Comparative Syudy of Airtel and Vodafone

Summer Project Report on “Comparison Between Two Telecom Companies” Airtel & Vodafone Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) of Amity Global Business School, Chandigarh Faculty Guide- Submitted By- Prof. Supriya Rahul Sehgal Karamjeet Kaur Enrolment No. A3070641007 BBA (2010-2013) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First of all I thank Amity Global Business School and our Head, Ms Shivali Dhingra who have given me an opportunity to do BBA from such an esteemed institute. Also I thank my Faculty Guide, Ms Supriya Sehgal who has always guided me throughout my project. I consider myself lucky to have such an enthusiastic and helpful project guide who has always supported me and my work. I would also like to thank my friends who supported me and guided me throughout this entire journey. At last, I thank my parents who have provided me the financial and moral support always and without which I would not have completed my project.
Karamjeet Kaur Enrolment no. A3070641007 CONTENTS * Acknowledgement…………………………………………2 * Contents……………………………………………………3 * Decleration ………………………………………………… 4 * Company Prifile of Airtel…………………………………. 5 * History……………………………………………………… 6 * World Wide Presence………………………………………7 * Businesses & Competitive Strengths………………………31 * Current scenario……………………………………………33 * 4 P’s – price, product, place, & promotion…………………34 * Company Profile Of Vodafone……………………………36 * History……………………………………………………… 37 * Products & Services………………………………………… 9 * 4 P’s………………………………………………………… 49 * Comparison Between AIRTEL & VODAFONE…………. 52 * Conclusion…………………………………………………. 54 * Bibliography……………………………………………….. 55 DECLERATION I, Karamjeet Kaur being a student of BBA of Amity Global Business School, Chandigarh, hereby declares that the project report under title “Comparison Between Two Telecom Companies-Vodafone & Airtel” is my own work. It is the analysis of the big scale sector of communication. All care has been taken to keep this report error free and I sincerely regret for any unintended discrepancies that might have crept into this report.

I shall be highly obliged if errors (if any). COMPANY PROFILE OF AIRTEL Bharti Enterprises has been at the forefrontof technology and has revolutionizedtelecommunications with its world-class products and services. Established in 1985, Bharti has been a pioneering force in the telecom sector. With many firsts and innovations to its credit, ranging from being the first mobile service in Delhi, first private basic telephone service provider in the country, first Indian company to provide comprehensive telecom services outside India in Seychelles and first private sector service provider to launch National Long Distance Services in India.
Bharti had approximately 3. 21 million total customers – nearly2. 88 million mobile and 334,000 fixedline customers. Its services sector businesses include mobile operations in Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Delhi,Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh circle,Maharashtra circle, Mumbai, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh (West) circle. In addition, it also has fixed-line operations in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Delhi, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and nationwide broadband and long distance networks.
Bharti has recently launched national long distance services by offering data transmission service sand voice transmission services for calls originating and terminating on most of India’s mobile networks. The Company is also implementing a submarine cable project connecting Chennai-Singapore for  providing international bandwidth. Bharti Enterprises also manufactures and exports telephone terminals and cordless phones. Apart from being the largest manufacturer of telephone instruments, it is also the first telecom company to export its products to the USA. HISTORY Sunil Bharti Mittal founded the Bharti Group.
In 1983, Sunil Mittal was into an agreement with Germany’s Siemens to manufacture the company’s push-button telephone models for the Indian market. In 1986, Sunil Bharti Mittal incorporated Bharti Telecom Limited (BTL) and his company became the first in India to offer push-button telephones, establishing the basis of Bharti Enterprises. This first-mover advantage allowed Sunil Mittal to expand his manufacturing capacity elsewhere in the telecommunications market. By the early 1990s, Sunil Mittal had also launched the country’s first fax machines and its first cordless telephones.
In 1992, Sunil Mittal won a bid to build a cellular phone network in Delhi. In 1995, Sunil Mittal incorporated the cellular operations as Bharti Tele-Ventures and launched service in Delhi. In 1996, cellular service was extended to Himachal Pradesh. In 1999, Bharti Enterprises acquired control of JT Holdings, and extended cellular operations to Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. In 2000, Bharti acquired control of Skycell Communications, in Chennai. In 2001, the company acquired control of Spice Cell in Calcutta.
Bharti Enterprises went public in 2002, and the company was listed on Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India. In 2003, the cellular phone operations were rebranded under the single Airtel brand. In 2004, Bharti acquired control of Hexacom and entered Rajasthan. In 2005, Bharti extended its network to Andaman and Nicobar. ‘2009, Airtel launched its first international mobile network in Sri Lanka. In 2010, Airtel began operating in Bangladesh. Today, Airtel is the largest cellular service provider in India and fifth largest in the world. WORLD WIDE PRESENCE
Coverage map of Bharti Airtel across 19 countries Airtel is the 5th largest mobile operator in the world in terms of subscriber base and has a commercial presence in 19 countries and the Channel Island. Its area of operations include: * The Indian Subcontinent: * Airtel Bangla, in Bangladesh * Airtel, in India * Airtel Sri Lanka, in Sri Lanka * Airtel Africa, which operates in 16 African countries: * Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda andZambia. The British Crown Dependency islands of Jersey and Guernsey, under the brand name Airtel-Vodafone, through an agreement with Vodafone. Airtel operates in the following countries: Country| Site| Remarks| Bangladesh| bd. airtel. com| Airtel Bangladesh had about 3. 2 million customers at the end of 2010. |  Burkina Faso| africa. airtel. com/burkina| Airtel Burkina Faso is the dominant player with 1,433,000 customers representing 50% market share. |  Chad| africa. airtel. com/chad| Airtel Chad is the no. 1 operator with 69% market share. |  Democratic Republic of the Congo| africa. airtel. com/drc| |  Gabon| africa. irtel. com/gabon| Airtel Gabon has 829,000 customers and its market share stood at 61%. |  Ghana| africa. airtel. com/ghana| Airtel Ghana had about 1. 76 million customers at the end of 2010. |  India| airtel. in| Airtel is the market leader with almost 152. 5 million customers at the end of 2010. |  Kenya| africa. airtel. com/kenya| Airtel Kenya is the second largest operator and has 4 million customers. |  Madagascar| africa. airtel. com/madagascar| Airtel holds second place in the mobile telecom market in Madagascar, has a 39% market share and over 1. 4 million customers. |  Malawi| africa. airtel. om/malawi| Airtel Malawi is the market leader with a market share of 72%. |  Niger| africa. airtel. com/niger| Airtel Niger is the market leader with a 68% market share. |  Nigeria| ng. airtel. com| | Republic of the Congo| africa. airtel. com/congob| Airtel Congo is the market leader with a 55% market share. |  Seychelles| africa. airtel. com/seychelles| Airtel is the leading comprehensive telecommunications services providers with over 55% market share of mobile market in Seychelles. |  Sierra Leone| africa. airtel. com/sierra| | Sri Lanka| airtel. lk| Airtel Lanka commenced operations on 12 January 2009. It had about 1. million mobile customers at the end of 2010. |  Tanzania| africa. airtel. com/tanzania| Airtel Tanzania is the market leader with a 38% market share. |  Uganda| africa. airtel. com/uganda| Airtel Uganda stands as the no. 2 operator with a market share of 38%. |  Zambia| africa. airtel. com/zambia| | Mobile Airtel has nationwide presence and is the market leader with a market share of almost completely (as of May 2010). It is 6th most valued brand according to an annual survey conducted by Brand Finance and The Economic Times in 2010 On 19 October 2004, Airtel announced the launch of a BlackBerry Wireless Solution in India.
