 499/- 10GB@

Night

50 paise per

minute

during day

Nationwide*

Broadband+ 1 GB

Plan

Rs. 650/- 1 GB Rs. 2/- per

MB

Nationwide*

48

Broadband+ 2.5

GB Plan

Rs. 850/- 2.5 GB Rs. 2/- per

MB

Nationwide*

Broadband+ 5 GB

Plan

Rs. 1099/- 5 GB Rs. 2/- per

MB

Nationwide*

Broadband+

Citywide 10GB

Plan

Rs. 1099/- 10GB Rs. 2/- per

MB

Citywide

Broadband+

10GB Plan

Rs. 1750/- 10GB Rs. 2/- per

MB Nationwide

Broadband+10GB

Night Add-on

Pack**

Rs. 199/- 10GB Rs. 2/- per

MB

As per Plan

chosen

Day Usage : 6 AM to 10 PM ; Night Usage : 10 PM to 6 AM

3.2.5 Airtel

Airtel USB Modem

49

Airtel USB Modem can be inserted along with a SIM card in your laptop/desktop

(in USB Slot). It works on GPRS/EDGE and gives you Anytime Anywhere

Connectivity through internet WIRELESSLY.

Airtel USB Modem advantages are:

Large International Roaming GPRS coverage

Technical Call Centre Support

Customized for Airtel GPRS/EDGE usage (APN is customized to Airtel)

Pan India Presence of Airtel Network

Attractive plans to choose from

1 years warranty

Features

Quad band

EDGE

Plug & Play

Data, SMS

FOR USB PORT

EDGE/ GPRS/GSM(SMS)

50

SMS facilities

For Notebooks and PCs

Fully Customized

International Roaming

Price: Rs 2,999/-

Tariff Plans

Standard

Plan

Plan I Plan II Surf

Unlimited

Airtel Data Card Rental Rs.49 Rs. 350 Rs. 599 Rs. 999

Free Bundled Usage NIL 500 MB 1 GB Unlimited

Additional Data Usage (per MB) Re.0.10p/10

KB

Rs. 5/- Rs. 3/- NA

Free SMS per Month NA Nil 100 100

Voice Plan Additional

Any Plan

Voice

Rental

Inclusive*

Voice

Rental

Inclusive*

Voice

Rental

Inclusive*

51

Chapter 4: Consumer behavior towards Internet data Card

When consumer purchase internet data card they still perform a similar sequence

of tasks: searching for information about different products, evaluating these

alternatives, and transacting the chosen alternative. However, the family and

friends has great impact on these activities.

Problem recognition:

The starting point is feeling the need or recognition of a problem. The need for

accessing internet at anywhere can trigger the recognition of a need or problem and

can have significant impact by encouraging customers to begin the information

search process (Breitenbach and van Doren, 1998).

Information Search:

52

Once customers identify the need they may seek information about retailers or

products to help them satisfy. Customer search regarding internet data card could

be limited because it’s a specialty product. Our analysis has shown that in terms of

internet data card customer mostly refer to family and friend as reference group.

These reference groups affect buying decision offering information like price, tariff

plan availability and so forth. Providing rewards for specific purchasing behaviors

for instance friends could appreciate that you could access internet at anywhere if

you are carrying a laptop. By identifying and affiliating with reference groups,

consumers create, enhance, and maintain their self-image. Customers who want to

create an image of mobile, technologically updated person as well as want to be

seen as members of a higher social class might buy internet data card from

Reliance or other competitor’s products.

Product Evaluation:

During this stage, consumers process different product information and make a

final value judgment. The multi attribute model provides a useful way for

summarizing how customers use the information they have about alternative

brands of internet data card. From our consumer behaviour analysis we have found

out that on this stage customer evaluate data card on its several attributes like price,

net speed, tariff plan which come along with, looks etc and they also decide which

attributes are most important for them. The multiattribute model shows that how a

53

consumer gives weights of importance to the various attributes of a data card. A

sample multiattribute model which is actually has been taken from one of our

questionnaire shown that how a consumer gives importance to different product

attributes of data card.

No. Attributes/Benefits Rating

1. Price

2. User friendly

3. Net Speed

4. Installation

5. Durability

6. Tariff plan

7. After sales service

Total evaluation score for each attributes is 5.From the above sample table we can

see that consumer is giving more importance to net speed and signal strength. So

marketer should put more focus of highlighting these two attributes

Purchase Activity:

Its not necessary that customer will always purchase a brand or data card with

evaluation. The data card offering benefits (having the highest evaluation) may not

be available in the store, or the customer may feel that the risks outweigh the

potential. During purchasing customer also may feel that their data card might not

54

be able to meet their expectations. Therefore retailer should ensure that their sales

persons are knowledgeable enough and they are also skilled presenter of their

product, otherwise it could raise confusion in customers’ mind during purchasing

of data card. Reducing the actual and perceived time of purchasing.

