CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTIONABOUT TELECOM Telecommunications is one of the prime support services needed for rapid growth and modernization of various sectors of the economy. It has become especially important in recent years because of enormous growth of information technology (IT) and its significant impact on the rest of the economy. India is perceived to have a special comparative advantage in rural areas would be another thrust area to attain the goal of accelerated economic development and social change. Although the telecom network has grown rapidly in recent years, its growth needs to be accelerated further. It is equally important to sped up structural changes in this sector in line with trends in other countries to ensure that telecommunication service are not only made available on the scale needed to sustain rapid growth in the economy as a whole but also that their cost are in tune expectations of a modernizing economy. The telecom industry is advancing like never before. Bandwidth is becoming abundant, and newer technologies combined with liberalization are opening up the remotest areas into the global tele- network. But not is blissful for the telecom operators and equipment providers. Cut throat competition and demanding customers are pushing telecom companies against a granite wall. Product life cycles are shrinking and simultaneously increasing the risks associated with any new product or service launch.

NEED FOR THE STUDY This type of study helps organization to differentiate between realistic & unrealistic customer expectations.

It helps the organization to delight the customer.

This study helps determine the factors responsible for increase in customer expectations.

It helps the organization to know what customers expect actually.

It helps the organization to set benchmarks & standards.

It may help the organization to deliver the desired level of service

It helps the organization to set the quality control goals.

It helps avoid vague or undefined service designs.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

1) Creating awareness to AIRTEL customers about the facilities in postpaid connections. 2) Analyzing the problem faced by 3G and 2G customers.

a. Collecting the data bases of different age group of customers interested in different types of toppings offer.

3) Motivating the customers to take postpaid connections.

4) Analyzing which postpaid plan is more used by customers.

5) Analyzing which type of topping is more used by customers.

6) Analyzing the satisfaction level of customer towards postpaid connection.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY The study is conducted on AIRTEL Guser at AIRTEL 3G CENTER. The study is confined to the area of Visakhapatnam. The size of the sample was: 100

LIMITATIONS

The present study is subjected to following LIMITATIONS.

1. Method of data collection was through personal interview and therefore bias becomes a major limitation.

2. Due to the time constraints all the customers were not covered.

3. The sample was restricted to 300 customers, which may restrict the scope and completion of study.

4. The scope of study is restricted only in Visakhapatnam.

5. Owing to their pre occupation some customers were unable to answer the complete questionnaire.

DATA COLLECTION

The information needed to further proceed in the project had been collected through primary data and secondary data.

PRIMARY DATA Primary data consists of information collected for the specific purpose at hand for the purpose of collecting primary data, survey research was used and all the retail outlets sellers using different brands and their competitors were contacted. Survey research is the approach best suited gathering description.SECONDARY DATA The secondary data consists of information that already exist somewhere, Having been collected for another purpose. Any researcher begins the research work by first going through the secondary data. Secondary data includes the information available with the company. It may be the findings of research previously done in the field. Secondary data can also be collected from magazines, newspapers, other surveys conducted by known research agencies etc.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The respondents are the mobile postpaid connection holder with AIRTEL 3G toppings facilities. The survey was carried in Visakhapatnam with the sample size of 100. The survey was carried out with the help of a structured questionnaire, which helps in accomplishing the research objectives. The respondents by means of personal interview administer this structured ended

CHAPTER- 2INDUSTRY PROFILE

HISTORY OF TELECOMMUNICATION

Thehistory of telecommunicationbegan with the use ofsmoke signalsanddrumsinAfrica, theAmericasand parts ofAsia. In the 1790s, the first fixed semaphore systemsemerged inEurope; however it was not until the 1830s that electricaltelecommunicationsystems started to appear. This article details the history of telecommunication and the individuals who helped make telecommunication systems what they are today. The history of telecommunication is an important part of the largerhistory of communication.Early telecommunicationsEarly telecommunications includedsmoke signalsanddrums.Talking drumswere used by natives inAfrica,New GuineaandSouth America, and smoke signals inNorth AmericaandChina. Contrary to what one might think, these systems were often used to do more than merely announce the presence of a military camp. In 1792, a French engineer,Claude Chappebuilt the first visual telegraphy (orsemaphore) system betweenLilleandParis. This was followed by a line fromStrasbourgtoParis. In 1794, a Swedish engineer,Abraham Edelcrantzbuilt a quite different system fromStockholmtoDrottningholm. As opposed to Chappe's system which involved pulleys rotating beams of wood, Edelcrantz's system relied only upon shutters and was therefore faster.[3]However semaphore as a communication system suffered from the need for skilled operators and expensive towers often at intervals of only ten to thirty kilometers (six to nineteen miles). As a result, the last commercial line was abandoned in 1880.[4]Telegraph and telephone

A very early experiment inelectrical telegraphywas an 'electrochemical' telegraph created by theGermanphysician, anatomist and inventorSamuel Thomas von Somme ringin 1809, based on an earlier, less robust design of 1804 byCatalanpolymathand scientistFrancisco Salva Campillo.Both their designs employed multiple wires (up to 35) in order to visually represent almost all Latin letters and numerals. Thus, messages could be conveyed electrically up to a few kilometers (in von Somme rings design), with each of the telegraph receiver's wires immersed in a separate glass tube of acid. An electrical current was sequentially applied by the sender through the various wires representing each digit of a message; at the recipient's end the currents electrolyzed the acid in the tubes in sequence, releasing streams of hydrogen bubbles next to each associated letter or numeral. The telegraph receiver's operator would visually observe the bubbles and could then record the transmitted message, albeit at a very lowbaudrate. The principal disadvantage to the system was its prohibitive cost, due to having to manufacture and string-up the multiple wire circuits it employed, as opposed to the single wire (with ground return) used by later telegraphs.The first commercial electrical telegraph was constructed inEnglandby SirCharles Wheatstoneand SirWilliam Fothergill Cooke. It used the deflection of needles to represent messages and started operating over twenty-one kilometers (thirteen miles) of theGreat Western Railwayon 9 April 1839. Both Wheatstone and Cooke viewed their device as "an improvement to the [existing] electromagnetic telegraph" not as a new device.On the other side of theAtlantic Ocean,Samuel Morseindependently developed a version of the electrical telegraph that he unsuccessfully demonstrated on 2 September 1837. Soon after he was joined byAlfred Vailwho developed the register a telegraph terminal that integrated a logging device for recording messages to paper tape. This was demonstrated successfully over three miles (five kilometers) on 6 January 1838 and eventually over forty miles (sixty-four kilometers) betweenWashington, DCandBaltimoreon 24 May 1844. The patented invention proved lucrative and by 1851 telegraph lines in theUnited Statesspanned over 20,000 miles (32,000 kilometers) The first successfultransatlantic telegraph cablewas completed on 27 July 1866, allowing transatlantic telecommunication for the first time. Earlier transatlantic cables installed in 1857 and 1858 only operated for a few days or weeks before they failed.The international use of the telegraph has sometimes been dubbed the "Victorian Internet".The electric telephone was invented in the 1870s, based on earlier work with harmonic (multi-signal) telegraphs. The first commercial telephone services were set up in 1878 and 1879 on both sides of the Atlantic in the cities ofNew HavenandLondon.Alexander Graham Bellheld the master patent for the telephone that was needed for such services in both countries. The technology grew quickly from this point, with inter-city lines being built andtelephone exchangesin every major city of the United States by the mid-1880s.Despite this, transatlantic voice communication remained impossible for customers until January 7, 1927 when a connection was established using radio. However no cable connection existed untilTAT-1was inaugurated on September 25, 1956 providing 36 telephone circuits. In 1880, Bell and co-inventorCharles Sumner Tainterconducted the world's first wireless telephone call via modulated light beams projected byphoto phones. The scientific principles of their invention would not be utilized for several decades, when they were first deployed in military andfiber-optic communications.Radio and televisionIn 1832,James Lindsaygave a classroom demonstration ofwireless telegraphyto his students. By 1854, he was able to demonstrate a transmission across theFirth of TayfromDundeeto Woodhaven, a distance of two miles (3km), using water as the transmission medium. Addressing theFranklin Institutein 1893,Nikola Tesladescribed and demonstrated in detail the principles of wireless telegraphy. The apparatus that he used contained all the elements that were incorporated intoradiosystems before the development of thevacuum tube. However it was not until 1900 thatReginald Fessendenwas able to wirelessly transmit a human voice. In December 1901,Guglielmo Marconiestablished wireless communication between Britain and Newfoundland, earning him theNobel Prize in physicsin 1909 (which he shared withKarl Braun).[14]On March 25, 1925, Scottish inventorJohn Logie Bairdpublicly demonstrated the transmission of moving silhouette pictures at the London department storeSelfridges. In October 1925, Baird was successful in obtaining moving pictures withhalftoneshades, which were by most accounts the first true television pictures.This led to a public demonstration of the improved device on 26 January 1926 again atSelfridges. Baird's first devices relied upon theNipkow diskand thus became known as themechanical television. It formed the basis of semi-experimental broadcasts done by theBritish Broadcasting Corporationbeginning September 30, 1929.However for most of the twentieth century televisions depended upon the cathode ray tube invented byKarl Braun. The first version of such a television to show promise was produced byPhilo Farnsworthand crude silhouette images were demonstrated to his family on September 7, 1927. Farnsworth's device would compete with the concurrent work ofKalman TihanyiandVladimir Zworykin. Zworykin's camera, based on Tihanyi's Radioskop, which later would be known as theIconoscope, had the backing of the influentialRadio Corporation of America(RCA). In the United States, court action between Farnsworth and RCA would resolve in Farnsworth's favour.John Logie Bairdswitched from mechanical television and became a pioneer of colour television using cathode-ray tubes.After mid-century the spread of coaxial cable andmicrowave radio relayallowedtelevision networksto spread across even large countries.Video telephonyThe development ofvideo telephonyinvolved the historical development of several technologies which enabled the use oflive videoin addition to voice telecommunications. The concept of video telephony was first popularized in the late 1870s in both the United States and Europe, although the basic sciences to permit its very earliest trials would take nearly a half century to be discovered. This was first embodied in the device which came to be known as thevideo telephone, or videophone, and it evolved from intensive research and experimentation in several telecommunication fields, notablyelectrical telegraphy,telephony,radio, andtelevision.The development of the crucial video technology first started in the latter half of the 1920s in the United Kingdom and the United States, spurred notably by John Logie BairdandAT&T's Bell Labs. This occurred in part, at least by AT&T, to serve as an adjunct supplementing the use of the telephone. A number of organizations believed that video telephony would be superior to plain voice communications. However video technology was to be deployed inanalog television broadcastinglong before it could become practicalor popularfor videophones.Video telephony developed in parallel with conventionalvoice telephone systemsfrom the mid-to-late 20th century. Only in the late 20th century with the advent of powerfulvideo codecsandhigh-speed broadbanddid it become a practical technology for regular use. With the rapid improvements and popularity of the Internet, it became widespread thru the use ofvideoconferencingandwebcams, which frequently utilizeInternet telephony, and in business, wheretele presence technologyhas helped reduce the need to travel.SatelliteThe first U.S. satellite to relay communications wasProject SCOREin 1958, which used a tape recorder tostore and forwardvoice messages. It was used to send a Christmas greeting to the world from U.S. PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower. In 1960NASAlaunched anEcho satellite; the 100-foot (30m) aluminizedPET filmballoon served as a passive reflector for radio communications.Courier 1B, built byPhilco, also launched in 1960, was the world's first active repeater satellite.

