Internship Report Mobilink Final
Internship Report Mobilink Final
Internship Report Mobilink Final
Report
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION OF STUDY
As an internee my association with this company was being a part of the Sales
Operations Department. It was a great experience for me and it helped me in realizing
where my potential lies. What I learnt at Mobilink over the weeks was how to get
along with the people that I have to work with everyday, building confidence and
improving my skills. This internship has also prepared me for my future career in
Sales, Finance and Customer Relations so this internship has helped me a great deal.
The experience has taught me responsibility, teamwork and how to handle problems
occurring. Even though the nature of work was quite basic as an internee,
nevertheless I got to see what practical life is. This internship overall has been a great
experience. This report gives a profile of Mobilink and an insight into the Sales
Operation department where I was assigned to work. This report also reflects my
learning and experiences at Mobilink along with my responsibilities and the tasks
that I performed. Last part of the report consists of some recommendations and
suggestions that I have given.
One of the major limitations while carrying out this research was the lack of
cooperation on the part of the management of Mobilink in providing the data
regarding the company and its policies.
Secondly, the limitation which affects the study is the restriction on mentioning every
fact of the company due to the problem of secrecy. In addition, the availability of
required data was a problem as access to all the documents and files are limited to the
employees only.
Finally, the problem of short time period also makes the analysis restricted as one
cannot properly understand and thus analyze all the operations of any company in a
very short time of eight weeks.
The methodology reported for collection of data is primary as well as secondary data.
PART I
This is the introductory part of the report and has one chapter.
Chapter 1:
PART II
This Part includes the review of Mobilink GSM (PMCL), a subsidiary of Orascom
Telecom. This Part is comprised of two chapters.
Chapter 2:
Chapter 3:
PART III
This Part is about the analysis of Mobilink GSM, An Orascom Telecom and has one
chapter.
Chapter 4:
In this chapter I have done SWOT and Financial analysis of Mobilink GSM, An
Orascom Telecom. I have explained Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and
Threats for Mobilink. I have carried out environmental analysis of Mobilink with the
help of industry & market, competitors and technology
PART IV
This is the final and conclusive part of the report and contains one chapter.
Chapter 5:
This is the last chapter of the report. I have mentioned different problems faced by
Mobilink GSM, An Orascom Telecom. After pointing out these problems I have
given some general recommendations.
CHAPTER 2
The Act of 1885 was the primary governing telecommunication statute. There was a
joint Director General of Posts, Telegraph & Telephone under the Act of 1885. The
Act granted exclusive privilege to Government (Posts, Telegraph & Telephone [PTT]
Department to establish, maintain, working, licencing, regulating the Telegraph
within or any part of Pakistan. The government was the governing and controlling
authority of telecom sector in Pakistan. Likewise, The Wireless Telegraphy Act was
enacted in order to regulate the possession of wireless telegraph apparatus.
In 1962 Posts and Telegraph (Amendment) Act, 1962 (V of 1962) was enacted
which amended Telegraph Act, 1885, The Post Office Act, 1898 and The Wireless
Telegraphy Act, 1933. The purpose of the Amending Act was to split up the Postal
Department and the Telegraph and Telephone Department. The PTT Department
slumbered for about 30 years with no active, substantial and innovative development
in telecom sector.
In 1994 in order to further liberalize and open the telecom industry and to transfer the
telecommunication services to private sector and the matters connected thereto the
Presidential Ordinance “Telecommunication Ordinance, 1994 (Ordinance LI of
1994)” was promulgated on 13th July 1994. To promote, maintain fair competition
and regulate the telecom industry and telecom services the regulatory bodies “The
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA)”, “Frequency Allocation Board
(FAB) and “National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC)” were established.
The independent regulator (PTA) was established for the first time in the history of
telecommunication field in Pakistan under the 1994 Ordinance. The Ordinance also
caused the federal government to incorporate the “Pakistan Telecommunication
Company Limited (PTCL)” under the company ordinance, 1984 which replaced the
PTC. The Company was provided the exclusivity to provide the basic telephone
services in Pakistan for a period of seven years.
The Ordinance of 1994 repealed The Telegraph Act, 1885 (XIII of 1885) and certain
sections of Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation Act, 1991. The 1994 Ordinance
was to face its constitutional death upon expiry of four month as declared in Article
89 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1973, therefore, before its
constitutional expiry life was given to it afresh through another Presidential
Ordinance No. LXXVII of 1994 dated 7th November 1994. This Presidential
Legislation under Article 89 of the Constitution continued until the Ordinance was
presented in the Parliament. The Presidential Ordinances are Ordinances Nos. (XXIII
of 1995 dated 7th March, 1995), (LXIII of 1995 dated 5th July, 1995), (CIII of
1995 dated 30th October, 1995) and Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-
Organization) Ordinance, 1995 (CXV of 1995) dated 27th November, 1995. (XXX
of 1996 dated 7th March, 1996) and Ordinance No. LXXVII of 1996 dated 4th
July, 1996. Every subsequent ordinance repealed the previous one. Finally the
“Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act, 1996 (XVII of 1996)” was
passed on 17th October 1996.
•Creation of Regulator
• Licensing
Section 8 of the Act of 1996 empowers the federal government to issue policy
directives and PTA is under obligation to adhere and comply with the directives.
Deregulation implies the removal of control of the government. It also implies the
liberalization of the telecom market.
• Maintain and effective well defined regulatory regime that is consistent with best
international practice.
• An effective and well defined regulatory regime that is consistent with international
best practices;
In pursuance and compliance of the Cellular Policy, the Regulator has issued licenses
to the foreign companies.
The Act of 1996 sets and provides the broad framework, principles, authority and
functions of the Regulator etc. The Act is silent about how the various telecom
services, tariffs, interconnection guidelines and disputes arising therefrom, role and
The Rules have been framed under Section 57 of the Pakistan Telecommunication
(Re-Organization) Act, 1996. The Rules provides for the procedure of licencing
procedure, its duration, renewal, modification, transfer, assignment or transfer and
termination. The Rules further provide the Interconnection procedure, basis terms and
conditions of Interconnection Agreement, Procedure in case of failure to agree and
arrive at Interconnection Agreement, Interconnection Charges, and dispute resolution
mechanism. The Rules also narrates the quality of services, exchange of information
between the two operators, Tariff etc.
