2.1
Telecommunication Industry in Bangladesh: An Overview of Grameen Phone
Since the
introduction of mobile phones in August 1993, the telecom industry in
Bangladesh has undergone dramatic changes for the last 8 years. The potential
growth of the telecom industry in Bangladesh is very prospective due to the
country’s large population and relatively a small number of phones. Only 4 out
of 1000 people in Bangladesh have either a fixed or a mobile phone.
At present there
are four mobile operators in Bangladesh i.e. Pacific Bangladesh, the analog
cellular operator, GrameenPhone (launched its GSM services in the second
quarter of 1997), TMIB (launched its services in the summer of 1997), and Sheba
Telecom (launched its services in the middle of 1998).
Fig 2.1: Market share of mobile operators
The telecom
market in Bangladesh is comprised of half a million-phone connections of which
82% i.e. 410,000 phone connections is provided by the fixed line network,
Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB). The remaining 18% i.e. about
2,85,000 connections are divided among the four mobile operators. The market
share of the mobile operator is as follows:
GrameenPhone
Ltd. is the market leader in the cellular industry in Bangladesh. The coverage
area of mobile operators is also increasing rapidly. At present, GrameenPhone
has the coverage in six divisional head quarters including 35 districts. The
company has a long distribution channel, which comprises of 170 Sales Outlet
and 60 Individual Agents all over the country other than its own.
Competition in
the cellular industry has increased among the operators and now a day’s
customer has more alternatives. As a results of this, start up prices has gone
down and, eventually market penetration in all possible segments has become
possible.
Huge demand, a
combination of competitive markets, private ownership and foreign investment
has created an environment for rapid growth in the cellular industry in
Bangladesh. Although the demand of the mobile phone is very high, some of the
constraining factors have hampered the industry’s growth. The main obstacle to
the growth of this industry is insufficient interconnection with BTTB. Many
potential clients are being discouraged to subscribe mobile phone due to this
reason. However it seems that with the growth of mobile phone in the country,
the demand for fixed lines will be decreased in the near future.
The growth in
the cellular industry is contributing very positively in the local economy. Lot
of job opportunities has been created for the country where thousands of people
are jobless. Moreover, cellular network all over the country has built a basic
communication infrastructure for the country, which will definitely attract the
FDI in the country. Finally it can be said that mobile pone now a days has
become a necessity rather than a luxury.
The potential
growth of telecom sector in Bangladesh is bright, due to the country's large
population and relatively a small number of phones. Only 4 out of 1000 people
in Bangladesh have either a fixed or a mobile phone. In comparable India, there
are 12 per 1000 people.
The simplest way
to understand the potential of telecom in Bangladesh is comparing the country's
situation with that of India. Economically, India is indeed comparable to
Bangladesh. While the nominal per capita income in Bangladesh is about 15%
lower than that in India, Bangladesh has a slightly higher per capita income
than India when purchasing power is taken into account. The two countries have
virtually identical income distributions and the share of their respective
economies in the non-agricultural sectors. The following table (with data from
1994-1996) illustrates a general comparison of Bangladesh with its neighbors.
The telecom
market in Bangladesh is comprised of half a million-phone connections of which
82% i.e. 410,000 phone connections is provided by the fixed line network,
Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board. The remaining 18% i.e. about 85,000
connections are divided among mobile operators: Pacific Bangladesh, the analog
cellular operator, GrameenPhone (launched its GSM services in the second
quarter of 1997), TMIB (launched its services in the summer of 1997), and Sheba
Telecom (launched its services in the middle of 1998).
Thailand is also
shown here as model developing country that Bangladesh could follow.
|
Bangladesh
|
Sri Lanka
|
India
|
Pakistan
|
Thailand
|
FIXED LINES
Telephones lines per
100 people
Faults per 100
lines/month
Faults repaired next
working day
Local call completion
rate
Connection fee, US$
Monthly subscription,
US$
Local call, US$
|
0.23
49
47
23
497
3.7
0.04
|
1
25
75
40
263.1
1.6
0.05
|
1.07
18
84
92
57.1
4.7
0.05
|
1.62
9
80
70
88.9
1.8
0.06
|
4.69
-
-
-
133.2
4.0
0.04
|
CELLULAR PHONES
Cellular phones per
100 people
Total subscribers –
1995
Total subscribers -
1996
|
0.00
3300
5000
|
0.32
58,000
105,100
|
0.01
48,500
285,000
|
0.05
62,000
103,600
|
2.08
1,253,361
1,765,630
|
Table 2.1 Comparative position of some Asian
developing countries.
GrameenPhone Limited, the number
one and leading mobile company in the area of telecommunication in Bangladesh.
Of the four mobile operators, GP managed to grab 61% of the market share only
by providing cost-effective & the best service available in the market of
Mobile Telecommunication. GP has made its expansion not only in the urban
areas, but also it has stretched its network in the rural areas for the
economic empowerment of the rural people. GrameenPhone has made a special
arrangement with Grameen Telecom, an affiliate of Grameen Bank, in providing
cellular services in the rural country with an aim to cover the whole of it by
2001.
GP believes
Excellency in its service towards the subscribers. It is growing and at the
same time being competitive. To keep up this upward trend and leading position
absolute dedication to understanding and fulfilling their customers’ need with
the appropriate mix of standard service, reliability, improved technology, and
skilled as well as dedicated manpower is necessary.
2.2 Organization
History
The concept of
mobile telephony became largely familiar and phenomenal in Bangladesh in the
early 90s. The government of Bangladesh awarded Grameenphone a nationwide
digital cellular license on November 1996.
Grameenphone has
been established by a consortium involving Grameen Telecom of Bangladesh, an
affiliate of the world famous Grameen Bank.
Telenor AS, the main Norwegian
Telecommunication Company Marubeni Corporation, one the largest trading and
investment companies in Japan; and Gonofone Development Corporation, a
telecommunication development company in the United States. Besides these
shareholder or ownership, GP’s other investors are – NORAD, CDC IFC, ADB.
Grameenphone
launched services in Bangladesh on 26 March 1997 with 72 employees. It has
taken lease of Railway fiber optics on September ’97 for 20 years. In February
2000 Grameenphone received GSM Community Award from GSM World Congress, France
and in June 2000, Grameenphone started service in all 6 divisional towns.
Grameenphone started to provide services to all
people in the country, irrespective of their location. Grameenphone was offered
a cellular license in Bangladesh by the Ministry of Posts and
Telecommunications on November 28, 1996. The Company launched its service on
March 26, 1997, the Independence Day of Bangladesh. In 1996, Bangladesh Government was arranging
an auction off private cell phone licenses; then on behalf of Dr. Muhammad
Yunus (Grameen Bank’s founder) a not-for-profit private company called
Grameen Telecom was created. In turn Grameen Telecom created a for-profit company called Grameenphone,
found a foreign partner, and put in a bid; Grameenphone received one of the
four licenses.
Grameenphone
makes its profits by serving wealthier urban customers. But from the point of
view of the Grameen family and its strong anti-poverty mission, the for-profit,
urban-only Grameenphone exists for only one reason: To fund, with its
profits, the extension of cell phones into rural Bangladesh in order to provide
entrepreneurial opportunity to Grameen Bank members through Village Phone. As
Dr. Yunus puts it, "Grameenphone is merely what we need to do Grameen
Telecom’s Village Phone."
2.3 Culture
Grameenphone has
a conducive and safe working environment. Besides focusing on customers and
communities, they are committed to treating their employees with Integrity,
dignity and respect. The Company’s intent is to establish good working
management ship through a mutual understanding of expectations.
They believe in working in a
team and demonstrate team spirit to maximize and excel in standard quality
service to their valued subscribers in the area of telecommunication.
Employees’ work in an environment where they feel valued, responsible and
supported by the authority as well as by their colleagues.
2.4 Company
Strategy
GrameenPhone's
basic strategy is coverage of both urban and rural areas. The Company has
devised its strategies so that it earns healthy returns for its shareholders
and at the same time, contributes to genuine development of the country. In
short, it pursues a dual strategy of good business and good development.
Serving the mass
market is one of GP's primary goals. By serving the general public as opposed
to niche markets, the Company plans to achieve economies of scale and healthy
profits. At the same time, service to the general public means connectivity to
a wider population and general economic development of the country.
In contrast to
the "island" strategy followed by some companies, which
involves connecting isolated islands of urban coverage through transmission
links, Grameenphone builds continuous coverage, cell after cell. While the
intensity of coverage may vary from area to area depending on market
conditions, the basic strategy of cell-to-cell coverage is applied throughout
Grameenphone's network. In addition, GP has positioned itself to capitalize on
the declining prices of handsets, making its goal to serve the general public
realistic.
2.5 Business Performance
Between 1991 and
1996, mobile telephone services in Bangladesh were provided by a single
company, Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Ltd. (PBTL) that targeted the country’s
relatively small urban elite. The market expanded significantly when new
licenses for relatively small urban
elite. The market expanded significantly
when new licenses for GSM networks were awarded in 1996. However,
Grameenphone’s competitors have not been able to expand beyond subscriber bases
in the tens of thousands. Grameenphone, meanwhile, has experienced rapid
growth.
2.6 GP
Vision
“To be leading provider of telecommunication services all
over Bangladesh with satisfied customers and shareholders, and enthusiastic
employees.”
2.7 GP
Mission Statement
GrameenPhone Ltd. aims at providing reliable, widespread,
convenient mobile and cost effective telephone services to the people in
Bangladesh irrespective of where they live. Such services will also help
Bangladesh keep pace with other countries including those in South Africa
region and reducing her existing disparity in telecom services between urban
and rural areas.
2.8 Purpose
of Grameenphone
GrameenPhone has
a dual purpose:
I.
To
receive an economic return on its investments.
II.
To
contribute to the economic development of Bangladesh where telecommunications
can play a critical role.
2.9 The
People
The people who
are making it happen- the employees- are young, dedicated and energetic. All of them are well educated at home
or abroad, with both sexes (genders) and minority groups in Bangladesh being
well represented. They know in their hearts that Grameenphone
is more than just about phones. This sense of purpose gives them the dedication
and the drive, producing the biggest coverage and subscriber-base in the
country. Grameenphone knows that the talents and energy of its employees are
critical to its operation and treats them accordingly.
2.10 The result
By bringing electronic connectivity to rural Bangladesh,
Grameenphone is delivering the digital revolution to the doorsteps of the poor
and unconnected. By being able to connect to urban areas or even to foreign
countries, a whole new world of opportunity is opening up for the villagers in
Bangladesh. Grameen Bank borrowers who provide the services are uplifting
themselves economically through a new means of income generation while at the
same time providing valuable phone service to their fellow villagers. The
telephone is a weapon against poverty.
