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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
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CUSTOMER SATISFACTION TOWARDS CELLULAR SERVICES -

A STUDY OF IDEA CELLULAR“MALWA MARKET”IN PUNJAB.
DR. SHARTSOOD
Head of Department (UG Courses) CBSA, CGC Landran, Punjab.

MRS. REETU SOOD

Assistant Professor, Asian Institute - Patiala
ABSTRACT:
The last decade is a witness of tremendous growth of the telecom industry in India in terms of market
growthand customer acceptability. Today, India is one of the fastest growing (ICT) information and
communication technologies market in the world, driven largely by the cellular mobile revolution.
Starting from a few million connections in 1997, we now have more than a billion connections, with
97.5% of them being wireless subscribers. The current nature of telecommunications and internet access
services in India is therefore largely wireless. This paper will concentrate on the satisfaction level of
customers with Idea/Spice Communications in the Malwa Market of Punjab which constitutes of about
60% of the total population of Punjab with its coverage upto 12 districts of Punjab. Customer service
and customer satisfaction with those services is one of the most important factor in improving the ARPU
(average revenue per user). However several companies are facing the drop in ARPU due to the gap in
services promised and services delivered. Idea has consistently stayed ahead of the industry in VLR
reporting. Idea’s thought leadership on Mobile Number Portability (MNP), with Net Gain of over 14
million customers as on June 30, 2015, has enabled it to stay as the top gainer among other telecom
players. Every 4th mobile user who exercises choice through MNP, prefers Idea.This Research paper
will study the level of customer satisfaction with the services offered by Idea cellular in the Malwa
region of Punjab.
Key Words: CRM, 2G, 3G, 4G, NGS, COAI, TRAI, ARPU, Customer Satisfaction,Services.
INTRODUCTION:
Idea is the biggest and most successful business thatsymbolizes Kumar Mangalam Birla'sas an
entrepreneur, in addition to the many other businesses he inherited. In Punjab idea cellular has shared
the platform with Spice communications. India is currently the second-largest telecommunication
market and has the third highest number of internet users in the world. Between FY 07-16 India’s
telephone subscriber base expanded at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 19.5 per cent to
1,022.61 million and teledensity to 81.83.

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Image 1. Sources: TRAI Tele density report (Dec-14 to Dec-15)

The government has enabled easy market access to telecom equipment and a fair and proactive
regulatory framework that has ensured availability of telecom services to consumer at affordable prices.
The deregulation of foreign direct investment (FDI) norms has made the sector one of the fastest
growing and a top five employment opportunity generator in the country. According to a study by
GSMA, smartphones are expected to account for two out of every three mobile connections globally by
2020 making India the fourth largest smartphone market.
Urban regions account for 58.58 per cent of telecom subscriptions, while rural areas constitute the
remaining. The growth in the number of Cellular subscribers and service providers and rise in the
number of services has also led to traffic issues in telecommunication companies thus leading to
telecommunication service providers (TSPs) to seek innovative solutions. While itmust cater to the
increasing demand by increasing the investment in network infrastructure, they could also use traffic
management tools to deal with problems of congestion on the network.Telecom Regulatory Authority
also played a remarkable role in the success of industry.
A total of 5,229,383 customers were added in March 2016. As per data available with Cellular Operators
Association of India, In Punjab Idea/Spice communications have added about 24,374 customers,
Bharti Airtel have added 15,630 customers, Aircel have added 7,228, Videocon have added 10,232
customers, Vodafone have added 9,285 & BSNL have added only 6210 customers. The idea cellular
takes lead from Bharti Airtel and other firms in terms of customer addition.
Subscriber base in March 2016:
Group Company wise % market share (Subscribers) - March 2016
Sl. Name of Total Sub Additions in % Market % Growth
No. Company Figures March 2016 Share over
previous
month
1 Bharti Airtel 251,237,263 2,547,018 32.46% 1.02%
2 Vodafone 197,946,755 1,200,472 25.58% 0.61%
3 IDEA 175,074,042 446,551 22.62% 0.26%
4 Aircel 87,086,612 408,834 11.25% 0.47%
5 Telenor 52,454,949 777,416 6.78% 1.50%
6 Videocon 6,563,762 -164,223 0.85% -2.44%
7 MTNL 3,560,856 13,315 0.46% 0.38%
All India 773,924,239 5,229,383

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Table: 1 Subscriber base in March 2016

300
251.24 Number of Subscribers as of March Number of Net Subscriber Additions
250 2016 (in Millions) in March 2016 (in Millions)
197.95
200 175.07 4.0
2.55
150 2.0 1.20
0.4 0.78
100 87.09 0.45 0.01
52.45 0.0
50 -0.16
6.56 3.56
0 -2.0

Vodafone

IDEA

Aircel

Telenor

Videocon

MTNL
Airtel
Vodafone

IDEA

Aircel

Telenor

Videocon

MTNL
Airtel

Customer Base in India: March 2016, (sources: COAI & TRAI)