These have been issued by PTA under Section 5 (2) (O) of the Act of 1996. The
Regulations deal with terms and condition of the licence, its modification, renewal
and termination, monitoring procedure, accounting & auditing, Inspection by PTA,
responsibilities, assignment, complaint systems, code of commercial practices,
relationship with customers by the payphone operators and with other operators etc.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has framed and issued certain other
regulations and guidelines. These are:
The telecom sector of Pakistan has seen phenomenal growth over the past few years.
According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the total mobile
phone subscribers in 2007 were more than 63 million, a growth of more than 80%
from the previous years. During 2006-07, the mobile sector generated Rs 133 billion
in revenues, an increase of 48% from the previous years and contributed Rs 63 billion
to the national exchequer in terms of taxes and regulatory fees. The telecom sector
contributed 2% to the GDP in 2005-06 and received more than $1.8 billion in foreign
direct investment (FDI) in 2006-07 , which is 35.6% of the total FDI in that period.
Furthermore, the telecom sector has also created over one million in jobs, since its
deregulation, making Pakistan one of the world’s fastest growing telecom markets.
Currently there are six mobile operators operating in Pakistan, which include
Mobilink, Ufone, Telenor, Warid, Zong and Instaphone. Mobilink started its
operations in 1994 as the first GSM cellular mobile service in Pakistan, started by
Motorola Inc. Later it was sold to Orascom, an Egypt-based multi-national company.
Mobilink is the largest cellular service provider in Pakistan. Another company,
Pakistan Telecommunication Mobile Limited (PTML) is a wholly owned subsidiary
of PTCL, established to operate cellular telephony. The company commenced its
operations, under the brand name of Ufone from Islamabad on January 29 2001.
Later, as a consequence of PTCL’s privatization, 26% of its shares were acquired by
Emirates Telecommunication Corporation (Etisalat). Being part of PTCL, the
management of Ufone had also been handed over to Etisalat.
Telenor Pakistan is 100% owned by Telenor ASA and adds on to its operations in
Asia. Telenor Pakistan launched its operations in March 2005 as the single largest
April 2000, Orascom Telecom bought 38.6% stake in PMCL, which it later in
February 2001 increased to 68.69% by purchasing Motorola’s share in PMCL and
becoming the major shareholder of the company. In April 2001, Orascom Telecom
took over management control of the company. As of December 31st, 2007, Orascom
Telecom indirectly owns 100% of the share capital of Mobilink through direct stakes
held by wholly owned subsidiaries of OTH. By December 2007, Mobilink had
achieved 39.8% in market share, making it the market leader in the mobile sector of
Pakistan2 and had a customer base of more than 32 million by July 2008.
Mobilink offers exclusively designed tariff plans that cater to the communication
needs of a diverse group of people, from individuals to businessmen to corporate and
multinationals. To achieve this objective, Mobilink offer both postpaid (Indigo) and
prepaid (JAZZ) solutions to their customers.
Mobilink was also the first cellular service provider to operate on a 100% digital
GSM technology in Pakistan and also provides state-of-the-art communication
solutions to its customers. Mobilink’s network is the most extensive in Pakistan,
connecting more than 9000 cities across Pakistan, as well as over 120 countries on
international roaming service. Furthermore it reaches over 66% of the total population
and 99% of the urban population as of December 31st, 2007. Mobilink is also
developing its own optic fiber backbone, to provide its customers with highest level
of voice and data quality with more reliability4 and has invested more than $2.5
billion in its networks.
Customers are at the heart of our success. They have placed their trust and confidence
in us. In return, we strive to anticipate their needs and deliver service, quality and
value beyond their expectations.
We strive for excellence in all that we do. We aspire to the highest standards and raise
the bar for ourselves everyday. This commitment to delivering world-class quality
translates into unmatched service and value for our customers and all stakeholders.
At Mobilink, we take pride in practicing the highest ethical standards in an open and
honest environment, and by honoring our commitments. We take personal
responsibility for our actions, and treat everyone fairly, and with trust and respect.
At Our relationships drive our business. We respect and esteem our employees and all
stakeholders. We believe in teamwork, empowerment and honor.
As the market leader, we recognize and fulfill our responsibility towards our country
and the environment we operate in. We contribute to worthy causes and are dedicated
to the development and progress of the society.
2.3.3.1 Network
Mobilink was awarded a 15-year license in July 1992 to establish and operate a
digital cellular telecommunication system using the GSM 900 standard and to offer
telecommunication services in Pakistan. Before that, all previous operations were
using the AMPS technology. Since then Mobilink has been growing its network,
providing 2G, 2.5G, GPRS and EDGE compatibility. Mobilink was the first operator
to start rolling out the Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution (”EDGE”) in
Pakistan. In addition, Mobilink also launched its BlackBerry service in December
2005 through its GPRS platform. Furthermore, Mobilink’s license was renewed on
July 6th, 2007 for a further period of 15 years.
Not only is Mobilink’s network very modern and technologically advance, but it is
also very competitive, when compared to other mobile networks.
Mobilink was headed by President and CEO Zouhair A. Khaliq, who reports directly
to the Chairman and CEO of Orascom Telecom Naguib Sawiris. Furthermore the
operations of Mobilink are divided into eight different departments, which are as
follows:
1. Human Resource
3. Sales
4. Marketing
5. Customer Services
6. Corporate Affairs
7. Technical
8. Finance
Furthermore, these departments are further divided into sub departments to ease
operations within Mobilink. Also all major decisions are taken centrally, in
Islamabad. These decisions for example include, the financing required by Mobilink
(local and foreign), decisions regarding import of goods etc.
Furthermore, to assist the operations of Mobilink, which include more than 500
franchises and 16 Customer Services Center’s, operational departments are located in
all the four main regions:
1. North
2. South
3. Central
4. AJK
Mobilink had a great advantage for years as being the only GSM mobile operator in
Pakistan, however with the entrance of Ufone in 2001 and later on by Telenor, Warid
and Zong, the competition in the mobile sector is heating up. However the subscriber
base Mobilink has remained steady and growing as seen in the table below:
Although the number of subscribers has increased over the years, the same cannot be
said about the market share of Mobilink, which has gradually decreased over the year.