The launch is a result of a tie-up between Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited and Research In Motion (RIM). The Apple iPhone 3G was rolled out in India on 22 August 2008 by Airtel ; Vodafone. Both the cellular service providers rolled out their Apple iPhone 3GS in the first quarter of 2010. However, high prices and contract bonds discouraged consumers and it was not as successful for both the service providers as much as the iPhone is successful in other markets of the world. The Apple iPhone 4 was introduced on 27 May 2011 by Airtel ; Aircel. 3G
On May 18, 2010, 3G spectrum auction was completed and Airtel will have to pay the Indian government 12,295 crore (US$2. 74 billion) for spectrum in 13 circles, the most amount spent by an operator in this auction. Airtel won 3G licences in 13 telecom circles of India: Delhi, Mumbai, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh (east), Rajasthan, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, North East, Jammu ; Kashmir. On 20 September 2010, Bharti Airtel said that it has given contracts to Ericsson India, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) and Huawei Technologies to set up infrastructure for providing 3G services in the country.
These vendors will plan, design, deploy and maintain 3G-HSPA (third generation, high speed packet access) networks in 13 telecom circles where the company has won 3G licences. While Bharti Airtel has awarded network contracts for seven 3G circles to Ericsson India, NSN would manage networks in three circles. Chinese telecom equipment vendor Huawei Technologies has been introduced as the third partner for three circles. On January 24, 2011, Airtel launched 3G services in Bangalore, Karnataka – its largest circle by revenue.
With this launch, Airtel became the third private operator (fifth overall) to launch its 3G services in the country following Reliance Communications and Tata Docomo. ] On January 27, 2011, Airtel launched 3G in Chennai and Coimbatore. Airtel plans to cover 1,500 cities across 13 circles by the end of March 2012. The company, which has 3G licences for 13 circles, is also in talks with other service providers to roll out the services in the remaining 10 circles as part of its roaming offerings. Airtel had about 3 million 3G subscribers as of May 2011.
Criticism There has been lot of criticism about Airtel for its unauthorised VAS activation. Many of its services were activated automatically according to a complaint forum. In return Airtel launched STOP/START 121 services for such issues. Telemedia The Telemedia business provides services in 89 Indian cities and consists of two brands. Airtel Broadband provides broadband and IPTV services. Airtel provides both capped as well as unlimited download plans [reduced speeds at unlimited data are implied]. The maximum speed available for home users is 16Mbps.
Airtel Fixed Line which provides fixed line services. Airtel has about 3. 16 million wireline customers, of which 42. 6% are broadband/internet subscribers as of August 2010. Until September 18, 2004, Bharti provided fixed-line telephony and broadband services under the Touchtel brand. Bharti now provides all telecom services including fixed-line services under a common brand “Airtel”. Digital Television The Digital TV business provides Direct-to-Home (DTH) TV services across India under the brand name Airtel Digital TV. It started services on 9 October 2008 and has about 32. 4 million customers as of August 2010. Enterprise The Enterprise business provides end-to-end telecom solutions to corporate customers and national and international long distance services to telcos through its nationwide fiber optic backbone, last mile connectivity in fixed-line and mobile circles, VSATs, ISP and international bandwidth access through the gateways and landing stations. ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- Channel Islands: Jersey and Guernsey
On 1 May 2007, Jersey Airtel and Guernsey Airtel, both wholly owned subsidiaries of the Bharti Group, announced they would launch mobile services in the British Crown Dependency islands ofJersey and Guernsey under the brand name Airtel-Vodafone after signing an agreement with Vodafone. Airtel-Vodafone operates a 3G network in Jersey and Guernsey. Jersey and Guernsey are British Crown Dependencies. They are not independent countries. Therefore, Airtel’s countries of operation is considered to be 19. ————————————————- ————————————————-
Subscriber Base Bharti Airtel has about 207. 8 million subscribers worldwide – 152. 5 million in India, 50. 3 million are in Africa, 3. 2 million in Bangladesh and 1. 8 million in Sri Lanka as of the end of 2010. The numbers include mobile services subscribers in 19 countries and Indian Telemedia services and Digital services subscribers. India The Airtel subscriber base according to Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) as of December 2010 was: Metros * Chennai – 2,947,870 * Delhi – 7,420,171 * Mumbai – 3,263,688 * Kolkata – 3,181,073 “A” Circle * Andhra Pradesh – 15,329,598 * Gujarat – 5,980,024 Karnataka – 14,004,247 * Maharashtra – 7,865,425 * Tamil Nadu – 9,157,295 “B” Circle * Haryana – 1,856,093 * Kerala – 3,383,097 * Madhya Pradesh – 8,527,584 * Punjab – 5,946,742 * Rajasthan – 12,001,442 * Uttar Pradesh (East) – 11,455,638 * Uttar Pradesh (West) – 5,475,843 * West Bengal – 7,592,487 “C” Circle * Assam – 2,828,490 * Bihar – 13,901,163 * Himachal Pradesh – 1,528,727 * Jammu and Kashmir – 1,879,828 * North Eastern States – 1,748,202 * Orissa – 4,989,102 Airtel is the market leader in India with about 152,495,219 out of the total 745,000,000 subscribers in India or about 20. 6% market share as of December 2010. ————————————————- ————————————————- Acquisitions and Mergers MTN In May 2008, it emerged that Bharti Airtel was exploring the possibility of buying the MTN Group, a South Africa-based telecommunications company with coverage in 21 countries in Africa and theMiddle East. The Financial Times reported that Bharti was considering offering US$45 billion for a 100% stake in MTN, which would be the largest overseas acquisition ever by an Indian firm.
However, both sides emphasize the tentative nature of the talks, while The Economist magazine noted, “If anything, Bharti would be marrying up,” as MTN has more subscribers, higher revenues and broader geographic coverage. However, the talks fell apart as MTN group tried to reverse the negotiations by making Bharti almost a subsidiary of the new company. In May 2009, Bharti Airtel again confirmed that it is in Talks with MTN and companies have now agreed discuss the potential transaction exclusively by July 31, 2009.