Telstarwas the first active, direct relay commercialcommunications satellite. Belonging toAT&Tas part of a multi-national agreement between AT&T,Bell Telephone Laboratories, NASA, the BritishGeneral Post Office, and theFrench National PTT(Post Office) to develop satellite communications, it was launched by NASA fromCape Canaveralon July 10, 1962, the first privately sponsored space launch.Relay 1was launched on December 13, 1962, and became the first satellite to broadcast across thePacificon November 22, 1963. The first and historically most important application for communication satellites was in intercontinentallong distance telephony. The fixedPublic Switched Telephone Networkrelaystelephone callsfromland linetelephones to anearth station, where they are then transmitted a receivingsatellite dishvia ageostationary satellitein Earth orbit. Improvements insubmarine communications cables, through the use offiber-optics, caused some decline in the use of satellites for fixed telephony in the late 20th century, but they still exclusively service remote islands such asAscension Island,Helena, Diego, andEaster Island, where no submarine cables are in service. There are also some continents and some regions of countries where landline telecommunications are rare to nonexistent, for exampleAntarctica, plus large regions ofAustralia,South America,Africa,Canada, China,RussiaandGreenland.After commercial long distance telephone service was established via communication satellites, a host of other commercial telecommunications were also adapted to similar satellites starting in 1979, includingmobile satellite phones,satellite radio,satellite televisionandsatellite Internet access. The earliest adaption for most such services occurred in the 1990s as the pricing for commercialsatellite transponder channelscontinued to drop significantly.Computer networks and the Internet On September 11, 1940,George Stibitzwas able to transmit problems usingteletypeto his Complex Number Calculator inNew Yorkand receive the computed results back atCollege inNew Hampshire.This configuration of a centralized computer ormainframewith remote dumb terminals remained popular throughout the 1950s. However it was not until the 1960s that researchers started to investigatepacket switching a technology that would allow chunks of data to be sent to different computers without first passing through a centralized mainframe. A four-node network emerged on December 5, 1969 between theUniversity of California, Los Angeles, theStanford Research Institute, theUniversity of Utahand theUniversity of California, Santa Barbara. This network would becomeARPANET, which by 1981 would consist of 213 nodes.In June 1973, the first non-US node was added to the network belonging toNorway's NORSAR project. This was shortly followed by a node in London. ARPANET's development centered on theRequest for Commentprocess and on April 7, 1969,RFC 1was published. This process is important because ARPANET would eventually merge with other networks to form theInternetand many of the protocols the Internet relies upon today were specified through this process. In September 1981,RFC 791introduced theInternet Protocolv4 (IPv4) andRFC 793introduced theTransmission Control Protocol(TCP) thus creating the TCP/IP protocol that much of the Internet relies upon today. A more relaxed transport protocol that, unlike TCP, did not guarantee the orderly delivery of packets called theUser Datagram Protocol(UDP) was submitted on 28 August 1980 asRFC 768. An e-mail protocol,SMTP, was introduced in August 1982 byRFC 821andhttp://1.0a protocol that would make the hyperlinked Internet possible was introduced on May 1996 byRFC 1945. However not all important developments were made through theRequest for Commentprocess. Two popular link protocols forlocal area networks(LANs) also appeared in the 1970s. A patent for theToken Ringprotocol was filed byOlafon October 29, 1974.And a paper on theEthernetprotocol was published byRobert MetcalfeandDavid Boggsin the July 1976 issue of Communications of the ACM. Distance telecommunications Visual, auditory and ancillary methods (non-electrical):Prehistoric:Fires,Beacons,Smoke signals,Communication drums,Horns 6th centuryBCE:Mail 5th century BCE:Pigeon post 4th century BCE:Hydraulic semaphores ca. 490 BCE:Heliographs(shield signals) 15th centuryCE:Maritime flag semaphores 1672:First experimental acoustic (mechanical) telephone 1790:Semaphore lines(optical telegraphs) 1867:Signal lamps 1877:Acoustic phonograph

Basic electrical signals: 1838:Electrical telegraph. See:Telegraph history 1858:First trans-Atlantic telegraph cable 1876:Telephone. See:Invention of the telephone,History of the telephone,Timeline of the telephone 1880:Telephony via light beam photo phonesAdvanced electrical and electronic signals: 1893:Wireless telegraphy 1896:Radio. See:History of radio. 1914:First North American transcontinental telephone calling 1927:Television. See:History of television 1927: First commercial radio-telephone service, U.K.U.S. 1930:First experimental videophones 1934: First commercial radio-telephone service, U.S.Japan 1936:World's first public videophone network 1946:Limited capacity Mobile Telephone Service for automobiles 1956:Transatlantic telephone cable 1962:Commercial telecommunications satellite 1964:Fiber optical telecommunications 1965:First North American public videophone network 1969:Computer networking 1973:First modern-era mobile (cellular) phone 1979:INMARSAT ship-to-shore satellite communications 1981:First mobile (cellular) phone network 1982:SMTP email 1983:Internet. See:History of Internet 1998:Mobile satellite hand-held phones 2003:Skype Internet telephonyGOVERNMENT POLICY TELECOMMUNICATIONNational Telecom Policy - 2012 (NTP - 2012)