However, although the market shares of Mobilink might have decreased over the
years, but it still remains the market leader in the mobile sector. The market shares of
Mobilink are as follows:
2.3.4 Products
Mobilink offers both Pre-paid and Post-paid services. They offer tariff plans that are
exclusively designed to cater to the communication needs of a diverse group of
people, taking into account occasional users to businessmen. To achieve this
objective, they offer both postpaid (Indigo) and the prepaid (JAZZ) services to their
customers.
Jazz is an amazing prepaid service that allows freedom from monthly bills and gives
complete control over the customer’s cellular expenditure. The user can decide in
advance when and how much he wants to spend. He can load a scratch card whenever
he wants to and start talking. Jazz is simple, easy and loads of fun.
Call and Control is a hybrid product that offers prepaid convenience and postpaid
control and is suited for high-end prepaid users.
• GPRS
• SMS Messaging
• Power Tools
• Chat Services
• Dedication Services
• Power Tools
• Mail Services
• Info Services
• On Call Services
Mobilink is the first cellular operator to introduce the “franchise “concept in the
cellular industry in Pakistan and currently operates the largest franchise network in
Pakistan with over 250 franchises/national distributors (dealers operated service
centers). In order to extend its reach even further, Mobilink worked with its
franchisees to develop a network of over 500 sub dealers, these operate as point of
sales (POS) and are branded “Mobilink Connect”. Each franchisee is adequately
equipped to process sales, collect bills and offer customer services. All franchises
have trained sales and service staff fully capable of tackling sales challenges.
People at Mobilink believe that their Research & development department is its core
competence along with their workforce i.e. their employees. Mobilink is basically a
customer-oriented company and it always comes up with new features and products.
It surveys the markets and modifies its products according to the requirements and
preferences of its customers. Mobilink has relatively rapid product development
processes that allow for timely updating and release of new products. It was the first
cellular company in Pakistan, which started working on 100% GSM technology.
At the end of the year 2007, Mobilink crossed its target of reaching up to 20 million
customers. At this achievement, all the employees at Mobilink got a month’s salary as
bonus in January 2008.
CHAPTER 3
North-2 region covers most parts of NWFP. Regional office is situated in Peshawar.
Previously their office was in Tehkal, adjacent to KFC but now it is shifted to
University Road adjacent to Shiraz Gathering.
Mobilink North-2 office was headed by Regional Commercial Director Sales Mr.
Aamir Aman Khan, who reports directly to the Vice President Sales Mr. Irfan Akram.
Furthermore the operations of Mobilink are divided into eight different departments,
which are as follows:
2. Sales
3. Finance
4. Customer Services
5. Corporate Affairs
6. Marketing
7. Technical
Furthermore, these departments are further divided into sub departments to ease
operations within Mobilink. Also all major decisions are taken centrally, in
Islamabad. These decisions for example include, the sales target, new markets, the
financing required by Mobilink etc.
I did my 8 weeks internship at the sales operation section of the sales department of
Mobilink. The sales operation section is one of the three sections of the sales
department. The other departments are Direct Sales & Indirect Sales.
Direct sales deals with postpaid connections and Mobilink PCOs and sell them
directly to the customers. Indirect sales deals with the sales of prepaid connections,
scratch cards and jazz load through franchises
Sales operations keeps record of all sales related issues such as targets, target
achievement, daily sales report and also act as a bridge between franchise and all
other departments of Regional Office.
RCD
Mr. Aamir Aman
Coordinator
Rammina rabbani Coordinators
The North-2 Region was divided into eight zones. Each zone was headed by Zonal
Sales Manager having one coordinator to assist him. Total number of franchises in
North-2 is fifty six. Zone-1 covers eight franchises of Peshawar City Side; Zone-2
covers seven franchises of the areas near Peshawar such as Charsadda, Pabbi,
Nowshera, Lakki Marwat, Momand Agency; Zone-3 covers eight franchises of Kohat
Zone; Zone-4 covers eight franchises of DIKhan and Bannu Region; Zone-5 covers
five franchises of Peshawar Cantt, Town and Hayatabad; Zone-6 covers eight
franchises of Mardan Region; Zone-7 covers nine franchises of Swat Region; and
Zone-8 covers four franchises of Gilgit Region.
Sales operations department was headed by Regional Manager Mr. Ali Hassan Saeed
and I was reporting directly to him. During the eight weeks of my internship I was
given different projects and responsibilities. Some routine duties are as follows
• CDTM Entries
• Analysis & Reporting of all the Requisitions & Products of Mobilink i.e.
Scratch Cards, jazz Connections, Jazz Load and Jazz Load Sims
First project was to collect the details of the customers having more than 10 numbers
against one NIC number and send that detail of such numbers to Lahore office to
change their ownership in the name of person using that number. Their were over 0.7
million numbers that needed change of ownership in one month and I had to meet the
deadline which I did.
Second project was to collect the data of all the shops in Peshawar City Area (Name
of shop, owner name, location etc.). For this project I was assisting the Coordinator
Sales Peshawar Zone Mr. Mohsin Iqbal. It took us about 15/20 days to collect all the
data needed.
CHAPTER 4
4.1.1 Introduction
SWOT analysis is one of the most important steps in formulating strategy using the
organization mission as a context; managers assess internal strengths, distinctive
competencies and weakness and external opportunities and threats. The goal is then to
develop good strategies and exploit opportunities and strengths neutralize threats and
avoid weaknesses with an overall organizational goal to increase the wealth and value
of the organization.
4.1.2 Strengths
4.1.3 Weaknesses
• Instead of all its strength still considered to be the most expensive telecom
company both in call rates and SMS as compared to the its competitors.
• Engineering department of Mobilink is not that well competent as compared
to its new competitors.
• With first expending customer based customer care facilities need to be
expended simultaneously for customer retention along side switch capacity
networks coverage.
