SRI LANKA TELECOMS analysis

Over the past few years, the market has gradually shifted from fixed broadband service to a mobile broadband service. Given the irreversible shift, companies in the industry have to focus their strategies on wireless mobile broadband services. Being a reliable ICT solutions provider in Sri Lanka, the SLT has to venture into the wireless connections segment to retain its customers and attract new ones. The company’s opportunity is introducing the SLT 4G. The current market segment for Sri Lanka Telecoms encompasses island-wide citizens coming from both cities and rural areas. Consequently, the industry contributes to the country’s economic growth through the introduction of latest technologies, innovation, increased employment, and more investment (Bezawada & Pauwels 2013, p. The constant introduction of new technology and the skyrocketing demand of the Sri Lankan people have transformed the telecommunication sectors to a rapidly expanding and changing sector (Balamurali & Bogahawatte 2011, p.

The internet broadband services in Sri Lanka are broadly divided into mobile broadband services and fixed broadband services as shown in figure 1 below: Figure 1: a summary of the internet broadband services in Sri Lanka. One of the most recent trends in the industry is the gradual but constant shift from the fixed broadband internet services to the mobile broadband services. In recent times, little development has been made on the fixed broadband services. This service has a high probability of penetrating the Sri Lankan market, especially in the rural areas and becoming a major wireless internet service host in the island. For over 150 years of its existence, the Sri Lanka Telecom has built a reputation of trust among customers and other telecommunications providers in Sri Lanka (Thompson Jr 2011, p.

With a market share of over 6 million customers including international corporations, SLT has become the most reliable ICT Solutions Provider. This has significantly influenced its profitability, with an annual turnover of over Rs 40 billion. Sri Lanka Telecom PLC’s competence in ICT, broadband, and backbone infrastructure services continues to grow (Sardana 2016, p. Internal Environmental Analysis The internal environmental analysis entails the evaluation of the factors within a company, including corporate culture, management, and current employees, that define employee behavior. One appropriate tool to analyze the internal environment is McKinsey’s 7 S. A detailed analysis of McKinsey’s 7 S factors is presented in the APPENDIX. Figure 5: A summary of the McKinsey’s 7 S factors SWOT analysis The situational analysis reveals that the major strength exhibited by SLT is the massive customer base that already has a fixed telephone connection across the island.

The company has established a good working relationship with the customers, who in turn have become more loyal to the company products. Threats • Stiff competition. • Constant changes in technology Figure 6: A summary of the SWOT analysis The opportunity for Sri Lanka Telecoms is providing wireless mobile broadband services in Sri Lanka. The telecommunications market in Sri Lanka has positively responded to the global trend of shifting from the fixed broadband internet services to the mobile broadband services. Consequently, there has an increasing demand for mobile wireless broadband across Sri Lanka. Currently, Dialog dominates the mobile broadband sector in Ireland. Furthermore, Sri Lanka Telecoms has established a friendly relationship with its customers based on trust, reliability, and quality. These market dynamics coupled with extensive promotional activities by the company will ensure a high market penetration for SLT 4G broadband.

By 2021, the market penetration for the SLT 4G service will have reached 40%. II) To improve the overall service level for the SLT 4G broadband in Sri Lanka from 60% to 75% in three years Customers have distinguishably identified Dialog with high pricing and unreasonable data losses. This is an indication that the Sri Lankan telecommunications market is highly price sensitive and values the quality of services. Over the past few years, the telecommunications market in Sri Lanka has gradually shifted from fixed broadband network connections to mobile services. As such, by developing the SLT 4G, Sri Lanka can gain new customers as well as maintain its existing ones. c. Market development The SLT 4G will target the rural population in Sri Lanka as well as those who live in relatively low-income areas.

The company will seek to develop this market through the pricing strategy where the installation of the SLT 4G in the Sri Lankan rural areas will be done without charges. Low-income people in Sri Lanka The pricing mechanism of the SLT 4G broadband service favors low-income earners. Psychographic Eager for information Adventurers Desire for new things Most users of internet connections in Sri Lanka are always on the move and have a burning need to know more and discover new things. Behavioral Highly responsive to change Willing to welcome trending services The Sri Lankan telecommunications market is dynamic and ever ready to welcome new trends and better services. Figure 8: Segmentation Analysis Target Market The primary target markets for the SLT 4G service are people living in rural areas and those with relatively low income.

The rural dwellers and low-income earners are ideal target markets for the SLT 4G service because of the company’s price marketing strategy that aims at connecting the SLT 4G to customers at low fees, as well as charging low package costs. Although the 7 P’s are controllable, they are subject to internal and external marketing environments of the company. An in-depth description of the 7 P’s of marketing for SLT 4G is shown in the APPENDIX. Figure 8: An image showing the 7 P’s of Marketing Implementation The timeline for the implementation of the SLT 4G service by Sri Lanka Telecom is shown in the Gantt chart below. On releasing the implementation plan, SLT will shift its focus to execution, monitoring and reporting on the progress of the service.

