Assessment 1

Research Report Assignment

Introduction

Telstra is Australia’s largest and most efficient telecommunications company, which provides one of the best-known brands in the country. They offer a full range of services and compete in all areas of telecommunications both domestically and internationally. Telstra’s vision is to enhance its position as the leading full service telecommunications and information Service Company in Australia as well as to expand its presence internationally. (Telstra Website, 2008)

Telstra, originally Telecom Australia was established in 1901 by the Postmaster Generals Department to manage all domestic phone services. Telecom Australia continued to be operated by the Postmaster Generals Department until 1975. In 1989, Telecom Australia became the official Telecommunications Corporations for all domestic and international telephone services. On the 1st of July 1995 Telecom Australia changed their name to Telstra for the purpose of differentiation from other global telecommunications companies. The company has been trading international since 1993. Currently Telstra operates in over 19 countries worldwide (Telstra Annual Report, 2005, p.12).

The “Telstra Corporation Limited” (Telstra) is the primary telecommunications supplier of Australia and the southern Pacific region. Telstra have spent 4 years of preparation, 2 years of project implementation and over $1.5 Billion AU to design, build and provide a fully national IP network. This fully integrated network is known as the Telstra Next IP & Next G networks (Next networks). The business drivers for Telstra to implement the Next networks has come from Governments, large Enterprises and small businesses and their need for a standard fully integrated, more scalable, more reliable, better performing and more secure platform that connects technologies and business practise. Telstra recognised this need and have made a multibillion dollar investment to transform the already offered networks into the Next networks to enable them to support their customer’s needs.

Reasons for research

The main reason for research about the customer satisfaction of mobile service Telstra customer, is the sharp increment of people in Australia acquiring mobile phone lines in personal and business plans, also, the slightly increment of children with mobile phones and the entrance of a other strong competitor in mobile service provider as Virgin. All this with the intention to determinate how happy is the current Telstra customer with the service a how available are they to stay with Telstra for longer.

However, other factors as new technology appearing, new plans, packets of data and new devices also will affect the satisfaction of Telstra customers, having with these elements another reason to analyse general satisfaction with this service.

• The Telstra Mobile Network is Australia's largest 3G and 4G enabled mobile network covering 99.3 per cent of the Australian population across more than 2.3 million square kilometres. That means you'll enjoy coverage across more than double the area of any other mobile network in Australia.

• Telstra continues to lead the way in providing Australians access to all the latest 3G HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) and 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) speed technologies. Telstra not only offers the largest 4G coverage – it is backed by the largest 3G coverage so you can connect faster in more places.

• For the second year running Australians rated Telstra as 'Highest in Wireless Network Quality Performance' in a J.D. Power and Associates study. Autumn 2013.

• The Telstra Mobile Network is the only mobile network in Australia enabled with new high definition voice technology. HD Voice not only delivers crystal clear voice quality it also provides noise suppression features making your HD-compatible handset much more effective in noisy environments such as on the train, in crowded places or in heavy traffic. Customers calling between HD-compatible phones on the Telstra Mobile Network can access the higher quality calls at no extra cost.

• Telstra has the largest 3G HSPA+ coverage with typical download speeds of 550kbps to 8Mbps available across 97 per cent of the population. In remaining 3G coverage areas typical download speeds are 550kbps to 3Mbps. typical 3G customer upload speeds are 300kbps – 3Mbps in all capital cities and major regional areas covering more than 93 per cent of the population and 300kbps – 1Mbps in other coverage areas.

• 4G device will go faster in more places when you connect it to the Telstra Mobile Network. Typical 4G download speeds of 2Mbps – 40Mbps and typical upload speeds of 1Mbps – 10Mbps, available in more places than on any other network in Australia. What's more, 4G capable devices seamlessly operate in both 4G and 3G coverage areas. For Telstra 4G customers this means they can continue to enjoy faster speeds in more places, even when they move outside Telstra's 4G coverage area, with typical 3G download speeds that include 1.1 – 20Mbps available across 80 per cent of the Australian population.

• Telstra received the highest numerical score among wireless network providers in the proprietary. J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2012–2013 Australian Wireless Network Quality Performance StudySM. 2013 study based on 2,003 total responses measuring four providers and measures opinions of wireless users about the quality of their service. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers/businesses/business users surveyed February 2013. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com

Research objectives

• To determinate the satisfaction level of current Telstra mobile service customers.

• To determinate what are the principal factors that consumers will have into account at the moment to choose a mobile service provider.