Bharti Airtel said in a statement “Bharti Airtel Ltd is pleased to announce that it has renewed its effort for a significant partnership with MTN Group”. Talks eventually ended without agreement, due to the South African government opposition. Zain In March 2010, Bharti struck a deal to buy the Kuwait firm’s mobile operations in 15 African countries, in India’s second biggest overseas acquisition after Tata Steel’s $13 billion buy of Corus in 2007. Bharti Airtel completed its $9 billion acquisition of African operations from Kuwait’s Zain, making the firm the world’s No. wireless carrier by subscribers. ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- Rebranding On 18 November 2010, Airtel rebranded itself in India in the first phase of a global rebranding strategy. The company unveiled a new logo with ‘airtel’ written in lower case. Designed by London-based brand agency, Brand Union, the new logo is the letter ‘a’ in lowercase, with ‘airtel’ written in lowercase under the logo. On November 23, 2010, Airtel’s Africa operations were rebranded to ‘airtel’.
Sri Lanka followed on November 28, 2010 and on December 20, 2010, Warid Telecom rebranded to ‘airtel’ in Bangladesh. ————————————————- ————————————————- Sponsorship On May 9, 2009 Airtel signed a major deal with Manchester United Football Club. As a result of the deal, Airtel gets the rights to broadcast the matches played by the team to its customers. Bharti Airtel signed a five-year deal with ESPN Star Sports to become the title sponsor of the Champions League Twenty20 cricket tournament. The tournament itself is named “Airtel Champions League Twenty20. ————————————————- ————————————————- Signature tune The signature tune of Airtel is composed by Indian musician A. R. Rahman. The tune became hugely popular and is the world’s most downloaded mobile music with over 150 million downloads. A new version of the song was released on 18 November 2010, as part of the rebranding of the company. This version too was composed by Rahman himself. ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- ———————————————— ————————————————- Timeline ————————————————- Logo used by Airtel till 2010 November New logo used by Airtel presently The chronology of events since Bharti Tele-Ventures was incorporated in 1995. 1995 * Bharti Cellular launched cellular services as “AirTel” in Delhi. 1996 * STET International Netherlands NV, or STET, a company promoted by Telecom Italia, Italy acquired a 20% equity interest in Bharti Tele-Ventures * Bharti Telenet launched cellular services in Himachal Pradesh 1997 British Telecom acquired a 21. 05% equity interest in Bharti Cellular * Bharti Telenet obtained a license for providing fixed-line services in Madhya Pradesh cirlce (and later Chattisgarh). * Bharti Telecom and British Telecom formed a 51% : 49% joint venture, Bharti BT, for providing VSAT services 1998 * Bharti Telecom and British Telecom formed a 51% : 49% joint venture, “Bharti BT Internet” for providing Internet services * First Indian private fixed-line services launched in Indore in the Madhya Pradesh circle on June 4, 1998 by Bharti Telenet thereby ending fixed-line services monopoly of Department of Telecom (nowBSNL). 999 * Warburg Pincus (through its investment company Brentwood Investment Holdings Limited) acquired a 19. 05% equity interest in Bharti Tele-Ventures * Bharti Tele-Ventures (by acquiring a 63. 45% equity interest in SC Cellular Holdings) acquired an effective 32. 36% equity interest in Bharti Mobile (formerly JT Mobiles), the cellular services provider in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh circles * New York Life Insurance Fund, or NYLIF, acquired a 3% equity interest in Bharti Cellular 2000 Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired an effective equity interest of 40. 5% in Bharti Mobinet (formerly Skycell Communications), the cellular services provider in Chennai * Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired a 30. 2% equity interest of Telecom Italia in Bharti Telenet and 18. 8% from Bharti Telecom thereby making Bharti Telenet a 100% subsidiary of Bharti Tele-Ventures * SingTel (through its investment company Pastel Limited) acquired STET’s 15. 3% equity interest in Bharti Tele-Ventures * Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired an additional effective 41. 4% equity interest in Bharti Mobile (by acquiring the remaining 36. 55% equity interest in SC Cellular) resulting in Bharti Tele-Ventures holding an effective 74% equity interest in Bharti Mobile. 2001 * Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired NYLIF’s 3% equity interest in Bharti Cellular * Bharti Telesonic entered into a joint venture, Bharti Aquanet, with SingTel for establishing a submarine cable landing station at Chennai * Bharti Tele-Ventures issued additional equity for approximately US$ 481. 0 million to SingTel, Warburg Pincus, AIF group, IFC, NYLIF, and Seejay Cellular and Bharti Telecom * Bharti Cellular acquired a 100% equity interest in Bharti Mobitel (formerly Spice Cell ), the cellular services provider in Kolkata * Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired 85% and 15% in Bharti Telespatial from Bharti Telecom and Intel, respectively * Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired a 44% equity interest in Bharti Cellular from British Telecom, thereby making Bharti Cellular its 100% subsidiary * Bharti Tele-Ventures acquired an additional 49% equity interest in Bharti Mobinet from Millicom International and BellSouth International, thereby owning 89. 5% equity interest in Bharti Mobinet, which was further increased to 95. % following an issuance of additional equity shares by way of rights issue * Punjab license restored to Bharti Mobile by the Department of Telecom (DoT) and migration to NTP – 1999 accepted * Bharti Cellular entered into license agreements to provide cellular services in eight new circles following the fourth operator cellular license bidding process * Bharti Telenet entered into license agreements to provide fixed-line services in the Haryana, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka circles * Bharti Telesonic entered into a license agreement with the DoT to provide national long distance services across India * Bharti Aquanet, Bharti Telesonic and Bharti Cellular entered into license agreements with the DoT to provide ISP services in India * Bharti Telesonic launched national long distance services under the brand name of IndiaOne * Bharti Telenet launched fixed line services in Haryana under the brand name of “TouchTel”. 