2.11 Grameenphone’s Values
1.
Caring for customers
2.
Integrity
3.
Sense of Urgency
4.
Creativity
5.
Speedy
6.
Honesty
7.
Empowerment
8.
Courage
Values can be showed as follows combine. Company’s
values guide the actions and behaviors of employees to fulfill its vision.
Peoples of different CMOss-cultural sections join a company and work together.
So each & every employee of that Company should adhere to these vales as
the ideology of the Company.
Values are very important for
the Company to reach its vision. Employees’ willingness & commitment to the
company is important in demonstrating values in their personal and professional
lives.
Fig
2.2 GrameenPhone has a standard set of
values that all employees should practice.
Honesty
- Each & every employee should be honest in his/her part of job as well as the whole perspectives.
- Honesty is the yardstick, which restrain employees from discarding their job rather accomplishing the job with care.
- This is a virtue that helps each and every employee to be loyal with his/her deeds.
- Honest employees take the goodwill of the company into account seriously.
Reliability
- Reliability means that customers, colleagues, suppliers, competitors and society must be able to rely on them.
- Their dealings with customers should be positive and professional so that they have trust on them.
- They measure by efficiency, a high degree of service, customer satisfaction, the quality of their public management.
- Their approach and iterations facilitate effective communication with customers and employees, therefore, people outside as well as within the Company have confidence on each other.
Commitment
- Commitment stands for individual’s willingness to contribute to the effectiveness of the Company’s Growth & Service.
- All employees must work hard to challenging goals. Responsibility should be taken for the development and implementation of their own work plans.
- The desire to meet up commitment comes from the employee’s soul.
- Each employee should
have interest to attain personal and professional development in his/her
job and use his/her creativity, learn new things, have the opportunity to
take on greater responsibility and contribute to the Company success.
2.12 Grameenphone’s Challenge
The famous slogan
of Grameenphone is – “Connectivity is Productivity”.
2.13 Shareholders of Grameenphone
Shareholders of Grameenphone (GP) bring together experiences
from different parts of the world. This is particularly enriched by the unique
in-depth experience of Grameen Bank, an institution dedicated to poverty
alleviation through collateral-free small loans in the rural areas of
Bangladesh. The foreign shareholders from Norway, Japan, and the United States
-countries that have been working as close partners of Bangladesh in its
struggle for economic progress since independence - bring a rich heritage of
human progress in technology, business cooperation, free market competition,
and socio-economic institution building.
Telenor
Which owns 62% of GP, is the state-owned telecommunication
company in Norway operating since 1885. It is amongst the oldest, most
sophisticated, and diversified telecom companies in the world. The company has
a long history of successful cooperation with other operators and governments
in and out of Norway. Telenor's home base, Norway, has the highest density of
mobile phones in the world and one of the most competitive markets in the
field. Telenor has been playing a pioneering role in the development of GSM,
one the latest and most successful versions of cellular technologies.
Grameen Telecom
The second largest shareholder owning 38% of GP, has been
established by Grameen Bank, which believes that a lack of communication
facilities in the rural areas is one of the major obstacles to rapid economic
development in the rural areas of Bangladesh. Grameen Telecom's deep
understanding of the people and culture of Bangladesh helps GP to build up
convenient and cost-effective communication facilities in the rural areas,
which in turn, create more jobs and open up business opportunities there.
Company
|
Percentage of
share
|
Telenor
|
62.0
|
Grameen Telecom
|
38.0
|
Table
2.2: Shares of Grameenphone.
Fig 2.3: The graph showing the
percentage of Share
2.14 Coverage of Grameenphone (Fig
2.4)
2.15 Product
Line of Grameenphone
GrameenPhone, the
number 1 mobile Phone operator in Bangladesh; connected to GSM 900, one of the
most advanced mobile communication systems in the world. GrameenPhone hope to
serve its customers with utmost dedication and are committed to provide
subscriber with a highly reliable mobile customer service and most innovative
products and value added services for subs convenience.
Fig
2.5: Products of Grameenphone
2.15.1 POST
PAID SERVICE
1.
GP Regular:
GP Regular connects to all GrameenPhone mobiles and to other
mobiles, subject to interconnection agreement with other mobile operators,
within GrameenPhone's coverage area. GP Regular is product with BTTB [Local,
NWD, and ISD] connectivity. Subscribers can connect to all mobiles and BTTB
lines. It has no network mobility charge and no inter zonal charge, with which
one can move around throughout the country with subs GP mobile phone [within GP
coverage]. This product has a credit limit of Tk. 1000 on airtime usage without
any security deposit. There are no incoming charges from mobile to mobile.
There are incoming charges from BTTB [1st minute free, tk. 2 from 2nd
minute] and while subs in roaming situation.
1. GP
National:
GP
National is another addition of post-paid products with mobile to mobile
connectivity of GrameenPhone. This mobile can make and receive calls to and
from all mobiles [with in GP coverage]. It has no network mobility charge and
no inter zonal charge, with which one can move around throughout the county
with GP mobile phone. This product has a credit limit of Tk. 1000 on airtime
usage without any security deposit. There are no incoming charges from mobile.
Benefits Products:
·
No network mobility charge and inter zonal charge.
·
Credit limit of Taka 1000 on airtime usage
·
3 GP numbers @ tk.1.5/min for 24 hours round the
clock
·
15 second pulse from 2nd minute
·
No security deposit.
·
No incoming charge while national roaming
Optional Features:
GP
regular and GP National Subscribers can choose any 3 GP numbers as his “Friends
and Family” numbers. No matter where subs are [within GP coverage], one can
call these 3 numbers at a reduced rate. Tk. 1.5/min. day & night 24 hours,
without any additional monthly fee.
Supplementary Features:
Caller ID: Display
of the phone number of an incoming call in your handset before the call is
answered.
Call Waiting: While talking to the first
caller, subscriber will hear a special tone informing you about the second call
on the line. At that moment subscriber can put the first caller on hold and
talk to the second caller.
Call Conference: Receiving calls from
multiple callers can be supplemented by joining these multiple callers so as to
enable them to talk to each other. Subscriber will be able to communicate with
a group consisting of maximum ten callers.
Call Divert: Call Divert lets subscriber
redirect or re-route his/ her call to another GrameenPhone mobile or any other
fixed (if you have BTTB connectivity) or mobile phone.
Call Barring: Enables subscriber to
restrict certain types of calls to be made from another mobile. This feature is
especially important for security purposes.
Value Added Services
Short Message Service (SMS)
·
SMS in mobile acts like an advanced pager.
·
Subscriber can send and receive text messages of up to 160
characters, directly from one GP mobile to another GP mobile.
·
Fax
and Data Service (currently available only to corporate clients):
·
Subscriber can use your mobile phone attached to a computer
to send faxes or transfer data.
·
No need to have connection with a fixed line.
·
Subscriber can use this service even when you are on
the move within GP's coverage area.
Wireless Application Protocol [WAP]
This is a tool to access information from
internet though GP mobile phones. Subscriber can also access his/ her yahoo e-mail
account through GP WAP service. Subs should have a WAP enabled handset to avail the service.
To give better service to all package products, the upcoming service of
Grameenphone is EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution) which is upto 8
times higher than GPRS (General Packet Radio Service). This is an advanced
mobile technology which enables high speed mobile internet and data services.
SMS Push-Pull Services
With Push-Pull service,
subs can enjoy more than 160 contents EX: Usage Info, Payment Status of last
bill, Sports news, Emergency numbers, Restaurants, Airline and railway timing,
travel info etc. Example: to know the contact numbers to taxi cab
companies:
·
Go
to the message option of handset.
·
Write
“taxi”
·
Send
the sms to 2000
·
Subs
will receive the list of taxi cab numbers in return.
Voice Mail Service (VMS)
·
VMS is a unique answering machine.
·
It provides you with a personal electronic mail box in our
voice mail center.
·
It records your personalized greetings as well as stores your
incoming voice messages.
·
It records incoming voice messages if subscriber are:
·
= Outside GP's coverage area or
·
= Busy or
·
= Simply switched off your mobile.
·
It provides 24-hour automatic secretarial service
·
Makes subscriber available to subscriber’s calling party
anytime
Fax and Data:
This service enables a GP subs to send/receive fax and data
though their handsets by connecting to PC/Laptop.
News Service [222]
This is a news broadcasting service jointly provided by
GP and Prothom Alo; Daily Star. A subscriber can call 22 from his/her GP mobile
hone and listen to the latest news highlights in English or bengli of their
coice.
Channel–I Program
Schedule [2525]
2525 is a Channel–I program schedule
service. A subscriber can call this number from his/her GP mobile phone and
listen to Channel I program highlights.
Event Based Sports Update [2002]
This and event based sports update service. In respect
to special sports events for ex: international and national cricket events, GP
updates the latest news, which can be accessed by dialing 2002.
Iftar And Sehri
Timing [1515]
During the month o f Ramada, a subscriber
can listen to the timing of iftar and sehri in Dhaka ad adjacent areas.
2.15.2 PRE-PAID SERVICE
Introduction of GrameenPhone's Pre-Paid Service is another
development of mobile telephony in Bangladesh. Pre-paid service has National
Roaming facility and a flat airtime charge of Tk. 6 per minute. There is no
incoming charge and also for inter zonal. This service helps the subscriber to
control costs. It frees the subscriber from the hassles of paying bills,
security deposits and line rents. But it contains nearly all services available
in other GP products.
1. Easy Gold
Easy Gold is a pre-paid product with BTTB [Local, NWD, and
ISD] connectivity. One can connect to all mobiles and BTTB lines. It has no
network mobility charge, with which subscriber can move around throughout the
country with your GP mobile phone [within GP coverage].
2. Easy Pre-paid
Easy
pre-paid product with mobile to mobile connectivity. One can make and receive
calls to and from all mobiles [within GP coverage]. It has no network mobility
charge, with which subscriber can move around throughout the country with your
GP mobile phone [within GP coverage].
Benefits Products:
·
BTTB [Local, NWD, and ISD] connectivity for Easy Gold
·
National Roaming Facility. It has no inter zonal
charge and no network mobility charge.
·
No Credit limit
·
Flat rate of 6 Tk for first 2 min and 4 Tk from 3rd
min.
·
20 sec pulse after 1st minute for
mobile to mobile
·
No security deposit.