PREAMBLE Telecommunication has emerged as a key driver of economic and social development in an increasingly knowledge intensive global scenario, in which India needs to play a leadership role. National Telecom Policy-2012 is designed to ensure that India plays this role effectively and transforms the socio-economic scenario through accelerated equitable and inclusive economic growth by laying special emphasis on providing affordable and quality telecommunication services in rural and remote areas. Thrust of this policy is to underscore the imperative that sustained adoption of technology would offer viable options in overcoming developmental challenges in education, health, employment generation, financial inclusion and much else. NTP-2012 is an initiative to create a conducive policy framework to address these issues and to touch lives of all citizens and transform India. By formulating a clear policy regime, NTP-2012 endeavors to create an investor friendly environment for attracting additional investments in the sector apart from generating manifold employment opportunities in various segments of the sector. Availability of affordable and effective communications for the citizens is at the core of the vision and goal of the National Telecom Policy 2012. The last decade is characterized by significant penetration of telecommunications in India. The New Telecom Policy 1999 has been a catalyst for growth of the telecom sector. The number of telephone connections, at the end of February 2012, was 943 million, as compared to 41 million at the end of December 2001. This growth has been fuelled by the cellular segment (mobile phones) which alone accounted for 911 million connections at the end of February 2012. The composition of the telecom sector too has witnessed a structural change, with the private sector accounting for 88 % of the total connections. Today, India is one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the world. The unprecedented increase in teledensity and sharp decline in tariffs in the Indian telecom sector have contributed significantly to the countrys economic growth. Besides contributing to about 3% to Indias GDP, Telecommunications, along with Information Technology, has greatly accelerated the growth of the economic and social sectors. The National Telecom Policy 2012 (NTP 2012) is conceived against this backdrop. The vision is to transform the country into an empowered and inclusive knowledge-based society, using telecommunications as a platform. Telecommunications is no longer limited to voice. The evolution from analog to digital technology has facilitated the conversion of voice, data and video to the digital form. Increasingly, these are now being rendered through single networks bringing about a convergence in networks, services and also devices. Hence, it is now imperative to move towards convergence between telecom, broadcast and IT services, networks, platforms, technologies and overcome the existing segregation of licensing, registration and regulatory mechanisms in these areas to enhance affordability, increase access, delivery of multiple services and reduce cost. It will be a key enabler of equitable and inclusive growth. The policy aims to address and enable the coordinated action to respond to the dynamic needs resulting from confluence of telecom, broadcasting and IT sectors. Given the continued predominant role of wireless technologies in delivery of services in ICT sector, NTP-2012 incorporates framework for increasing the availability of spectrum for telecom services including triple play services (voice, video and data) for which broadband is the key driver. This will be facilitated by deployment of services through appropriate instrumentalities, while safeguarding national interests. The emerging technology trends in electronics hardware, telecom connectivity and IT will make it possible for millions of citizens to access services electronically in self-service mode using mobile phones and the Internet or through assisted service points such as Common Service Centres etc. Once a mere communication device, the Telephone has now the potential of being an instrument of empowerment. There is need to reorient the telecommunication policy. This vision is made possible through ubiquitous network connectivity of mobile technology, broadband Internet, fiber penetration in all villages, high-technology low-cost affordable devices and software solutions which enable electronic Page 3 of 20 A concerted effort to boost manufacturing activity is now exigent as robust economic growth in the country is leading to an extraordinarily high demand for electronic products in general and telecom products in particular. NTP-2012 provides a roadmap for India to become a leader in cutting edge, state of the art technologies through R&D and creation and incorporation of Indian IPRs in global standards. This will require measures for boosting entrepreneurship and creating a major global manufacturing hub for telecommunication equipment to achieve self-sufficiency while squarely addressing security and strategic concerns. At the same time establishment of processes and standards for protection of the environment will also be required. For the continued growth trajectory of telecom sector, it is crucial to establish appropriate mechanisms to achieve balance between competition and consolidation while dealing with the legacy issues in the sector, thus benefiting both the users and providers of telecommunication services. NTP-2012 recognizes that the rapid growth in the telecom sector requires to be supported by an enhanced pace of human capital formation and capacity building. It becomes imperative to put in place an integrated skill development strategy for the converged ICT sector as a whole so that there is continuous up-gradation of skills in tune with the technological developments. The cornerstone of this strategy is to derive maximal dividend from our young population and their creative abilities. The advent of technologies like cloud computing present a historic opportunity to catapult Indias vaunted service delivery capabilities to a new level domestically as well globally.

Introduction of new technologies has posed fresh challenges in network security, communication security and communication assistance to law enforcement agencies. NTP-2012 provides a clear strategy for squarely addressing these concerns. The PSUs have played a pre-eminent role in provision of telecom services in the country, particularly in rural, remote, backward and hilly areas. Contribution of BSNL and MTNL to broadband penetration in the country is significant. The importance of PSUs in meeting the strategic and security needs of the nation can also not be understated. This policy recognizes that these PSUs will continue to play such important role.

I. VISION To provide secure, reliable, affordable and high quality converged telecommunication services anytime, anywhere for an accelerated inclusive socio-economic development.

II. MISSION To develop a robust and secure state-of-the-art telecommunication network providing seamless coverage with special focus on rural and remote areas for bridging the digital divide and thereby facilitate socio-economic development. To create an inclusive knowledge society through proliferation of affordable and high quality broadband services across the nation. To reposition the mobile device as an instrument of socio-economic empowerment of citizens. To make India a global hub for telecom equipment manufacturing and a centre for converged communication services. To promote Research and Development, Design in cutting edge ICTE technologies, products and services for meeting the infrastructure needs of domestic and global markets with focus on security and green technologies. To promote development of new standards to meet national requirements, generation of IPRs and participation in international standardization bodies to contribute in formation of global standards, thereby making India a leading nation in the area of telecom standardization. To attract investment, both domestic and foreign.

III. OBJECTIVES

Provide secure, affordable and high quality telecommunication services to all citizens. Increase rural tele density from the current level of around 39 to 70 by the year 2017 and 100 by the year 2020. Provide affordable and reliable broadband-on-demand by the year 2015 and to achieve 175 million broadband connections by the year 2017 and 600 million by the year 2020 at minimum 2 Mbps download speed and making available higher speeds of at least 100 Mbps on demand. Enable citizens to participate in and contribute to e-governance in key sectors like health, education, skill development, employment, governance, banking etc. to ensure equitable and inclusive growth. Provide high speed and high quality broadband access to all village panchayats through a combination of technologies by the year 2014 and progressively to all villages and habitations by 2020. Promote innovation, indigenous R&D and manufacturing to serve domestic and global markets, by increasing skills and competencies. Create a corpus to promote indigenous R&D, IPR creation, entrepreneurship, manufacturing, commercialization and deployment of state-of-the-art telecom products and services during the 12th five year plan period. Promote the ecosystem for design, Research and Development, IPR creation, testing, standardization and manufacturing i.e. complete value chain for domestic production of telecommunication equipment to meet Indian telecom sector demand to the extent of 60% and 80% with a minimum value addition of 45% and 65% by the year 2017 and 2020 respectively. Provide preference to domestically manufactured telecommunication products, in procurement of those telecommunication products which have security implications for the country and in Government procurement for its own use, consistent with our World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments. Develop and establish standards to meet national requirements, generate IPRs, and participate in international standardization bodies to contribute in formulation of global standards, thereby making India a leading nation in the area of international telecom standardization. This will be supported by establishing appropriate linkages with industry, R&D institutions, academia, telecom service providers and users. Simplify the licensing framework to further extend converged high quality services across the nation including rural and remote areas. This will not cover content regulation. Strive to create One Nation - One License across services and service areas. Achieve One Nation - Full Mobile Number Portability and work towards One Nation - Free Roaming. Reposition the mobile phone from a mere communication device to an instrument of empowerment that combines communication with proof of identity, fully secure financial and other transaction capability, multi-lingual services and a whole range of other capabilities that ride on them and transcend the literacy barrier. Encourage development of mobile phones based on open platform standards. Deliver high quality seamless voice, data, multimedia and broadcasting services on converged networks for enhanced service delivery to provide superior experience to users. Put in place a simplified Merger & Acquisition regime in telecom service sector while ensuring adequate competition. Optimize delivery of services to consumers irrespective of their devices or locations by Fixed-Mobile Convergence thus making available valuable spectrum for other wireless services. Promote an ecosystem for participants in VAS industry value chain to make India a global hub for Value Added Services (VAS). Ensure adequate availability of spectrum and its allocation in a transparent manner through market related processes. Make available additional 300 MHz spectrum for IMT services by the year 2017 and another 200 MHz by 2020. Promote efficient use of spectrum with provision of regular audit of spectrum usage. De-licensing additional frequency bands for public use. Recognize telecom as Infrastructure Sector to realize true potential of ICT for development. Address the Right of Way (RoW) issues in setting up of telecom infrastructure. Mandate an ecosystem to ensure setting up of a common platform for interconnection of various networks for providing non-exclusive and non-discriminatory access. Strengthen the framework to address the environmental and health related concerns pertaining to the telecom sector. Enhanced and continued adoption of green policy in telecom and incentivize use of renewable energy sources for sustainability. Protect consumer interest by promoting informed consent, transparency and accountability in quality of service, tariff, usage etc.

IV. STRATEGIES

1. BROADBAND, RURAL TELEPHONY AND UNIVERSAL SERVICE OBLIGATION FUND (USOF)

.1. To develop an eco-system for broadband in close coordination with all stakeholders, including Ministries/ Government Departments/ Agencies to ensure availability of media for last mile access, aggregation layer, core network of adequate capacity, affordable equipment including user devices, terminals and Customer Premise Equipment and an environment for development of relevant applications. Formulate policies to promote competition by encouraging service providers, whether large or small, to provide value added services under equitable and non-discriminatory conditions. .2. To recognize telecom, including broadband connectivity as a basic necessity like education and health and work towards Right to Broadband. .3. To lay special emphasis on providing reliable and affordable broadband access to rural and remote areas by appropriate combination of optical fiber, wireless, VSAT and other technologies. Optical fiber network will be initially laid up to the village panchayats level by funding from the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF). Extension of optical fiber connectivity from village panchayats to be taken up progressively to all villages and habitations. Access to this Optical Fiber Network will be open, non-discriminatory and technology neutral. .4. Provide appropriate incentives for rural rollout. .5. To revise the existing broadband download speed of 256 Kbps to 512 Kbps and subsequently to 2 Mbps by 2015 and higher speeds of at least 100 Mbps thereafter. .6. To encourage Fiber to the Home (FTTH) with enabling guidelines and policies, favoring fast transformation of cities and towns into Always Connected society. .7. To incorporate enabling provisions in the current regulatory framework so that existing infrastructure including cable TV networks are optimally utilized for extending high quality broadband services in rural areas also. .8. To establish appropriate institutional framework to coordinate with different government departments/agencies for laying and upkeep of telecom cables including Optical Fiber Cables for rapid expansion of broadband in the country. .9. To leverage the mobile device and SIM Card with enhanced features for enabling secure transactional services including online authentication of identity and financial services. .10. To promote synergies between roll-out of broadband and various Government programs viz e- governance, e-panchayats, MNREGA, NKN, AADHAR, AAKASH tablet etc.