4.1.4 Opportunities
4.1.5 Threats
Biggest threats are the new competitors like Telenor who recently entered in
telecom market of Pakistan.
Employees retention is also issue of concern for Mobilink as most of the
employees get attracted by the more handsome salary paid by recently
happenings multi-nationals
Loss of loyal customer can be one of the issues as they are moving toward the
less expenses package of competitors.
Direct Indirect
Ufone PTCL
Warid Wireless
Paktel
No company can remain in business if it cannot sustain and grow its profits and
telecom companies are no exemption. If Mobilink wants to remain the market leader
in the mobile industry and wants to satisfy its customers, it itself needs to remain a
profitable company. Mobilink is a private limited company and due to this reason, its
financial statements are not made public. However it does provide its financial
information to different financial institutions and companies that have invested in
Mobilink, examples include companies that have bought TFC’s issued by Mobilink.
An extract of the Balance Sheet and Income Statement for the year 2007, can be seen
in the appendix.
As major portion of Mobilink is on prepaid basis, including SIM sales, securities and
balance recharges the revenues for Mobilink have increased from December 2006 to
December 2007, this increase is because of the large increase in the consumer base of
Mobilink in 2007. The increase in revenue has led to an increase in the profit before
interest and tax, and although the costs of services and selling and administrative
charges in 2007 have increased from the past year, the increased revenue helped in
off setting the increase in the expenses.
Another problem in the profit and loss statement of Mobilink is the increased
financial charges or interest charges for the 2007. In the mid of 2006, Mobilink issued
a TFC more than Rs 3 billion, and the interest of which is paid semi annually.
Furthermore, most of Mobilink’s growth is financed through long term loans, which
have also increased in 2007, increased the financial charges.
The increase in financial charges and provision of taxes in 2007, ultimately lead to
profit after taxation, which when compared to the profit of 2006, to not increase by
much. The increase is only 1.25% from the previous year.
As the above table shows, there has been a significant increase in the fixed assets of
Mobilink in 2007; this has been due to the increase in the property, plant and
equipment, long term deposits and other receivables and license fee. However, the
current assets have decreased, but not by much. This small decrease is mainly due to
the decrease in stocks in trade.
The current liabilities have also increased in 2007, again by not by much. This
increase in current liabilities is associated with the increase in short term financing
and the current portion of long term financing.
The increase in shareholders equity is associated with the increase in the shareholders
equity and the increase in the accumulated profits, while the increase in the long term
liabilities is associated with the large increase in long term financing and the license
fee payable, which was made due, to the renewal of Mobilink’s license.
Current ratio is a liquidity ratio that measures how easily a company can pay off its
current liabilities using its current assets. For Mobilink although most of its revenues
are on a prepaid basis but still the current assets fall short to pay off the current
liabilities in both 2006 and 2007. Furthermore the current ratio has fallen in 2007,
which again shows that there aren’t enough liquid assets to pay off the current
liabilities and may affect Mobilink’s solvency in the short term.
Table 4.4: Fixed Assets Turnover Comparison between 2006 & 2007
Fixed Asset Turnover, an asset management ratio, shows how effectively a company
uses its fixed assets. That is using its assets to generate sales. Most of Mobilink’s
assets are fixed, major of which include cell sites and other equipment. As the figures
show, the ratio has decreased in 2007, from 0.53 to 0.51.
Although the decrease is very small, the major reasons associated are the large
increase in the fixed assets and the small increase in sales. The fixed assets rose by
29.3%, while the revenue rose by 26.3%. The major reason for the small increase in
the sales could be associated to the rather small increase in the total subscribers in
2007, as compared to 2006.
The Debt Ratio measures the percentage of funds provided by sources other than
equity. For Mobilink, most of its growth is funded through long and short term
financing, and even though Mobilink has expanded its operations during 2007, but
still the debt ratio fell in 2007, but only by 2%, which is mainly because of the large
increase in the total assets, when compared to long term liabilities. The rise and fall of
current liabilities and currents assets respectively is not much.
Table 4.6: Return on Common Equity Comparison between 2006 & 2007
Return on common equity, a profitability ratio, measures the extent to which the
shareholders of a company are getting returns on their investments. The ratio for
Mobilink has decreased significantly in 2007, a decrease of 7.5%. This decrease can
be associated to the small income available to the shareholder. Most of the net income
has to be paid out in financial charges, which leaves less or the shareholders, which in
2007, expanded their investment in the company.
Mobilink, the largest cellular company of Pakistan, is made of a team of over 4500 of
unique individuals. They are the best minds in the industry today, being exposed to
the best practices and an enabling environment.
Employees at Mobilink are treated as a big family, where their growth is as important
as Mobilink’s. Capability building programs equip employees with all the skills and
techniques needed for them to realize their ambitions, while diversity and wellness
initiatives help employee’s further reach new heights and achieve their goals.
Mobilink’s hiring takes place through its website which is being powered with a
partnership with Rozee.pk, one of Pakistan’s premier website. This website provides
updated information on job openings, as and when they happen. Furthermore the
website is divided into three sections, all providing information accordingly:
• Internship Candidates
• Entry Level Candidates
• Experienced Candidates
The major ways in which Mobilink markets itself and its products are through the
following ways:
• Electronic
• Print
The major way in which today’s organizations promote its products and services is
through television, not only because it’s economical but also because the visual and
audio aids help in promoting its product.
Mobilink has also for years, has tried to create different personalities for its brands:
Indigo and Jazz, to distinguish them from other competing brands. Mobilink’s Indigo
brand relied heavily on two factors toward establishing its brand equity: brand
ambassadors that exuded style and sophistication, and a unique classy look that
permeate all forms of its Indigo brand communication. It also played on the
aspirations of young business professionals through the atmosphere and the locales of
Indigo’s ads.
On the other hand, the Jazz brand creates an image of fun, catering more to the
youngsters and teens of the country. Not only that, it has also over the years created
an image of bond among the members of the Jazz members, achieved due to the
lowest rates and packages that Jazz has to offer. With Jazz advertisements, it’s all
about having a show and tell tableau.