Post Purchase Activities:

As we know buying process doesn’t end when a customer purchase a product.

From focus group interviews we have come to know that after making a purchase

of data card, customer evaluate their experience on the basis of net speed, signal

strength amount of money they have spent. Customers often feel that service

providers do not deliver what they promise. They feel players should present the

terms and conditions and tariff plans/schemes in clear terms. Mentioning every

small detail regarding the tariff plans must be included in the bill. For example, if a

company intends to collect an advanced monthly rental from customers, then it has

to mention that in its tariff plan, so that customers are not shocked when they see a

bill that includes monthly advance rentals as well. This kind of practice might keep

customers away from going for a particular brand.

Perceived benefits of Internet data card

Among the process there are various factors that might influence consumers

purchase during their purchasing process. Many of these factors also reflect the

55

advantages and disadvantages of Internet as a shopping medium. The advantages

or benefits currently conceived by people are described as the followings.

Convenience:

From our questionnaire survey and focus group discussion we have come to know

that when a customer thinks to purchase a data card for accessing internet they

mostly its convenient to access internet at any where at any time. Especially those

who have to extensively traveling its quite convenient for them to get connected

with World Wide Web!

Time saving:

Some time data card also proves time saving from the customers especially for

business executives who have to travel extensively due to their job purpose. If they

are using a data card for accessing internet they don’t have to find out a cyber café

at an unknown place.

Economical:

From our secondary research we have found that for younger group of consumers

(age group of 18-28) who generally spend a lot of time for downloading different

kind of materials like music, picture, data, due to availability of some attractive

tariff plans offered by the different players along with their respective data cards,

its seems a must have utility device for all young laptop users.

56

DRAWBACKS.

Perceived risk of Internet data card

Perceived risk can be defined as the uncertainty that consumers face when they

cannot foresee the consequences of their purchase decision. Customer perception

of risk varies depending on individuals, situation and product. The degree of risk

that consumers perceive and their own tolerance for risk taking,are factors that

influence their purchase strategy (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2000).Individuals tend to

reduce perceived risk to some acceptable level in any given purchase situation.

Risks of internet connection speed:

Internet connection speed refers to the data transfer rate from the Internet to our

computer. Basically that means the amount of time it takes our computer to

download a given amount of data. Internet connection speeds are usually measured

in Kbps (kilobits per second, or thousands of bits per second) or KBps(kilobytes

per second).According to our study, consumers already have a predisposition that

data card do not provide good internet connection speed, so during products

evaluations and purchasing activities they mostly think about product attributes

e.g. internet connection speed, signal strength. Therefore here implication for

management is during product evaluation; purchase activities, retailers must take

some necessary measures to reduce the uncertainty in the customer mind by

57

aggressive promotional strategies, especially focusing on innovating below the line

(BTL) marketing activities, giving excellent product demonstrations during

purchase and most importantly reducing the cognitive dissonance during post

purchase behaviour by giving enough assurance about product qualities, warranty

as well as excellent after sale service.

Research Methodology

Chapter 1: Data Collection There are two types of data; primary and secondary data.Primary dataIn this project work primary data has been collected by:

Interviews with employees working at Vodafone people for collecting of background information such as products explanation; market situation in asansol, durgapur and burdwan and contact information for distributors.

Discussions have been done with Vodafone representatives in the investigated markets to apply information and further discussions after the questionnaires.

Questionnaires have been done on several respondents in the local area and perception about the data card were collected. Several tele-callings were done to gather information an about the data card after they had used it . The questionnaires are used to get exactly and comparable answers in questions.

58

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

Competitors name and position

Customers

Marketing methods used by different data card providers

Number of people having laptop or PC

Number of people using internet.

Average monthly usage of internet

Monthly expenditure of internet of the people.

Number of different occupation & age category using internet

Number of people aware about the data card

Number of data card users

Number of people favouring different categories of data card.

Number of people aware about the vodafone data card.

Purpose of using internet.

Secondary data Review of literatures are used to get relevant theories . Printed literatures are

articles and books in telecom sectors providing data card .

Homepages are used for information about competitors. The information about the different product launched by different players along with their tarrif plans, cost ,etc. were collected from different websites.