2002 * Enters into a 5-year agreement with Escotel (now called Idea Cellular) and ETL of the Escorts group to contract leased line connectivity for its cellular operations * Mr. Ravi Akhoury ceases to be Director of Bharti Tele DoT grants ILD Telephony License to Bharti Telesonic, subsidiary of the company * Signs MoU with Telia AB to buy out their 26% stake in Bharti Mobile * Ties up with Secondary School Certification (SSC) Board, Hyderabad, where Bharti will announce SSC results to its customers on their mobile phones * ICICI Bank ties up with Bharti for pre-paid mobile cards via ATMs * Bharti forays into Mumbai with offers * Alpine International Ltd. and ELM International Ltd. acquire shares of Bharti Tele-Ventures 2003 * Airtel breaks interconnectivity with Tata Teleservices in Andhra Pradesh * Company accorded its approval for amalgamation of its subsidiary companies viz: Bharti Telenet Ltd, Bharti Telesonic Ltd, Bharti Broadband Networks Ltd and Bharti Comtel Ltd through scheme of Amalgamation. The merged entity would be renamed as Bharti Infotel Ltd * Airtel launches Local direct dialling facility in Chennai circle * Bharti Cellular unveils “CareTouch” service Cellular brand “Airtel” unveils free multimedia messaging services (MMS) for its customers. The company has also rolled out pan-India GPRS for its corporate subscribers * Launches its `IndiaOne MeetXpress’ audio-conferencing service * Punjab, Haryana get free incoming calls from Airtel * AirTel provides SMS facilities to hearing impaired in Chennai * Goa, Maharashtra gets ‘voice portal’ services by Bharti Cellular * Launches free additional connection to its new subscribers in New Delhi * Mr Sin Hang Boon and Mr Wong Hung Khim have resigned from the Board of Directors of Bharti Tele Ventures Ltd with effect from February 27, 2003. * Airtel launches its GPRS network in Chennai Airtel subscribers cross 3 million mark * AirTel unveils RAD system * Mr P M Sinha resigns from the Board of Directors of the Company with effect from March 31, 2003. * Bharti TeleVentures announces the completion of merger with Bharti Mobitel * Bharti Mobitel Ltd. merged with Bharti Cellular Ltd. * “Airtel” and “Touchtel” jointly offer free Touchtel land line for post-paid Airtel connection * Airtel rolls out voice mail service for pre-paid customers * AirTel unveils new scheme for pre-paid customers giving away free talk time worth Rs 10 crore * Airtel surpasses 4 lakh subscriber base in Karnataka * Bharti announces new tariff plan AirTel 012 Offers 0-1-2, a new cellular package for the customers, which means zero charges on incoming calls, Re 1 on mobile-to-mobile outgoing calls, Rs 2 on mobile-to-mobile STD calls * Rolls out Airtel messenger service * AirTel offers bundled handset, connection package for Rs 5715 * Airtel slashes SMS rates to 60 paise; excludes Delhi and Mumbai * Bharti cellular, wholly owned subsidiary of Bharti Tele-Ventures, increases its stake to 100% in Bharti Mobile * Signs distribution pact with Hathway Cable. With this alliance, Bharti is said to be the first telecom firm to step into television distribution services * Six cell operators move over from Bharti to VSNL * Airtel augments cellular coverage in Tamil Nadu by including Arcot amp; Walajapet in its network * Airtel ties up with Coke in Chennai to sell its “Magic” prepaid cards * AirTel embarks on network expansion in Hyderabad * Airtel unveils IndiaOne Long Distance Calling Card * AirTel introduces unified tariff package in Tamil Nadu and Chennai * Airtel becomes front runner in Karnataka’s mobile services market * Bharti Tele launches ‘Always on’ service to its subscribers * State Bank of India and AirTel announce EMI offer at Rs 299 * Bharti and MTV join hands to launch new SIM card * AirTel unveils new post-paid scheme at zero rental * AirTel launches `Happy Plan’ in AP * Airtel emerges as the highest selling pre-paid card Airtel join hands with Alcatel & Videocon to launch new scheme * AirTel service provider touches 5 lakh customers in Punjab * Airtel offers 5 new services for its customers in Mumbai * Bharti launches first dual band network in Delhi * Gets 14th place among top 25 Cos in India * Bharti Mobile crosses 4 lakh mobile subscribers in AP * Airtel holds top position in terms of dealer penetration * Prof. V S Raju has been inducted on the Board of Directors of the Company. * Touchtel launches SMS service in fixed line phones in Karnal and Panipat in Haryana. * Airtel unveils special offers in Kerala * AirTel launches InnoWest for the western region * Bharti Tele-Ventures enters into an agreement with Telesystem (Mauritius) Pvt.
Ltd * Airtel slashes out going SMS price to 30ps * On December 16, 2003, Airtel announced the launch of expense tracker service, which provides customers the option of tracking their day-to-day expenses on a daily or monthly basis. This service will allow a user to track expenses, while on the move by sending an SMS. * AirTel introduces MTV Club Card in Chennai 2004 * Bharti unveils new card for Mecca piligrims * AirTel enrolls 50,000 customers in its mobile service in 60 days * Launches WAP enabled portal Service in Kerala * Bharti Cellular’s AirTel has extended its mobile connectivity to Karaikkal, Nagur, Mannargudi and Kovilpalayam in Tamil Nadu. Airtel customer base touches new high of 5 lakh mark in Andhra Pradesh * On Pongal, Airtel is launching its first ever MMS downloads in Tamil. * AirTel tie up with MAA TV * Airtel launches Rs 50 pre-paids recharge * AirTel launched a family pack for its post-paid customers in Chennai on January 29. * Bharti Tele-Ventures enters into a three year service agreement with Ericsson * Bharti Tele-Ventures (BTVL) has signed and received unified access service licence to provide GSM services in Uttar Pradesh (East), West Bengal & Andaman Nicobar, Orissa, Bihar and Jammu & Kashmir. The licence has been granted to Bharti Cellular Ltd (BCL), the cellular arm and subsidiary of BTVL. Airtel and Mobilink, the only GSM cellular service provider in Pakistan, sign the first-ever bilateral roaming agreement between India and Pakistan * Acquires switching systems from Tekelec * Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd signed an information technology outsourcing deal with infotech major IBM, estimated to be in the range of 0-750 million for a ten-year period. * Jayant Khosla, new chief executive officer, Mumbai * Signs MoU to join the South East Asia – Middle East – Western Europe 4 (SEA-ME-WE-4) consortium along with 15 other global telecom operators. * Bharti Tele-Ventures has struck a deal with Shyam Telecom to buy out the latter’s 67. 5 per cent stake in cellular services company Hexacom for Rs 430 crore. Samsung India Electronics Limited has tied up with cellular operator Bharti for bundling its mobile handsets with a connection. * The Bharti group finalised a Rs 500-crore deal to share its national long-distance (STD) network with VSNL in a first-of-its-kind accord between two top telecom service providers in a bid to optimise capacities in the NLD segment. * Internet gateway and services provider, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL) has signed a Right to Use (RoU) agreement to deploy mobile telephony major, Bharti Tele-Ventures’ existing National Long Distance (NLD) backbone. * Airtel offers talktime transfer service * Airtel has announced money-back guarantee offer in case of call drop or poor network experience for its subscribers * Bharti launches 2-in-1 card Airtel launched two-way international roaming and GPRS for prepaid customers in the Maharshtra and Goa circles * Bharti Tele-Ventures has bagged the Asian MobileNews operator of the year award in India and the subcontinent * Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd has awarded a million equipment contract to Swedish telecoms company Ericsson * Bharti Televentures announced formation of a new strategic business unit to offer various telecom and IT services through a single contact * Bharti Televentures unveiled a mobile portal featuring sports, entertainment and news among others * Airtel ties up with Micro Tech to set up ‘Mcops’ vehicle security system * Bharti Tele-Venture on July 19 launched “Caller Tunes” service, a personalized mobile music service where the caller hears songs and other sound clips instead of the traditional switchboard ring-ring tone * Airtel, a private telecom services provider, has commissioned its first 24×7 customer service centre in Andhra Pradesh * Airtel unveils Rs 199 pre paid card AirTel join hands with Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) to offer executive MBA programme * AirTel introduces new scheme for