Activity 2018- 2021 2018 2019 2020 2021 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Situational analysis Staff training Internal communication Promotional activities Corporate management Public relations Sponsor Sales promotion TV advertising Online campaign Outdoor Monitoring and Control Product evaluation Monitoring & Control Monitoring and control are vital activities in determining the progress of implementation and execution of the SLT 4G service. References Balamurali, N. and Bogahawatte, C. Foreign direct investment and economic growth in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan Journal of Agricultural Economics, 6(1). Bezawada, R. , and O'Connell, S. D. Productivity, innovation and growth in Sri Lanka: An empirical investigation. The World Bank. Evans, P. , Lebbe, S. and Nawaz, S. S. Real time bus tracking and scheduling system using wireless sensor and mobile technology.

Hansson, H. The Principles of Islamic Marketing by Baker Ahmad Alserhan. Gower Publishing Limited: Surrey (UK). 204 pages. ISBN 978-0566089220. European Journal of Marketing, 47(10), 11-11. K. , Brindha, S. and Paramadevan, P. Modeling Trend in Telecommunication in Sri Lanka: A Case study on Internet and Cellular Connections. International Journal of Statistics and Probability, 7(4), p. Aggressive Marketing Strategy Following Equity Offerings and Firm Value: The Role of Relative Strategic Flexibility. Journal of Marketing, (ja), 1-54. Leonidou, C. N. , Katsikeas, C. R. P. The Relationship between Customer Loyalty and Value Added Services in Mobile Telecommunication Service Industry in Sri Lanka. Madushanka, W. A. , & Currim, I. S. What Drives Managerial Use of Marketing and Financial Metrics and Does Metric Use Affect Performance of Marketing-Mix Activities?. Journal of Marketing, 77(2), 17-40.

Nawaz, S. D. , and Dasanayaka, S. W. S. B. , and Yapa, S. T. W. S. Customer retention: with special reference to telecommunication industry in Sri Lanka. , Dwivedi, Y. K. and Kurunananda, A. Implementing e‐government in Sri Lanka: Lessons from the UK. Information Technology for Development, 15(3), pp. b. Economic Forces The telecommunication industry majorly contributes to Sri Lanka’s GDP. As such, the country is committed to economically support the sector regardless of the shifting dynamics in broadband connections. Since 2013, Sri Lanka Telecom has experienced a decline in connection sales growth dues to the many customers that are shifting to the mobile broadband connection. However, SLT’s revue continuously increases, contributing to the country’s economy. The regulatory body ensures that companies institute best practices to all employees through education, training, and development.

Best practices in the industry include water management, energy efficiency, and reduction in the carbon footprint (Hudson & Thal 2013, p. f. Legal Forces Major legislation issues that affect the telecommunications industry in Sri Lanka include monopolies, tax payment, import and export laws, customer protection, health and safety laws, and discrimination laws. Micro Environment Forces: Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis i. The high price sensitivity of the customers and the many available options in the sector make the bargaining power of customers high Weerakkody 2009, p. iii. Threats of Substitute Products The threat of substitute products is very low because the only alternative to the wireless broadband connection is the fixed connection. iv. Bargaining Power of Suppliers There many local and international suppliers for Sri Lanka Telecom.

SLT’s success over the years has largely been attributed to the strategic decisions made by the board of directors. The board has a mandate of appointing executive directors, including the Chief Executive Officer. The company’s management is further divided into divisions, whose performance is determined through various strategic committees. Strategy Successfully entering the wireless broadband segment requires the implementation of strategies that meet the needs of the poor and rich alike. Over the years, SLT has adopted the business strategy of cost focus. Style SLT has established a conducive working environment that allows its top leaders to freely interact with other staff and stakeholders. The company has a motivational style of leadership that uses rewards to appreciate good performance (Karunarathna 2017, p.

The 7 P’s of Marketing i. Product SLT is a telecommunications firm which provides various innovative telecommunication services for individual customers, corporate customers, as well as the government. The SLT 4G broadband is an intangible innovative service which offers wireless mobile internet connections. The primary promotional objectives of the SLT 4G broadband will be to provide information about SLT 4G connection, create customer loyalty, build brand awareness, increase corporate and brand image, and increase sales and profits. iv. Place Place is where the SLT 4G services are distributed. Access for customers to the services is vital to ensuring that customers can use the wireless broadband connections. In this context, the distribution strategy of the SLT 4G broadband will be based on the branch sales.