Secondary data has given answer in following questions in each of the studied markets:

Information about competitors

Information about marketing methods

59

Different statistical models used.Z TESTCHI-SQUARE.

Data Analysis

Chapter 1: Brand RecallA sample of customers, which is representative of the Durgapur, Asansol and

Burdwan population, was surveyed and unaided recall of the brands by these

customers was recorded. It was observed that Reliance data cards had the highest

brand recall amongst all the brand of Internet data card. This can be attributed to

various reasons like brand perception, usage pattern, advertisement expenditure

etc. The survey administered had questions which measured the importance of

various attributes like price, net speed, signal strength, offers & discounts of

various data cards and specifically for Vodafone data card.

60

Chapter 2: Development of Hypothesis and Testing

Development of Hypothesis

1. Hypothesis

Price is an important factor that governs the buying behaviour of the

customers while making purchase of data card.

Null Hypothesis H0: Price plays an insignificant role in purchase of data

card.

Alternative Hypothesis H1 : Price plays a significant role in the purchase of

data card.

This hypothetical statement is drawn from question no. 12(in likert scale of

1-5) from the questionnaire of annexure 1. To test this hypothesis the

researcher has done z-test (two-tailed test) and the inference drawn from the

hypothesis is stated below.

61

INFERENCE: The observed value of the test statistic Z is 10.55 but at the

critical region the value of Z at 5% level of significance is I Z I ≥ 1.96.

Therefore, the observed value of Z does not lie in the critical region so

therefore we reject the null hypothesis and conclude that price plays a

significant role in the purchase of data card.

Mathematically:

z = x̄ - µ/S.E of x̄, where S.E of x̄ = σ/√n

The Null Hypothesis is H0 : µ = 3 (where the respondents are giving no

response)

Then the Alternative Hypothesis H1 : µ ≠ 3

= 3.76 – 3/0.07 = 10.55

Since I Z I = 10.55 > 1.96, hence H0 = Rejected.

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

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

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

company in the market, which is providing Data cards on rental basis, and it

is one of the main reasons behind BSNL’s success. Reliance

Communication and Tata Indicom is also providing data cards at cheaper

rates. Normal Data cards ranges from Rs 2000 to Rs 3000 and 3G,

Broadband Data cards range starts from Rs 3500 onwards.

2. Hypothesis:

Installation of the data card plays an important role in the purchase decision

of the data card.

Null Hypothesis H0 = Installation of the data card plays an insignificant role

in the purchase decision of data card.

62

Alternative Hypothesis H1 = Installation of the data card plays a significant

role in the purchase decision of data card.






critical region the value of Z at 5% level of significance is I Z I ≥ 1.96. So,

the observed value of Z does not lie in the critical region so therefore we

reject the null hypothesis and conclude that price plays a significant role in

the purchase of data card.

Mathematically:



response)


= 3.8 – 3/0.074 = 10.81


Installation process: The installation process of data card should be simple

and can be easily understood by the user, because the user is the one who is

going to operate it with the machine, and if it is a complicated process then

user might think for other options. A user wants simplest process to get

connected with the internet, just plug in the data card and connect, if he/she

63

needs to install some special software’s in the PC or Laptop for using the

data card, it is not possible for everyone to handle this installation process,

so installation process plays an pivotal role in the purchase decision.

3. Hypothesis:Durability of the Data card plays influential role in the purchase decision of

data card.

Null Hypothesis H0 = Durability of the data card plays an insignificant role

in the purchase of Data card.

Alternative Hypothesis H1 = Durability of the Data card plays a significance

role in the purchase of Data card.








reject the null hypothesis and conclude that durability of the data card plays

a significant role in the purchase of data card.

Mathematically:



response)


= 3.9 – 3/0.073 = 12.32


64

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

Data must have to be durable enough to meet the requirements of the user. A

Data card should not get over heated while in use, should be made up of un-

breakable plastic are some features of durable Data card.

4. Hypothesis

User friendliness of the data card plays an important role in the purchasing

decision of data cards.

Null Hypothesis H0 = User friendliness of the data card plays an

insignificant role in the purchase of Data card.

Alternative Hypothesis H1 = User friendliness of the data card plays a

significance role in the purchase of Data card.





INFERENCE: The observed value of the test statistic Z is 18 but at the



reject the null hypothesis and conclude that user friendliness of the data

card plays a significant role in the purchase of data card.

Mathematically:



response)


65

= 4.8 – 3/0.6 = 18

Since I Z I = 18 > 1.96, hence H0 = Rejected.

