MINI PROJECT REPORT

ON
APPLICATION OF EMERGING
TECHNOLOGIES IN INDIAN TELECOM
INDUSTRY
Under the Guidance of

Ms. Bhoomika Trehan

Assistant Professor, ICCMRT

Submitted in Partial
Fulfillment for the award of Degree of
Master of Business Administration from
Dr. A PJ Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow

Submitted by

AKASH KUMAR MISHRA

MBA IInd Semester, ICCMRT
Roll Number (2001240700007)

INSTITUTE OF CO-OPERATIVE & CORPORATE

MANAGEMENT, RESEARCH AND TRAINING
21/467, RING ROAD, INDIRA NAGAR, LUCKNOW-226016

1
 2021
DECLARATION

I AKASH KUMAR MISHRA hereby declare that the project titled

“APPLICATION OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES IN
INDIAN TELECOM INDUSTRY” submitted in partial fulfillment
for the award of Degree of Master of Business Administration of APJ
Abdul Kalam Technological University is a bonafide record of work
done by me under the guidance of MS. BHOOMIKA TREHAN,
Assistant Professor, ICCMRT. This report has not previously
formed the basis for the award of any degree, diploma, or similar title
of any University.

Date Akash Kumar Mishra

MBA IInd Sem.
Roll No. (2001240700007)

2
 Phone: 2716431, 2716092
Fax: (0522)2716092
ईमेल: [email protected]
वेबसाइट: www.iccmrt.ac.in

Institute of Co-operative & Corporate Management,

Research and Training
467, Sector-21, Ring Road, Indira Nagar, Lucknow, 226016

इंस्टिट्यूट ऑफ कोआपरेटिव एण्ड कॉरपोरेट मैनेजमेंट, रिसर्च एण्ड ट्रेनिंग

467, सेक्टर-21, रिंग रोड, इंदिरानगर, लखनऊ- 226016

Date…………………...

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that AKASH KUMAR MISHRA, a student of Master of

Business Administration (MBA) Programme (Batch 2020-22) at this

institute has completed a mini project report on “APPLICATION OF

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES IN INDIAN TELECOM

INDUSTRY”. The student has also made a presentation before a panel of

experts at the institute.

3
DR. K. Anbumani Ms. Bhoomika Trehan
(PRINCIPAL) (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Through this acknowledgement, I express my sincere gratitude

towards all those people who helped me in this project, which has
been a learning experience.

I escalate a heartfelt regards to our Institution Director Shri Rajeev

Yadav and to our Principal Sir Dr. K. Anbumani for giving me the
essential hand in concluding this work.

This space wouldn’t be enough to extend my warm gratitude towards

my project guide MS. Farhana Jamal, Assistant Professor,
ICCMRT for her efforts in coordinating with my work and guiding in
right direction.

It would be injustice to proceed without acknowledging those vital

supports I received from my beloved classmates and friends, without
whom I would have been half done.

I also use this space to offer my sincere love to my parents and all
others who had been there, helping me walk through this work.

Akash Kumar Mishra

MBA IInd Sem.

4
 Roll No. 2001240700007

PREFACE

 India is currently the world’s second-largest telecommunications market

with a subscriber base of 1.20 billion and has registered strong growth in
the past decade and a half.
 Contribution of mobile phone industry as a part of gross domestic product
(GDP) of the country in 2014 has been to the tune of US$ 400 billion.
 According to a report prepared by the Group Special Mobile Association
(GSMA), as of January 2019, India has witnessed a 165% growth in app
downloads in the past two years.
 Based on the data available from GSMA, this sector will create close to 4
million additional jobs by 2020.
 Tele-density of Indian telecom industry (wireless plus wire line) has grown
from a low of 3.60% in March 2001 to 84% in March 2016.
 Telecom is the second highest revenue earner for the government, after
income tax: The sector is expected to contribute as much as 90% of the
government’s non-tax revenue. Digital India programme is also almost
completely dependent on the telecom sector.
 The liberal and reformist policies of the Government of India have been
instrumental along with strong consumer demand in the rapid growth in
the Indian telecom sector. 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.