2. QUALITY OF SERVICE AND PROTECTION OF CONSUMER INTEREST

To strengthen the regulator for ensuring compliance of the prescribed performance standards and Quality of Service (QoS) parameters by the Telecom Service Providers. To formulate a Code of Practice for Sales and Marketing Communications to improve transparency as well as address security issues relating to Customer Acquisition. To support the sector regulator in its efforts to enhance consumer awareness about services, tariffs, and QoS. To make mandatory provision for web based disclosure of area coverage by telecom service providers. To facilitate establishment of a National Mobile Property Registry for addressing security, theft and other concerns including reprogramming of mobile handsets. To undertake legislative measures to bring disputes between telecom consumers and service providers within the jurisdiction of Consumer Forums established under Consumer Protection Act.

3. SECURITY

To mandate and enforce that the Telecom Service Providers take adequate measures to ensure the security of the communication flowing through their network by adopting contemporary information security standards. To provide communication assistance to Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) through regulatory measures in tune with the extant license guidelines and in conformity with Indian Telegraph Act keeping in view individual privacy and following international practices to the extent possible for fulfilling National Security needs. To develop and deploy State of art system for providing assistance to LEAs. To create an institutional framework through regulatory measures to ensure that safe-to-connect devices are inducted into the Telecom Network and service providers take measures for ensuring the security of the network. To build national capacity in all areas - specifically security standards, security testing, interception and monitoring capabilities and manufacturing of critical telecom equipment - that impinges on Telecom network security and communication assistance for law enforcement. To ensure security in an increasingly insecure cyber space, indigenously manufactured multi-functional SIM cards with indigenously designed chips incorporating specific laid down standards are considered critical. The whole electronics eco-system for this and other purposes, starting from the wafer fab needs to be built and hence is viewed as a key policy objective and outcome. To mandate standards in the areas of functional requirements, safety and security and in all possible building blocks of the communication network i.e. devices, elements, components, physical infrastructure like towers, buildings etc. To develop a rational criterion for sharing of costs beyond a threshold limit between Government and the service providers in implementing security measures.

4. PUBLIC SECTOR To recognize the strategic importance of Telecom PSUs in nurturing/enhancing Governments intervention capabilities in matters of national security or international importance, including execution of bilateral projects funded by Government of India. Appropriately consider the restructuring of the Public Sector Undertakings, under the Department of Telecommunications, in terms of management, manpower and equity. To encourage Public Sector Units under the DoT to identify and exploit strategic and operational synergies so that they play a significant role in service provision, infrastructure creation, and manufacturing. To exploit individual strengths of organizations under DoT/DIT to their mutual benefit for ensuring these organizations to effectively flourish in the competitive telecom market while adequately supporting the security needs of the nation. Efforts will be made for according preferential treatment for procurement of products and services rendered by individual organizations. To recognize and enhance the opportunities available through/within Telecom PSUs for deployment of indigenously developed Telecom products, with Indian IPR, to provide vital support for domestic manufacturing of Indian Telecom products in the long run.

5. CLOUD SERVICES

1. To recognize that cloud computing will significantly speed up design and roll out of services, enable social networking and participative governance and e-Commerce on a scale which was not possible with traditional technology solutions. 2. To take new policy initiatives to ensure rapid expansion of new services and technologies at globally competitive prices by addressing the concerns of cloud users and other stakeholders including specific steps that need to be taken for lowering the cost of service delivery. 3. To identify areas where existing regulations may impose unnecessary burden and take consequential remedial steps in line with international best practices for propelling nation to emerge as a global leader in the development and provision of cloud services to benefit enterprises, consumers and Central and State Governments. 6. FINANCING OF TELECOM SECTOR

1. To create a Telecom Finance Corporation as a vehicle to mobilize and channelize financing for telecom projects in order to facilitate investment in the telecom sector.

2. To endeavor to include telecom sector projects within the ambit of financing from existing entities. 3. To rationalize taxes, duties and levies affecting the sector and work towards providing a stable fiscal regime to stimulate investments and making services more affordable.

7. ROLE OF REGULATOR, CHANGES IN LEGISLATION

7.1. To review the TRAI Act with a view to addressing regulatory inadequacies/ impediments in effective discharge of its functions. 7.2. To undertake a comprehensive review of Indian Telegraph Act and its rules and other allied legislations with a view to making them consistent with and in furtherance of the above policy objectives. 7.3. To take requisite steps to strengthen various units of DoT as may be necessary to carry out functions required to achieve the objectives of this policy.

8. OPERATIONALISATION OF THE POLICY 1. To take suitable facilitator measures to encourage existing service providers to rapidly migrate to the new regime in a uniformly liberalized environment with a level playing field2. Policy will be operational zed by bringing out detailed guidelines, as may be considered appropriate, from time to time. The primary objective of NTP-2012 is maximizing public good by making available affordable, reliable and secure telecommunication and broadband services across the entire country. The main thrust of the Policy is on the multiplier effect and transformational impact of such services on the overall economy. It recognizes the role of such services in furthering the national development agenda while enhancing equity and inclusiveness. Availability of affordable and effective communications for the citizens is at the core of the vision and goal of the National Telecom Policy 2012. NTP-2012 also recognizes the predominant role of the private sector in this field and the consequent policy imperative of ensuring continued viability of service providers in a competitive environment. Pursuant to NTP-2012, these principles would guide decisions needed to strike a balance between the interests of users/ consumers, service providers and government revenue.

COMPETITORS PROFILEReliance Communications competes with 15 other mobile operators throughout India. They are1. Aircel2. Airtel,3. BSNL4. Idea,5. Loop Mobile6. MTNL7. MTS8. Ping Mobile9. S Tel10. Tata DoCoMo 11. Tata Indicom12. Uninor13. Videocon14. Virgin Mobile(GSM & CDMA) .

Reliance communications faces competition in the CDMA Internet Providers category from 1. TATA Photon+ 2. MTS MBlaze.1. TATA TELESERVICES LTD: -Tata Teleservices Limited spearheads the Tata Groups presence in the telecom sector. The Tata Group includes over 90 companies and over 350,000 employees worldwide and more than 3.5 million shareholders. Incorporated in 1996, Tata Teleservices is the pioneer of the CDMA 1x technology platform in India. It has embarked on a growth path since the acquisition of Hughes Tele.com (India) Ltd [renamed Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited] by the Tata group in 2002.

It launched mobile operations in January 2005 under the brand name Tata Indicom and today enjoys a pan-India presence through existing operations in all of Indias 22 telecom Circles. The company is also the market leader in the fixed wireless telephone market. The companys network has been rated as the Least Congested in India for six consecutive quarters by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India through independent surveys. The Tata Teleservices Limited bouquet comprises four other brands as wellVirgin Mobile, Walky (which is the brand for fixed wireless phones), the Photon family (the companys brand that provides a variety of options for wireless mobile broadband access, and T24. Today, Tata Teleservices Ltd, along with Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd, serves over 84 million customers in more than 450,000 towns and villages across the country, with a bouquet of telephony services encompassing Mobile Services, Wireless Desktop Phones, Public Booth Telephony and Wireless Services and enterprise solutions. 2. SISTEMA SHYAM TELESERVICES (MTS): -Sistema Shyam Tele Services Ltd (SSTL) is the fastest growing telecom company in the competitive Indian market, with over 11 million voice subscribers and over 7 lakh mobile broadband customers. SSTL has tied up with Mobile Tele Systems OJSC, a JSFC Sistema company of Russia, to bring the globally acclaimed telecom brand MTS to India.

Millward Brown in its 2011 report on Most Valuable Global Brands has ranked MTS 80th with a brand value of $10.9 billion. Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd. (SSTL) is a joint venture between Sistema {LSE: SSA} of Russia, the Russian Federation and the Shyam Group of India. The Russian Federation holds a 17.14% stake in the company. Sistema is the majority shareholder with a 56.68% stake, Shyam Group holding a 23.98% stake and the remaining 2.2% being held by the public. MTS, the mobile telecom service brand of SSTL, has over 11 million customers in India. MBlaze, the high-speed mobile broadband service, launched in November 2009 has clocked over 700,000 satisfied mobile broadband customers in a very short span of time. SSTL was the FIRST telecom company in India to launch mobile broadband internet services with speeds up to 3.1 Mbps in the state of Jharkhand in April 2010.

OTHER COMPETITORS

Apart from MTS & TATA several GSM companies are now launching USB Internet Devices using the 3G technology. IDEA, Airtel & AIRTEL are some private competitors, while BSNL remains a dominant Government affiliated Service Provider.