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

connecting internet, Data cards comes with multiple features such as

receiving and sending SMS, making and receiving voice calls, etc, so all

these functions should be easy to operate, if it is little complicated it

becomes a hassle for the user and ultimately affects the purchasing decision.

5. Hypothesis

Tarrif plans offered by the service providers of the data card play an

influential role in the consumer buying behavior.

Null Hypothesis H0 = Tariff plans of the data card plays an insignificant role


Alternative Hypothesis H1 = Tarrif plans of the data card plays a significance

role in the purchase of Data card.








reject the null hypothesis and conclude that user friendliness of the data


Mathematically:


66


response)


= 3.81 – 3/0.068 = 11.91


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

service is costing to the pocket of the user is very important factor in the

purchase of any Data card. A internet user wants tariff plans which fits into

his/her budget and fulfills all the other requirements. Again BSNL is the

market leader in this segment with cheapest tariff plans and after that

Reliance and Tata Indicom comes.

6. Hypothesis

Speed of the data card plays a pivotal role in the purchase decision of data

card.

Null Hypothesis H0 = speed of the data card plays an insignificant role in

the purchase of Data card.

Alternative Hypothesis H1 = speed of the data card plays a significance role









67

reject the null hypothesis and conclude that speed of the data card plays a

significant role in the purchase of data card.

Mathematically:



response)


= 4.12 – 3/0.06 = 18.66


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

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

of Broadband and 3G in the market of Data cards, the competition has got

even tougher. Customers prefers internet with good downloading speed.

7. Hypothesis

After sales service provided by the service providers plays a significant role

in the purchase decision of data cards.

Null Hypothesis H0 = After sales service of the data card plays an


Alternative Hypothesis H1 = After sales service of the data card plays a








68


reject the null hypothesis and conclude that after sales service of the data


Mathematically:



response)


= 3.50 – 3/0.08 = 6.25


After Sale Service: After sales service like sending bills on time, keep the

customers updated with the new developments in different areas etc

improves the chances of increasing the sale of data card, and plays an

important role in the purchase decision of the customer also.

8. Hypothesis

Image of the company in the minds of the customers plays a vital role in the

purchase decision of data card.

Null Hypothesis H0 = mage of the company of the data card plays an


Alternative Hypothesis H1 = Image of the company of the data card plays a






69

INFERENCE: The observed value of the test statistic Z is but 3.87 at the



reject the null hypothesis and conclude that image of the company of the

data card plays a significant role in the purchase of data card.

Mathematically:



response)


= 3.31 – 3/0.08 = 3.87


Image of the company: The goodwill created in the market through years

of providing superior service quality helps the company to sale its products,

because it’s the image of the company in the minds of the customer who is

going to purchase the data card. If the brand is trusted in the market, it

makes a positive impact on the purchase decision.

Analysis of the factors affecting the buying behaviour of DATA CARD SIGNIFICANT TEST [ASYMMETRY TWO TAILED] Statement of Hypothesis

Sample mean (x ̄)

Standard deviationOf theSample (σ x̄)

Test statistic. Applied Z TEST( two tailed) (Zobserved)

Zcriticalα=0.05

HypothesisStatus

70

H1 = Price plays a pivotal role in the purchase of data card

3.76 0.07 10.55 1.96 H0 REJECTED

H2= Installation of the data card is an important factor in the purchasing of datacard

3.8 0.074 10.81 1.96 H0REJECTED

H3= Durability of the data card plays an influencial role in the buying of data card

3.9 0.073 12.32 1.96H0REJECTED

H4 = User friendliness of the data card plays an important role in the purchasing of data card

4.08 0.06 18 1.96 H0REJECTED

H5 = Tarrif plans of the data card plays an infuencial role in the consumer buying behaviour

3.81 0.068 11.91 1.96 H0REJECTED

H6 =Speed of the data card plays an important role in the purchase of data card

4.12 0.06 18.66 1.96 H0REJECTED

H7 =After sales service plays an significant role in the purchase of data card

3.50 0.08 6.25 1.96 H0 REJECTED

H8 =Image of the company plays a vital role in the purchase of data card.

3.31 0.08 3.87 1.96 H0REJECTED

9. Hypothesis:

High phone book memory in data cards is an essential feature of the Data

card for the consumers purchasing descision.

Null Hypothesis H0 = High phone book memory makes a heavy influence in

the buying behaviour of the data card.

Alternative Hypothesis H1 = High phone book memory does makes any

influence in the buying behaviour of Data card.

71





INFERENCE: The observed value of the test statistic Z is 0.09. At the


the observed value of Z lie in the critical region so therefore we accept the

null hypothesis and conclude that high phone book memory is an essential

feature in the buying behaviour of Data card.