• To investigate what is the perception of Telstra’s image as a mobile service provider from their customers.

• To investigate the current purchasing behaviour of Australian mobile phone users in terms of specific services and content

Situation analysis

PEST analysis:

The approach used in the process of strategic planning to review the external environment affecting a business now and in the future is PEST analysis (Southside Marketing Solution, 2009.)Telstra Corporation limited as a large and a complex business need to focus on the external environments which can be done through PEST analysis.

Political Factors:

Political factors include changes in the government policies which can affect the industry. Political factors also includes changes of government locally or at federal or national level, changing government policies in taxation schemes, privatization of certain bodies or changes in nationalized industry structure.

Generally competition makes things cheaper. Telstra as a Privatized company has lots of opportunities than the Government owned company. Telstra, formerly telecom was only the choice of the consumers for telephone service. After deregulation many competitors entered into the market and more choices were available for the customers to use the telephone service. Privatization of Telstra and deregulation of the market allowed it to enter into the competitive market (Act now 2006).

The new idea of National Broadband System is a threat to Telstra. The government announced that 90% of the household will be serviced by the fibre whereas 10% via satellite. This policy of government is justified by blaming Telstra as the most vertically integrated carrier in the world. (Kenneth Davidson 2010). But it has no evidence to prove this fact. The policy if implemented will materially affect Telstra’s profitability and its share price. The legislation if passed will destroy Telstra and also the government. On the other hand, the federal government decision to push for the structural separation of Telstra has been generally welcomed by those who feel it will enhance the competition but the investors fear that this will harm the value of their assets. (Bartlett 2009). The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in its submission to government discussion paper on regulatory reform needed for National Broadband Network further said that “the structural separation of Telstra into wholesale and retain company is only the regulatory arrangement that will in practical term address Telstra’s incentives and ability to discriminate against its competitor and ensure equivalence” (Corner 2009).

The operational or functional split of Telstra would destroy its share price, hold back infrastructure investments, and cost consumers more in long run. Telstra will lose its monopoly through splitting up the company. Splitting of Telstra mobile business from the rest of the business will reduce the ability of Telstra to leverage the market power it possesses in the fixed line market onto the more competitive mobile service market. (Farher 2007)

Economic Factors:

Economic factors are the changes in interest rates, inflation and also the exchange rates. Economy of country determines the success of the any industry. The ability of consumers to buy is determined by the economic growth of the country. It is obvious that decrease in consumers due to less economic growth results in loss for service providers like Telstra.

Australia has one of the strongest economies in the world with almost two consecutive decades of growth and the unemployment rate falling to generational lows. It is the thirteenth largest economy in the world with the Gross domestic product of $920 billion. The key contributing factors for Australian strong economy are low inflation, housing market boom and strong emphasis on reforms (Economy Watch 2010). According to DFAT (2010), the result of continuous structural and policy reforms in Australia has resulted in sound stable and modern institutional and regulatory structure. Changes in the tax system also have led to the significant reduction in the business cost. This has brought lots of opportunities in the telecommunication sector. In designing, developing and implementing the communication solutions for the customers, Telstra has a significant impact on the economy through employment, investment and supply chain. Telstra in the financial year 2008/2009 paid $1.9 billion in the commonwealth, state and local taxes (Telstra 2009).

Social Factors:

The social factor is concerned with the society’s attitudes and cultural values. Different factors such as demography, education, attitudes (health, environmental consciousness etc.) directly or indirectly affect the business environment.

Australia has broad variety of people and the interests of the people are also different. Religions, nationality, income are rapidly changing in Australia due to rapid change in diversity. It is a challenge for Telstra to deal with this diversity. However, there are opportunities due to the growing gender, ethnic and cultural diversity in the workforce. The initiative to achieve the strategic objectives is through the attraction of diverse range of people. Diversity in the workforce has the potential to add improved performance (On boarding Telstra 2010).

Telstra aims to make the work environments that promote diversity and are also free of unlawful discrimination. Telstra has also taken a leading approach to embedding flexible work practices. It is necessary for Telstra to provide best service to the customers who can enable them to foster the greater innovation, strong problem solving capability, greater customer connection, increased morale, motivation and engagement (Telstra 2010).

Technological Factors:

Advancement in technology is playing an important role in telecommunication industry. New technologies create new products and services. To facilitate the customers with the new technology it is necessary to stay with the current technologies and also should be able to act quickly to embrace the new disruptive technology.