1. BHARTI AIRTEL: -Telecom giant Airtel is the flagship company of Bharti Enterprises. The Bharti Group has a diverse business portfolio and has created global brands in INDIA9telecommunication sector. Bharti has recently forayed into retail business as Bharti Retail Pvt. Ltd. under a MoU with Wal-Mart for the cash & carry business. It has successfully launched an international venture with EL Rothschild Group to export fresher products exclusively to markets in Europe and USA and has launched Bharti AX Life Insurance Company Ltd under a joint venture with AXA, world leader in financialprotection and wealth management. BHARTI AIRTEL LTD started in July 7 1995.Its head quarters is at Delhi. In 1998 the company has started their first land line operation. Airtel is the name of their brand. AIRTEL stands for Affectionate, Interested, Respectful, Tolerant, Energetic and loving .Their logo is Think fresh Deliver More. Their first company is Bharti Cellular Limited under thebrand name of Airtel. Another one is Bharti Tele Sonic Ltd under the brand name ofIndia One. Then Bharti Tele Net Ltd under the brand name of Touch Net. Another one is Bharti broad band Ltd under the brand name of Manthra Online. The companies Bharti Telenet Ltd and Bharti Broadband Ltd combined together and form Bharti Broadband and Teleservices Ltd. After sometime the companies Bharti Telescopic Ltd and Bharti Broadband and Teleservices Ltd combined together and form Bharti Infotel Ltd. In 13th September 2004 all the four companies combined together and form Bharti AIRTEL Ltd. Bharti Airtel is one of India's leading private sector providers of telecommunications services with more than 79 million subscribers as of November 2008.Airtel comes to you from Bharti Airtel Limited, Indias largest integrated and the firstprivate telecom services provider with a footprint in all the 23 telecom circles. Bharti Airtel since its inception has been at the forefront of technology and has steered the course of the telecom sector in the country with its world class products and services. The businesses at Bharti Airtel have been structured into three individual strategicbusiness units (SBUs)

Airtel Tele media Service Mobile Services Enterprise Services. The mobile business provides mobile & fixed wireless services using GSM technology across 23 telecom circles while the Airtel Telemedia Services business offers broadband & telephone services in 95 cities. The Enterprise services provident-to-end telecom solutions to corporate customers and national & international long distance services to carriers. All these services are provided under the Airtelbrand

2. AIRCEL: -The Aircel group is a joint venture between Maxis Communications Berhad ofMalaysia and Sindya Securities & Investments Private Limited, whose current shareholders are the Reddy family of Apollo Hospitals Group of India, with Maxis Communications holding a majority stake of 74%.Aircel commenced operations in 1999 and became the leading mobile operator in Tamil Nadu within 18 months. In December 2003, it launched commercially in Chennai and quickly established itself as a market leader a position it has held since.Aircel began its outward expansion in 2005 and met with unprecedented success in the Eastern frontier circles. It emerged a market leader in Assam and in the North Easternprovinces within 18 months of operations. Till today, the company gained a foothold in 18circles including Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Assam, North East, Orissa, Bihar, Jammu &Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Kolkata, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi, UP(West), UP(East), Maharashtra & Goa and Mumbai.The Company has currently gained a momentum in the space of telecom in India post the allocation of additional spectrum by the Department of Telecom, Govt. of India for 13new circles across India. These include Delhi (Metro), Mumbai (Metro), Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra & Goa, Rajasthan, Punjab, UP (West) and UP (East).

Aircel has won many awards and recognitions. Voice and Data gave Aircel the highest rating for overall customer satisfaction and network quality in 2006. Aircel emerged as the top mid-size utility company in Business world list of Best Mid-Size Companies in2007. Additionally, Tele.net recognized Aircel as the best regional operator in 2008.With over 25 million happy customers in the country, Aircel is a full-fledged national operator

3. IDEA: -

IDEA Cellular is an Aditya Birla Group Company, India's first truly multinational corporation. The group operates in 25 countries, and is anchored by over 1, 30,000 employees belonging to 30 nationalities. The Group has been adjudged the 6th Top Company for Leaders in Asia Pacific Region' in 2009, in a survey conducted by Hewitt Associates, in partnership with The RBL Group, and Fortune. The Group has also been rated The Best Employer in India and among the Top 20 in Asia' by the Hewitt-EconomicTimes and Wall Street Journal Study 2007.

IDEA is the winner of The Emerging Company of the Year Award' at The Economic Times Corporate Excellence Awards 2008-09. The company has received several othernational and international recognitions for its path-breaking innovations in mobile telephony products & services. It won the GSM Association Award for Best Billing and Customer Care Solution for 2 consecutive years. It was awarded Mobile Operator ofthe Year Award - India for 2007 and 2008 at the Annual Asian Mobile News Awards.Idea Cellular is a wireless company operating in all the 22 telecom circles in India based in Mumbai. It is the 3rd largest GSM company in India behind Airtel and AIRTEL and ahead of state run player BSNL. IDEA Cellular is a publicly listed company, having listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in March 2007.IDEA Cellular is a leading GSM mobile services operator in India with over 58million subscribers, under brand IDEA. It is a pan India integrated GSM operator covering the entire telephony landscape of the country, and has NLD and ILD operations. A frontrunner in introducing revolutionary tariff plans, IDEA Cellular has the distinction of offering the most customer friendly and competitive Pre Paid offerings, for the first time in India, in an increasingly segmented market.

4. BSNL: -Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. formed in October, 2000, is World's 7th largest Telecommunications Company providing comprehensive range of telecom services in India: Wire line, CDMA mobile, GSM Mobile, Internet, Broadband, Carrier service, MPLS-VPN, VSAT, VoIP services, IN Services etc.Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (known as BSNL, India Communications Corporation Limited) is a public sector communications company in India. It is the India's largest telecommunication company with 24% market share. Its headquarters are at Bharat Sanchar Bhawan, New Delhi. It has the status of Mini-ratna - a status assigned to reputed Public Sector companies in India. BSNL has installed Quality TelecomNetwork in the country and now focusing on improving it, expanding the network, introducing new telecom services with ICT applications in villages and wining customer's confidence. Today, it has about 47.3 million line basic telephone capacity,4 million WLL capacity, 20.1 Million GSM Capacity, more than 37382 fixed exchanges, 18000 BTS, 287 Satellite Stations, 480196 Rkm of OFC Cable, 63730Rkm of Microwave Network connecting 602 Districts, 7330 cities/towns and 5.5Lakhs villages. BSNL is the only service provider, making focused efforts andplanned initiatives to bridge the Rural-Urban Digital Divide ICT sector. In fact there is no telecom operator in the country to beat its reach with its wide network giving services in every nook & corner of country and operates across India except Delhi &Mumbai including inaccessible areas of Siachen glacier and North-eastern region ofthe country.

BSNL cellular service, CellOne, has more than 17.8 million cellular customers, garnering 24 percent of all mobile users as its subscribers. That means that almost every fourth mobile user in the country has a BSNL connection. In basic services, BSNL is miles ahead of its rivals, with 35.1 million Basic Phone subscribers i.e. 85per cent share of the subscriber base and 92 percent share in revenue terms. BSNL has more than 2.5 million WLL subscribers and 2.5 million Internet Customers who access Internet through various modes viz. Dial-up, Leased Line, DIAS, and Account Less Internet (CLI). BSNL has been adjudged as the NUMBER ONE ISP in the country.BSNL has set up a world class multi-gigabit, multi-protocol convergent I infrastructure that provides convergent services like voice, data and video through the same Backbone and Broadband Access Network. At present there are 0.6 million Data One broadband customers. The company has vast experience in Planning, Installation, network integration and Maintenance of Switching & TransmissionNetworks and also has a world class ISO 9000 certified Telecom Training Institute. BSNL plans to expand its customer base from present 73 million lines to 125 million lines and infrastructure investment plan to the tune of Rs. 733 crores (US$ 16.67million) in the next three years. Today, BSNL is India's largest Telco and one of the largest Public Sector Undertaking with estimated market value of $ 100 Billion. The company is planning an IPO with in 6 months to offload 10% to public in the Rs 300-400 range valuing the company at over $100 billion.

CHAPTER-3COMPANY PROFILE

INTRODUCTIONAIRTEL Group plc /vodfon/ is a British multinational telecommunications company headquartered in London and with its registered office in Newbury, Berkshire. It is the world's second-largest mobile telecommunications company measured by both subscribers and 2011 revenues (in each case behind China Mobile), and had 439 million subscribers as of December 2011. AIRTEL owns and operates networks in over 30 countries and has partner networks in over 40 additional countries. Its AIRTEL Global Enterprise division provides telecommunications and IT services to corporate clients in over 65 countries.AIRTEL has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It had a market capitalisation of approximately 89.1billion as of 6July2012, the third-largest of any company listed on the London Stock Exchange. It has a secondary listing on NASDAQ.NameThe name AIRTEL comes from voice data fone, chosen by the company to "reflect the provision of voice and data services over mobile phones".HistoryThe evolution of 'AIRTEL' brand started in 1982 with the establishment of 'Racal Strategic Radio Ltd' subsidiary of Racal Electronics plc UK's largest maker of military radio technology. By initiative of Jan Stenbeck Racal Strategic Radio Ltd formed a joint venture with Millicom called 'Racal AIRTEL', which would later evolve into the present day AIRTEL. Evolution as a Racal Telecom brand: 1980 to 1991