Mathematically:



response)


= 3.02 – 3/0.22 = 0.09

Since I Z I = 0.09 < 1.96, hence H0 = Accepted.

10. Hypothesis

Micro SD card slot in the data card is an essential feature of data card, which

makes an influence in purchase of Data card.

Null Hypothesis H0 = Miro SD card slot plays a significance role in the

purchase of the data card.

Alternative Hypothesis H1 = Micro SD card slot plays an insignificant role in

the purchase of Data card.



72



INFERENCE: The observed value of the test statistic Z is 1.06 .At the


the observed value of Z lies in the critical region so therefore we accept the

null hypothesis and conclude that Micro SD card slot plays a significance

role in the purchase of the data card.

Mathematically:



response)


= 3.18 – 3/0.169 = 1.06


11. Hypothesis

High storage capacity & supporting SMS facility in a data card plays an

important role in the purchase of Data card.

Null Hypothesis H0 = High storage capacity & supporting SMS plays a

significance role in the purchase of the data card.

Alternative Hypothesis H1 = High storage capacity & supporting SMS plays

a insignificant role in the purchase of Data card.





73




null hypothesis and conclude that High storage capacity & supporting SMS

facility is an essential feature which plays an essential role in the purchase of

Data card.

Mathematically:



response)


= 3.24 – 3/0.17 = 1.41


12.Hypothesis

Making calls & receiving calls is an essential feature of the Data card and

plays an important role in the purchase of the Data card.

Null Hypothesis H0 = Making calls & receiving calls feature of the Data card

plays a significance role in the purchase of the data card.

Alternative Hypothesis H1 = Making calls & receiving calls feature of the

Data card plays an insignificant role in the purchase of Data card.







74


null hypothesis and conclude that Making calls & receiving calls feature of

the Data card plays a significance role in the purchase of the data card.

Mathematically:



response)


= 3.35 – 3/0.22 = 1.59

Since I Z I = 1.59 < 1.96, hence H0 = Accepted

Analysis of the factors affecting the buying behaviour of DATA CARD SIGNIFICANT TEST [ASYMMETRY TWO TAILED]

Statement of Hypothesis

Sample mean (x ̄) Standard

deviationOf theSample (σ x̄)

Test statistic. Applied Z TEST( two tailed) (Zobserved)

Zcriticalα=0.05

HypothesisStatus

H9= High phone book memory is an essential feature of the Data card in the consumer buying behaviour of Data card

3.02 0.22 0.09 1.96 H0 ACCEPTED

H10 = .Micro SD card slot is an essential feature in the purchase of Data card.

3.18 0.169 1.06 1.96 H0 ACCEPTED

75

H11= High storage capacity & supporting SMS facility is an essential feature which plays an essential role in the purchase of Data card

3.24 0.17 1.41 1.96 H0 ACCEPTED

H12= Making calls & receiving calls feature of the Data card plays an essential role in the purchase of the Data card.

3.35 0.22 1.59 1.96 H0 ACCEPTED

13. Hypothesis

A significant relationship exists between the average monthly usage of

internet with the occupation category.

Null Hypothesis H0 = Average monthly usage of internet are independent of

occupation category.

Alternative Hypothesis H1 = Average monthly usage of internet are

dependent of occupation.

This hypothetical statement is drawn from question no. 8 of the

questionnaire in annexure 1. To test this hypothesis the researcher has used

Chi-Square test for independence of attribute. The inference drawn from the

test is stated below.

76

INFERENCE: The observed value of the test statistic Х2 = 1.34 < 12.592 at

5% level of significance with 6 d.f., i.e., calculated value of Х2 is less then

the tabulated value.

Hence, we accept the Null Hypothesis and conclude that average monthly

usage of internet is independent of occupation.

n = 220Observed value

Degrees of freedom

Level of significance

Tabulated value

Hypothesis status

1.34 6 5% 12.59 H0 ACCEPTED

14. Hypothesis

A significant difference lies in the awareness of all the brands available in

the market.

Null Hypothesis H0 = peoples are equally aware of all the brands available in

the market.

Alternative Hypothesis H1 = peoples are not equally aware of all the brands

available in the market.

This hypothetical statement is drawn from question no. 18 from the

questionnaire of annexure 1. To test this hypothesis Chi-Square test for

goodness of fit is done. The inference drawn from the test is show below.