The (ARPU) average revenue per user in case of Idea cellular has been improved in comparison of Bharti
Airtel, Vodafone, Aircel & BSNL, The customers’ satisfaction towards services providers is to acquire the
response to the service as well as to analyze the most appropriate solutions for the problem. Cellular
services have been receiving many negative feedbacks in terms of speeds, call drops, connectivity, quality
and price. Therefore, in this context, the researcher has undertaken to analyze the customers’ satisfaction
towards IdeaCellular services in Malwa Region of Punjab.
LITERATURE REVIEW:
(2008), Lovelock et al, stated that it is important for service organizations to differentiate their products in
ways that are meaningful to customers as they vary widely in their abilities to serve different types of
customers. (2009), (2011), Anamika S, The companies that will stand firm on their feet will be the ones
that will be able to distinguish themselves distinctly on the basis of service quality. The telecom players
need to understand well, the perceptions of service quality of customers and their aspirations. (2012) Simon
Gyasi Nimako, in research article linking Quality, Satisfaction and behavior Intentions in Ghana’s Mobile
Telecommunication Industry stated that a strong relationship between service quality, satisfaction and
behavior intention and that service quality and satisfaction maybe viewed as two separate constructs.
Managers could influence behavior intentions and satisfaction through the four critical aspects of SQ
unique to the mobile telephony industry.(2013), Sood Shart in his research article “perception of customers
towards the cellular services operators – a study of Punjab “mentioned that in Punjab, Customers living in
urban and rural area need separate attention of cellular service providers. Designing an effective Marketing
Mix using marketing tool can give boost to sale and to win loyalty.(2014), Palaniappan .G and
Sengottaiyan .A in their research article Customer Perception towards Mobile Services – “A Case Study
Of Bsnl In Bhavani Town” stated that the BSNL must focus on the promotional measures as equal to the
private service providers to enhance their service activity to satisfy theircustomers. (2015),Sood Shart,
Reetu Sood, customer satisfaction toward mobile services - a study of Vodafone Punjab, stated that
Vodafone must focus on regional literacy barriers and strategies to focus on rural segment and to pass
every required information with full clarity. Proper channel of Communication is must for the success of
firm. (2015), Md. Omar Faruk Sarker& Taposh Kumar Neogy Measuring Customers’ Satisfaction
Regarding Different Services of Mobile Telecom Operator Companies in Bangladesh: An Evaluation stated
Customer satisfaction is the vital issues of the every mobile telecom operator companies because there is

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VOL : 18, June 2016

no scope to reach desired level of every mobile telecom operator companies in Bangladesh without
customers’ satisfaction.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:
A Total 300 respondents participated in the survey in Malwa region of Punjab and as per figures, 103
respondents were selected from rural areas and 197 customers were selected from urban areas. The
criterion for distribution of the sample is given below.
Population No of Subscribers Percentage area wise.
Urban 197 66
Rural 103 34
Total 300 100
Table: 2 Distribution of Sample.
Classification on demography age wise was conducted which revealed that there are several age groups in
market constituting market share of the cellular services providing companies. It has been observed that
age wise classification constitutes categories less than 20 years, 20 to 30 years, 30 to 40 years, 40 to 50
years & more than 50 years with a respective market share of 19%, 23%, 21%, 23% and 14%. Further the
study targeted according to purchase time of cellular services. A descriptive analysis revealed that research
constituted this segment into five sectors called as less than three months, from three to six months, six to
twelve months, one to 2 years and more than two years of purchasing cellular service provider connection.
It has a got a percentage respective to above five categories 21%, 15%, 27%, 27% and 10%.
Reliability Analysis
Cronbach’s Alpha Number of Items
0.932 9
Table: 3 Reliability analysis with Cronbach Alpha
Case: Service operator: Idea
SATISM CRPM CGRM NPRM VASM CISM
CRPM Pearson
0.107
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.378
CGRM Pearson
0.213 .783**
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.076 .00
NPRM Pearson
.261* .642** .736**
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.029 .00 .00
VASM Pearson
.281* .512** .626** .905**
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.019 .00 .00 .00
CISM Pearson
.481** .266* .413** .653** .684**
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) .00 0.026 .00 .00 .00
ACPM Pearson
.449** .298* .355** .544** .596** .804**
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) .00 0.012 0.003 .00 .00 .00
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