Evolution of the Telecom Sector in India

 Indian telecom sector is more than 165 years old.

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 Telecommunications was first introduced in India in 1851 when the
first operational land lines were laid by the government near Kolkata (then
Calcutta), although telephone services were formally introduced in India
much later in 1881.
 Further, in 1883, telephone services were merged with the postal
system. In 1947, after India attained independence, all foreign
telecommunication companies were nationalized to form the Posts,
Telephone and Telegraph (PTT), a body that was governed by the
Ministry of Communication.

 The Indian telecom sector was entirely under government ownership

until 1984, when the private sector was allowed in telecommunication
equipment manufacturing only.

 The government concretised its earlier efforts towards developing R&D in

the sector by setting up an autonomous body – Centre for Development
of telematics (C-DOT) in 1984 to develop state-of-the-art
telecommunication technology to meet the growing needs of the Indian
telecommunication network.

 The actual evolution of the industry started after the Government

separated the Department of Post and Telegraph in 1985 by setting up
the Department of Posts and the Department of Telecommunications .

6
Sr,No. Particulars Page No.
1 Declaration 2
2 Certificate 3
3 Acknowledgement 4

4 Preface 5

5 Introduction 8

6 Objective 10

7 Major crisis into Telecom industry 11

9 Key Government Policies 12

10 Technology in the Sector 16

11 Challenges in the Sector 23

12 SWOT Analysis 27

13 Conclusion 29

14 Bibliography 31

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 Introduction
India is the world's second-largest telecommunications market. The
telecom market can be split into three segments - wireless, wire line and
internet services. The total subscriber base in the country stood at 1
1187.9 million in February 2021. Tele density grew from 18.23% in FY16
to 87.26% in FY21, showcasing significant growth potential in demand
from the rural sector.

Telecom Subscriber Market Share Sept 2020

Operators Subscribers in Millions Market Share (Sep’20)

JIO 404.12 35.3%

Airtel 326.61 28.5%

Vodafone-Idea 295.49 25.8%

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 BSNL 118.89 10.4%

Total 1145.11 100.0%

Reliance JIO (owned by Mr. Mukesh Ambani) is the largest telecom

company with a 35.3% subscriber market share and 404.12 million
subscribers.

Bharti Airtel, owned by Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal is the second largest
telecom company in India with a 28.5% market share and 326.6
Million subscribers.

Vodafone-idea is the third biggest Telecom company in India with 295.4

million subscribers and has a 25.8% Telecom subscriber market
share. Vodafone-Idea is doing badly and is struggling to fight the rivals.

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Objectives of the Report

 To identify the challenges faced by the telecom

industry.

 To show the implementation of new emerging

technology to the industry.

 To objectify the reasons why the industry to moving

to Duopoly.

 To show how 5G is changing the whole industry.

 To show how the idea of E-Sim is going to be a

huge change into the industry.

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  Major crisis into Telecom Industry

The total wireless or mobile telephone subscriber base increased to 1167.71

million in February 2021, from 1,163.41 million in January 2021.
India is also the second largest country in terms of internet subscribers. India is
one of the biggest consumer of data worldwide. As per TRAI, average wireless
data usage per wireless data subscriber was 11 GB per month in FY20. App
downloads in the country increased from 12.07 billion in 2017 to 19 billion in
2019 and is expected to reach 37.21 billion by 2022F. The total wireless data
usage in India grew 1.82% quarterly to reach 25,227 PB in the third quarter of
FY21. The contribution of 3G and 4G data usage to the total volume of wireless
data usage was 2.81% and 96.48%, respectively, in the third quarter of FY21.
Share of 2G data usage stood at 0.71% in the same quarter.