·
No Incoming for Easy Pre-paid
·
Incoming from BTTB Taka 2 form 1st
minute onwards for Easy Gold
·
One My EASY
number @ tk.3/min 24 hours round the clock
·
No Monthly Bills
·
No Security Deposits
·
No Monthly Access Fees
·
No Waiting for Activation
·
Instant Connection
·
EASY Voice Mail Service, free of monthly rents
·
EASY Cards of Four Different Values and Colors
·
GSM Features like Caller ID, Call Divert, Voice
Mail Service, MMS. waiting.
Optional Features:
My Easy will enable
subs to call one GP number for only Tk.3/min for 24 hrs.
Supplementary Features:
Caller
ID: Display of the phone number of an incoming call in your handset before
the call is answered
Call Waiting: While talking to the first
caller, you will hear a special tone informing subscriber about the second call
on the line. At that moment subscriber can put the first caller on hold and
talk to the second caller.
Call Conference: Receiving calls from
multiple callers can be supplemented by joining these multiple callers so as to
enable them to talk to each other. Subscriber will be able to communicate with
a group consisting of maximum ten callers.
Call Divert: Call Divert lets subscriber
redirect or re-route subscribers’ call to another GrameenPhone mobile or any
other fixed (if you have BTTB connectivity) or mobile phone.
Call Barring: Enables subscriber to
restrict certain types of calls to be made from subscriber’s mobile. This
feature is especially important for security purposes.
Value Added Services
Short Message Service (SMS)
·
SMS in mobile acts like an advanced pager.
·
Subscriber can send and receive text messages of up to 160
characters, directly from one GP mobile to another GP mobile.
·
Fax and Data Service (currently available only
to corporate clients):
·
Subscriber can use your mobile phone attached to a computer
to send faxes or transfer data.
·
No need to have connection with a fixed line.
·
Subscriber can use this service even when you are on
the move within GP's coverage area.
Wireless Application Protocol [WAP]
This is a tool to access information from
internet though GP mobile phones. Subscriber can also access subs yahoo e-mail account
through GP WAP service. Subs should have a WAP enabled handset to avail the
service.
SMS Push-Pull Services
With Push-Pull service, subs can enjoy
more than 160 contents EX: Usage Info, Payment Status of last bill, Sports
news, Emergency numbers, Restaurants, Airline and railway timing, travel info
etc. Example: to know the contact numbers to taxi cab companies:
ü
Go to the message option of handset.
ü
Write “taxi”
ü
Send the sms to 2000
ü
Subs will receive the list of taxi cab numbers
in return.
Voice
Mail Service (VMS)
·
VMS is a unique answering machine.
·
It provides you with a personal electronic mail box in our
voice mail center.
·
It records your personalized greetings as well as stores your
incoming voice messages.
·
It records incoming voice messages if subscriber are:
Ø Outside GP's coverage area
or
Ø Busy or
Ø Simply switched off your
mobile.
·
It provides 24-hour automatic secretarial service
·
Makes subscriber available to subscriber’s calling party
anytime
Fax and Data:
This service enables a GP subs to send/receive fax and data
though their handsets by connecting to PC/Laptop.
News
Service [222]
This is a news broadcasting service
jointly provided by GP and Prothom Alo; Daily Star. A subscriber can call 22
from his/her GP mobile hone and listen to the latest news highlights in English
or bengli of their coice.
Channel–I
Program Schedule [2525]
2525 is a Channel–I program schedule
service. A subscriber can call this number from his/her GP mobile phone and
listen to Channel I program highlights.
Event
Based Sports Update [2002]
This and event based sports update
service. In respect to special sports events for ex: international and national
cricket events, GP updates the latest news, which can be accessed by dialing
2002.
Iftar
And Sehri Timing [1515]
During the month o f Ramada, a subscriber
can listen to the timing of iftar and sehri in Dhaka ad adjacent areas.
2.15.3 Djuice
Djuice is a mobile subscription for young
people who use the mobile phone for communication and entertainment. So
----
•
Djuice
provides the most relevant voice, messaging and content services, and
constitute a strong and differentiated mobile lifestyle offering.
•
Djuice
aims to support customer lifestyle interests and enhance their mobile
experience.
•
Djuice
is registered trademark owned by Telenor, and is currently operating in Norway,
Sweden, Ukraine and Hungary.’
•
Telenor
is a leading provider of mobile voice and value added services in the
Scandinavian region, Central Eastern Europe and South East Asia and embraces
operation in 12 countries.
Youth segment
is largely untapped and untargeted by the current mobile operators
of Bangladesh, which itself is a
significant potential market (40% Approx.).
•
If the potential target group is targeted now,
then the transition from youth to higher age group (Established Consumer or
Business Segments) can be attained, which will assist in total life cycle
management of a significant subscriber base (loyalty).
•
Majority of the Youth segment tends to be
more tech savvy, early users of new technology, high user of data services
(SMS) and uses mobile phone as the primary mode of communication.
Business
Objective djuice
è
GrameenPhone is now launching djuice,
with its own identity and value propositions (‘reasons to buy’) tailored to the
youth segment’s mobile behavior, preferences and lifestyle
è
djuice will be
an instrument for GrameenPhone to strengthen the position in the youth
market through a strong and differentiated mobile and lifestyle offering with
targeted communication.
è
djuice will be the tool to;
ð
get new customers
ð
Increase usage and adoption of new non
voice services (increase non-voice ARPU)
ð
increase loyalty
ð
strengthen GP brand
djuice Start-up kit
è
Tk. 50/- free airtime with every subscription
with a validity of 15 days
è
First 50 SMS absolutely free (GP to GP)
è
djuice SIM
è
Xtra Card
è
User guide
è
PIN/PUK Letter
djuice highlights
•
djuice SIM (simply bigger and better)
•
freedom to store up-to 200 friends’ numbers
through the e-phonebook feature
•
messages(max 40)
•
Group Message
•
(max 10 groups with max 25 members)
•
Subscriber will be charged per group member
•
Dedicated djuice menu to secure easy access to
attractive SMS and voice based services
2.15.4 ANYTIME
1. Anytime 500
This is the new product lauched same as previous post
products like Anytime 450. But the difference is subscribers can enjoy Taka 500
free at first and Bundled fee 1500 per month. But after that Anytime 450
package product has been converted to Anytime 500. ‘Anytime 500’ is a post
paid product with BTTB (Local/NWD/ISD) connectivity. Anytime 500 offers first month of connectivity 500 minutes
(billed duration) of talk time free of charge. It has no network mobility
charge and no inter zonal charge, with which one can move around throughout the
country with your GP mobile phone.
Benefits Products:
·
Monthly 450 minutes (billed duration) of talk time
free of charge
·
With comparison to similar post paid products,
subs can save Tk. 500 every month.
·
BTTB [Local, NWD, and ISD] connectivity.
·
National Roaming Facility
·
Flat rate of 4 Taka per minute after 1st
free 450 minutes.
·
15 sec pulse after 1st minute
·
No security deposit.
·
No Incoming charges form Mobile to mobile
·
Incoming from BTTB Taka 2 form 2st
minute onwards
2. Anytime 300
‘Anytime 300’ is a post paid product with mobile
to mobile connectivity. Anytime 300 offers a monthly 300 minutes (billed
duration) of talk time free of charge. It has network mobility feature, with
which subscriber can move around
throughout the country with your GP mobile phone.
Benefits Products:
·
Monthly 300 minutes (billed duration) of talk time
free of charge
·
With comparison to similar post paid products,
subs can save Tk. 450 every month.
·
No monthly access fee
·
National Roaming Facility and no inter zonal and
no network mobility charge.
·
Flat rate of 4 Taka per minute after 1st
free 300 minutes at peak hr and 3 Taka at off peak hour.
·
15 sec pulse after 1st minute
·
No security deposit.
·
No Incoming charges form Mobile to mobile
·
Peak hour 8.00 a.m. to 11.00 p.m. and off peak
hour is 11.00 p.m. to 8.00 a.m.
Supplementary
Features:
Caller ID: Display
of the phone number of an incoming call in your handset before the call is
answered
Call Waiting: While talking to the first
caller, subscriber will hear a
special tone informing you about the second call on the line. At that moment subscriber can put the first caller on
hold and talk to the second caller.
Call Conference: Receiving calls from
multiple callers can be supplemented by joining these multiple callers so as to
enable them to talk to each other. Subscriber
will be able to communicate with a group consisting of maximum five callers.
Call Divert: Call Divert lets subscriber redirect or re-route subscriber’s call to another
Grameenphone mobile or any other fixed (if subscriber have BTTB connectivity) or mobile phone.
Call
Barring: Enables subscriber to restrict certain types of calls
to be made from another mobile. This feature is especially important for
security purposes.
Value Added Services
- Short Message Service (SMS)
- Wireless Application Protocol [WAP]
- SMS Push-Pull Services
- Voice Mail Service (VMS)
- Fax and Data:
- News Service [222]
- Channel–I Program Schedule [2525]
- Event Based Sports Update [2002]
- Iftar And Sehri Timing [1515]
Service for the rural poor [Village
Phone]
Establishing a
nationwide network gives fair access to all geographical areas. From a business
point of view, this strategy serves both the long distances as well as the
rural markets. This emphasis on rural coverage brings a much-needed
infrastructure in the underdeveloped rural areas.
In collaboration
with Grameen Bank, which provides miCMO-credit only to the rural poor, GP
utilizes the bank borrowers to retail telecom services in the rural areas.
Leveraging on Grameen Bank borrowers reduces the distribution costs of
GrameenPhone's rural services, contributing to the profitability of this
segment.
By bringing electronic
connectivity to rural Bangladesh, GrameenPhone is bringing the digital
revolution to the doorsteps of the rural poor and unconnected. By being able to
connect to urban areas or even to foreign countries, a whole new world of
opportunities are opening up for the villagers in Bangladesh. Grameen Bank
borrowers who provide the services are uplifting themselves economically
through a new means of income generation while at the same time providing
valuable telephone service to their fellow villagers. Thus, the telephone
becomes a weapon against poverty.
Insta Care
GrameenPhone
introduces INSTA CARE an automated
service with Integrated Voice Response [IVR] system to meet your GP service
related queries, 25-hours a day, 365 days in a year.
If a GP Post
Paid subscriber wants to know his/her recent Billing updates, Account, &
Payment status, credit limit and policy, billing procedure etc. He/she simply
call 123 or his/her desired HOT-code from his GP mobile
If any GP
subscriber has a query on GP’s after sales service procedures, coverage
information, existing products, tariff, value added services, international
roaming, GSM features or information on emergency numbers, travel or even
eating out and lot more he/she has to call 124 or desired HOT-code from his/her
GP mobile.