This advancement in technology has created lots of opportunities for Telstra. Telstra as one of the strong service provider in Australia includes a range of network technologies as well as information systems. Telstra has been providing integrated telecommunication services with the extensive geographical coverage (Fuel Cell Works 2010). The transmission system consists of both terrestrial and non-terrestrial transmission system and incorporate Synchronous Digital Hierarchy technology. More than these, Telstra has been delivering the broadband capability through the variety of technologies using the cable modem, ADSL and satellite services. Telstra has been providing the full range of mobile service to the customers with a range of information, entertainment and connectivity services.

Telstra uses internet services to delivers its products to the customers in an efficient way. The Products are delivered to the customers through online shopping. The information in the website has provided the facility of comparing the products and services to the other service providers and stays updated with the new products with the new technology.

Secondary data research

THEN AUSTRALIAN MOBILE PHONE STATISTICS FOR 2012.

It is clear Australians love mobile and our reliance on mobile devices is so great that by 2015 smartphone internet usage is tipped to surpass desktop usage. Here are some more recent mobile phone statistics for Australia that I have been pulled from a number of different sources.

1. Australia has the second highest smartphone usage by population density, second only to Singapore – (Our mobile planet: Australia)

2. The Australian MNOs (Optus, Telstra, and Vodafone) are likely to have more than 29 million mobile subscribers by late 2012 as more users continue to migrate to a mobile only environment. Telstra continues to be the market leader with more than 13 million subscribers. (BuddeComm).

3. Mobile advertising in Australia will grow from $9.1 million in 2010 to reach $76m by 2015 – that’s a massive growth at 46% a year (Frost & Sullivan).

4. In April 2012, 818,500 children aged 5 to 14 years (295) had a mobile phone (ABS).

5. 68% of 15-65-year-olds now have smartphones, with penetration among the whole population at 41%. This will increase to 65% by 2017 (Frost & Sullivan).

6. Smartphones has generated a $15 billion in revenues in Australia, while carriers and phone makers soaking up most of the $15bn application developers, accessory suppliers and mobile advertising are also billion dollar industries. (Telsyte).

7. 88% of Australian smartphone users access the Internet on their mobile phone at least once a day (Google Mobile Planet).

8. Time spent accessing mobile internet continues its upward trend: 4.2 hours per week, up 20% from 3.5 hours in 2010 (Nielsen, Australian Online Consumer Report).

9. 32% more information was downloaded mobile phones between April and June of 2012 than for the final three months of 2011 (Australian Bureau of Statistics).

10. 40% of smartphone users have used their mobile phone to compare prices online and to look at product and service reviews before making a purchase decision (AIMIA).

http://www.michaelweeding.com/michael-weeding/2012/11/10-australian-mobile-phone-statistics-for-2012.html

MOBILE PHONE USAGE

In 2009, this survey collected data on children's mobile phone ownership for the first time. It is estimated that 31% (841,400) of children had a mobile phone at the time of interview. A higher proportion of girls had a mobile phone (33%) compared with boys (29%). Older children were most likely to have a mobile phone (76% for 12 to 14 year olds), while amongst the youngest group (5 to 8 year olds) only 2% of children had a mobile phone. (Table 19)

Tasmania had the highest proportion of children with a mobile phone (41%), while in the Northern Territory 27% of children had mobile phones. There was no difference between the proportion of children who had a mobile phone by their location (living in a state capital city or outside of a state capital city (including Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory)). Mobile phone ownership was 33% for children living in outer regional areas, 31% for children living in major cities and 30% for children living in inner regional areas. Mobile phone ownership also varied by family type, with children in one-parent families more likely to have a mobile phone (38%) than those in couple families (29%). (Table 19)

MOBILE PHONE OWNERSHIP, By state/territory
[pic]

More children used their mobile phone more for contacting family (60%) than for contacting friends (36%). The proportion of children using their mobile phone more for contacting family varied with age, with 95% of 5 to 8 year olds using it for this purpose compared to 52% of 12 to 14 year olds. Only 4% of children had used their mobile phone to access the Internet in the 12 months prior to interview. (Table 21)

http://www.abs.gov.au/

Figure 15: Satisfaction with Carrier Services By Individual Carrier

[pic]

Comments

Last year saw the satisfaction levels for almost every service type decrease considerably from previous years. The dropping satisfaction levels was part explained by factors like carrier mergers, and highly publicised carrier network issues.