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**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

a. D1 = Idea
Table 4: Correlation between construct SATISM with other constructs
The Sig. (2-Tailed) value of four out of six constructs is 0.000. So we can conclude that there was
statistically significant positive correlation between SATISM with all the four constructs. In Idea the
CRP (Customer Relationship Practices) and CGR (Customer Grievances Redressal) construct was found
not related with satisfaction, which meant that the grievance Redressal doesn’t largelyimpact the
satisfaction level of customer.
FINDINGS OF TEST:
 Pearson coefficient of NPR (Network Performance and Reliability) construct 3, and SATIS
(Overall Customer Satisfaction) Construct 7 was 0.261 which was statically significant with
(P=0.029). It revealed that the construct NPR (Network Performance and Reliability) Construct 3
is related with the Satisfaction level in the idea cellular service. The Network availability local or
in roaming among extent of call drop rate and voice clarity found positively affect the customer
satisfaction.
 Here construct NPR (Network Performance and Reliability)consisted of nine items that measured
the experiences of customers for network availability in residing area and in roaming among
charges for services while roaming, call drop rates and clarity of voice. The nine items are
comfortable with a value of Cronbach Alpha (α = 0.932) till call drop rate in peak hours. It has
been found that customer is more aware about the network availability and is satisfied with the
less level of call drop rate.
 Pearson coefficient of Construct VAS (Value Added Services) consisted of ten items that
measured the level of customer satisfaction with the value added services provided by cellular
operators to their respective customers. The ten items found comfortable till level of usage in next
few months. In this construct ten questions were asked from respondents which include quality
and quantity of add on services, information regarding activation and deactivation of services,
timely and accurate charges for the services opted, top up coupons availability and messages for
promotional schemes, value for money services and increase / decrease of services in the basis of
experience with service provider. In case of Idea customer found their services value for money
they have invested to purchase Form Company.
 Pearson coefficient of construct 5 CIS (Customer Information System) with construct 7 SATIS
(overall Satisfaction) was 0.481 which was statically significant (P=0.000). It showed that CIS
(Customer Information System) also positively affects SATIS (overall Satisfaction).
 Pearson coefficient of construct 6 ACP (Assessment of Customer Protection Cells) with construct
7 SATIS (overall Satisfaction) was 0.449 which was statically significant (P=0.000). It showed
that ACP (Assessment of Customer Protection Cells) also positively affects SATIS (overall
Satisfaction).
 Overall it has been found that CRPM and CGRM was not largely related to overall satisfaction of
customers in case of Idea cellular services.The results shows that there was statistically significant
positive correlation of SATISM with NPRM, VASM, CISM AND ACPM (SIG<.05).

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Case: Service operator: Idea

Model Summaryb
Std. Error Change Statistics
R Adjusted
Model R of the R Square F Sig. F
Square R Square df1 df2
Estimate Change Change Change
1 .481a 0.231 0.22 0.26075 0.231 20.478 1 68 0
a. Predictors: (Constant), CISM
b. D1 = Idea
Table 5: Stepwise regression
Coefficientsa,b
Unstandardized Standardized
Model Coefficients Coefficients T Sig.
B Std. Error Beta
(Constant) 1.868 0.294 6.356 0
1
CISM 0.34 0.075 0.481 4.525 0
a. D1 = Idea
b. Dependent Variable: SATISM
Table 6: Coefficients
Excluded Variablesb,c
Partial Collinearity Statistics
Model Beta In T Sig. Correlation Tolerance
1 CRPM -.022a -0.203 0.84 -0.025 0.929
CGRM .018a 0.149 0.882 0.018 0.829
NPRM -.092a -0.654 0.515 -0.08 0.573
VASM -.091a -0.62 0.537 -0.076 0.532
ACPM .176a 0.986 0.328 0.12 0.353
a. Predictors in the Model: (Constant), CISM
b. D1 = Idea
c. Dependent Variable: SATISM
Table 7: Excluded Variablesin stepwise regression
FINDINGS OF TEST:
The amount of effect of assessment of consumer information system, (CISM) on solutions was 0.231
which mean that one unit increases of CISM increases 23% overall customer satisfaction (SATISM). As
per the results of the Stepwise Regression, it was concluded that only CISM services impact the
satisfaction of the customers with Idea operator (R2= .231).
CONCLUSION:
The study of Idea Cellular reveals the factors that help in shaping of customer satisfaction. Low-cost
pricing strategy has emerged as one of the most powerful factor that satisfies the customers. Better quality
of services, reliability, better customer care and good brand image has helped Idea grow in a short span of
business. Promotion has become the main tool of building a successful brand. Advertising and sales
promotion reinforces customers about the right choice they have made. The organization is growing rapidly
due to its ability to focus on its distribution. Customers are unable to judge this aspect of study as they do
not form a part of it. The huge investment in IT has helped Idea Cellular in exploiting opportunities. The

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organization is able to develop service standards, complaint tracking cell and information units that
provides appropriate and well-timed information about Idea products and services. Customers revealed that
network sometimes affect the satisfaction along with customer information system adopted by the
company. Customers of Idea Cellular were found satisfied with the services offered by Idea but still there is
room for improvement in network issues, better internet connectivity, Value added services & customer
information system. The growth of idea in Punjab is remarkable and the rate of customer base continues to
increase as the company is further focusing on next generation services.
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