hearing impaired in Maharashtra & Goa * AirTel inks pact with JP Mobile * Rolls out Enhanced Data Rate for Global Evolution (EDGE) network in Pune on September 9, 2004, Ties up with Nokia for sale of Nokia 6230, an EDGE-enabled handset. * AirTel unveils first virtual calling cards in India * BTVL rolls out EDGE services in Bangalore * Airtel rolls out Full Talktime Advantage card * Airtel rolls out wi-fi services in Mumbai * BTVL launches new ‘Airtel Broadband Friendly Offer’ * Airtel launches GPRS services for pre-paid customers * Airtel partners with ITPO to set up Wi-Fi network in Delhi * Airtel launches EDGE services and a new pre-paid plan for Chennai * Airtel introduces LAS in Karnataka 2005 Airtel launches video services for its GPRS customers on February 22, 2005 * Airtel unveils new TV ad featuring Sachin Tendulkar and Shah Rukh Khan * Bharti Tele-Ventures launches telecom network in Andaman & Nicobar * BTVL unveil fixed line, broadband services * Bharti inks 5-m deal with Nokia for rural network expansion * Bharti Tele Ventures Ltd has announced that Airtel, ICICI Bank & VISA have joined hands to launch mCheq – a revolutionary new service – a credit card on the mobile phone * Airtel introduces BlackBerry Connect in India * Bharti Tele Ventures announces agreement with Vodafone * Airtel unveils ‘free flight’ offer * Bharti Tele-Ventures launches under sea cable system 2006 * Airtel unveils Re 1 STD plans * Airtel launches NetXpert. * Airtel launches Post2Pre recharging service on April 04,2006. * Airtel sets up customer centre Airtel announced the launch of `Save My Phone Contact’ service for its pre-paid and post-paid customers in Delhi * Bharti Tele Ventures bags ‘Wireless Service Provider of the Year’ ; ‘Competitive Service Provider of the Year’ awards * Cellebrum join hands with Airtel * Airtel Mega unveiled in Coimbatore * Bharti Airtel Ltd and Microsoft announced a strategic partnership that will offer a range of software and services for small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India. * Bharti Airtel Ltd on Nov 8, announced a first-of-its-kind alliance with the Adani Group for establishing an end-to-end modern telecommunication network infrastructure for the latter’s multi-sector special economic zone (SEZ), located near Mundra Port in Kutch district of Gujarat. 2007 Bharti Airtel has come out with a slew of initiatives including buying out SingTel’s 50 per cent stake in joint venture under sea cable company Network i2i * Bharti Airtel on Feb 11, has been awarded QCI-DL Shah National Award on Economics of Quality. * Bharti Airtel Ltd has announces changes in the operational leadership structure and roles in the Company effective April 01, 2007. * Bharti Airtel Ltd on April 01, 2007, has announces the reduction in ISD Tariffs for all its mobile customers in India. 8Airtel signs agreement with HTC for touch screen mobile. 2008 * Nokia Siemens Networks on Jan 3 declared that it has been awarded a multi million euro contract from Bharti Airtel Ltd for deployment of a single interactive voice response (IVR) platform across 23 circles.
The three-year turnkey contract comprises designing, planning, systems integration and optimisation services to raise overall customer experience. The new IVR solution will enable Airtel to deliver services such as voice SMS, televoting, call management services, caller ring back tone and voice portal on a faster time-to-market basis and, therefore, reduce OPEX costs. * Bharti Airtel Ltd on February 13, 2008 has announced that it has achieved the 60 million mobile, fixed line and broadband customers. * Bharti Airtel tied up with US-based Apple Inc to bring the popular GSM-based iPhone in the country. * Bharti Airtel Ltd has forged a technology alliance with Infosys Technologies Ltd to launch its Direct-to-Home (DTH) television services.
Infosys, through its digital convergence platform, will offer a suite of products including devices, application servers and interactive applications for Airtel’s DTH services. 2009 * Bharti Airtel signed a five-year managed services deal with Alcatel-Lucent for its fixed-line and broadband operations. * Bharti Airtel launched the ‘Airtel Advantage’ initiative. The initiative is aimed at offering the added advantage to Airtel customers to be in touch with each other at an affordable rate of 50 paise per minute, be it a national long distance call (STD) or a local call. * In order to create products and services for the small, medium and large enterprises, Bharti Airtel and Cisco announced a strategic business alliance.
The alliance would combine the strengths of Airtel’s network service and Cisco’ Internet Protocol (IP) technologies. * Airtel and mChek announce milestone of 1 Million users and introduce a broad range of new mCommerce services. 2010 * On 14, February 2010, Zain Ghana issued a resolution to accept a $10. 7 billion buyout offer from Bharti Airtel Limited (Bharti) to enter into exclusive discussions until 25 March 2010, regarding the sale of its African unit, Zain Africa BV. * Bharti Airtel submitted its bid for 3G spectrum auction which starts from April 9, 2010. * Bharti Airtel has partnered with US-based software maker VMware Inc. It has done this in order to focus on the cloud-based managed computer services market. On May 18, 2010, Airtel won 3G spectrum in 13 circles: Delhi, Mumbai, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh (West), Rajasthan, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Assam,North East, Jammu & Kashmir for Rs. 12,295 crores. * Bharti Airtel wins broadband spectrum in four circles: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab and Kolkata for Rs. 3314. 36 crores. * On 8, June 2010, Bharti Airtel completed a deal to Zain Telecom’s businesses in 15 African countries for $10. 7 billion. * On August 11, 2010, Bharti Airtel announced that it would acquire 100% stake in Telecom Seychelles for US$62 million taking its global presence to 19 countries. On 20 September 2010, Bharti Airtel said that it has given contracts to Ericsson India, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) and Huawei Technologies to set up infrastructure for providing 3G services in the country. * On 18 November, 2010, Bharti Airtel announced a re-branding campaign wherein, they would be referred as airtel, with a new logo. * On 20 December 2010, Airtel launched its new identity for Bangladesh subscribers. * On 23 December 2010, Airtel opened its first underground terrestrial fibre optic cable built in alliance with China Telecom. 