The only exception was satisfaction with cost, which has been steadily increasing from 2009 (Survey 5). The 2012 results have remained at a fairly similar level to last year, with minimal evidence of recovery. Some minor variations follow:

Satisfaction with network coverage has increased slightly from 2011, but remains considerably lower than the 2009 and 2010 figures.

Satisfaction with the variety of mobile handsets available and the content and services available via the phone’s portal continues to decline.

Satisfaction with the cost of accessing data has declined and is now back to 2009 and 2010 levels.

Satisfaction with services by carrier clearly shows that variation across the carriers was substantial for many of the services. For example:

Satisfaction with Virgin was considerably higher for almost all services than other carriers except for network coverage.

Satisfaction with Telstra’s network coverage was an obvious standout for the carrier and also when compared to the other providers.

Vodafone experienced substantially lower levels of satisfaction compared to the other carriers for overall satisfaction, customer service, network coverage and content and services available via the carrier’s portal. These results are most likely an outcome of the network issues the carrier has experienced over the last year.

http://www.aimia.com.au/getfile?id=4422&file=AMPLI+2012+Report_FINAL_September+17.pdf

Research methods and Questionnaire

Survey

Data collection method

Due to the no existing details to contact current Telstra mobile service customers, the best way to get them to answer the survey will be contact face to face at Telstra stores.

Develop a questionnaire

1. Which service plan are you currently subscribing to?

|Pre-paid |Post-paid |
| | |

2. How long have you been with the mobile service provider?

|Less than a year |1 – 2 years |More than 2 years |
| | | |

3. What was your previous mobile service provider?

|Telstra |Other |
| | |

4. Select ONLY 3 of the criteria listed that will be considered during the selection of mobile service provider

|Good Value-Added Service | |
|Free incoming Call | |
|Accumulate rollover unused air-time | |
|Good Network & Voice quality | |
|Stringent Subscription Contract Requirement | |

5. Is the mobile phone bill sufficiently clear, accurate and acceptable?

|Very Satisfied |Satisfied |Neutral |Unsatisfied |Very Unsatisfied |
| | | | | |

6. How satisfied are you with the overall network quality provided by your mobile service provider?

|Very Satisfied |Satisfied |Neutral |Unsatisfied |Very Unsatisfied |
| | | | | |

7. How satisfied are you are with the coverage level provided by your mobile service provider?

|Very Satisfied |Satisfied |Neutral |Unsatisfied |Very Unsatisfied |
| | | | | |

8. How satisfied are you with the level of access (that is, the ability to get a line) provided by your mobile service provider?

|Very Satisfied |Satisfied |Neutral |Unsatisfied |Very Unsatisfied |
| | | | | |

9. How satisfied are you with the voice quality (that is, the amount of voice distortion or background noise) provided by your mobile service provider.

|Very Satisfied |Satisfied |Neutral |Unsatisfied |Very Unsatisfied |
| | | | | |

10. Would you think that your mobile service provider can be relied upon in keeping to its promises?

|Yes | |
|No | |

11. Do you ever made any complaint(s) to your mobile service provider?

|Yes | |
|No | |

12. How would you rate your overall satisfaction level with your mobile service provider?

|Very Satisfied |Satisfied |Neutral |Unsatisfied |Very Unsatisfied |
| | | | | |

13. Would you stay with your mobile service provider again even after the subscription contract expired?

|Yes | |
|No | |

14. Would you recommend others to subscribe to your mobile service provider?

|Yes | |
|No | |

15. Which one is your age group?

|18 – 29 |30 - 39 |40 - 49 |50 – 59 |60 - 70 |
| | | | | |

16. What is your occupation?

|Student | |
|Professional | |
|Retired | |
|Other | |

17. Your gender

|Male | |
|Female | |

18. Which one is your annual income group?

|< than $35.000 | |
|$35.000 - $45.000 | |
|$45.000 - $55.000 | |
|$55.000 - $65.000 | |
|> Than $65.000 | |

Sampling details

The people chosen to answer the survey will be current Telstra mobile service customers in pre-paid and post-paid plans. The number of people selected to answer the survey will be 18.

Findings and analysis

1. Which service plan are you currently subscribing to?

|Pre-paid |Post-paid |
|3 |15 |

Figure 1 Pre-paid vs Post-paid

[pic]

The 83.33% of the responders have Telstra accounts in post-paid plans. For this reason Telstra should take more care of its customers in post-paid plans and maintain the levels of satisfaction in pre-paid customers considering the big proportion of them.