Gross revenue of the telecom sector stood at Rs. 68,228 crore (US$ 9.35 billion)
in the third quarter of FY21. Strong policy support from the Government has
been crucial to the sector’s development. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap
in the telecom sector has been increased to 100% from 74%. FDI inflows in the
telecom sector stood at US$ 37.62 billion from April 2000 to December 2020.
According to a Zenith Media survey, India is expected to become the fastest-
growing telecom advertisement market, with an annual growth rate of 11%
between 2020 and 2023.
The Government of India, through its National Digital Communications Policy,
foresee investment worth US$ 100 billion in the telecommunications sector by
2022. The government is encouraging global telecom network manufacturers
such as Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung and Huawei to manufacture all their
equipment in India with 100% local products. The Rs. 12,195 crore (US$ 1.65
billion) production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme has already triggered entry of
several global players manufacturing mobile devices and components. European
telecom gear vendors like Ericsson and Nokia are eager to expand their existing
operation in India for global supply chain under the PLI scheme. Similarly,
other global vendors like Samsung, Cisco, Ciena, Jabil, Foxconn, Sanmina and
Flex have shown interest to set up manufacturing in India for telecom and
networking products under the newly announced PLI scheme.

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In March 2021, TEPC (Telecom Equipment Export Promotion Council)
organised India Telecom 2021—a platform for convergence of technologies and
business exchange.
The Union Cabinet approved Rs. 12,195 crore (US$ 1.65 billion) production-
linked incentive (PLI) scheme for telecom & networking products under the
Department of Telecom.

Key Government Polices

On October 24 2019, the Supreme Court of India upheld the Department of

Telecom (DoT)'s interpretation of Adujust Gross Revenue. This meant a huge
blow to telecom service providers, as the telcos had to pay an estimated ₹1.4
lakh crore to the government.
The definition of AGR has been such a contentious issue because it has huge
financial implications for not only telcos, government but on the Indian
economy at large.

Significance of the Telecom Sector

 Telecom sector forms a key part of the infrastructure of any economy as it
provides Information and Communication Technology.
 Services sector forms the lion's share of India's economy, the whole
services sector heavily relies on ICT.
 It plays the role of key enabler in several welfare schemes related to health,
education, agriculture, transport, energy and financial inclusion.
 Apart from it, the Telecom sector provides these services in a cost-effective
and environment-friendly way.

What is AGR issue?

 The telecom sector was liberalised under the National Telecom Policy,
1994 after which licenses were issued to companies in return for a fixed
license fee.

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 To provide relief from the steep fixed license fee, the government in 1999
gave an option to the licensees to migrate to the revenue sharing fee model.

o Under this, mobile telephone operators were required to share a

percentage of their AGR with the government as annual license
fee (LF) and spectrum usage charges (SUC).
License agreements between the Department of Telecommunications and
the telecom companies define the gross revenues of the latter.

 The definition of AGR has been under litigation for 14 years. In

2005, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) challenged the
government’s definition for AGR calculation.
 However, DoT argued that AGR includes all revenues from both telecom
and non-telecom services.
 The companies claimed that AGR should comprise just the revenue
accrued from core services and not dividend, interest income or profit on
the sale of any investment or fixed assets.
 In 2015, the TDSAT (Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate
Tribunal) stayed the case in favour of telecom companies and held that
AGR includes all receipts except capital receipts and revenue from non-
core sources such as rent, profit on the sale of fixed assets, dividend,
interest and miscellaneous income.
 However, setting aside TDSAT’s order, Supreme Court on October 24,
2019, upheld the definition of AGR as stipulated by the DoT.
 Given the slowdown in the Indian economy and this huge financial liability
under AGR rules, many telcos are on the verge of collapse. This may have
far-reaching ramifications for various stakeholders.

Impact on the various stakeholders

Telecom Sector

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 When the AGR issue, first went under litigation there were about 15
operators. However, until now 10 of them have either closed operations or
are undergoing insolvency proceedings in the last 14 years.
 Further, at the current juncture, profits for telcos are under pressure from
severe competition and the falling ARPUs (Average Revenue Per User).
Given this, AGR due will seriously hurt financial stability of whatever
telecom companies are doing business in the Indian market.
 Also, Telecom equipment suppliers may also go down as their dues will not
be paid.

Indian Consumers
 The failure of a few large players could lead to one or two players emerging
near-monopolies. This may leave the Indian consumer vulnerable to high
pricing, sub-standard products and lack of options.

Banks
 The AGR issue has triggered panic in the banking industry, given that the
telecom sector is highly leveraged.
 Failure of the cascading effect will be felt across the economy as banks face
the consequences of the company going bankrupt (non-performing assets
will rise).
 The AGR issue may add to the vulnerability of an already fragile banking
system.