2011 * On 24 January 2011, Bharti Airtel launched it’s 3G services for the first time in India. The service was launched in Bangalore. * On 27 January 2011, 3G services were launched in Chennai circle. Airtel announced that it will cover 11 more circles, by March 2011. On 31 January 2011, India’s first mobile wallet service – Airtel Money was launched in the millennium city of Gurgaon. Airtel mobile customers will be able to use mobile platform to make payments. * On 6 February 2011, Bharti airtel announced partnership with Savvis. Savvis to leverage airtel’s state-of-the-art Data Centres to expand its service platforms in India. * On 23 February 2011, Bharti Airtel launched the Europe-India gateway cable system, along with 16 other global telecom firms. A 15,000 kilometre long cable, between Mumbai and London. * On 27 February 2011, Bharti Airtel launched its speech recognition based service, ‘One Number, One Voice’. On 2 March, 2011, Airtel launched it’s 3G services in Northern India for the first time in Jaipur, State Capital of Rajasthan. * On 3 March, 2011, Airtel launched it’s 3g services in the national capital region (NCR). This launch was based on the back of a robust network of 1800 plus 3G sites, making 3G available to Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad and Noida. * On 7 March, 2011, Airtel launched it’s 3G services in the financial capital of India- Mumbai. * On 14 March, 2011, Airtel launched Broadband TV, which enables the customers to watch live TV on their computers or laptops. * On 24 March, 2011, Airtel launched it’s 3G Services in Hubbali in Karnataka. * On 5 April, 2011, Airtel rolled out 3G services in Hyderabad. On 12 April, 2011, Airtel launched 3G Services in Durgapur, West Bengal. * On 18 April, 2011, Bharti Airtel entered into an exclusive partnership with leading photo service-Zoomin. com to launch ‘Airtel Photo Service’, that enables the Airtel customers to upload unlimited number of photos online and also get the prints at their doorstep. * On 22nd July, 2011 Airtel increased its on-net (Airtel to Airtel) call rates by 20%. Businesses Bharti Tele-Ventures current businesses include : * Mobile services * Fixed-line * National and international long distance services * VSAT, Internet services and network solutions * Broadband services with DSL and Wi-Fi network Competitive Strengths
Bharti Tele-Ventures believes that the following elements will contribute to the Company’s success as an integrated telecommunication services provider in India and will provide the Company with a solid foundation to execute its business strategy: * Nationwide Footprint – approximately 92% of India’s total mobile subscribers resided in the Company’s  fifteen  mobile circles. These 15 circles collectively accounted for approximately 56% of India’s land mass; * Focus on telecommunications to enable the Company to better anticipate industry trend sand capitalize on new telecommunications-related business opportunities. * The strong brand name recognition and a reputation for offering high quality service to its customers; * Quality management team with vision and proven execution skills; and The Company’s strong relationships with international strategic and financial investors such as SingTel, Warburg Pincus, International Finance Corporation, Asian Infrastructure Fund Group and New York Life Insurance. Brand Positioning : Brand Positioning Became the 1st Indian company to win the ‘Best Bottom Line IT’ ; ‘Best Knowledge Management’ awards by defeating companies such as ONGC, Birla Corp. , the Tatas ; Reliance at Asian level. Positions itself as juvenile brand by linkages to celebrities such as SRK and Sachin Airtel is transforming itself fully into a Service Led Brand. The Airtel Logo : The Airtel Logo The Airtel logo is a strong, contemporary and confident symbol for a brand that is always ahead of the rest. It is a specially drawn word mark. The Airtel Image style The Airtel Typographical style The Airtel Colour Palette.
Various Strategies to retain its market share : Various Strategies to retain its market share New tariff plans. More value added services. Increase in visibility and coverage The AirTel – AirTel advantage New innovative packages More of the e-factor CURRENT SCENERIO Broadband Services – * Airtel Redefines broadband services: * Upgrades all existing customers to a minimum of 512 Kbps speed at no extra cost * Doubles broadband speeds of 512 Kbps to 1 Mbps and 1 Mbps to 2 Mbps at no extra cost * Launches Impatience Plans- offers 4Mbps plans, starting Rs. 899/ month * Bharti Airtel entered into an exclusive partnership with leading photo service-Zoomin. om to launch ‘Airtel Photo Service’, that enables the Airtel customers to upload unlimited number of photos online and also get the prints at their doorstep. * has launched Broadband TV, which enables the customers to watch live TV on their computers or laptops. * Its services sector businesses include mobile operations in Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Delhi,Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh circle,Maharashtra circle, Mumbai, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh (West) circle. 4 P’s – price, product, place ; promotion ————————————————- ————————————————- PRICE STRATRGIES: Customer based pricing strategies * Flexible pricing mechanism * Controlled by TRAI PRODUCT: * Airtel pre-paid * Airtel post-paid * Blackberry wireless handheld * Value Added Services(VAS) They are: * Instant balance enquiry * 24-hour recharge facility * Caller line identification * Call divert, call wait & call hold * Multimedia messaging service(MMS) * SMS based information service * Airtel live porta PLACE : * It has a wide range & extensive presence even in the remotest areas. * Airtel Customer Care Touch Points * Distributers like ; Paan shops, grocery stores, chamists, outlet etc. ————————————————- PROMOTION : Large scale print & video advertising * Big celebrities like SRK & Sachin are rped in to endorse the product. * In 2002, airtel got its signature tune from A. R Rehman & it is the most downloaded tune in India. * Provides innovations such as Bollywood movie premiers, music services such as ring back tune & many more. Company Profile of VODAFONE Vodafone Group plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world’s second-largest measured by subscribers (behind China Mobile), with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of November 2010.
It operates networks in over 30 countries and has partner networks in over 40 additional countries. It owns 45% of Verizon Wireless, the largest mobile telecommunications company in the United States measured by subscribers. The name Vodafone comes from voice data fone, chosen by the company to “reflect the provision of voice and data services over mobile phones”. Its primary listing is on the London Stock Exchange and it is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It had a market capitalisation of approximately ? 93 billion as of 9 March 2011, making it the fourth largest company on the London Stock Exchange. It has a secondary listing on NASDAQ. Vodafone’s original logo, used until the introduction of the speechmark logo in 1997 HISTORY
In 1980, Sir Ernest Harrison OBE, chairman of Racal Electronics plc’s, the UK’s largest maker of military radio technology, agreed a deal with Lord Weinstock of General Electric Company plc to allow Racal to access some of GEC’s tactical battlefield radio technology. Briefing the head of Racal’s military radio division Gerry Whent to drive the company into commercial mobile radio, Whent visited GE’s factory in Virginia, USA in 1980. In 1982, Racal’s newly formed Racal Strategic Radio Ltd subsidiary won one of two UK cellular telephone network licences, with the other going to British Telecom. The network, known as Racal Vodafone, was 80% owned by Racal, with Millicom holding 15% and Hambros Technology Trust 5%. Vodafone was launched on 1 January 1985.
Racal Strategic Radio was renamed Racal Telecommunications Group Limited in 1985. On 29 December 1986, Racal Electronics bought out the minority shareholders of Vodafone for GB? 110 million. Under stock market pressure to realise full value for shareholders (the mobile unit was being valued at the same amount as the whole Racal group), in September 1988, the company was again renamed Racal Telecom, and on 26 October 1988, Racal Electronics floated 20% of the company. The flotation valued Racal Telecom at GB? 1. 7 billion. On 16 September 1991, Racal Telecom was demerged from Racal Electronics as Vodafone Group. In July 1996, Vodafone acquired the two thirds of Talkland it did not already own for ? 30. 6 million.