Other ways, in which Mobilink is marketing its products, is through its website and
radio. The website of Mobilink is built in a way to provide updated information about
its products, with dedicated pages for both its brands, Indigo and Jazz. Furthermore,
the website also contains a gallery feature, from where users can view a wide array of
print and television advertisement, created by Mobilink over the years. The use of
Radio has also been used to promote the packages of Mobilink. Advertisement on
radio, mostly inform listeners on the new packages and their details.
Print advertisements are another major way in which Mobilink advertises its product
to the masses. Print media advertisements are printed in major English and Urdu
newspapers across Pakistan. The messages of these advertisements are mainly of new
packages that Mobilink may introduce over time.
Furthermore, Mobilink uses its brand ambassadors to promote its products in both the
electronic and print media. These brand ambassadors come from the fields of acting,
modeling, singing and cricket and are few of the most famous and talented stars of
Pakistan. The brand ambassadors are as follows:
Furthermore, stars like Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Shakeel, Behroze Sabzwaari,
Sunita Marshall and Samina Pirzada have also appeared in Mobilink advertisements,
from time to time.
Mobile Industry has been very effective in introducing new and innovative products
and services over the years. The major product lines can be segmented into, three
categories, which are as follows:
1. Consumer Packages
These product lines have a range of different services, catering to different market
segment.
The consumer packages of the mobile Industry include the prepaid and postpaid
packages being provided by the different cellular providers of Pakistan.
Prepaid packages, due to their nature is the most common type of package being used
today by millions of Pakistani’s. Prepaid packages provide a sense of affordability,
whereby consumers have the option of only recharging their accounts, when needed.
This affordability has led to a massive increase in the prepaid subscriber base, with
everyone from housewives to teenagers; to electricians to small shop owners all using
prepaid packages. The main user segments of prepaid packages include the lower,
middle and middle upper class of the country. Furthermore, a number of people use
prepaid packages as a second number, which also include people from the upper
class.
Value Added Services have become an essential tool for generating revenues for
mobile companies today. Starting in the early years, from wallpaper and ring tones
download, today mobile companies provide a range of services to their customers.
Some of the popular services include, religion services, music services, which
includes song dedication, voice and timed messages, sports and cricket services, food
and recipe services, WAP/GPRS/EDGE, themes, wallpapers, games and ringtones
downloads, credit share, MMS, voice mail, email, missed call alert, conference call,
mobile TV, web2sms and many more.
Value added services have been designed by companies, so that there are services for
every segment of their users and that these services completely satisfy them, as and
when needed.
Cellular providers in Pakistan are also providing corporate clients with services
catered to them. Corporate clients due to their huge operations have special
requirements. Mobile packages and tariffs; secure email and instant web connectivity,
being some of the most important issues.
Today mobile companies provide BlackBerry solutions, Mobilink and Warid being
forefront in this technology, furthermore to add to this innovative service, companies
today are providing SMS marketing feature, SMS management facility, fax mail,
Wireless connectivity through EDGE, private numbering plans, closed user groups
and mobile email to their corporate clients.
All above features and many more have helped corporate clients to manage their
operations effectively and efficiently.
The mobile industry has seen phenomenal growth over the years. Today there are five
major competitors competing for their subscriber base, increasing the services
provided, reducing their call rate and having aggressive marketing campaigns. Simply
put, competition is heating up in the mobile industry.
The mobile industry saw phenomenal growth from 2005-2006. According to PTA, on
average 2.3 million subscribers were added every month during 2006-07.
Furthermore, in 2003-04 the sector was offering 466,068 direct and indirect
employments, which in 2006-07 more than doubled to 1,366,698 employments. Also
the cellular mobile density or mobile penetration in the total population has also
increased over the years. In July 2008, the mobile density reached 55.62%. It was
54.7% in Dec 2007 and 39.94% in Dec 2006, according to official figures.
Also during 2006-07 the revenue of mobile industry was Rs.133 billion, an increase
of 48% from pervious year However, none the less, the growth has subsided since
2006, from 170.2% in December 2006 to 80.7% in December 2007, the major reasons
of which include the crackdowns on SIM registration, rising taxes and the general
economic conditions of the country.
4.5.2.1.1 Ufone
Ufone has maintained itself as the 2nd largest cellular operator in Pakistan with a
subscriber base of over 18 million in July 2008, according to PTA and a market share
of 21% during the time period. Currently, Ufone has network coverage in more than
750 cities, towns and across all major highways of the country. It also provides
international roaming to more than 195 live operators across 119 countries.
Currently Ufone is under the agreement with Huawei, which will provide its future
oriented Energy GSM solution to expand Ufone's network to cover over 2200 cities,
towns, villages and all major highways in the country. The network also allows Ufone
subscribers to enjoy high-speed wireless data service and enables the telecom service
provider to evolve into 3G smoothly.
4.5.2.1.2 Telenor
Telenor Pakistan is 100% owned by Telenor ASA and adds on to its operations in
Asia together with Thailand, Malaysia and Bangladesh. Telenor acquired the license
for providing GSM services in Pakistan in April 2004, and had launched its services
commercially in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Karachi on March 15, 2005 and on
March 23, 2005 Telenor started its services in Lahore, Faisalabad and Hyderabad.
Telenor’s investment in Pakistan is the single largest direct European investment in
Pakistan.
By the end of July 2008, the total subscribers of Telenor exceeded 18 million, with a
market share of 20%. Telenor’s network covers more than 3000 cities, towns and
highways throughout Pakistan. Furthermore, Telenor Pakistan has more than 5,000
cell masts throughout Pakistan, making it the 2nd largest network in Pakistan and 3 rd
in terms of customer base.
Telenor has a strategic alliance with Nokia Siemens Networks for expansion in
Pakistan. With USD 1 billion already invested, Telenor has extended agreements with
its vendors, including Nokia Siemens for network expansion and services until 2009.
The agreements will result in USD750 million worth of orders from Telenor Pakistan.