Indian Economy
 Apart from impacting the banking sector, the collapse of the telecom sector
may increase unemployment, and reduce investment, adding to our
economic and social problems.
 The Telecom industry is critical to the government’s plans for a digital
economy, including from the upcoming 5G spectrum auctions.
o 5G forms the part of critical infrastructure.

Government

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 On the positive note, If companies are ready to pay AGR dues, it will lead
to a higher contribution to the public exchequer. This could help bridge
gaps in the fiscal deficit and bolster government revenues to rescue the
slowing economy.

Way Forward
In response to save stressed telecom sector, DoT has directed all government
departments to not take any action against telecom operators if they failed to
clear AGR-related dues as per the Supreme Court’s order. While there was no
change in the amount they had to pay, it did buy them time as they hoped for
relief from the Supreme Court.

In this context, there is a need for a holistic set of reforms to save the telecom
sector from this crisis.

 The government should give up demanding AGR as a lump-sum amount ,

rather, it can be broken in installments to be paid over the period.

o Also, penalty and interest on penalty can be waived, as the Supreme

Court recognises that there was no willful defiance of the law that is an
essential ingredient to attract the levy of penalty.
 As this is a commercial matter, the government and telcos should also
explore Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism.
 Since the telecom industry is crucial to India’s next wave of growth through
digitalisation and the government should not be blinded by short-term
revenue considerations that imperil long-term prospects.

o In this light, the Government should consider accepting the Telecom

Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) ruling of 2015
on AGR.
 Further, the government needs to actively facilitate shared infrastructure
with policies and legislation. One way is through consortiums for network
development and management, charging for usage by authorised operators.

15
Emerging new technology to Telecom Industry

5G
We saw the launch of 5G in 2019, making fifth generation
networks accessible to the consumer, but what is to come for telecoms firms in
this new decade? The European Union’s action plan confirms
implementing uninterrupted 5G in urban areas and along main transport
paths by 2025.

By adopting 5G we will get improved data rates, enable networking slicing

and ultra-low latency efficiencies. 5G will open new opportunities for network
operation, customer experience and new services for operators. We are seeing
the telcos role change to be visible as both service providers and technology
distributors.
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Telcos will have to engage with enterprise customers as well as government,
and rethink their sales strategy to allow customers to harness the power of 5G.
Application of 5G
Today, the telecommunications industry stands on the brink of a pivotal new era
—one in which advances in multiple technological areas, specifically 5G, edge
computing, and AI, are congregating to fundamentally change the world. These
technologies have the potential to alter how consumers communicate, consume
content, work together, and interact with the environment. As well, they are
poised to shift the dynamics of industries, both inside and outside of
telecommunications.

The focus of this IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) Research Insights
report is two-fold: it is designed to explain how new 5G technology will unlock
entirely new groundbreaking applications simply not possible today. Also, it
will detail how communications service providers(CSPs) can use this
technology to create value and enhance revenue in both the enterprise and
consumer spaces.

From a broad perspective, 5G has the potential to empower people, societies,

organizations, and enterprises. It is a game-changer, with the capacity to create
huge opportunities for a wide range of industries. For telecommunications, 5G
could open opportunities for much-needed new revenue streams. However,
CSPs are proceeding with caution because of the high risks and investments
involved in moving toward ubiquitous 5G networks.

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Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI is increasingly implemented throughout telecommunications, using

applications such as virtual assistants and chatbots to help improve customer
service. AI is also essential for the telecommunication network as it allows
for optimisation and predictive maintenance through predictive analytics AI.

AI allows telecoms to gather actionable business insights from the volumes of

data they collect every day through predictive analytics.
Vodafone saw a 68% improvement in customer satisfaction after introducing
their AI chatbot .

The Future of AI in the Telecom Industry

Artificial Intelligence applications in the telecommunications industry are
increasingly helping CSPs manage, optimize and maintain not only
infrastructure, but also customer support operations. Network optimization,

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predictive maintenance, virtual assistants and RPA are all examples of use cases
where AI has impacted the telecom industry, delivering enhanced CX and added
value for enterprises.As Big Data tools and applications become more available
and sophisticated, AI can be expected to continue to accelerate growth in this
highly competitive space.