Direct Hot Code Dialing
Hot-code dialing allows one to
get information without going through the menu system. One can directly call to
the Hot-code numbers to avail your desired information.
|
POST PAID INSTA-CARE 123
|
|
|
BILLING QUERIES, PROCEDURES & BANK
DETAILS
|
|
|
Bill Query
|
12391
|
|
Payment Status
|
12392
|
|
Connection
Status
|
12393
|
|
Security
Deposit, Credit limit & Policy
|
12394
|
|
How we bill
you?
|
12395
|
|
How to pay?
|
12396
|
|
Itemized bill
|
12397
|
|
POST PAID & PRE-PAID INSTA-CARE 123
|
||
|
SERVICES
|
||
|
Value Added
Services
|
124911
|
|
|
International
Roaming
|
124912
|
|
|
Customer
Managements Centers
|
124913
|
|
|
Handset
Service Centers
|
124914
|
|
|
Lost Phone,
Reconnection & SIM Change Procedures
|
124915
|
|
|
Address Change
Procedures
|
124916
|
|
|
Migration
& Ownership Transfer
|
124917
|
|
|
PRODUCT & NETWORK INFORMATION
|
||
|
Present
package and price
|
124921
|
|
|
GM products
|
124922
|
|
|
Tariff
|
124923
|
|
|
Point of sales
centers
|
124924
|
|
|
Prepaid
information
|
124925
|
|
|
GP coverage
|
124926
|
|
|
GSM features
|
124927
|
|
|
GENERAL INFORMATION
|
||
|
Hospital &
Clinics
|
124931
|
|
|
Fire brigade
and Ambulance
|
124932
|
|
|
Po9lice
station & legal Aid
|
124933
|
|
|
Travel
Information
|
124934
|
|
|
Taxi Cab
|
124935
|
|
|
Hotel &
Restaurant
|
124936
|
|
|
District &
country Code
|
124937
|
2.16 Organization
Units
Departments/Divisions
of GrameenPhone
Recently management has brought
a change in the organizational structure in view of need of time. As of the
recent change, line function of the company comprises of the 3 different tasks.
These are:
Build
& Operate
Sell
Care
Accordingly 3
main divisions were identified as the line organization part of the company.
These are:
Technical
Division
Sales
and Marketing Division and
Customer
Management Division.
2.16.1 Technical
Division
Technical division is split into
two parts:
·
Roll -Out Division: Responsible for building the network.
·
Operations Divisions: Responsible for operation and maintenance of the network.
Responsibilities of the Planning
Section
·
Responsible for mainly Base Station related planning
·
Responsible for planning of data transmission equipment from Base
Station to switch
·
Responsible for BSC (Base Station Controller) and MSC (Mobile
Switch Center) related planning.
·
Responsible for timely supply of equipment
·
Responsible for negotiating with hose owner for building Base
Station on the rooftop.
·
Responsible for roaming agreement with other countries.
Responsibilities of the
Implementing Section
·
Responsible for construction & maintenance of Base station
room, Antenna pipe, Power supply etc.
·
Responsible for installation of Base Station Hardware.
·
Responsible for start-up and pilot operation of Base Station.
Organ gram of
Technical Division
Fig 2.6
2.16.2 Marketing and Sales Division of Grameenphone
The following chart shows different department under
Marketing Division.
Fig: 2.7
Sales Department of GrameenPhone
As its name suggests this department involves in the selling
procedure of GP and thus enjoys the responsibility of direct interface with the
customers.
Responsibilities of Sales
Department
·
Market survey and collecting the feedback
·
Participation in exhibition
·
Participation in opening of dealers outlet
·
Instant delivery
·
Introducing & selling new packages
·
Follow up with existing subscribers
·
Building up managements with subscribers.
Distribution Channel of GrameenPhone
Info:
Info
center provides spot solutions. Here subscribers can get subscription. 04
trained and friendly people are serving at Info Center from 8am-6pm. There is
also 01 Sales & Logistics Officer who is responsible for providing SIM
(Subscribers Identification Module) cards and handsets to the subscribers and
distribution of marketing items.
Dealers:
02 persons are responsible in dealing with
Dealers at Dhaka and Chittagong each. There are 04 Dealers at present-Flora,
Grameen Telecom and Brothers, Butterfly.
Corporate
Sales Force:
07 Officers are ready to serve any
corporate in Dhaka and 05 persons at Chittagong.
Product & Market Planning
of GrameenPhone
Product
& Market Planning Department (P & MP) is a vital part of Grameenphone
in terms of its importance and role.
The central innovative department of
Grameenphone is the P & MP department. This department facilitates
communication between the different departments about existing and new products
/ packages of GrameenPhone. P & MP also manages and co-ordinates
information about different products. P & MP evaluate the possibilities and
develop new products.
P & PM is responsible for
communication with different departments about existing products.
P & MP gets feedback from Sales, Customer
Management and Market Communication departments regarding Customer needs and
Market requirements. Feedback helps in redefining an existing product.
New ideas are developed after evaluation
of market demands. P & MP gives shape and form to berg ideas in the process
of developing a new product. P & MP is responsible to co-ordinate with
Operation & Maintenance, Information System and Billing departments to get
solutions check the functionality of Product features and prices. Bundling and
un-Bundling of services to create new packages can be a useful way of
satisfying customer needs.
P & MP facilitates launch of the
products within Grameenphone. Training and support for a product to all
departments within Grameenphone is also the responsibility of this department.
P & MP develops the main marketing message for products working closely
with Marketing department. P & MP develops the main marketing message for
products working closely with Marketing department. P & MP will also
support Sales and Customer Care department about new product launch.
Market Communication of
GrameenPhone
Functions
The functions of marketing department are
manifold. However the main function can be articulated as to develop product
and promote.
In order to accomplish this function, some
steps have to follow. They are:
·
Need determination by market survey through
secondary data.
·
To develop product within GP’s resources.
·
Pricing of the product.
·
To obtain necessary approval from the management
·
Competitor’s activity analysis
·
Concept building for promotional activities. It
includes advertisement in the leasing dailies in the most effective manner
within a given budget, to arrange out-door advertisement, hoarding, promotions
of gift items like dairy, calendar etc.
Besides the
above-mentioned functions, this department is also responsible for all kinds of
publications of GP. It is the responsibility of the marketing department to
design and publish monthly Newsletter of GP.
Marketing department also support various
departments in performing their job. After the market survey, for an example,
they can suggest Radio Planning department about the approximate no. of
probable subscribers of a particular area and the potential of International
Roaming.
In the above-mentioned way, marketing department
plays an important role in the smooth functioning of GP.
Selling procedure of
GrameenPhone
·
To build management with the clients, to make a
good rapport with them, to acknowledge them about the GP service, its
advantages, coverage area, and above all to provide information about GP in a
convincing manner.
·
all the necessary arrangements to sale the
product which includes handout GP application form & brochures
·
Help the customer to fill up the application form
including the agreement.
·
Tell & help the customer to pay the amount
for subscription including govt. fee and security deposit in the designated
banks in cash.
·
Receive the completed application form with bank
deposit slip and all the documents, check carefully and ensure the signature
with date.
·
Make a photocopy of the SIM card with its number,
mobile number and ID number.
·
Inform the subscriber to contact Customer Care
Department on 123 for further inquiry.
·
Thanks the customer for choosing GP
·
Forward the subscriber’s file to the Billing
department for activation.
2.16.3 Customer
Management Department (CMD) of Grameenphone
Customer Management Division of GP has
different units that are involved in ensuring all post sale services of our
valued customers. Following is a brief description of the activities of these
divisions:
Call/Image
Management:
The Call Management handles all calls made
in the hotline by the customers to provide quality post–sales services 24-hour
round the clock. Sales department procures the
business and Image center keep the business with the company for long period.
Once management ship is established Image center is doing the business with the
subscribers. It works with the objective to meet all kinds of queries from
customer and provide the optimum solutions.
Customer
Management Center (CMC):
The CMC handles all the customers face to
face to provide quality post–sales services to keep the business with the
company for long period. Once management ship is established, like Image
center, CMC is doing the business with the subscribers in person. It works with
the objective to meet all kinds of queries from customer and provide the
optimum solutions.
Grameenphone provides instant services through its six Customer
Management Center in five
division. All types of services regarding connection, network, coverage and
handset problems are dealt with. The customers can walk in at these centers for
solution to any type of problem regarding GP mobiles. The company has different
units within the customer management department to support and to take care of
instant action regarding, fax, lost phones, payments of bill, activation and
any other problem that needs instant solution.
Corporate
Customer Service:
This unit is responsible for providing all
post-sale services to corporate accounts. This unit doing the business with the
corporate subscribers in person, over phone. It works with the objective to
meet all kinds of queries from customer and provide the optimum solutions.
The Image Management, the Customer Management Center and the Corporate Customer Service are making
the bridge between the customers and company. Besides Sales & Marketing
division, this are the CMD’s three departments who deals customers directly. It
works to ensure customers satisfaction and also to motivate the people in
Grameenphone service. In CMD previously named subscription unit renamed as
customer demografic and activation (CDA) unit, communication units are working
also,
Table 2.3: Service offering from the Image Center
Contractual
|
Billing
|
Order Entry
|
General Service
|
Change of Address
|
Information of Billing system
|
Replacement of the SIM Card
|
Product Information
|
Ownership Transfer
|
Information for the Invoice Problem
|
Value Added Service
|
Coverage Information
|
Change of Subscription
|
Sending the Revised Bill
|
Remove the Password
|
Handset Information
|
Transfer of Zone
|
Request for Itemized Bill
|
Different Features.
|
|
Request for the Additional Service
|
Status of the Deposit
|
|
|
The Main
Activities of the Image Center
Image Building Activities: The main activities of Corporate Customer
Care and the hot lines are to move towards the customer satisfaction. So it
will start with the image building activities by welcome call after activation.
Management Building Activities: Customer care will send the letter by
mentioning the GP’s contact point and available service agreement. This service
is exclusively for the Corporate Customers only.
2.16.4 Human
Resources of Grameenphone
Human Resources (HR) Department, an important of Administration
Division plays very vital role in the total functioning of G P. Employee recruitment, selection, transfer,
promotion, training, performance appraisal - all these are conducted by HR division.
The informal structure of HR according to its functions can be classified into
three main categories they are:
·
Human Resource Management
(HRM)
·
Human Resource Development (HRD)
·
Human Resource management Information system (HR- MIS)
HR Management functions
Manpower planning is an important function of HR management
section. Two major activities in this function are:
·
Planning and forecasting the organizations short tern and long
term human resource requirements.