4.5.2.1.3 Warid
Warid Telecom is a joint venture between Abu Dhabi Group & SingTel Group. In
2004, Warid Telecom International LLC, purchased a license for operating a
nationwide mobile telephony network, (WLL) and long distance international (LDI)
for $291 million US dollars and was the first venture of Warid Telecom International
LLC. Warid Pakistan launched its services in May 2005 and is based in Lahore.
Abu Dhabi Group is one of the largest business groups in the Middle East and the
single largest foreign investor in Pakistan. Abu Dhabi Group entered into a strategic
alliance with Singapore Telecom. Subsequent to this transaction in July 2007,
telecom giant SingTel acquired 30% percent equity stake in Warid Telecom,
Pakistan, for US$758 million- valuing the company at an enterprise value of $2.9
billion. This partnership is part of a strategy to support Warid Telecom’s continued
growth and to enhance its market position.
In July 2008, Warid’s total subscribers were more than 15 million subscribers and
enjoyed 4th position in the market with a market share of 18%. In June 2008, Warid
Telecom announced it would invest $1.5 billion by end of this year and $2.5 billion
by end of 2009 to expand and modernize its network in Pakistan.
4.5.2.1.4 Zong
On 22nd January 2007, Millicom International Cellular S.A. announced that it would
sell its 88.86 percent stake in Paktel Ltd. to China Mobile for $284. On 4th May
2007, Paktel was renamed to CMPak and then, on 16th May 2007, China Mobile
announced that it had upped its stake in CMPak to 100%. It later re-branded Paktel to
Zong.
In July 2008, the total subscribers of Zong were more than 4 million and enjoyed 5th
position in the market with 5% share in the market. So far CMPak has invested more
than US$ 700 million in the telecom sector in Pakistan and an additional US$ 800
million will be invested till the end of year 2008.
According to official figures in July 2008, there were a total of 89m subscribers
(89,325,296) in the mobile industry, Ufone had 18 million (18,368,074) subscribers
and was second in market share to Mobilink, followed closely by Telenor with
18,329,428 subscribers, a difference of just 38,646 subscribers. This difference was
3,312,712 subscribers at the end of 2007. Warid was forth with 15 million
(15,774,299) subscribers. Warid has also lost to Telenor in terms of market share
since 2006, when it was third in the industry. In July 2008, Zong had 4 million
(4,446,024) subscribers and was fifth overall. Instaphone had only 351,135
subscribers during this time.
In 2007, Ufone still remained second (14,014,044) in terms of mobile subscribers and
Telenor third (10,701,332), followed closely by Warid (10,620,386), which remained
forth. Zong was fifth (1,024,563) and Instaphone sixth (333,081). The total
subscribers in 2007 were 63 million (63,159,857).
4.5.2.3.1 Ufone
Ufone is one of the major competitors of Mobilink and has sustained a good market
share over the years. It has remained second overall for a number of years. However
just recently, Telenor, which had gained third position in 2006, in the industry, is
giving strong competition to Ufone and even achieved second position in the first
quarter of 2007.
The main goal of Ufone is to provide its customers with the most effective and
efficient manner of communication. The main goal of Ufone has always been of
providing its customers with the state of the art services at the most simplest rates in
the industry. Its goals have always revolved around U (its customers), which can be
seen in its punch line or slogan “it’s all about U”. Furthermore, by accomplishing its
goal, Ufone would be able to sustain its market share in the industry and remain in the
second position and defend its position from competitors like Telenor.
The main strategies of Ufone to accomplish their goals surround around providing
services that fulfill the needs of the society at all levels of the society. Ufone was the
first mobile company to stop charging for incoming calls, first to introduce GPRS,
first to start bundle SMS packages and recently its call rates have greatly reduced and
have become even simpler. Furthermore its commitment can also been seen from the
fact that it’s slogan of “it’s all about u” has not changed over the years.
4.5.2.3.2 Telenor
Telenor since its inception in 2005, has been an aggressive company, trying to gain
market share from other competitors, first it took the third position from Warid
(another company that started in 2005) in 2007 and is now giving stiff competition to
Ufone (currently second13) and is favorite in gaining the position from its rival
company.
The main goal of Telenor is to help its customers get the full benefit of
communications services in their daily lives. This is also reflected in their vision,
which is “we’re here to help”. The main goal of Telenor is to provide services, which
take use of the latest technologies and are also new to the industry, thus providing
their customers with the full benefits of communications, which other companies are
not able to provide. Telenor’s slogan or punch line also reiterates their goal which is
“the smart call”. Henceforth, by accomplishing its vision, Telenor would be able to
take the second position in the industry and can then provide competition to the
market leader-Mobilink.
The strategies used by Telenor to achieve its goals is by being creative, that is
providing new and modern services, that take advantages of new technologies but are
also easy to understand and use. Some of the creative products introduced by Telenor
over the years include: Easy Load, Smart Share, mobile TV, largest network of
EDGE, Pic Share, international packages like Djuice and many more. All these
services are very creative, never been introduced before and helping all its customers
around Pakistan.
4.5.2.3.3 Warid
Warid started its operations in May 2005, and enjoyed a good market share in the
industry, however it has lost its subscribers to its competitors in recent years, leading
to its loss of position in the industry. The main goal of Warid is to maintain and
strengthen its current market share and increase to positions, which it earlier held in
the industry.
The major strategy used by Warid is to create a sense of confidence among its
customers that it is the best network for their lives. That is it provides the best calling
and sms rates, including the value added services. Its slogan, “life ka network” also
provides emphasis to this point.
Warid had earlier efficiently promoted its postpaid packages as affordable as its
prepaid packages, a strategy that increased its postpaid customers significantly in the
mobile industry, at a time when overall post paid connections were decreasing.
Currently its agreement with SingTel will also provide emphasis to its goals and
associated strategies.
4.5.2.3.4 Zong
Zong, a recent entrant in the mobile industry is a subsidiary of China Mobile. Zong’s
inception was the result of the takeover of Paktel by China Mobile in 2007. Being a
new entrant in the mobile industry, its goal is to gain market share, currently Zong is
a small part of the industry, but however it aims to increase its market share reach
above 10% by 2010.