AIRTEL's original logo, used until the introduction of the speechmark logo in 1997In 1980, Sir Ernest Harrison OBE, the then chairman of Racal Electronics plc. agreed to a deal with Lord Weinstock of General Electric Company plc to allow Racal to access some of GEC's tactical battle field radio technology. The head of Racal's military radio division Gerry Whent was briefed by Ernest Harrison to drive the company into commercial mobile radio. Whent visited GEs mobile radio factory in Virginia, USA the same year to understand the commercial use of military radio technology. Previously in 1979, Jan Stenbeck, a head of a growing Swedish conglomerate, set up an American company, Millicom, Inc., to pursue mobile communications by applying for licences in the United States. In the summer of 1982, Stenbeck approached Racals Whent about bidding jointly for the UKs second cellular radio licence, soon to be awarded, the first going by prior arrangement to British Telecom. The two struck a deal giving Racal 60% of the new company, Racal-Millicom, Ltd, and Millicom 40%. Due to UK concerns about foreign ownership, the terms were revised, and in December 1982, the Racal-Milicom partnership was awarded the second UK mobile phone network license. Final ownership of Racal-Millicom, Ltd was 80% Racal, with Millicom holding 15% plus royalties and venture firm Hambros Technology Trust holding 5%. According to the UK Secretary of State for Industry, "the bid submitted by Racal-Millicom Ltd provided the best prospect for early national coverage by cellular radio." AIRTEL was launched on 1 January 1985 under the new name, Racal-AIRTEL (Holdings) Ltd, with its first office based in the Courtyard in Newbury, Berkshire, and shorty thereafter Racal Strategic Radio was renamed Racal Telecommunications Group Limited. On 29 December 1986, Racal Electronics bought out the minority shareholders of AIRTEL for GB110million; and AIRTEL became a fully owned brand of Racal.In September 1988, the company was again renamed Racal Telecom. On 26 October 1988, Racal Telecom, majority held by Racal Electronics; went public on the London Stock Exchange with 20% of its stock floated. The successful flotation led to a situation where the Racal's stake in Racal Telecom was valued more than the whole of Racal Electronics. Under stock market pressure to realise full value for shareholders of Racal, Harrison decides in 1991 to demerge Racal Telecom. AIRTEL Group, then AIRTEL Airtouch plc: 1991 to 2000On 16 September 1991, Racal Telecom was demerged from Racal Electronics as AIRTEL Group, with Gerry Whent as its CEO.In July 1996, AIRTEL acquired the two thirds of Talkland it did not already own for 30.6million. On 19 November 1996, in a defensive move, AIRTEL purchased Peoples Phone for 77million, a 181 store chain whose customers were overwhelmingly using AIRTEL'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 January 1997, Gerald Whent retired and Christopher Gent took over as the CEO. The same year, AIRTEL introduced its Speechmark logo, composed of a quotation mark in a circle, with the O's in the AIRTEL logotype representing opening and closing quotation marks and suggesting conversation.On 29 June 1999, AIRTEL completed its purchase of AirTouch Communications, Inc. and changed its name to AIRTEL Airtouch plc. The merged company commenced trading on 30 June 1999. In order to gain anti-trust approval for the merger, AIRTEL sold its 17.2% stake in E-Plus Mobilfunk. The acquisition gave AIRTEL a 35% share of Mannesmann, owner of the largest German mobile network.On 21 September 1999, AIRTEL 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, just a few months prior to Bell Atlantic's merger with GTE to form Verizon Communications, Inc.In November 1999, AIRTEL made an unsolicited bid for Mannesmann, which was rejected. AIRTEL'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 AIRTEL's efforts. However, on 3 February 2000, the Mannesmann board agreed to an increased offer of 112billion, then the largest corporate merger ever. The EU approved the merger in April 2000 when AIRTEL agreed to divest the 'Orange' brand, which was acquired in May 2000 by France Tlcom. The conglomerate was subsequently broken up and all manufacturing related operations sold off.AIRTEL Group plc: 2000 to present

The headquarters of AIRTEL Romania in BucharestOn 28 July 2000, the Company reverted to its former name, AIRTEL Group plc.In 2001, the Company acquired Eircell, the largest wireless communications company in Ireland, from eircom. Eircell was subsequently rebranded as AIRTEL Ireland. AIRTEL then went on to acquire Japan's third-largest mobile operator J-Phone, which had introduced camera phones first in Japan. On 17 December 2001, AIRTEL introduced the concept of "Partner Networks", by signing TDC Mobil of Denmark. The new concept involved the introduction of AIRTEL international services to the local market, without the need of investment by AIRTEL. The concept would be used to extend the AIRTEL brand and services into markets where it does not have stakes in local operators. AIRTEL services would be marketed under the dual-brand scheme, where the AIRTEL brand is added at the end of the local brand. (i.e., TDC Mobil-AIRTEL etc.) In 2007, AIRTEL entered into a title sponsorship deal with the McLaren Formula One team, which has since traded as AIRTEL McLaren Mercedes. In May 2011, AIRTEL Group Plc bought the rest of the shares of AIRTEL Essar from Essar Group Ltd with value of $5billion and became a solely owned of AIRTEL Essar. On 1 December 2011, it acquired the Reading based Bluefish Communications Ltd an ICT consultancy company. The acquired operations formed the nucleus of a new Unified Communications and Collaboration practice within its subsidiary AIRTEL Global Enterprise, which will focus on implementing strategies and solutions in cloud computing, and strengthen its professional services offering.In April 2012, AIRTEL announced an agreement to acquire Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW) for 1.04 billion. AIRTEL was advised by UBS AG, while Barclays and Rothschild advised Cable & Wireless. The acquisition will give AIRTEL access to CWW's fibre network for businesses, enabling it to take unified communications solutions to large enterprises in UK and globally; and expand its enterprise service offerings in emerging markets. On 18 June 2012, Cable & Wireless' shareholders voted in favour of the AIRTEL offer, exceeding the 75% of shares necessary for the deal to go ahead. On 24 June 2013, AIRTEL announced it would be buying German cable company Kabel Deutschland. The takeover is valued at 7.7 billion, and was recommended over the bid of rival Liberty Global. On 2 September 2013, AIRTEL announced it would be selling its 45% stake in Verizon Wireless to Verizon Communications for $130 billion, in one of the biggest deals in corporate history. In October 2013, AIRTEL began its rollout of 4G to provincial New Zealand, with the launch of the system in holiday hotspots around Coromandel. AdvertsSince 2010, the adverts feature two bees named Jack and Mike who are voiced by Karl Theobald and Dan Antopolski. Other adverts feature Star Wars character Yoda.OperationsAfrica and the Middle EastNetworks in the Middle East and Africa

Majority-ownedMinority-ownedPartner networks

DR Congo1EgyptKenyaKuwait

GhanaLesotho1Bahrain

Mozambique1Qatar2Libya

Tanzania1South Africa1UAE

1Majority stakes held through majority-owned Vodacom Group2Effective ownership is not majority, but full control exercised by the group.

EgyptIn November 1998, AIRTEL Egypt network went live under the name ClickGSM.On 8 November 2006, the Company announced a deal with Telecom Egypt, resulting in further co-operation in the Egyptian market, and increasing its stake in AIRTEL Egypt. After the deal, AIRTEL Egypt was 55% owned by the group, while the remaining 45% was owned by Telecom Egypt.On 28 January 2011, AIRTEL complied with Egyptian government instructions to suspend Internet service "in selected areas" during a period of anti-Mubarak protests. The company issued a statement that "Under Egyptian legislation, the authorities have the right to issue such an order and we are obliged to comply with it." AIRTEL also received public and media criticism for allowing the authorities to send mass pro-government messages via SMS over their network during the protests. One such message requested that "honest and loyal men" should "confront the traitors and criminals". AIRTEL later issued a statement asserting that they had no choice but to allow the messages to be broadcast, and that they had complained to the Egyptian authorities about the practice.[45]KuwaitOn 18 September 2002, AIRTEL signed a Partner Network Agreement with MTC group of Kuwait. The agreement involved the rebranding of MTC to MTC-AIRTEL. On 29 December 2003, AIRTEL signed another Partner Network Agreement with Kuwait's MTC group. The second agreement involved co-operation in Bahrain and the branding of the network as MTC-AIRTEL.South Africa (Vodacom)On 3 November 2004, the Company announced that its South African affiliate Vodacom had agreed to introduce AIRTEL's international services, such as AIRTEL live! and partner agreements, to its local market.In November 2005, AIRTEL announced that it was in exclusive talks to buy a 15% stake of VenFin in Vodacom Group, reaching agreement the following day. AIRTEL and Telkom then had a 50% stake each in Vodacom. AIRTEL now owns 65% of Vodacom after purchasing a 15% stake from Telkom. On 9 October 2008, the company offered to acquire an additional 15 per cent stake in Vodacom group from Telkom. The finalised details of the agreement were announced on 6 November 2008. The agreement called for Telkom to sell 15 per cent of its 50 per cent stake in Vodacom to the group, and demerge the other 35 per cent to its shareholder. Meanwhile, AIRTEL has agreed to make Vodacom its exclusive sub-Saharan Africa investment vehicle, as well as continuing to maintain the visibility of the Vodacom brand. The transaction is closed in May/June 2009.On 18 May 2009, Vodacom entered the JSE Limited stock exchange in South Africa after AIRTEL increased its stake by 15% to 65% to take a majority holding, despite disputes by local trade unions.In April 2011, Vodacom, rebranded themselves with the AIRTEL logo.QatarIn December 2007, a AIRTEL Group-led consortium was awarded the second mobile phone licence in Qatar under the name "AIRTEL Qatar". AIRTEL Qatar is located at QSTP, the Qatar Science & Technology ParkGhanaOn 3 July 2008, AIRTEL agreed to acquire a 70% stake in Ghana Telecom for $900million. The acquisition was consummated on 17 August 2008. The same group-led consortium won the second fixed-line licence in Qatar on 15 September 2008.On 15 April 2009, Ghana Telecom, along with its mobile subsidiary OneTouch, was rebranded as AIRTEL Ghana.U.A.E.On 28 January 2009, the group announced a partner network agreement with Du, the second-largest operator of the United Arab Emirates. The agreement involved co-operation on international clients, handset procurement, mobile broadband etc.LibyaOn 24 February 2010, the group signed a partner network agreement with the second-largest operator in Libya, al Madar.