Big Data

In this new decade, Telecommunications companies will continue to capture

and produce evermore data volumes from mobile devices, applications,
wearable tech and wireless information.

All this data however presents security and privacy risks, telcos need to tackle
these security issues to meet regulation compliance as well as ensuring that
consumer data is handled and shared with complete approval from the customer.
Data collected by telecoms firms can be analysed to improve customer service,
detect and test new products, and track and optimise the network.

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 Telecom Big Data Use Cases

There’s nothing quite as motivating as hearing what your competitors are up to

and the $$ saved or $$ they earned. Telecommunication companies are using
big data to do things like:

 Understand the potential of new product offerings

 Improve customer experiences
 Reduce service truck rolls while improving customer service
 Forecast network capacity and demand faster and more accurately
 Implement value-based network capacity planning
 Reduce customer churn
How? Learn from those who went before you. So, without further ado,
8 resources for you on how telecommunication companies are using big data to
their advantage, ripe for your bookmarking

E-SIM

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An E-SIM is an electronic, or embedded, SIM. That is just similar to the normal
SIM but Instead of a physical card, E-SIM technology is built right into your
phone. It’s a small chip that’s used to authenticate your identity with your
carrier.

The dual-SIM users should not be worried as the E-SIM technology supports
multiple accounts and switching between is easy. With an E-SIM, your phone
has some new settings devoted to your SIM card that allow you to switch
between lines and carriers and manage accounts.

Here is how E-SIM works:

An E-SIM is basically a small chip inside your phone and works in a similar
way to the NFC chip that's used for payment techs like Apple Pay and Google
Pay.

The 5G future of SIM cards lies in embedded SIMs, or E-SIM. Unlike

traditional SIM cards that can be removed and replaced in new devices, E-SIM
cards are integrated permanently into a device. Smaller than standard nano
SIMs, they can fit into wearable, such as smart watches and fitness bands.
They are rewritable, compliant with all operators, and can be activated and
managed remotely using remote SIM provisioning (over-the-air updates).
Embedded SIMs still play the same integral role in 5G networks that their
nano-, micro-, mini-, and full-size forebears have by identifying and

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connecting But a fully-integrated 5G-capable E-SIM offers a versatility we
have not seen before in SIM technology. A device owner will be able to switch
cellular carriers without having to switch SIMs or visit a provider. When
traveling abroad, E-SIMs will use international GSMs seamlessly.
For businesses that use the GSM to stay connected, the E-SIM will help them
manage their networked assets wherever they are in the world, and with more
agility than previous SIM cards. For those hoping to get the most out of 5G
through the use of an integrated IOT solution, E-SIMs already are being
placed in a host of new cellular-enabled devices, such as automotive telematics
systems and wearable. When 5G becomes standard, these devices will possess
processing power that is incredibly robust, and will rely on their fully
integrated E-SIMs to manage their connection.

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Challenges of Telecom Sector

 High Right-of-Way (ROW) cost: Sometimes, state governments

charge a huge amount for permitting the laying of fiber, etc.

 Lack of fixed line penetration: India has very little penetration of

fixed-line in its network whereas most of the developed countries have a
very high penetration of fixed lines (telephone line that traveled through a
metal wire or optical fiber as part of a nationwide telephone network).
o Only around 25% of Towers in India are connected with fibre
networks, whereas in developed nations, it is in excess of 70%.
o 5G Network requires towers to be connected to with very high-speed
systems. Those high speeds are not possible on the present radio
systems.

 Declining Average Revenue Per User (ARPU): ARPU decline

now is sharp and steady, which, combined with falling profits and in some
cases serious losses, is prompting the Indian telecom industry to look at
consolidation as the only way to boost revenues.
o Recently, the Supreme Court allowed the government’s plea to
recover adjusted gross revenue of about Rs 92,000 crore from telcos,
that further adds to their stress.

 Limited Spectrum Availability: Available spectrum is less than 40%

as compared to European nations and 50% as compared to China.