2. How long have you been with the mobile service provider?

|Less than a year |1 – 2 years |More than 2 years |
|4 |3 |11 |

Figure 2 Time with current provider

[pic]

More of the responders have stayed with Telstra for more than two years indicating the loyalty of them and how well satisfied are they with its products. Whatever the huge number of people acquiring mobile for first time in Australia is an important factor to have in mind.

3. What was your previous mobile service provider?

|Telstra |Other |
|14 |4 |

Figure 3 Providers used before

[pic]

Most of the people have been with Telstra before and it is important to maintain their loyalty with more benefits and ask them periodically how happy they are with their mobile service.

4. Select ONLY 3 of the criteria listed that will be considered during the selection of mobile service provider

|Good Value-Added Service |16 |
|Free incoming Call |8 |
|Accumulate rollover unused air-time |5 |
|Good Network & Voice quality |25 |

Figure 4 Factors involved to choose a provider

[pic]

The most important factor when talking about satisfaction with mobile service was good value – added service. Telstra is the most expensive provider in the market for this reason it should continue improving its service with technology or think about to give more services for less money to avoid the competence.

5. Is the mobile phone bill sufficiently clear, accurate and acceptable?

|Very Satisfied |Satisfied |Neutral |Unsatisfied |Very Unsatisfied |
|11 |5 |1 |2 |0 |

Figure 5 Mobile bill satisfaction

[pic]

More than the half of the responders are happy with billing system of Telstra, however, 16% of the responders appear to have some problems with it.

6. How satisfied are you with the overall network quality provided by your mobile service provider?

|Very Satisfied |Satisfied |Neutral |Unsatisfied |Very Unsatisfied |
|10 |5 |2 |1 |0 |

Figure 6 Satisfaction with mobile network quality

[pic]

83% of the responders look happy with network quality, ratifying the good service that Telstra is giving against the 6% of the answers.

7. How satisfied are you are with the coverage level provided by your mobile service provider?

|Very Satisfied |Satisfied |Neutral |Unsatisfied |Very Unsatisfied |
|12 |4 |1 |1 |0 |

Figure 7 Satisfaction with coverage level

[pic]

The Telstra coverage is the best in Australia nowadays and 88% of the responders are agree with this when they answer that they are very satisfied or satisfied.

8. How satisfied are you with the level of access (that is, the ability to get a line) provided by your mobile service provider?

|Very Satisfied |Satisfied |Neutral |Unsatisfied |Very Unsatisfied |
|13 |3 |1 |1 |0 |

Figure 8 Satisfaction with level of access

[pic]

The level of access also supports the satisfaction with network and coverage, and in this case 88% of responder being satisfied.

9. How satisfied are you with the voice quality (that is, the amount of voice distortion or background noise) provided by your mobile service provider.

|Very Satisfied |Satisfied |Neutral |Unsatisfied |Very Unsatisfied |
|11 |4 |2 |1 |0 |

Figure 9 Satisfaction with voice quality

[pic]

The 83% of the responders look to be satisfied with the voice quality of Telstra mobile service.

10. Would you think that your mobile service provider can be relied upon in keeping to its promises?

|Yes |14 |
|No |4 |

Figure 10 Level of trust in provider

[pic]

The 77.77% of the responders recognise that Telstra has is giving as good service as they promised.

11. Do you ever made any complaint(s) to your mobile service provider?

|Yes |3 |
|No |15 |

Figure 11Discomfort with the provider

[pic]

Only a 16.66% of the responders looks to have a discomfort with Telstra.

12. How would you rate your overall satisfaction level with your mobile service provider?

|Very Satisfied |Satisfied |Neutral |Unsatisfied |Very Unsatisfied |
|6 |7 |2 |2 |1 |

Figure 12 Overall satisfaction with the company

[pic]

A 72% of the responders look to be happy with Telstra service in general.

13. Would you stay with your mobile service provider again even after the subscription contract expired?

|Yes |14 |
|No |4 |

Figure 13 Customer loyalty

[pic]

The 77.77% of the responders have said that they will stay with Telstra before to strat to look for other provider.

14. Would you recommend others to subscribe to your mobile service provider?

|Yes |15 |
|No |3 |

Figure 14 Perception of the provider

[pic]

The 83.33% said that they will recommend Telstra as a good mobile service provider, understanding with this that the general perception of the company is good.

15. Which one is your age group?

| Than $65.000 |6 |