·
Analyzing the jobs in the organization and determining skills and
abilities that are needed.
Manpower planning is a lengthy process involving several steps.
it starts from need assessment and ends
with recruitment.
At first, all the departments after employee need analysis send
their requirement to HRD through their respective divisions. After obtaining
necessary approval from the management, HRD sets target, and prepare
recruitment planning. According to job specification HR goes for recruitment.
Recruitment Process
·
Give advertisement in the daily newspapers
·
Receive applications and file them,
·
Shortlist of the applicants
·
Fix date and time of a preliminary interview
·
Contact with the applicants and inform them about the interview
over telephone or letter
·
Fix further date and time for final interview if it is required
and inform the interviewee accordingly
·
To prepare appointment letter for the finally selected interviewee
·
Give appointment to the person with a detail job description.
Immediately after the recruitment separate
employee file is opened comprising all the relevant information of the
particular employee. This personal file
is prepared, maintained and updated by HRD.
In fact one of the main responsibilities of HRD is updating of all the
personal file of the employee.
Performance appraisal is another main
function of HR Management. Performance
appraisal is any personnel decision that influences the status of the employee
regarding his confirmation, increment, promotion, and transfer.
GP performance appraisal
·
On completion of probation
·
On completion of one year of service.
Performance of an employee takes
place by following some steps
a) Job analysis
b) Set up performance standard and
c)
Appraisal interview.
Leave management
Leave management is an important function.
HR has opened a leave management database to obtain current leave status of all
the employees of GrameenPhone. It
provides employees about their leave status when it is necessary.
HR Management also deals with some
personnel functions like show cause,
termination, Dismissal, discharge, and resignation. It also issues circular as
& when required, conduct department inquiry, and all other functions
related to HR.
Human Resources
Development of Grameenphone
An organization’s performance and
resulting productivity are directly proportional to the quantity and quality of
its human resources. While employee
performance must be evaluated in economic terms of efficiency and
effectiveness, it can be best achieved through recognizing and enhancing the
human dignity of each employee. The
quality of the human resources can be effectively increased through education,
training, and personal development. Human Resources Development functions aim
to increase the quality of the human resources especially through training.
GP training involves the
following steps
·
Assessing training needs
·
Selection of the participants
·
Conduct training programs.
Different training programs of GP
GP Provides both local and
overseas training on the basis of the need analysis of the employee.
Local training
Induction/Orientation training
Program falls under inside GP training category. After joining, it is the responsibility of
the HR to conduct induction/orientation training to the newly recruited
personnel to provide a general introduction of the company. To prepare training plan, participant’s list,
and training schedule for induction training - HR department does all. Inside
GP training will cover Management training will cover Management training and
Department training in near future. Out side GP training means to take part in
training programs offered by different training institutions/universities on
different subjects. Overseas training:
After need assessment employees who need overseas training are sent abroad for
overseas training. Expenses of overseas
training are generally borne by GP. The
particular employee who has been selected for training has to sign a surety
bond for specific period of time for overseas training.
Besides the
above mentioned works, some routine functions of HRD are
·
Prepare, maintain and update training related database.
·
Prepare career development plan
·
Prepare induction training manual/modules
·
Evaluate training program
·
Make agreement between GP & employees for overseas training
·
To communicate with different local training institutions
·
To communicate with trainers/instructors.
HR Management Information System
of GrameenPhone
HR-MIS Functions involve-
·
To maintain & update employee database
·
Maintain employee related different statistics
·
Any other works which requires updating employee data.
Though job has been classified and
assigned according to the nature of the functions of HR Department, the job is
accomplished and the responsibility is carried out co-operatively. HRD plays a very crucial role in the
functioning of GP. This is a very flexible and open department, as it always
has to gather and store current and exact data and information regarding the
employee and the organization.
2.16.5 Administrative
Division
The
term “Administration” is associated with misconceptions and controversies.
Especially in the context of Bangladesh, it represents a bureaucratic
organizational set up with typical characteristics of red-tape-ism,
centralization of power and authority, favoritism, nepotism and so on.
Administration Division of GrameenPhone is set up with a view to break out from
the so-called conventional system of bureaucracy and strives to be different in
all respects.
Administration Division
encourages to:
v
Develop the leadership
quality in such a manner that the organization can grow like a disciplined
family.
v
Reward for discipline,
hard work and efficiency.
v
Maintain a quality,
conducive and enjoyable work environment.
v
Maintain congenial and
healthy interdepartmental managements to ensure uniformity in objectives.
v
Work with an open
system approach to ensure effective communication flow:
Fig 2.9:
Organ gram of Administration Division
2.16.6 Finance Division of Grameenphone
Finance division comprises three departments,
namely, Information systems, Finance and Procurement.
Structure of Finance Division
Department of finance is an integral part of finance
division. The main role of this department is define in under:
·
Attends to financial planning and control
·
Budget and budgetary control
·
Provide management information
·
Development of system and method
·
Ensure proper internal control over the company
·
Analysis of financial statement for future action
·
Information flow for inter-department and external using
·
Co-ordination with external organization and internal department.
Work force:
Working team of this
department consist a total nine (09) members including Executive Manager
Finance who is responsible for overall and inter-departmental management of
this department. For overall supervising
and proper internal control purpose finance department device in four segments
where a several section as required based on work volume and a manager
(individuals) is responsible for all activities performed by the sections. At present there is a managerial position
confirmed duly for accounts segment based in Dhaka. There is also a total Six-(06) accounts
officer including Chittagong office and a cashier in the cash office based in
Dhaka.
2.16.7 Information Systems (IS) of Grameenphone
Responsibilities:
IS is responsible to manage the following areas-
·
NT Server/Workstations
·
Alpha Server System
·
Mail/Internet System
·
PABX Systems.
NT Server serves in the following way:
·
All the Desktops and portables while in networks are connected to
NT server.
·
NT Server is used for -
a) Data sharing
b) Centralizing data
c)
Data security
d) Printing
e)
Electronic mail.
Alpha
Server is used for -
a) Customer activation/deactivation
b) Adding and barring features to
the customers
c)
Customers inquiries
d) Generation bills
e)
Current and previous status of customer
IS mainly works with Switch, and Customer Care department IS maintains and manages the server oriented
application software which is known as CABS 2000.
Billing and Customer Care use CABS 2000 and in this way they are
closely related with IS Department.
Mail/Internet
of Grameenphone
All the GP Officials have their own E-mail address, which helps in
easy communication and easy data transfer.
IS handles all mail and Internet related issues and problems.
PABX system of GrameenPhone
All the desk telephones are connected to
the PABX system which helps in connecting GP officials and the out side world.
In short, the whole GP for its day to day
activities like computer application, PABX phone system, E-mail etc. which is a must to carry out the regular
duties, are all managed by IS.
Whenever user face any problem related to
the above-mentioned activities, IS members are always active to provide instant
help.
2.16.8 Other
Divisions of GrameenPhone
Information
This is a department responsible for information flow
both within and outside the organization.
Now 5 persons are working in this department.
GRIP
GRIP represents for- GrameenPhone Railway Integration project.
This is a special project to integrate the telecom department of railway (BRTS)
and GrameenPhone. This project will end up with a merger with Roll - Out and
Operations division.
Regulatory & Legal
This division is responsible for booking after the
regulatory obligation and legal finding of the Company. Now only two people are
in this division excluding the director.
2.17 Employee Standard
of Conduct
The company offers a wonderful
and friendly working environment in the office. Grameen hone has conducive and
safe working environment. The Company’s intent is to establish a good working
management ship through a mutual understanding of expectations. They believe in
working in a team and demonstrate team spirit to maximize and excel in standard
quality service to their valued subscribers in the area of telecommunication.
Employees work in an environment where they feel valued, responsible and
supported by the authority as well as by their colleagues.
Grameenphone
also takes preventive and safety measures to avoid all sorts of hazardous
situation that might take place in some areas of technical functions.
With its present
status GP aims to expand and grow at a faster pace by utilizing the best
possible opportunities and expansion of Network throughout the whole country.
This enormous task requires dedicated, devoted and committed manpower.
2.18 Industry Analysis
Mobile telecommunication
industry in Bangladesh is still in growth stage. Only four companies are
currently operating in the country. It was a question that whether the market
of the country is suitable for this expensive technology or not. But after few
years of introduction, it has become one the biggest industries of the country.
In the first
half of 90’s City Cell started the journey of mobile industry in Bangladesh. In
the first few years it was the only company in the industry. Naturally the
price was too high and the general people could not afford mobile phone during
that period of time. The company targeted only the higher class of the society.
During that time price of mobile was above Tk 50,000/=. Naturally, the growth
of the industry was too slow. So, the government decided to bring more
companies in the market and break the monopoly.
After careful
evaluation the government decided to provide three licenses to Grameen
Telephone, TM International (AKTEL), and Sheba Telecom (Banglalink) and
Teletalk. City Cell is using AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System) technology,
all of these rest companies are using GSM (Global System for Mobile)
technology. GSM is the most popular mobile telecommunication technology in the
world. About 60% of the cell phone users of the world use GSM technology.
I have already
mentioned that the mobile telecommunication industry is now in the high growth
stage. The number of mobile users in the country is approximately 50,00,000 and
among them GP’s subscribers are over 34,00,000.Although the mobile industry in
Bangladesh is of four private companies and newly Tele-talk of BTTB is
operating , GP is still leading the way with a sharp distance.
2.19 SWOT Analysis of Grameenphone
Strengths:
- Good Owner Structure
- Availability of Backbone Network (Optical fibber)
- Financial Soundness
- Market Leader
- Brand Name / Grameen Image
- Skilled Human Resource
- Largest Geographical Coverage
- Good Human Resource and Infrastructure
Installation all over the country through Bangladesh Railway and Grameen
Bank
- Access to the widest rural distribution network
through Grameen Bank
- High Ethical Standard
- Highest and advanced value added service
provider.
Weaknesses:
- Mixture of different cultures is used as an excuse
not to solve problems
- Too much inside out thinking in the company.
- Different departments not working together.
- Poor interconnection with BTTB.
- Complicated price structure
- Billing System can’t handle sophisticated billing.
- No long-term Distribution/Channel strategy.
Opportunities:
- Economic growth of
Bangladesh.
- New and better
interconnection agreement
- Huge need for telecom
services
- Increased intentional
activities in Bangladesh
- Declining prices for handsets
- Future privatization of the
fixed network
- New international gateway
- Demand for inter-city
communication
- Growth in other operator will
give more connection.