The AmericasIn the United States, AIRTEL used to own 45% of Verizon Wireless, the country's largest mobile carrier after their merger with Alltel. The percentage of the customer base, and revenues of Verizon Wireless that AIRTEL consolidated is slightly lower, since some Verizon Wireless subsidiaries had minority investors. (Hence the exact percentages that AIRTEL and Verizon report vary from period to period: in June 2006 AIRTEL reported that Verizon Wireless owned 98.6% of its customers at that date.) Before this joint venture was formed, AIRTEL merged with AirTouch Communications of the U.S. in June 1999, and changed its name to AIRTEL Airtouch plc. In September 1999, AIRTEL Airtouch announced a $70-billion joint venture with Bell Atlantic Corp. Verizon Wireless was composed of Bell Atlantic's and AIRTEL AirTouch's U.S. wireless assets, and began operations on 4 April 2000. However, Verizon Communications the name Bell Atlantic took upon its 30 June 2000 buyout of GTE owns a majority of Verizon Wireless, and AIRTEL's branding is not used, nor is the CDMA network compatible with GSM phones. This relationship has been quite profitable for AIRTEL, but there have historically been three problems with it. The first is the above-mentioned incompatibility with the GSM 900/1800MHz standard used by AIRTEL's other networks, and the consequent difficulty of offering roaming between AIRTEL's U.S. and other networks. The other two stem from the fact that AIRTEL does not have management control over Verizon Wireless. AIRTEL is thus unable to use the AIRTEL brand for its U.S. operations, and (perhaps more importantly) has no control of dividend policy at Verizon Wireless, and is therefore entirely at the mercy of Verizon management with respect to cash flow from Verizon Wireless.Perhaps as a consequence of these reasons, AIRTEL made a bid for the entirety of AT&T Wireless when that company was for sale in 2004. Had this bid been successful, AIRTEL would presumably have sold its stake in Verizon Wireless, and then rebranded the resultant business as AIRTEL. However, Cingular Wireless, at the time a joint venture of SBC Communications and BellSouth (both now part of AT&T Inc.), ultimately outbid AIRTEL and took control of AT&T Wireless (the combined wireless carrier is now AT&T Mobility), and AIRTEL's relationship with Verizon has continued.Early in 2006, Verizon re-iterated their desire to buy out the remaining 45% of stock of Verizon Wireless from AIRTEL Group. AIRTEL has also repeatedly indicated that it would be willing to buy out Verizon's stake.Verizon has announced that its 4G data network will be LTE, which is considered part of the GSM path and not the CDMA2000 path Verizon has been using.On 11 May 2008, AIRTEL sealed a trade agreement with the Chilean Entel PCS Chile, in which Entel PCS has access to the equipment and international services of AIRTEL, and AIRTEL will be one of the trademarks of Entel for the wireless business. This step will give the AIRTEL brand access to a market of over 15 million people, currently divided among three companies: Telefonica Movistar, Claro, and Entel PCS.On August 2013, AIRTEL has started the MVNO operation in Brazil, as a corporative M2M operator.On 2 September 2013, it was announced that Verizon Communications would acquire the remaining stake it holds in Verizon Wireless for around $130 billion. Asia-PacificNetworks in Asia-Pacific

Majority-ownedMinority-ownedPartner networks

AustraliaFijiAfghanistanArmenia

IndiaAzerbaijanHong Kong

New ZealandMalaysiaSamoa

SingaporeSri Lanka

TaiwanThailand

TurkmenistanUzbekistan

In July 1993, BellSouth New Zealand's network went live, and October 1993 AIRTEL Australia's network also went live. This was followed in July 1994 by AIRTEL Fiji's network going live.In November 1998, AIRTEL purchased BellSouth New Zealand, which later became AIRTEL New Zealand. In 1999, J-Phone launched the J-sky mobile internet service in response to DoCoMo's i-Mode service. In December 2002 J-Phone's 3G network went live.On 1 October 2003, J-Phone became 'AIRTEL', and J-Phone's mobile internet service J-Sky became AIRTEL Live!. On 3 November 2003, Singapore became a part of the community as M1 was signed as partner network.In December 2004, AIRTEL Australia agreed to deploy high-speed MPLS backbone network built by Lucent Worldwide Services using Juniper hardware.[48]Then in April 2005, SmarTone changed the name of its brand to 'SmarTone-AIRTEL', after both companies signed a Partner Network Agreement. In August 2005, AIRTEL launched 3G technology in New Zealand, and in October 2005, it began launching 3G technology in Australia. On 28 October 2005, the Company announced the acquisition of a 10 per cent stake in India's Bharti Televentures, which operates the largest mobile phone network in India under the brand name AirTel. On 22 December 2005, the Company announced the completion of the acquisition of the 10% stake in Bharti Televentures of India.

The headquarters of AIRTEL New Zealand in Auckland CityIn January 2006, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka were added to the AIRTEL footprint as AIRTEL Group signed a partner network agreement with Telekom Malaysia. On 17 March 2006, AIRTEL announced an agreement to sell all its interest in AIRTEL Japan to SoftBank for 8.9billion, of which 6.8billion will be received in cash on closing of deal. AIRTEL Japan later changed its name to SoftBank Mobile. In November 2010, AIRTEL divested its remaining Softbank shares. On 9 October 2006, AIRTEL New Zealand bought New Zealand's 3rd largest internet service provider, iHug, and on 1 November 2006, AIRTEL Australia signed the Australian Football League (AFL)'s biggest individual club sponsorship deal with the Brisbane Lions for seasons 2007, 2008 and 2009.On 6 February 2007, along with the partnership with Digicel Caribbean (see below), Samoa was added as a Partner Market. Then on 11 February 2007, the Company agreed to acquire a controlling interest of 67% in Hutch Essar for US$11.1billion. At the same time, it agreed to sell back 5.6% of its AirTel stake back to the Mittals. AIRTEL would retain a 4.4% stake in AirTel. On 21 September 2007, Hutch was rebranded to AIRTEL in India.On 6 February 2007, AIRTEL Group signed a three-year partnership agreement with Digicel Group. The agreement, which includes Digicel's sister operation in Samoa, will result to the offering of new roaming capabilities. The two groups will also become preferred roaming partners of each other. Along with Digicel's markets, the AIRTEL brand is now present in 81 countries, regions, and territories. What is interesting to note, is that as well as being partners, Digicel and AIRTEL are also rival operators in Fiji, where Digicel Fiji recently launched in October 2008, and AIRTEL owns a minority (49%) stake in AIRTEL Fiji.On 10 February 2008, AIRTEL announced the launching of M-Paisa mobile money transfer service on Roshan's (Afghanistan's largest GSM operator) network: Afghanistan was added to the AIRTEL footprint.On 5 September 2008, AIRTEL purchased Australia's largest bricks and mortar mobile phone retailer Crazy John's adding 115 retail stores to its local operations. On 9 February 2009, AIRTEL Australia announced a merger with 3/Hutchison via a joint venture company VHA Pty Ltd, which would offer products under the AIRTEL brand. dtac in Thailand is signed as a partner network of the Group on 25 March 2009.On 19 June 2009, AIRTEL-Hutchison Australia (VHA) announced the end of its outsourcing of retail operations. VHA committed to buying back and managing its entire retail operation, including 208 AIRTEL-branded retail outlets Australia-wide. This project was slated to be completed by 1 September 2009.On 31 August 2009, VHA enabled an extended 900MHz 3G UMTS network which functions outside their 2,100MHz 3G network, boosting AIRTEL's 3G population coverage from around 8% to around 94% on dual-band 900/2,100MHz 3G UMTS devices.Nar Mobile in Azerbaijan was signed as a Partner Network on 22 July 2009, while Chunghwa Telecom of Taiwan was signed on 12 November 2009.In February 2013, AIRTEL together with China Mobile, has participated in bidding for one of the two newly opened Myanmar Mobile licences. In October 2013, it was reported by Reuters that AIRTEL planned to invest as much as $2 billion (1.2 billion pounds) to buy out minority shareholders in AIRTEL India. EuropeNetworks in Europe