INFERENCE: The observed value of the test statistic Х2 = 81.4 > 9.49 at

5% level of significance with 4 d.f., i.e., calculated value of Х2 is more then

the tabulated value. Hence we reject the null hypothesis and conclude that

the awareness of all the brands available in the market are not equal.

n = 250Observed value

Degrees of freedom

Level of significance

Tabulated value

Hypothesis status

81.4 4 5% 9.49 H0 Rejected

77

Chapter 3: Graphs and Charts

1. Have internet connection or not ?

total = 340

If the avalability of the computer is low, then the probability of having an internet

connection connected to it getting more less, this fact shows that only 64% out of

78

340 are connected to the internet and maximum of them are through GPRS or

GSM connections or through landlines.

2. Aware of data card or not?

total = 600

The awareness about the data card is also low in the market, only 39% of

respondents out of 600 were aware of data cards, inspite of random advertisment

there is a lot more to be done, we need to educate our potential customers more

about the product.

3. Awareness of Vodafone’s Data card.

total = 600

The awareness of Vodafones data card is very low in the market, its only 9.5% of

the total sample, the main reason behind this was because Vodafone doesnot

79

promote its products actively like others. Vodafone is having world class poducts,

but due to lack of promotion the awareness is very low.

Recommendation And Conclusion

PLAYING WITH THE PLC:

Vodafone has one of the widest internet data cards range and the deepest product

line in internet data card market, its also has broadband business as well as internet

connection GPRS .This is a double edged sword because of the variety Vodafone

offer and the cannibalization that can occur. The segments thus formed and the

components extracted indicate that different buyer groups have different decision

variables, use data card for accessing internet for different purposes and have

varied perceptions about brands. All the segments require different pricing

80

strategies and hence Vodafone should come out with different plans specifically

targeting different groups. Vodafone having several types of tariff plan but it

would have improved network connectivity along with aggressive promotional

strategies can be an unbeatable advantage in upgrading the consumer throughout

his lifetime and also making him brand loyal in the process. From the research, it

comes out that Vodafone is not a user friendly service provider. Users have taken

to Vodafone essentially because of high recommendation from friends and family

and its image in the market. According to our research high price of data cards and

costly tariff plans could be a deterrent for Vodafone data cards. Hence, Vodafone

should aim to providing data cards at a competitive price, cost effective tariff

plans, and more efficient response to requests.

Our analysis indicates clearly reliance is popular among the youth because of low

usage rate. These users use data card mostly for entertainments. This target

segment can be attracted by advertising in Television and internet. Also, word of

mouth publicity clearly scores above all forms of information search, primarily

because of its convenience and source credibility. Everybody whom we surveyed

believed in consulting their “circle” for opinions while buying connections

Recommendations 4 P’s

1. Product:

The products launched should focus on improving service response i.e. better

customer service and greater network connectivity.

2. Price:

It should keep focus on reducing usage rates and be a price leader for price

sensitive heavy usage segments.

3. Promotions:

81

One important finding of our Consumer Survey was that very low number of

consumer were aware of the fact that Vodafone has Data cards and different tariff

plans. This can be attributed to one or more of the following reasons:

The consumers have low involvement and do not search for information. This

implies that wireless data card is becoming a commodity. Reliance has spent

mostly on advertisements for the mobile business, not on internet data cards.

Hence the information available to public is limited. To discommodities the

category, to increase customer loyalty and repeat purchase, promotions have to be

done on a bigger scale. The promotions should have more of a pull effect in the

advertisements that communicate not just the price and offers/discounts but also

the values, attributes which the consumer can relate to. In short, more information

has to be communicated to the consumer through ads, To lift the sales of internet

data card Vodafone can think to adopt of innovative give away strategy, for

instance design laptops with manufactures in such a way that there will be a built

in Vodafone internet data card. It should focus on Television advertising and

Internet ads primarily. Print ads do not seem to have that effective influence in

purchase decisions of the sample. Our analysis has shown that word of mouth

(WOM) marketing has a excellent effect on the consumer purchasing decision of

internet data card. So promotional strategies could be given focus on viral

marketing campaign like on SMS, e-letters or blogs and so forth.

4. Place:

Vodafone should strengthen its distribution network and also focus on creating

more Vodafone stores with easy accessibility outside cities as they are perceived to

be authentic by consumers.

Note: The recommendations have limitations of a small sample size and a simple

sampling.

82

CONTINUE WITH UPGRADATION

Vodafone has been very successful in its strategy of upgrading the consumer in the

mobile business segment. Vodafone has made sure that it makes its consumers

move up the product chain by introducing new, technologically superior products

and phasing their PLC very well. But sadly, this approach is missing in the

wireless data card segment. Though there are 3 variants, there has been no effort

made to communicate to the consumer of the superior quality and attributes.