Threats:
- More rigid government
regulations.
- More influence of
competitors on the fixed network
- Change of government might
lead to competitors having more clout
- Devaluation of Taka
- National catastrophes.
- Sabotage of installation.
- Non-co-operation of
government and fixed PSTN (Public Service Telephone Network).
- Risk of fire in GP’s
Installations.
- Price war.
- Non-availability of funds.
- BTTB has limited capacity
for interconnections.
- New Tele-talk; a cheaper mobile phone service is launching which is government owned.
CHAPTER 3
Customer Satisfaction &
retention through Telemarketing
3.1 Introduction
The topic of my
internship project is “Customer satisfaction & retention through
Tele-marketing”. I am doing my
internship in the largest cellular company of Bangladesh; Grameenphone Ltd. I
have been working their in customer demographic and activation; a unit of
Customer Management Division. There are 187 manpower is working in the Customer
Management Division and in the Tele-marketing total 7 people are working daily
and in the Customer Demographic and Activation unit 81 people are working.
As Grameenphone
is a service company, it always aims to retain its’ customers through quality
customer service. Even though customer loyalty is possible through customer
management ship, there is always room for customer dissatisfaction, which
hampers customer loyalty. Hence, in order to maintain loyalty it is very important
to maintain a good management ship with the customer.
So, here my job is to entry
proper way as data from prepaid subscriber form and the next project will be to
promote and provide different services to the subscribers over telephone on the
basis of the current data entry. That means, my actual job is to satisfy
customers by meeting their different queries and promoting and creating the
awareness of GP’s different services and also pursue the subscribers to be
retained.
3.2 Tele-marketing (The New Concept)
In 1996,
Grameenphone started its journey and never stopped in this hard walk way of
establishing itself and reaching to the mass people with their quality
services. Every time they have tried to bring something new, something good for
both the customers and for the company. Their continuous research on market and
customers and their willingness to provide better services than before has made
them the market leader for a long time. Their Customer Management Centers and
the hotline services are the best in the present telecommunication industry. To
continue this advancement they have bring a new concept in the
telecommunication sector which is – “Tele-marketing”.
The present market demand and business scenario in Bangladesh forced them to bring this new concept to maintain the customer’s satisfaction level. On 14th February’2005 “Tele-marketing” started its journey. In the beginning it started with promoting the features of their existing products to their existing customers. Tele-marketing concept means the way of marketing the company products and delivering services over phone to the subscribers which is quite new in our country. In this case Grameenphone is the pioneer. Tele-marketing; a sub-division of Customer Management Division of Grameenphone take birth in the head office, Gulshan Dhaka and continuing their activities to enhance the customer service more in future.
3.3 Activities of Tele-marketing
The basic activities of
Tele-marketing is to contact the subscribers over phone and get the feed back
and side by side promoting their products, the features etc. In Grameenphone
tele-marketing working process are listed below-
§
Calling subscribers over phone.
§
Make a query for their problems.
§
Promoting the new features.
§
Providing the instant services and information.
§
Creating awareness among the customers of their
ignored issues, which is very useful for them.
§
Giving solutions to the subscribers problem and
if necessary informing to the respective persons.
§
Collecting the personal information such as
occupation, age range etc. from customers.
§
Calling back to the customers if needed.
§
Generating daily, weekly and monthly report on
the working progress and reporting to the respective departments.
§
Running special promotional campaigns.
§
Running different campaigns like new activation,
prepaid users , re connections etc
3.4 Establishment Cost and Expenses of
Tele-marketing
There is no
additional costing for establishing the “tele-marketing” project. The
tele-marketing is running on the established infrastructure of Customer
Management Division. It does not require any kind of extra equipments and there
was enough resource in call center which helped tele-marketing to run on
successfully and without any cost.
To run this
project, there were some expenses which is very little in amount that was
recovered from the revenue generated from call center. The expenses were –
hiring people, training and refreshment expenses and the monthly compensation
for the tele-marketers.
3.5 Employees (The Marketers)
For tele-marketing 7 part times
and internee employees are working in two shifts. These 7 marketers are working
under the supervision of an Customer Management Officer who is responsible for
all kinds of activities in tele-marketing. Then he will report to the General
Manager of CMD. So the tele-marketing structure is –
The recruitment for
tele-marketing is handled by the Human Resource Division of Grameenphone. And
according to their recruiting policies they invites part timers and internee
students to work for tele-marketing project. An formal interview and medical
test is arranged for the candidates. After their recruitment, CMD arranges training
sessions which is usually a four days long training period. In the training
sessions, different respective employees from different divisions of GP give
lectures and audio visual lessons. After
the training period, the new employees who are actually the marketers started
their practical job of tele-marketing.
3.6 Impact of Telemarketing on Customer Satisfaction
Customer satisfaction is a very
important factor for today’s companies. All the successful companies try to
match the customer’s expectation with their delivered services. Satisfied
customers are very important for the companies because they bring the benefits.
Satisfied customers are the customers whose needs are fulfilled and they are
very much quality service conscious. They retain with the company for longer
times and refer to others about the companies. Through the satisfied customers
companies get extra promotion and loyal customer for longer time. Grameenphone
is also very much concerned about satisfying customers. The call center of help
line, IVR, customer managements centers all are the main factors of customer’s
satisfaction for GP. But still customers sometimes don’t like to get these
services due to financial factors and sometimes for other issues like
availability, time constraints etc. So through tele-marketing Grameenphone
reached one step more in raising customer satisfaction than other mobile
operators. Cause when tele-marketers calls an subscriber and take care of
his/her problems and indirectly sending the message to the subscriber that they
are their valuable customer and Grameenphone is always there to help them by
knocking customer’s door; then the company image in front of the customer
changes and their desired satisfactory issues meets.
3.7 Impact of Tele-marketing in revenue
generation
Tele-marketing activities of
Grameenphone are helping them to generate huge revenue. Like-
§
Tele-marketers are promoting the new product
campaigns over phone. So the customers are directly getting the news from
Grameenphone. Then they are buying the new packages and thus GP sales go
higher.
§
Tele-marketers are promoting the value added
services (VAS) provided by GP. So customers are using the services and from VAS
huge revenue comes out.
§
As tele-marketers works for retaining customers,
so GP gets loyal customers and this loyal customer makes repeat usages of the
services.
§
Though tele-marketing the customers are getting
educated about the product features and other services. Then they try these
services at least once. So the huge number of customers of GP is generating a
huge amount of revenue for the company in the trial period.
§
Tele-marketers are motivating customers and then
drive their needs to use the GP products and more and more in future. And by
assuring the better services, they are satisfying customers. so the satisfied
customers are also referring to others. Thus GP is getting more word of mouth
communication and the benefit is the company getting more customers and the
revenues is on the way.
§
Tele-marketing are continuing with
Grameenphone’s existing infrastructure and so Grameenphone will earn huge
benefit with extra low cost. So for this it has needed its employee salary and
maintenance of PC.
CHAPTER-4
Theoretical and
Technological Analysis of Telemarketing
4.1 GTMS
(Tele-marketing Software Tools)
Grameenphone is using an
database software named “GTMS” which is custom made and used for preserving the
information’s gathered from the customers field by field. By using this
software the tele-marketing people can easily generate any report based on the
queries. It makes their works very easier and saves time. Two screen shots of
GTMS is given below:
Fig 4.1: GTMS Screen shot: 1
4.2 Motivation and Retention through
Tele-marketing
One of the most important tasks
of Tele-marketing is to motivate customers. Grameenphone tele-marketers are
also motivating their customers for using the services and other value added
services to get the full flavor of the product benefits. This motivation
process can be described according to the following model:
Fig
4.3: Motivation process and customer
retention
When a customer
has any unfulfilled needs or desired service from Grameenphone then he/she gets
tensed and this drives to a specific behavior that he/she needs to fulfill that
needs or desire; in the mean time their learning from other sources helps to
think about meeting their demands. So the Grameen tele marketers what really do
is ; they educate the subscribers and motivates to act in the specific behavior
and then in the cognition process subscribers finds that they are learned about
their needs with the help of Tele-marketers and now they know how to fulfill
their demand and they goes for it. So Tele-marketer are reducing tensions of
customers and by educating them motivating to use the services more or
approaching to new services.
Motivating
customers, tele-marketers also promoting the products and services of
Grameenphone, which is more effective than other advertisement media.
Management ship marketing is a
philosophy of doing business, a strategic orientation that focuses on keeping
and improving current customers, rather than on acquiring new customers. The
main benefit of this theory is customers prefer to have an ongoing management
ship with one company than to switch continually among other companies.
Tele-marketing of Grameenphone is exactly retaining their customers following
this management ship marketing philosophy.
Fig
4.4: Management ship marketing
philosophy
By maintaining a
management with the customers Grameenphone will get many benefits like when
they are providing quality services the customer’s satisfaction will be raised
and it will lead to them to be with the company for long time. So
Tele-marketers are making an management with the customers and this leading the
customers repeat usages of Grameenphone services; so the profits are increased
and then all these things are helping indirectly to retains internal employees
also. Through Tele-marketing, customer retention is easier than any other media
and the cost is lower also.
4.3 Intrerview results and Analysis
Here I have depicted the
interview question that I had asked to the employees in Grameenphone; and the
some answer samples. In the end of each question I have analyzed the result of
the interview.
Question # 1: how
Tele-marketing was established?
Employee answer:
§
“ Its an outbound service that Grameenphone
lacks before; that’s why it was brought up”
§
“Marketing Research Division, Customer
Management Division and others division combined planned for brining up this
new service”.
§
“Company perspective was to change the
customer’s attitude towards GP”.
Analysis:
My analysis says, very few
employees exactly knows how Tele-marketing was established; but to some extent
their raised points are right. Tele-marketing was established due to the
growing market competition to motivate the existing and new customers of GP and
to retain them. It’s a new tool to increase the customer’s satisfaction and to
promote with lower costs. Its not only the sub-division of Customer Management
Division but other departments are also related to its activities.
Question # 2: What are the
main objectives of Tele-marketing GP?
Employee Answer:
§
“Data collection for market research”.
§
“Promoting products and Value added services.”
§
Building Company images to the customers that GP
care about them”.
§
“It’s a part of Call Center, to help them as out
bound service”.
Analysis:
The interesting observation from
the interviews is most of the employees in Customer Management Division is not
aware of the main objectives and activities of Tele-marketing clearly. Many of
them failed to list all the objectives. The main objective of Tele-marketing is
to educate the subscribers about the products and services, then by providing
better instant service retaining the existing customers and to change the
customers perception about Grameenphone and its services.