Majority-ownedPartner networks

AlbaniaAustriaBelgium

Czech RepublicBulgariaChannel Islands

GermanyCroatiaCyprus

GreeceDenmarkEstonia

HungaryFinlandFaroe Islands

IrelandIcelandLatvia

ItalyLithuaniaLuxembourg

MaltaF.Y.R.O.MacedoniaNorway

NetherlandsRussiaSerbia

North CyprusSloveniaSweden

PortugalSwitzerlandUkraine

Romania

Spain

Turkey

UK

AIRTEL Hungary is a subsidiary of AIRTEL Global mobile telephone company operating in Hungary, the company started to operate in 7 July 1999. In February 2002, Radiolinja of Finland joined as a Partner Network. Radiolinja later changed its named to Elisa. Later that year, the Company rebranded Japan's J-sky mobile internet service as AIRTEL live!, and on 3 December 2002, the AIRTEL brand was introduced in the Estonian market following the signing of a Partner Network Agreement with Radiolinja (Eesti). Radiolinja (Eesti) later changed its name to Elisa.On 7 January 2003, the Company signed a group-wide Partner agreement with mobilkom Austria. As a result, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia were added to the community. In April 2003, Og AIRTEL was introduced in the Icelandic market, and in May 2003, Omnitel (Omnitel Pronto-Italia) was rebranded AIRTEL Italy. On 21 July 2003, Lithuania was added to the community, with the signing of a Partner Network agreement with Bit.In February 2004, AIRTEL signed a Partner Network Agreement with Luxembourg's LuxGSM, and a Partner Network Agreement with Cyta of Cyprus. Cyta agreed to rename its mobile phone operations to Cytamobile-AIRTEL. In April 2004, the Company purchased Singlepoint airtime provider from John Caudwell (Caudwell Group), and approx 1.5million customers onto its base for 405million, adding sites in Stoke-on-Trent (England), to existing sites in Newbury (HQ), Birmingham, Warrington and Banbury. In November 2004, AIRTEL introduced 3G services into Europe.In June 2005, the Company increased its participation in Romania's Connex to 99%[citation needed], and also bought the Czech mobile operator Oskar. On 1 July 2005, Oskar of the Czech Republic was rebranded as Oskar-AIRTEL. Later that year, on 17 October 2005, AIRTEL Portugal launched a revised logo, using new text designed by Dalton Maag, and a 3D version of the Speechmark logo, but still retaining a red background and white writing (or vice versa). Also, various operating companies started to drop the use of the SIM card pattern in the company logo. (The rebranding of Oskar-AIRTEL and Connex-AIRTEL also does not use the SIM card pattern.) A custom typeface by Dalton Maag (based on their font family InterFace) formed part of the new identity.On 28 October 2005, Connex in Romania was rebranded as Connex-AIRTEL, and on 31 October 2005, the Company reached an agreement to sell AIRTEL Sweden to Telenor for approximately 1billion. After the sale, AIRTEL Sweden became a Partner Network. In December 2005, AIRTEL won an auction to buy Turkey's second-largest mobile phone company, Telsim, for US$4.5billion. In December 2005, AIRTEL Spain became the second member of the Group to adopt the revised logo: it was phased in over the following six months in other countries.In 2006, the Company rebranded its Stoke-on-Trent site as Stoke Premier Centre, a centre of expertise for the company dealing with Customer Care for its higher value customers, technical support, sales and credit control. All cancellations and upgrades started to be dealt with by this call centre. On 5 January 2006, AIRTEL announced the completion of the sale of AIRTEL Sweden to Telenor. On February 2006, the Company closed its Birmingham Call Centre. On 1 February 2006, Oskar AIRTEL became AIRTEL Czech Republic, adopting the revised logo, and on 22 February 2006, the Company announced that it was extending its footprint to Bulgaria with the signing of Partner Network Agreement with Mobiltel, which is part of mobilkom Austria group.

The headquarters of AIRTEL Ireland in DublinIn April 2006, the Company announced that it had signed an extension to its Partner Network Agreement with BITE Group, enabling its Latvian subsidiary "BITE Latvija" to become the latest member of AIRTEL's global partner community. Also in April 2006, AIRTEL Sweden changed its name to Telenor Sverige AB, and Connex-AIRTEL became AIRTEL Romania, also adopting the new logo. On 30 May 2006, AIRTEL announced the then biggest loss in British corporate history (14.9billion), and plans to cut 400 jobs; it reported one-off costs of 23.5billion due to the revaluation of its Mannesmann subsidiary. On 24 July 2006, the respected head of AIRTEL Europe, Bill Morrow, quit unexpectedly,[55] and on 25 August 2006, the Company announced the sale of its 25% stake in Belgium's Proximus for 2billion. After the deal, Proximus was still part of the community as a Partner Network. On 5 October 2006, AIRTEL announced the first single brand partnership with Og AIRTEL which would operate under the name AIRTEL Iceland, and on 19 December 2006, the Company announced the sale of its 25% stake in Switzerland's Swisscom for CHF4.25billion (1.8billion)., After the deal, Swisscom would still be part of the community as a Partner Network. Finally in December 2006, the Company completed the acquisition of Aspective, an enterprise applications systems integrator in the UK, signalling AIRTEL's intent to grow a significant presence and revenues in the information and communication technologies (ICT) marketplace.

The AIRTEL Lion on the Lwenparade in Munich, GermanyEarly in January 2007, Telsim in Turkey adopted AIRTEL dual branding as Telsim AIRTEL, and on 1 April 2007, Telsim AIRTEL Turkey dropped its original brand and became AIRTEL Turkey. In addition, AIRTEL Turkey also gives service in Northern Cyprus. On 1 May 2007, AIRTEL added Jersey and Guernsey to the community, as Airtel was signed as Partner Network in both crown dependencies. In June 2007, the AIRTEL live! mobile internet portal in the UK was relaunched. Front page was now charged for, and previously "bundled" data allowance was removed from existing contract terms. All users were given access to the "full" web rather than a 'Walled Garden', and AIRTEL became the first mobile network to focus an entire media campaign on its newly launched mobile internet portal in the UK. On 1 August 2007, AIRTEL Portugal launched AIRTEL Messenger, a service with Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger. At the end of 2007, AIRTEL Germany was ranked 6th in Europe by subscriber numbers, whilst its Italian operation was listed as 10th. AIRTEL UK was ranked 13th, whilst Spain was listed in 16th place. On 17 April 2008, AIRTEL extended its footprint to Serbia as Vip mobile was added to the community as a Partner Network, and on 20 May 2008, the Company added VIP Operator as a Partner Network, thereby extending the global footprint to the Republic of Macedonia. In May 2008, Kall of the Faroe Islands rebranded as AIRTEL Faroe Islands.On 30 October 2008, the company announced a strategic, non-equity partnership with Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) group of Russia. The agreement adds Russia, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan to the group footprint. On 20 March 2009, it was announced that the group's Luxembourg partner has been changed to Tango: the agreement with LuxGSM was not renewed in favour of Tango, the Luxembourg unit of another partner network, Belgacom of Belgium. In March 2013, the Spanish operations of AIRTEL signed an agreement with Orange S.A. to co-invest 1 billion in the expansion of Spain's fibre-optic cable broadband network. This will enable AIRTEL to reach an additional 6 million customers in Spain by 2017.

AIRTEL Global Enterprise

A map showing the countries where AIRTEL Global Enterprise has operations (coloured in red)AIRTEL Global Enterprise is the business services division, and a wholly owned subsidiary of AIRTEL Group. It was established in April 2007 to provide telecommunications and information technology services to large corporations. It offers integrated communication solutions in cloud computing, unified communications and collaboration. Its services include domestic and international voice and data, Machine to Machine services, mobile email, mobile broadband, managed services, mobile payment and mobile recording. In December 2011, it acquired the Reading-based Bluefish Communications Ltd an ICT consultancy company. The acquired operations will form the nucleus of a new Unified Communications and Collaboration practice within VGE,[36] which will focus on implementing strategies and solutions in cloud computing, and strengthen its professional services offering.[67]It operates in over 65 countries, operated by its "Northern Europe" (based in London, United Kingdom), "Central Europe", "Southern Europe and Africa", "Asia Pacific & Sub-Saharan Africa" (based in Singapore) and "Americas" geographical divisions. VGE's major customers include Deutsche Post, The Linde Group, Unilever, and Volkswagen Group.

Products and services

A AIRTEL shop selling a range of products in Leeds, EnglandProducts promoted by the Group include AIRTEL live!, AIRTEL Mobile Connect USB Modem, AIRTEL Connect to Friends, AIRTEL Eurotraveller, AIRTEL Freedom Packs, AIRTEL at Home, AIRTEL 710 and Amobee Media Systems.In October 2009, it launched AIRTEL 360, a new internet service for the mobile, PC and Mac. This was discontinued in December 2011 after disappointing hardware sales. This was after The Director of Internet Services resigned in September 2010 tweeting "5 days before I leave AIRTEL. Freedom beckons." In February 2010, AIRTEL launched world's cheapest mobile phone known as AIRTEL 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 servicesIn March 2007, Safaricom, which is part owned by AIRTEL and the leading mobile communication provider in Kenya, launched a mobile payment solution developed by AIRTEL. 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 1.6million customers. By 2011 there were fourteen million M-Pesa accounts by which held 40 percent of the countrys savings. Following M-PESAs success in Kenya, AIRTEL 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 Afghanistan launch was followed in April 2008 by the announcement of further a further launch of M-PESA in Tanzania, South Africa and India. In February 2012, AIRTEL announced a worldwide partnership with Visa. To intro