 Low Broadband Penetration: Low broadband penetration in the

country is a matter of concern. As per white paper presented on broadband at
the last International Telecommunication Union (ITU), broadband
penetration in India is only 7%.

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 Over the Top (OTT) applications such as WhatsApp, OLA and so on do not
need permission or a pact with a telecommunications company. This hampers
the revenue of telecommunication service providers.

 Huge fluctuations in the duties on Telecom Equipment which contribute

to connecting the whole system from the central server to the consumer.

 Timeframe of policy execution: Government have withdrawn a lot of

things to benefit telecom sector but by the time it gets executed to the market,
it becomes too late.

 Lack of Telecom Infrastructure in Semi-rural and Rural

areas: Service providers have to incur huge initial fixed cost to enter semi-
rural and rural areas.

 Pressure on Margins Due to Stiff Competition: With competition

heating up post entry of Reliance Jio, other telecom players are feeling the
heat of substantial drop in tariff rates both for voice and data (more
significant for data subscribers).

Duopoly into Indian Telecom Industry

Will the Indian telecom market, which once boasted of 12 players, be reduced
to a duopoly? Signs are quite visible.

Vi hopes were dashed last week when the Supreme Court dismissed telecom
players' modification plea for calculating adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues.
The situation has become so grim that Deutsche in its research note
recommended that the government must take state control of Vi by merging it
with Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) and recapitalize it to save it from going
bankrupt.

Vi is reeling under a huge debt of 1.8 lakh crore, out of which a staggering 1.5
24
lakh crore has to be paid to the government. Deferred spectrum dues stand at Rs
96,270 crore, AGR dues at Rs 58,400 crore, and a bank debt of Rs 23,080 crore.

Vi has paid Rs 7854 crore towards AGR dues while the balance has
to be paid in 10 installments through March 31, 2031.

There is no announcement yet on its fundraising plan of Rs 25,000

crore. It plans to raise more funds - another $1 billion by selling its
data centre, optic fibre assets and home broadband unit. But analysts
are skeptical about any investor willing to fund Vi looking at its
financial position.

There are reports that Vi is again planning to file a review petition in

the SC on AGR as it awaits a decision from the government on its
request to defer it’s spectrum payment of over Rs 8,200 crore which is
due in April 2022.

The last straw could be government intervention in the form of some

25
relief measure to support the ailing Vodafone Idea.

Meanwhile, both Vi and Bharti Airtel have lost a substantial number of

subscribers in the month of May, according to the data from telecom
regulator TRAI.

Vi lost 42.8 lakh users in May with a total subscriber at 277 million
users now, while Bharti Airtel lost 46.13 lakh users with a total base of
348 million.

The largest telecom player Reliance Jio continued to add new users.
It added 35.54 lakh mobile users in May raising its subscriber base to
431 million.

Despite the loss, Airtel removed its entry level Rs 49 plan for prepaid
users, making its entry level plan 60% costlier at Rs 79. Though, it
increased the usage time.

The move is likely to be followed by Vi by discontinuing its Rs 49 pack

at a pan-India level over the next few days. Vi has already made the
move in some markets. Prepaid users account for over 90 per cent of
their subscriber base. This is the first hike in as many years.
The last hike was done by all the three telecom operators in
December 2019.

Both telcos have been talking about a need to raise tariffs to improve
average revenue per user (ARPU) and ultimately financial health of
the sector which has seen disruption since the entry of Reliance Jio.
Earlier, Vi and Airtel both had raised tariffs for postpaid corporate
users.

But this tariff hike won’t be sufficient for struggling Vi. The ball is in the
government’s court.

26
SWOT Analysis of Telecom Industry

A SWOT analysis of a telecommunication company appraises the company's

health by looking at its resource strengths and weaknesses concerning the
quality of how it sends and receives data and information globally over fiber-
optic cables, networks, antennas and other communications equipment. The
analysis also identifies external opportunities and threats that may help or hurt
the company in the future.

Strengths
Cutting-edge fiber-optics technology, high-performing cable equipment, a
respected brand name, excellent customer service and a strong sales team are
just a few strengths that boost the resource capabilities of a telecommunication
company. These strengths are attributes that enhance the company's
competitive advantage.