On 19 November 1996, in a defensive move, Vodafone purchased Peoples Phone for ? 77 million, a 181 store chain whose customers were overwhelmingly using Vodafone’s network. In a similar move the company acquired the 80% of Astec Communications that it did not own, a service provider with 21 stores. In 1997, Vodafone introduced its Speechmark logo, composed of a quotation mark in a circle, with the O’s in the Vodafone logotype representing opening and closing quotation marks and suggesting conversation. On 29 June 1999, Vodafone completed its purchase of AirTouch Communications, Inc. and changed its name to Vodafone Airtouch plc. The merged company commenced trading on 30 June 1999.  In order to gain anti-trust approval for the merger, Vodafone sold its 17. 2% stake in E-Plus Mobilfunk. The acquisition gave Vodafone a 35% share of Mannesmann, owner of the largest German mobile network. On 21 September 1999, Vodafone agreed to merge its U. S. wireless assets with those of Bell Atlantic Corp to form Verizon Wireless. The merger was completed on 4 April 2000. In November 1999, Vodafone made an unsolicited bid for Mannesmann, which was rejected. Vodafone’s interest in Mannesmann had been increased by the latter purchase of Orange, the UK mobile operator. Chris Gent would later say Mannesmann’s move into the UK broke a “gentleman’s agreement” not to compete in each other’s home territory.
The hostile takeover provoked strong protest in Germany, and a “titanic struggle” which saw Mannesmann resist Vodafone’s efforts. However, on 3 February 2000, the Mannesmann board agreed to an increased offer of ? 112bn, then the largest corporate merger ever. The EU approved the merger in April 2000. The conglomerate was subsequently broken up and all manufacturing related operations sold off. On 28 July 2000, the Company reverted to its former name, Vodafone Group plc. In April 2001, the first 3G voice call was made on Vodafone United Kingdom’s 3G network. ————————————————- Products and services Motorola “T2288” (Talkabout) mobile phone, branded “Vodafone” Products promoted by the Group include Vodafone live!  Vodafone Mobile Connect USB Modem, Vodafone Connect to Friends, Vodafone Passport, Vodafone Freedom Packs, Vodafone at Home, Vodafone 710 and Amobee Media Systems. Between June and August 2009, Vodafone suspended roaming charges within 35 different countries, allowing their customers to take their standard UK price plan abroad. In October 2009, it launched Vodafone 360, a new internet service for the mobile, PC and Mac. On 15 February 2010 Vodafone launched world’s cheapest mobile phone known as Vodafone 150, will sell for below $15 (? 10) and is aimed at the developing world. It will initially be launched in India, Turkey and eight African countries including Lesotho, Kenya and Ghana. Mobile Money Transfer Service
In March 2007, Safaricom, which is part owned by Vodafone and the leading mobile communication provider in Kenya, launched a mobile payment solution developed by Vodafone. M-PESA is aimed at mobile customers who do not have a bank account, typically because they do not have access to a bank or their income is insufficient to justify a bank account. The M-PESA system allows customers to deposit and withdraw cash via local agents, and transfer money to other mobile phone users via SMS. By February 2008, the M-PESA money transfer system in Kenya had gained 1. 6 million customers and Vodafone announced that it was to extend the service to Afghanistan. The service here was launched on the Roshan network under the brand M-Paisa with a different focus to the Kenyan service.
M-Paisa was targeted as a vehicle for microfinance institutions’ (MFI) loan disbursements and repayments, alongside business to business applications such as salary disbursement. The service has now been transitioned to be operationally run by IBM Global Services on behalf of Vodafone, the initial 3 markets (Kenya, Tanzania & Afghanistan) are hosted by Rackspace. The Afghanistan launch was followed in April 2008 by the announcement of further a further launch of M-PESA in Tanzania. As an operator of money transmission services, Vodafone became subject to anti-money laundering regulation and in July 2008, it was revealed that it had deployed a sanctions and PEP (Politically Exposed Persons) screening solution from Datanomic for weekly screening of 2.  million customers in Tanzania. The screening service was to be rolled out to Afghanistan, Kenya, India and Datanomic disclosed that the solution might be used to screen all of Vodafone’s 300 million customers globally. mHealth Solutions In November 2009, Vittorio Colao announced  that Vodafone set-up a new business unit that looks after the emerging mHealth market. mHealth is defined as the application of mobile communications and network technologies to healthcare. Vodafone’s main objectives for implementing mHealth projects are to optimise the efficiencies of health organisations’ internal processes and to enhance the delivery and accessibility of healthcare.
One of its early success stories is with the Novartis-led “SMS for Life” project in Tanzania, for which Vodafone developed and deployed a text-message based system that enables all of the country’s 4,600 public health facilities to report their levels of anti-malaria medications so that stock level data can be viewed centrally in real-time, enabling timely re-supply of stock. During the SMS for Life pilot, which covered 129 health facilities over six months, stock-outs dropped from 26% to 0. 8%, saving thousands of lives . Vodafone is also working together with Baxter International, having developed a patient-reported treatment outcome system for users of Baxter’s intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatments.
The aim of the system is to move more patients from hospital to home to receive their ongoing infusions. Other examples of Vodafone initiatives in mHealth date back before the creation of the mHealth unit. A continued partnership with the Spanish Red Cross to market and enable a localisation service for Alzheimer patients began in 2005 and serves more than 1,000 patients and carers per year. Since 2006, Vodafone enables doctors in remote practices on the Greek islands to share patient data with specialists in Athens and other central hospitals, so that they can receive diagnostic and therapy consultations in real-time[50]. Vodafone has also been active in mHealth from a philanthropic perspective.
The Vodafone Group Foundation is a founder member of the mHealth Alliance [51], supporting the adoption of mHealth through policy research and advocacy and the development of interoperable and sustainable mHealth solutions. ————————————————- ————————————————- Governance Name| Between| Sir Gerald Whent| October 1988 – December 1996| Sir Christopher Gent| January 1997 – July 2003| Arun Sarin| July 2003 – July 2008| Vittorio Colao| July 2008 – present| In a period just short of twenty years from its initial public offering, the Company had had just three Chief Executives. The fourth CEO, Vittorio Colao, stepped up from Deputy Chief Executive in July 2008. Each of his predecessors made a personal contribution to the development of the Company.