Hence, we suggest that Vodafone should adopt its “upgrading the consumer”

strategy for the internet data card segment also. This up gradation has 2 main

advantages : Vodafone can fully leverage the Product life cycle and the individual

phases of the products in different markets and Vodafone can make the consumer

loyal to the brand over his lifetime.

Future challenges

Introduce a product which would be designed specifically for Indian consumer and

satisfy aspiration of youths. To match the increased demand patterns in the

country. Launching of innovative products in regular and short intervals Vodafone

products are descending the customer value hierarchy from that of a potential

product towards an expected product. Competitors like Tata-Indicom, Reliance

communication, are moving up the hierarchy. So, Vodafone will find it tough to

charge the moderately high price it has tilled now charge. It is also highly likely

that Vodafone may not fully absorb the consumers who upgrade from slow speed

internet connection device USB modem to broadband. Hence, Vodafone’s market

share might not grow as good as their competitor Tata-Indicom, Reliance

Communication or BSNL. Vodafone’s major challenge lies in entering the

83

premium market through an upgraded version of wireless data card the way it did

in mobile business.

Store Centric Recommendations

In order to increase the Vodafone wireless data card sales in exclusive Vodafone

stores and other franchisees across the country management has to take some

aggressive steps to ensure that customers who are evaluating alternatives are

coming in store for purchasing a Vodafone data card. According to our research

outcomes some following measures can be taken:

Management has to ensure that Customer service executives especially those

who are dealing with internet connections and data cards and also other

telecom products, have exhaustive knowledge about their own products.

Customer service executives should be given special behavioral training to

recognize the customers’ expectations and convey the all benefits of the

product accordingly.

Management has to ensure that their sales persons are updated with new

schemes regarding product.

Product knowledge as well as sales techniques of the sales personnel should

be reviewed frequently by the senior management.

Customer service executives should be remained motivated through various

incentives which are only proportionate to their target achievements.

Segmentation

In the wireless data card market there exist different categories of customers who

have different needs and are willing to pay different amount for the product that

meets their demand. Introduction of upgraded version of wireless data card for

84

instance Vodafone recently launched wireless data card specially meant for those

who frequently travel abroad would help Vodafone identify the needs of the

customers and take advantage of the segment which has not yet been targeted by

the company. Price sensitivity, importance of attributes, point of purchase decision

makers and customers influenced by additional features are the factors on which

we will segment the upgraded internet data card market.

Segment one- is most prices sensitive and values additional feature the least. As

Vodafone is not an economic brand which focuses on differentiating its products

from the competitors and upgrading the customers in the value chain, targeting this

segment will be a strategically appropriate decision.

Segment two- is more influenced by attributes of the products and is not a price

sensitive segment. Vodafone through its wireless data card is currently catering to

this segment.

Segment three- is concerned about the attributes, additional features as well as

price.

85

Annexure 1QUESTIONNAIRE

1. What is your Age?_______________________2. Your occupation?

a. Studentb. Service holderc. Business men

2. Do you use PCs of Laptop?a. Yesb. No

3. If you have a PC or Laptop then, do you have an internet connection on it?a. Yesb. No

4. Are you aware of internet data cards?a. Yesb. No

5. If you have an internet connection, then what kind of connection do you have?a. Data cardb. Use mobile phone to connect to the internetc. Use landline connection to connect to the internetd. Other types of connections

6. If you have an internet connection, then which service provider is providing you this service?

86

a. BSNLb. Reliance Communicationc. Tata indicomd. Vodafonee. Airtelf. Others

7. In a month, on an average how many hours do you use internet?a. 10 hrs to 15 hrs or >500 MBb. 15 hrs to 30 hrs or 500 MB to 1 GBc. 30 hrs to 45 hrs or 1 GB to 2.5 GBd. 45 hrs & above or 2.5 GB and above

8. If you use internet regularly, then what is your average monthly expenditure?a. Between Rs 300 to Rs 350b. Between Rs 350 to Rs 500c. Between Rs 500 to Rs 800d. Rs 800 and above

9. If you are using internet, then what is your purpose behind using it?a. For work purposeb. For entertainmentc. For businessd. To collect information

10. What is your initial setup cost?a. Below Rs 1500b. Between Rs 1500 to Rs 2500c. Between Rs 2500 to Rs 3500d. Rs 3500 and above

11. Suppose you want to purchase an internet data card, please rate the importance of the following factors in selecting a data card.