Weaknesses
Corroded cable lines, slow service and lackluster sales are three weaknesses
that can hurt a telecommunications company. Company weaknesses are
competitive deficiencies that place the company at a disadvantage in the
marketplace. If corroded cable lines aren't replaced and slow service continues,
for example, angry customers will switch to a rival telecommunications
company that offers better services.

Opportunities
New technologies, increasing consumer interest and a decrease in competition
are just a few external opportunities that can really help a telecommunications
company in the long run. Opportunities are beneficial, outside events that a
company can use to boost its existing strengths. A telecommunication
company keen on rapidly adopting new technologies, for example, would

27
highly benefit from immediately investing in new fiber optics the moment
they're introduced in the marketplace, especially if they speed up service.

Threats
A sluggish economy, increasing competition and increased government
regulations against the telecommunications industry are just a few external
threats that can limit a telecommunications company's future success. Threats
are outside events or influences that create future hurdles for a company. New
rivals that offer customers fast service and cutting-edge technology, for
example, may lure an older telecommunications company's existing customers
away, especially if the older company can't offer the same new features.

28
Conclusion

India's telecommunication network is the second largest in the world by number

of telephone users (both fixed and mobile phone) with 1.179 billion subscribers
as on 31 July 2018. It has one of the lowest call tariffs in the world enabled by
mega telecom operators and hyper-competition among them. As on 31 July
2018, India has the world's second-largest Internet user-base with 460.24
million broadband internet subscribers in the country. As of 31 December 2018,
India had a population of 130 crore people (1.3 billion), 123 crore (1.23 billion)
Aadhaar digital biometric identity cards, 121 crore (1.21 billion) mobile phones,
44.6 crore (4460 million) smartphones, 56 crore (560 million or 43% of total
population) internet users up from 481 million people (35% of the country's
total population) in December 2017, and 51 per cent growth in e-commerce.

Major sectors of the Indian telecommunication industry are telephone, internet

and television broadcast industry in the country which is in an ongoing process
of transforming into next generation network, employs an extensive system of
modern network elements such as digital telephone exchanges, mobile
switching centres, media gateways and signalling gateways at the core,
interconnected by a wide variety of transmission systems using fibre-optics or
Microwave radio relay networks. The access network, which connects the
subscriber to the core, is highly diversified with different copper-pair, optic-
fibre and wireless technologies. DTH, a relatively new broadcasting technology
has attained significant popularity in the Television segment. The introduction
of private FM has given a fillip to the radio broadcasting in India.
Telecommunication in India has greatly been supported by the INSAT system
of the country, one of the largest domestic satellite systems in the world. India
possesses a diversified communications system, which links all parts of the
country by telephone, Internet, radio, television and satellite.

29
Indian telecom industry underwent a high pace of market liberalisation and
growth since the 1990s and now has become the world's most competitive and
one of the fastest growing telecom markets. The Industry has grown over
twenty times in just ten years, from under 37 million subscribers in the year
2001 to over 846 million subscribers in the year 2011.[9] India has the world's
second-largest mobile phone user base with over 1157.04 million users as of
July 2018.

Telecommunication has supported the socioeconomic development of India and

has played a significant role to narrow down the rural-urban digital divide to
some extent. It also has helped to increase the transparency of governance with
the introduction of e-governance in India. The government has pragmatically
used modern telecommunication facilities to deliver mass education
programmes for the rural folk of India.

According to London-based telecom trade body GSMA, the telecom sector

accounted for 6.5% of India's GDP in 2015, or about ₹9 lakh crore (US$130
billion), and supported direct employment for 2.2 million people in the country.
GSMA estimates that the Indian telecom sector will contribute ₹14.5 lakh crore
(US$200 billion) to the economy and support 3 million direct jobs and 2 million
indirect jobs by 2020.

30
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https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/failing-to-connect-can-india-avoid-a-telecom-
duopoly/2281486n the current document.

Bibliography
https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/telecom-sector-on-way-to-to-be-a-duopoly-mukesh-
ambanis-jio-bharti-airtel-continue-to-beat-voda-idea/2066953/ources in the current document.

31