The main strategy of Zong in this concern is to allow people to communicate at will,
without worrying about tariffs, network coverage, capacity issues or congestion. Its
slogan “Say it All”, provide the emphasis to their strategy. Currently Zong is
providing packages with the lowest call rates. Furthermore it has also introduced
features, which were not present earlier. These include change of happy hours,
changing SMS packages and internet packages on the discretion of its customers.
Mobile networks are one of the most technical aspects of any mobile company and
the technology changes affecting the networks have changed considerable, since the
first mobile company Paktel was introduced in Pakistan.
Paktel’s networks ran on Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS). AMPS was the
analog mobile phone system standard developed by Bell Labs. AMPS were a first
generation cellular technology that used separate frequencies, or "channels", for each
conversation. AMPS used considerably more computing power in order to select
frequencies; however cell centers could flexibly assign channels to handsets based on
signal strength, allowing the same frequency to be re-used in various locations
without interference. However it suffered from some weaknesses when compared to
today's digital technologies. Since it is an analog standard, it was very susceptible to
static and noise and had no protection from eavesdropping using a scanner.
speech channels, which are digital, and thus is considered a second generation (2G)
mobile phone system. This has also meant that data communication was easy to build
into the system. GSM also pioneered the short message service (SMS), which is now
supported on other mobile standards as well. Most GSM networks operate in the 900
MHz or 1800 MHz bands.
Currently all mobile networks of Pakistan have entered the 2.5G. Mobile networks
entered the 2.5G, by implementing the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). It is a
packet oriented mobile data service available to users of GSM. GPRS can be used for
services such as Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) access, Short Message Service
(SMS), Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), and for internet communication
services such as email and World Wide Web access. Later on, Enhanced Data rates
for Global Evolution (EDGE) was introduced, EDGE is an upgrade that provides a
potential three-fold increase in capacity of GSM/GPRS networks. Although EDGE is
a 3G technology, but it is considered a part of 2.5G technologies, however sometimes
separately referred to as 2.75G.
4.5.3.2 Innovation
mobile industry has kept this promise by introducing new and innovative services for
years.
In recent years, most of the innovative services have been introduced by Telenor;
these services being innovative took the Pakistani market by storm and have become
part of our daily lives. Examples of these services include Easyload and Smartshare.
Although Telenor is seen as the most innovative company right now, we cannot
diminish the contributions of other competitors to the Pakistani mobile industry.
Some of the innovative services introduced by the different service providers are as
follows:
These and many more services have helped make the mobile industry what it is today.
With innovations, being the hallmark of the mobile industry of Pakistan, future
prospects are bright. Also with swap of mobile operators becoming very easy using
Mobile Number Portability (MNP), and competition based on tariffs, innovation
becomes a must to create a competitive advantage. Furthermore, introduction of 3G
services in the years to come would also increase the innovative service provided by
the mobile operators. Future innovation would take advantage of the current network
capabilities and additional benefits of 3G networks, including the high speed data
transfer services.
As their corporate level strategy, they have entered into partnerships with different
organizations.
On the basis of findings, it appears that for the past few years (1999-2003), Mobilink
had a focus on internal growth. All this is evident from the fact that since the
deregulation of the mobile service industry of Pakistan, Mobilink has undertaken
various efforts to ensure that it changes its stance from concentrating on its existing
market to growing its market presence. The main reason for this change is mainly to
keep up with the competition and to retain and increase its market share. This
transition is obvious in Mobilink’s repositioning itself and hitting the market with a
new face with the catchphrase “Reshaping communication”
With the threat of new entrants into the industry after the deregulation, Mobilink’s
strategy took a new turn. To keep abreast with the company, Mobilink took the
following steps during the last 2 years:
As their business level strategy it has focused on Differentiation strategy ever since
it started. Mobilink has always made successful attempts to distinguish their products
or services from other in the industry. They make their product unique through:
4.5.4.2.1 Advertising
• GPRS enabled
• Mobilink also started 3 friend and family number with a charge of 2.25/min
still expensive as compared to Warid but giving incentive to subscriber there
is an additional cost of RS 25 to add friends and family number.
• International roaming: Bilateral roaming agreements signed with 100
countries around the world to have true roaming service operational in 151
operators of the world.
• There are certain areas of Pakistan where PTCL connections are not available;
the PTCL cables have not reached yet, but Mobilink has its service in those
areas.
• Providing services in 413 cities
• Best customer service in the cellular market: Biggest Call Center in Pakistan,
which is there to assist the customers 24 hours.
Their differentiation strategy is usually targeted at people who are not particularly
concerned with price, so it can be quite profitable e.g. indigo and blackberry are
relatively expansive packages; blackberry is mainly targeted for the business class
who can afford it. In this way, the revenue generation remains high. Mobilink offers
tariff plans that are exclusively designed to cater to the communication needs of a
diverse group of people, taking into account occasional users to businessmen. To
achieve this objective, mob offers both postpaid (Indigo, relatively expensive) and the
prepaid (JAZZ, relatively inexpensive) solutions to their customers.
Mobilink does not follow a low cost strategy. Mobilink is a giant in Pakistani mobile
industry Tel. Since it first started its operations, it has been focusing its products on
the upper strata of the society. That is why its rates are higher than its competitors,
Ufone, Warid, Telenor, etc.
• Differentiation Advantage:
• Because they target the customer groups they offer tariff plans that are
exclusively designed to cater to the communication needs of a diverse group
of people, taking into account occasional users to businessmen. To achieve
this objective, they offer both postpaid (Indigo) and the prepaid (JAZZ)
solutions to their customers
• The marketing department immediately identifies and responds to the
customer needs.
Customers are at the heart of my success. They have placed their trust and confidence
in us. In return, I strive to anticipate their needs and deliver service, quality and value
beyond their expectations.
I strive for excellence in all that I do. I aspire to the highest standards and raise the
bar for myself everyday. This commitment to delivering world-class quality translates
into unmatched service and value for my customers and all stakeholders.
At Mobilink, I take pride in practicing the highest ethical standards in an open and
honest environment, and by honeying my commitments. I take personal
responsibility for my actions, and treat everyone fairly, and with trust and respect.