Question # 3: How much was
the establishment costing and expenditure of this subdivision?
Employee answer:
§
“There is no extra investment for this”.
§
“I don’t have any idea”.
§
“Extra expenditures are only the training
expenses and the compensation for marketers”.
Analysis:
Analysis says and supports the collected data that for
Tele-marketing no extra invest was required; because it was established in the
call center where all the necessary equipments are available from the
beginning.
Question # 4: Do you think
Tele-marketing is an effective promotional tool?
Employee answer:
§
“At the moment it’s the best tool in
tele-communication sector for promoting services”.
§
“No, It has a reverse effects during promotion”
Analysis:
According to the employees
answer it was found that most of them thinks its an new promotional tool and
Grameenphone brings it just because they are the pioneer in telecommunication
sector. But its true as a promotional tool it’s very effective but sometimes it
has some reverse effects like subscribers might feel disturbed and get bore of
it.
Question # 5: What is usage
of the preserved data base of Tele-marketing?
Employee answer:
§
“It is used for Marketing Research Division”.
§
“We can get some useful findings from this
data”.
§
“This data is need for segmenting the market”.
Analysis:
The preserved data is mainly used
for marketing research purpose. From the customer responses MRD can find out
their desires and future demands and can come up with new ideas. Besides this,
another usage of this data is get the idea of GP’s actual market segment.
Question # 6: Do you think
Tele-marketing is helping in generating revenue?
Employee answer:
§
“Of course it is , its generating a big amount”.
§
“It’s a great weapon to generate revenue”.
Analysis:
Absolutely Tele-marketing is
helping Grameenphone to generate huge amount of revenues. Because
Tele-marketers are promoting, motivating and retaining customers so the sales
and usage of the services is increasing.
Question # 7: Do you think tele-marketing is appropriate
for customer retention?
Employee answer:
§
“It’s the perfect way of retaining a subscriber
and solving his/her problem and offering better service”.
§
“Same as helpline services.”
Analysis:
My analysis says, tele-marketing
is the best way to retain a customer in tele-communication business. Through
the help line services it’s not possible to make them understand that the
company really cares about its customers; because customers are paying for the
help line service and they don’t give attention in persuasive matters.
Question # 8: what are the
future prospects of Tele-marketing in GP?
Employee answer:
§
“The future is bright”.
§
“There is a great opportunity of expanding GP’s
services through tele-marketing and it can be a separate unit”.
Analysis:
Analysis says
that the future of Tele-marketing in GP is very bright. Because this section is
directly related to customers and they can get the direct feedback from the
customers for any other division of Grameenphone. This section can create more
employment opportunity in future. There is some argument among the employees of
GP that some portion of them thinks Tele-marketing should be stayed in touch
with Call Center; and some says it should be an independent section. According
to me Tele-marketing should be run under call center cause the working process
and all the necessary setup is totally related to the call center.
Question # 9: Is there any
lacking in present Tele-marketing activities?
Employee answer:
§
“It’s perfect in starting position”.
§
“Do not have any idea”.
Analysis:
In regard to this question I
have got both negative and positive responses, but the truth is most of the
employees of customer managements division are not very familiar with the
tele-marketing activities so they think this is the standard format for the
moment. But as an employee of Gp, I would say still there are some lacking in
Tele-marketing working process.
Question # 10: Why do you
think part timer’s and internee employees are suitable for tele-marketing job?
Employee answer:
§
“Part timer and internee employees have working
flexibility which required in tele-marketing”.
§
“Part-timers are most suited for this position,
because a full time employee can’t do the repetitive job on daily basis”.
Analysis:
My analysis says, it’s true that a full timer employee is
not only responsible for this kind of repetitive job, they have more
responsibilities besides their regular duties. So the part timers and the
internee students are best suited for this kind of job. But some times in
special campaigns some experienced full time employees should be there to
assist them.
CHAPTER - 5
Recommendations
Here are some recommendations
for Grameenphone to improve their Tele-marketing services to provide better
customer service so that they can raise the customer satisfaction level and
retain more.
v
As tele-marketing is a new concept in
Grameenphone, it should have a permanent setup for having a good working
environment.
v
Tele-marketing employees are facing
accommodation problems daily, so the authorities should take care of this fact
to arrange a permanent place or corner only for tele-marketing.
v
As the internee students come to GP only for 3
months, so recruiting them in tele-marketing is not an good idea because after
their leaving Tele-marketing section will have manpower problem. So its better
to recruit more part timers than internee students.
v
The job of tele-marketing is a repetitive one,
so the marketers lose their concentration on doing the same job day after day.
As the tele-marketers are advanced in all kind of product and service
information, they should give support to the hotlines also for some times. this
kind of rotation will help them to be enthusiastic.
v
More off the job training should be arranged for
the Tele-marketing employees.
v
As the job is totally over phone and each
employee is representing the company to the customers so more supervision on
handling the conversation is necessary.
v
Tele-marketing should be directly supervised
under the Marketing Research Division, because then the employees of both
division will have more chance to share ideas.
v
The usage of preserved data should be shown to
the marketers so that they can realize the implication of their jobs.
v
There are technical problems in the software of
Tele-marketing, it should be bug free and updated one.
To improve customer satisfaction
on tele-marketing as well as in the CMD division, there is no other scope
remain except ensuring the work through MIS. For this a full implement able
suggestion has given below:
5.1 Call Registering
System:
1. Customer Relations and
Management
2. Call Registering System
3. Benefits of a Call
Registering System
4. Product Features
5. Call Registering System
Modules
5.1.1 Customer Relations and Management
Customer
Contact Center: The customer contact center integrates customer
touch-points and provides service through one multi-channel gateway. The
customer contact center, whether it is a help desk, a call center, or on-line
support via email or chat, is about how your customers experience your
organization. Customers leave the customer contact center experience with
either a positive or negative impression about your company.
Call
Center and Help Desk: The department that handles customer inquiries -
typically via the telephone, fax, or email.
Customer
Interactive Center (CIC): Help
desks and support environments that are highly interactive. CIC leverages
technology, human resources and methodologies to create raving fans while
utilizing e-Service and e-Support for outstanding customer satisfaction.
Customer Retention:
Processes that identify, prioritize, and improve areas of performance that have
the greatest impact on customer loyalty. The objective is to keep as many
customers as possible, keep them satisfied, keep them loyal, and keep them for
life. Organizations measure their performance over time and against competitors
and how they drive customer feedback through the organization to build lasting
customer management ships.
Customer
Support: Provides timely, expert
support to resolve customer problems and queries sent by email, phone, fax, or
in person.
eService
system: A sophisticated scripted online help system and/or a knowledge
base of technical notes and previously offered customer solutions. eService is
a Customer Service Center management system that allows customers to find
solutions on their own.
Live
Support/Service: Customer service representatives who answer customer
questions via the telephone in real time.
On-line
Support/Service: On line support from an internal help desk, allows businesses
of any size to dramatically improve customer service by providing employees
access to problem resolution information through Intranets. An external help
desk allows customers to access customer service information through the Web.
Both systems enable companies to resolve problems faster, leading to improved
service and greater overall customer satisfaction.
5.1.2 Call
Registering System
As
telecommunications and networking technologies continue to evolve and the
availability of capital ebbs and flows, service providers must carefully choose
those solutions that will allow them to keep pace with technological change, to
offer enhanced services to their customers and to capture significant returns
on investment. Next-generation network equipment, with scalability and
economics unmatched by legacy equipment, meet all of these requirements.
Networks convergence is now considered the “Holy Grail” of the telecom world.
This convergence can be categorized in several ways and will have a significant
effect within various network domains. At the end of the day, every network
operator’s goal will be to provide seamless connectivity between different
domains and to carry calls end-to-end — packaged with a suite of services
aCMOss those domains.
Despite customer
ambivalence, however, venture capital continues to pour into equipment startups
and competitive carriers who claim that they'll be able to capitalize on
convergence
Actual example
like BPL Telecom LTD believes that Innovation does not have to be a random,
unpredictable process. Nor must a company’s ability to innovate depend on
chance or other variables that are difficult to control. Once the causal
factors are identified and tools are developed to control these factors, the
output can be predicted – transforming innovation from an art to a science The
system developed by BPL Telecom is a multi-utility Plug-in module that is
designed to be operational for both Mobile Operators as well as Internet
Service Providers.
The
Call Registering System is a complete solution to facilitate Call Center
operations. It is a very powerful, flexible and reliable system for domestic
and international settlements, offering the functionality and the performance
required by today's dynamic telecommunications market.
Features
such as User Administration, Internal Messaging, Complaints Trace ability,
Report Generation have been successfully incorporated into the CRS.
Furthermore, the
system provides a comprehensive view of the complete Complaint Cycle, the
origin of the Complaint by opening it’s status, its routing to the respective
concerned department, and the action taken or the delay and the closing of the
complaint status.
The
system can be fully automated with a Screen Pop Up to provide customer
interaction without the need of human intervention.
Your customers
are hungry for everything a mobile data-enhanced world promises, and they’d
like it now, with specialized devices, naturally, and with superior content.
Creating exceptional value and staying ahead of the mobile industry’s
metamorphosis is all so vital.
5.1.3 Call Registering System benefits efficiency
The CRS modules
have enhanced features that involve faster and easier access to the Database.
As it’s a Front-end application, the .exec file is highly portable and can be
used with minimum internal and external memory
Ease of Use: The CRS
is a product which the people of various backgrounds and qualifications can use
and apply to daily business activities.
Flexible User
Interface Design: All configurations and basic process are front-end
GUIs, which are easy to understand and use.
Extendibility: As this
product has been developed with a reusable background, it can hence be
customized to the current market trends and
customer requirements.
5.1.4 Product
Features
Ø
Provides all the details pertaining to the
customer, on the entry of Mobile number or the Username.
Ø
Provides detailed information on subscribers
such as customer code, price group, contract status, bill cycle, device
details, service details, credit card details, IMEI details, etc.
Ø
It also provides information about invoice
details, payment details, bill views, credit details and credit history.
Ø
Information like ticklers generated, air-usage
detail, air amount, land charges, roaming charges and a complete list of call
details are also provided.
Ø
It also maintains a history of past services
availed by customer with a status and description.
Ø
The system also maintains a complaint history.