Factor Not Important

Less Important

No response

Important Very Important

Price of Data card 1 2 3 4 5

Installation process 1 2 3 4 5

Durability 1 2 3 4 5

User friendly 1 2 3 4 5

Tariff plans 1 2 3 4 5

Speed 1 2 3 4 5

After sale service 1 2 3 4 5

Image of the company 1 2 3 4 5

87

13. Are you aware of Vodafone data card?

a. Yesb. No

14. Which of the following features do you rate as important at the time of making purchase of data card? Please rate the following 1- as least important and 5- as more important.

Feature Not Important

Less important

No response

Important Very Important

High phone book memory 1 2 3 4 5

Micro SD card slot (expandable memory)

1 2 3 4 5

Supports SMS(High storage capacity)

1 2 3 4 5

Make and receive voice calls 1 2 3 4 5

16.Which company’s data card do you use?

a . BSNLc. Tata Indicom

d. Airtel

e. Reliance

f. Vodafone

17. At the time of purchasing a data card of Vodafone which factors do you consider is more important and less important? Please rate the following as 1 to 5.

Factor Not Important

Less Important

No response

important Very Important

Cost of Data card 1 2 3 4 5

Installation process 1 2 3 4 5

Durability 1 2 3 4 5

User friendly 1 2 3 4 5

Tariff plans 1 2 3 4 5

Speed 1 2 3 4 5

88

After sale service 1 2 3 4 5

Image of the company 1 2 3 4 5

Q.18 . From where did you get the information about datacard? a. Friends b. Family c. Advertisement(television) d. Advertisement(other sources)

Q.19. Which brands Data Card are you aware off?a. Relianceb. Tata Indicomc. Vodafoned. Bsnle. Airtel

BibliographyInformation has been sourced from namely, books, newspapers, journals, industry portals, government agencies, industry news and developments and through access to database.

http://www.capitaline.com/

http://www.wikipedia.org/

http://www.oecd.org/

http://www.legalserviceindia.com/

http://www.dot.gov.in/

http://www.economictimes.indiatimes.com/

http://www.ibef.org/

http://www.domain-b.com/

http://www.trai.gov.in/

http://www.perry4law.wordpress.com/

http://www.financialexpress.com

89

http://www.financialexpress.com/

http://www.perry4law.wordpress.com/

http://www.trai.gov.in/

http://www.domain-b.com/

http://www.ibef.org/

http://www.economictimes.indiatimes.com/

http://www.dot.gov.in/

http://www.legalserviceindia.com/

http://www.oecd.org/

http://www.wikipedia.org/

http://www.capitaline.com/

http://www.pib.nic.in/

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/

http://www.search.epnet.com/

http://www.rcom.co.in

http://www.airtelworld.com

http://www.vodafone.in

http://www.airtel.in

http://www.tataindicom.com

http://bsnl.co.in

http://www.ibef.org/industry/telecommunications.aspx

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/Telecom/GSM-CDMA-players-maintain-subscriber-growth-momentum/articleshow/4281903.cms

http://in.news.yahoo.com/139/20090404/868/ttc-dot-directs-ban-on-usage-of-chinese.html

http://www.netweavermagazine.com/archive/Volume_02_(2006)/Issue_02_(Spring)/v2i2a09.cfm

Frost & Sullivan (2007), “Telecom – Catalyzing India’s New Economy”

Marketing Research “An Applied Orientation”- Naresh K. Malhotra

Banka Sanjoy (2006), “Mergers and Acquisitions in Indian Telecom Industry-A Study”

Jain Rekha (2001), “A review of The Indian Telecom Sector”

Fortis Investments (2006),”Global Telecom Sector”

Sharma Seema and Lokesh Singla (2009), “Telecom equipment Industry: Challenges and Prospects”

Bhattacharya Manas (2000), “Telecom Sector in India: Vision 2020

Levy & Weitz, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited, 2006.

Daft, Richard L. Organization Theory & Design. Thomson/ South-Western, 2007.

90







http://www.ibef.org/industry/telecommunications.aspx

http://bsnl.co.in/

http://www.tataindicom.com/

http://www.airtel.in/

http://www.vodafone.in/

http://www.airtelworld.com/

http://www.rcom.co.in/

http://www.search.epnet.com/

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/

http://www.pib.nic.in/

Miller, Chris. SAP NetWeaver Magazine. 2006.

Marketing Management – Philip Kotler 2001.

91

Date post:	10-Apr-2015
Category:	Documents
Upload:	thangavel1610
View:	505 times
Download:	5 times

Consumer Buying Behaviour With a Focus On

Documents