Sir Gerald Whent, at that time an Executive with Racal Electronics plc, was responsible for the bid for a UK Cellular Network licence. The Mobile Telecoms division was de-merged, and was floated on the London Stock Exchange in October 1988 and Sir Gerald became Chief Executive of Racal Telecom plc. Over the next few years the company grew to become the UK’s Market Leader, changing its name to Vodafone Group plc in the process. Sir Christopher Gent took over as Chief Executive in January 1997, after Sir Gerald’s retirement. Sir Christopher was responsible for transforming Vodafone from a small UK operator into the global behemoth that it is today, through the merger with the American AirTouch and the takeover of Germany’s Mannesmann.
Arun Sarin was the driving force behind the Company’s move into emerging markets such as Asia and Africa, through the purchases such as that of Turkish operator Telsim, and a majority stake in Hutchison Essar in India. Faced with increased competition, and penetration rates above 100% in the more mature European markets, he saw it necessary to diversify from being a mobile-only business into a company which provided all telecommunications services. This has seen Vodafone launch DSL and other fixed-line services in markets such as Germany and the UK. ————————————————- ————————————————- Financial results Vodafone reports its results in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Vodafone has some large minority stakes, which are not included in its consolidated turnover.
In order to provide additional information on the overall scale and growth trends of its business, it publishes “proportionate turnover” figures, and these are included in the tables below. For example, if a business in which it owns a 45% stake has turnover of ? 10 billion, that equals ? 4. 5 billion of proportionate turnover for Vodafone. Proportionate turnover is not an official accounting measure, and Vodafone’s proportionate turnover should be compared with other companies’ statutory turnover. Vodafone also produces proportionate customer number figures on a similar basis, e. g. if an operator in which it has a 30% stake has 10 million customers that equals 3 million proportionate Vodafone customers.
This is a common practice in the mobile telecommunications industry. Year ended 31 March| Turnover ? m| Profit before tax ? m| Profit for the year ? m| Basic eps (pence)| Proportionate customers (m)| 2010| 44,472| 8,674| 8,618| 16. 44| 341. 1| 2009| 41,017| 4,189| 3,080| 5. 81| 302. 6| 2008| 35,478| 9,001| 6,756| 12. 56| 260| 2007| 31,104| (2,383)| (5,297)| (8. 94)| 206. 4| 2006*| 29,350| (14,835)| (21,821)| (35. 01)| 170. 6| 2005| 34,073| 7,951| 6,518| 9. 68| 154. 8| 2004| 36,492| 9,013| 6,112| 8. 70| 133. 4| *Losses for year to 31 March 2006 reflect write downs of assets, principally in relation to the Mannesmann acquisition. Proportionate turnover includes ? ,100 million from discontinued operations. The group’s recent first quarter trading update (24 July 2009) saw management reiterating its profit guidance for the full year. Whilst revenues across Europe had been relatively weak, mirroring general economic conditions, there had been a positive showing from South Africa, with the company’s Indian purchase of Hutchison Essar continuing to generate returns. Meanwhile, its joint venture with Verizon in the US had strengthened further, with Vodafone’s overall customer base now standing at 315 million – 8 million having been added during the first quarter. In addition, management noted that its cost reduction programme, targeted to save ? bn in operating costs by the end of the 2011 financial year, would reach 65pc of its target by the end of the current financial year. The Group admitted in August 2010 that ? 1. 25 billion in tax that should have been paid in Britain was actually paid in Luxembourg and elsewhere. ————————————————- ————————————————- ————————————————- Criticisms In September 2010, an investigation by Private Eye magazine revealed certain details of Vodafone’s tax avoidance activities. It was reported that Vodafone routed the acquisition of Mannesmann through a Luxembourg subsidiary, set up to avoid paying tax on the deal, and continued to place its profits in Luxembourg.
Following a long legal struggle with HMRC (during which a senior HMRC official, John Connors, switched sides to become head of tax at Vodafone), it was eventually agreed that Vodafone would pay ? 1. 25bn related to the acquisition. Based on Vodafone’s accounts, experts have estimated the potential tax bill written off as a result of the negotiations was over ? 6bn. The news of this legal tax avoidance sparked angry protests, beginning in October 2010 and ongoing as of April 2011, outside Vodafone shops across the UK, organised under the banner of UK Uncut. The first protests caused the simultaneous closure of over a dozen stores, including the flagship Oxford St. branch. Vodafone was also assessed a $2. 5 billion tax over its acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa’s Indian assets in 2007, a demand that it contests.
Vodafone was implicated in the violent suppression of pro-democracy protests in Egypt’s 2011 demonstrations. On 27 January, Vodafone, responsible for much of Egypt’s telecommunication infrastructure, shut off all voice and data services for Egyptian citizens and businesses at the request of the Egyptian Government under Hosni Mubarak. The Daily Telegraph of the UK reported, “The Egyptian government’s action is unprecedented in the history of the internet. ” U. S. -based Internet intelligence firm Renesys stated, “in an action unprecedented in Internet history, the Egyptian government appears to have ordered service providers to shut down all international connections to the Internet.  Vodafone Group CEO Vittorio Colao said the company was obliged by law to comply with the instructions of the Egyptian government. | Vodafone: #1 by 2010? | It’s turbulent times for Vodafone in India. To occupy top slot, it has to increase capex and ensure better synergies. Focus on rural push and infrastructure sharing will hold the key to success| | Tuesday, March 13, 2007| | | he $11. 1 bn transaction, the largest deal in the Indian telecom market, between the promoters of Hutchison International of Hong Kong and Vodafone of the UK to acquire India’s fourth largest mobile operator, Hutchison Essar, was welcomed by Bharti Airtel and Reliance, the would be arch rivals of Arun Sarin-run Vodafone, the world’s largest telecom company with over 200 mn subscribers.
The three-month long exit drama involving Li Ka-shing-promoted Hutchison Telecommunications International, the 52% partner of Hutchison Essar, has already generated enough heat in the 200 mn subscribers market with several players gearing up with their strategies to escalate market presence. At one hand, Bharti Airtel wants to retain its leadership position, while Anil Ambani of Reliance, who has big GSM plans, can not be a loser in this game. The ambitious plans of the state-run BSNL, the market leader with its rural focus, and the Tatas, one of the leading business houses with strong financial muscle and aspiration for global telecom presence, can not be ignored. This is the third time (in 2007) that Vodafone is testing the Indian market. The first partner was RPG Cellular (1999) and the second, Bharti (2005).
Vodafone had exited India, when the teledensity was hovering at around one percent, in 2003, by selling out its stake in a regional mobile services operator RPG Cellular. The UK operator made its second entry in the country by picking 10% stake in Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited (now renamed as Bharti Airtel) with an investment of $1. 5 bn. The sell off from RPG Cellular was part of its overall strategy to exit from all Asian markets. With the entry of a serious player like Vodafone and since the present mobile penetration in India, at around 17 per cent, is likely to exceed 40% (at 500 mn subscribers) by 2012, the sector is probably at the starting block of a serious battle for mobile market share. The $54. bn Vodafone is keen to become the market leader by 2010 in India and threaten the numero uno position of Bharti, its long-term partner. With Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices planning to scale up