Ø
Internal messaging to enhance first hand communication
between the Call Center and the respective department
Ø
User Administration and grant of User rights
Ø
Routing of the complaints to the concerned
departments
Ø
Screen pop-ups to have the latest strategies and
business proposals on your finger tips
Ø
Keeps track of the average turn Around Time or
TAT between the initiation of a complaint to its response time
Ø
Overview of the complaint history for a given
subscriber against his mobile number or his Username in case of Internet
Operations
Ø
Report generation on the basis of the Mobile
number or the Username of a Subscriber
Ø
Automation of the system for better
functionality
5.1.5 Call Registering System
Modules
The Call Registering system
involves following 4 Core modules:
§ User Administration
§ Complaints' Configuration
§ Customer Complaints' History
§ MIS Reports
By following call registering
system technique properly Grameenphone can give better services to its
customer.
5.2 GIS Use in Telecommunications Growing
To be
competitive, telecommunications providers depend on a smoothly functioning
workflow process that integrates information for marketing, demand forecasting,
engineering, customer management, operations support, and fleet management.
Although telecommunications providers generally have the same needs for
information, how the work flow is organized can vary significantly from company
to company.
Fig5.1:
Telecommunications companies are integrating GIS into the overall work
flow.
Telecommunications companies are
integrating GIS into the overall work flow. Historically telecommunications
companies have used an assortment of information systems-some developed
in-house, some purchased-that were never designed to work together. When these
systems were implemented, there was no perceived requirement for information
sharing. Today telecommunications companies operate networks that have
equipment from multiple vendors and lease bandwidth and antenna sites from
other companies. Mergers with, or acquisition of, other companies require the
incorporation of, or at least interaction with, completely foreign networks.
The need for information sharing within companies and interoperability between
systems has been recognized by the telecommunications industry for a long time.
Originally founded in 1865 as International Telegraph Union, the International
Telecommunications Union (ITU) promotes standards in equipment that guarantee
generalized interconnection between communication systems. To improve
interoperability, ITU has developed the Telecommunications Management Network
(TMN), a method of standardizing business organization. This hierarchy of
support systems specifies interoperability through the use of industry-standard
protocols. Geospatial applications need to support this same level of
interoperability if GIS is to work well within this TMN-structured environment.
Many current
applications of GIS in the telecommunications industry began as departmental
tools that worked within a well-defined scope. These GIS-based tools have
helped automate business processes and increase the efficiency of operations.
The following sections describe how telecommunications companies have
integrated GIS into the overall work flow.
5.2.1 Marketing/Market Segmentation
Telecommunications
providers are tied to geography more closely than many other types of
businesses. They operate within service areas and the infrastructure that
delivers services is linked directly to the location of each customer.
Telecommunications companies segment the characteristics for both consumer and
business customers geographically using GIS. This not only lets them market
more effectively but also helps them forecast the demand for services. Both
targeting customers and predicting where and when growth will occur involves
integrating corporate intelligence, demographic data, and information about the
progress of building projects in the area with location data and applying
various modeling techniques. The information obtained from this analysis drives
network investment budgets and marketing campaigns.
5.2.2 Operations Support Systems
Operations
Support Systems (OSS) make sure that the network functions properly. OSS
includes activities such as network monitoring, outage management, billing, and
testing. With a shared GIS database, staff members have instant access to
customer status and history, existing plant records, and signal quality
information to support updates, maintenance and repairs to the network.
Intelligent objects modeled in ArcGIS not only have rules that speed the design
process but also can reflect the status of network elements. A query can
identify features in a network element layer that are at 80 percent of capacity
more than half of the time. The switches, base stations, and other features
selected by this query would be candidates for capacity enhancements. The
ability to anticipate problems and prevent outages before they occur is another
tool that enables carriers to be more competitive and reduce costs. This
so-called "near real-time" monitoring of networks necessitates
integration of several systems using industry standard interoperability
protocols.
5.2.3 Capacity and Capital Planning
Information
generated by marketing and market segmentation activities that define current
and future communication demands can be used to create a logical network of
capacities and estimate the capital spending required to build this capacity.
GIS is widely used in decision support for capital planning. Effective capacity
planning uses current data describing the existing plant, the demand
information from the marketing phase, and network performance information from
OSS.
5.2.4 Wireline Engineering
Wireline
engineering systems are GIS applications that work with the design and
geographic layout of a company's outside plant infrastructure. Engineering
applications allow for quick review and modeling of network routes, automation
of the work order process, and high volume cartographic output to support
technicians in the field. ArcGIS can model intelligent objects in the network
and associate rules with features. Through the use of industry-specific data
models, real-world behavior can be captured in these objects. For example, a
fiber cable object can be created with rules that would not allow it to connect
to a copper splice. This capability greatly enhances design performance.
Because they use an industry-standard development platform, ArcGIS-based
engineering systems are interoperable. Third party software that schematically
represents networks has been integrated with ArcGIS so that users can toggle
between logical and physical views of the network. Engineering applications
allow for quick review and modeling of network routes, automation of the work
order process, and high volume cartographic output to support technicians in
the field.Wireless Engineering Nowhere is competition in the telecommunications
industry more intense than in the wireless sector. While most second generation
networks have rolled out, new wireless network technologies are forcing carriers
to redesign all or parts of their networks. Designing and building a wireless
network is a costly process that involves several iterations of planning and
testing. Having paid handsomely for third generation (3G) licenses, many
carriers are highly motivated to reduce the cost of building new networks. Performing sophisticated GIS analysis on
optimized geographic data can reduce planning and design costs. In some cases,
effective use of geographic resources has made the difference between success or
failure for a telecommunications company. Preliminary analysis with GIS uses
customer, terrain, and landownership information and provides planners with
potential antenna sites. The initial network configuration is evaluated using
wave propagation modeling that simulates the wireless coverage resulting from a
configuration. Once an optimal model is devised, engineers test the
configuration in the field. The process is repeated until the configuration
provides optimal coverage for the area. Wireless engineering applications
illustrate that sharing information and geographic data between phases of the
work flow can reduce data redundancy while streamlining processes. Using GIS to
limit the number of design iterations and curtail costly field testing provides
significant savings for telecommunications providers.
With GIS, call center operators can access all
the information on a customer and the associated network based on location.
5.2.5 Customer Relationship Management
In today's
competitive telecommunications market, customer service is the number one
differentiator for companies. Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
applications improve the management ship between the company and its customers.
Timely service provisioning, response to customer queries, and reporting on
network performance are aspects of CRM. With GIS, call center operators can
access all the information on a customer and the associated network based on
location. Databases containing information on outside plant infrastructure,
signal quality, and equipment can be integrated using GIS and made available
using a corporate Intranet.
Fig 5.2: CRM handling layers.
In CRM, Tier 1
handling means the customer's issue is resolved with the initial call.
Tier 2
calls require initiating a trouble-ticket and obtaining additional information.
Carriers who have successfully implemented GIS support for CRM achieve higher
Tier 1 handling and customer service is performed more quickly and
economically. With CRM contacts at an all-time high, improving CRM operations
can make a big impact on the bottom line of a carrier. In the wireless sector,
"churn" refers to the rate that customers jump from one service
provider to another. For many carriers, customer churn is the single largest
cost factor. GIS improves the speed and quality of contact handling, augments
customer satisfaction, and reduces churn.
Customer
Management ship Management (CRM) is the crucial interface between a
telecommunications carrier and its customers and prospects. GIS gives call
center operators an instant view of a customer location, nearby facilities,
requests for services, and signal quality. GIS dramatically reduces service
request turnaround times by integrating historical network and customer data
with a Trouble Ticketing system.
5.2.6 Fleet Management/Dispatch
Communications
companies must manage and route service vehicles for outage response and
service provisioning. An efficient dispatch process balances drive times,
territories, and the skill sets of individual technicians. GIS routing
applications can produce itineraries that take each of these factors into
account. Optimizing the dispatch and routing of service vehicles results in
significant cost and time savings and increased customer satisfaction because
technicians can often specify time windows for service calls of two hours or
less.
5.2.7 Putting It All Together: Enterprise GIS
When GIS applications servicing
various phases of the work flow are interoperable and a networked GIS
distributes geographic data to desktops and mobile devices, the value of GIS to
the organization moves well beyond that of a departmental tool. For example, a
sales representative can make a compelling business case for the sale of
bandwidth to a corporate prospect by showing the prospect's location in
management to the telecommunications company's infrastructure. Network
infrastructure provided by AM/FM systems is used for decision support in the
provisioning process. Technicians in the field locate the correct manhole,
pole, or access point by using the same data. Coverage maps and testing data
for wireless networks can be instantly viewed by call center operators dealing
with customer complaints. More complex applications include geospatial data in
data warehousing systems and are used in conjunction with On Line Analytical
Processing (OLAP) clients to add a "where" dimension to corporate
business intelligence.
The ArcGIS 8.1
suite is a fully scalable GIS that can work in a heterogeneous environment and
support the tools, databases, and networks that telecommunications companies
require. ESRI is working to integrate GIS applications in the TMN hierarchy.
This will improve enterprise deployments and resolve interoperability issues.
Field engineering tools and the use of mobile networks making geographic
information available through wireless devices to business and consumer users
will further increase the value of GIS. Telecommunications executives who make
complex decisions will find GIS indispensable for decision support. GIS
provides an overview of the company and the work flow. The addition of location
services driven by GIS will generate additional revenue for telecommunications
carriers and their business partners.
The investment
telecommunications companies make in geospatial data and technology will yield
benefits in business process automation, improved decision support, and
value-added services for years to come.
Chapter - 6
Conclusion
Since 1996
Grameenphone is driving its car on the high way of telecommunication industry
of Bangladesh and they have achieved the position of market just because of
their quality service, extensive marketing research, and well infrastructure
and for an exclusive management team; where the competitors are far behind
them. Grameenphone has got the highest number of subscriber, but it does not
mean that they have they highest number of satisfied customers. To raise the
satisfaction level GP brought the “tele-marketing” concept in the
telecommunication industry of our country. They are very much successful in
launching this kind of service and from the above discussions of the impacts of
tele marketing on customer satisfaction, motivation and retention and revenue
generation proves that they are using trying to use this new concept as weapon
to get the satisfied customers and to retain them for longer times. But the
interview results and other analysis show that still there are some lacking in
this section. Grameenphone needs to develop their tele-marketing section more
to use it more efficiently and it would be possible on if the required changes
were made.
Chapter
- 7
Bibliography:
- GrameenPhone
Website: www.grameenphone.com
- GrameenPhone
annual reports
- Intranet
of Grameenphone named: http//Neptune.exchange
- GrameenPhone
News Letter
- Basic
Labor Law of Bangladesh
- A. A.
Khan, Bangladesh Labor and Industrial Law, Pravati Prakashani, New Super
Market, Dhaka, 2002.
No comments:
Post a Comment