CHAPTER 5
The findings are the facts that I have discovered from the analysis of the Mobilink
and in the light of those findings I have given the suggestions, which are realistic and
adoptable for the organization. After critically analyzing both the operations and
financial data of Mobilink I have summarized the findings of the report. These
analyses are mainly based on my practical working & experience at the Mobilink
during internship.
The main problem that I have identified within the SALES department as a whole is
the lack of job rotation within the department and not enacting on the job
advancement rules.
According to my findings, no official job rotation takes place within the department,
even though the employees informally try to learn about the working of other
departments through their peers. They show keen interest in learning new things as all
the operations within the department are interlinked.
Furthermore the only time, officially, when an employee is told about the working of
another part of the department, is only when he is moved to that part, for example,
when an employee initially working for sales operation department is transferred to
off indirect sales because of shortage of employee. This learning should not be
considered as a job rotation, because this shift is permanent for that given employee.
Furthermore, at Mobilink, the rules and procedures for job advancements are laid out
however it has been seen that junior executives, especially those at associate level are
not promoted to specialist levels, even though they have fulfilled the main
requirement- years of experience with Mobilink. This creates dissatisfaction within
the employees.
Work is not equally distributed. On one hand some employees have to work all day
without relaxing while some others have very little to do. This not only creates
confusion among employees but also hurting and disturbing the overall setup of the
company. And above all it results in dissatisfaction among customers as well.
Staff of the indirect sales is less and workload is too much on the existing staff
especially in operations due to which they are unable to give proper time to their
franchises.
At Mobilink the selection of internees was based on nepotism basis. Some internees
even did not hold a commerce or business qualification, but they were working due to
some relationship with manager or some other employee of branch. Moreover there
was no proper plan to train the internees.
The promotions are mostly powered by senior’s favoritism or depend upon their wills
and decision. This adds to the negative factors, which denominate the employees thus
resulting in affecting their performance negatively.
Employees have very limited authority; they have to take the approval from
management authority for every thing that is out of routine which is very time
consuming.
5.2 CONCLUSION
The mobile industry has seen phenomenal growth over the year, showing growth rate
of more than 80% in 2007. This growth is not new to the industry, as previous years
have shown substantial growth as well. This growth is a direct result of the increased
competition in the mobile industry, resulting into better services at reduced rate.
Furthermore, this has favorably affected our economy as a whole, generating
revenues for the government, through direct and indirect taxation and creating
employment opportunities for the people. The mobile industry of Pakistan is
considered by a majority of prospective employees as the best industry for a job.
Although the mobile industry has seen substantial growth over the years, many
observers feel that the industry may become saturated and will show lower growth
rates as a result of increased taxation and the general economic conditions of
Pakistan. Although the concerns may be valid to some extent, but with PTA,
introducing the 3G platform in the coming years and a major part of our population
still without mobile connectivity, especially in distant villages, there is still optimism
that the mobile industry will not become saturated and there is still place for
competition in the industry.
Mobilink has been in operation since 1994, and since then has become the market
leader by providing its customers with the state of the art products and services.
Mobilink has for years enjoyed a good market share of the total industry; its current
market share is 36%.
Even though Mobilink has been a market leader, for so many years, providing the
most technological advanced products and services, it has for a number of years been
facing strong competition from Telenor and Ufone, which has resulted in a decrease
of its market share. This has led Mobilink to a policy of diversification, by
introducing products like Mobilink PCO and WIMAX services. Although Mobilink
has diversified, it still is providing competitive products and services for its core
products-Jazz and Indigo.
Finally, internships are an important part of the academic program, as they provide us
with the practical experience during our academic career. I am very grateful that I
received an internship at Mobilink as it was a great learning experience on how a
multinational company works and further improved my skills of team working and
critical decision making.
As identified earlier, the problem that I identified was the lack of job rotation within
department and not enacting on job advancement rules and procedures. Some of the
recommendations to this problem are as follows:
Firstly I would recommend that the department officially start job rotation. The major
benefit of which would include even more motivated employees, with enhanced
skills.
One of the major arguments against job rotation is that without it, employees will
perform only one task and will become specialized in that particular job. Furthermore,
the argument also suggests, that with job rotation, only general information is
imparted to employees, not essentially helpful in doing complex tasks. However, in
today’s business environment, multitasking is becoming more and more essential and
thus rotation becomes essential in making employees multitask.
Furthermore, the organization structure of the treasury department makes it easy for
job rotation, as all sub departments major functions are interlinked to each other and
mostly all departments currently have more than one associate employee, except cash
management.
Secondly I would also suggest that specific job related training should also be
imparted to the employees, this would have an additional benefit of further improving
their current skills and knowledge, while attaining new through job rotation. Also
professional counseling programs should also be started to provide employees with
the information, regarding future prospects at Mobilink and in the mobile industry.
Lastly, I would suggest, that Mobilink adheres to its job advancement procedures
because for an employee that has worked with Mobilink for more than 2-3 years, they
should be awarded with the fruits of job advancement, as I believe that the criteria of
job advancements currently used is a standard in most MNC’s and job advancements
are a part of career growth. Furthermore, job advancement s will create future leaders
for Mobilink.
Thirdly the policy makers of Mobilink should reconsider their call and SMS rates as
they are no more a monopoly in the country now they are to face competition, which
by no regard is easy.
Lastly I will say that human being are prone to experiment; same is the case here as
more telecom companies are entering the competition people are moving more
towards them so for the skew of retaining their customer Mobilink should become
more dynamic by introducing new and more customer friendly packages.
REFERENCES
• Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.com)
• Mobilink (www.mobilinkgsm.com)
• Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (www.pta.gov.pk)
• Ufone (www.ufone.com)
• Telenor (www.telenor.com.pk)
• Warid (www.waridtel.com)
• Zong (www.zong.com.pk)
• Orascom Telecom (www.otelecom.com)
• The News (www.thenews.com.pk)
• Articles used:
o Mobilink
o Ufone
o Telenor Pakistan
o Warid Telecom (Pakistan)
o Paktel
o China Mobile (Pakistan)
• Reports
o Orascom Telecom Annual Report 2007
o Orascom Telecom Annual Report 2006
o Mobilink’s Balance Sheet and Income Statement