Project Report

A Project Report On Analysis of Frequent Failing Sites At

Indus Towers Ltd. Pune By Abhyudaya Singh Chundawat In partial fulfilment of Post Graduate Diploma in Management In Telecom At Balaji Institute of Telecom & Management, Pune Batch- 2010-12

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Table of ContentAcknowledgement Certificate of authenticity Certificate PrefaceChapter 1 3 4 5 6 7

Introduction1.1 Concept of Indus Towers 1.2 Brief Study of the Organization

Chapter 2

Telecom infrastructure in India2.1 Telecom industry overview 2.2 Passive infrastructure 3 2

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Chapter 3

Operation & Maintenance3.1 Network Operation Situation 3.2 Essence of Infra OM excellence 3.3 Key Goals

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Chapter 4

Analysis of Frequent Failing Sites4.1 Introduction 4.2 Working Methodology

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4.3 Alarm Monitoring I Navigator Chapter 5 Prevention & Recommendations51

Bibliography4.2 Reasons for site down

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Acknowledgement

I would like to convey my heartiest gratitude to several people, for their support and guidance which helped me to complete my Winter Internship.

I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. Sanjay Nigam CEO (M&G circle) and Mr. Kuldeep Singh Chouhan, HOD Operation & Maintenance, who has been provided me with guidance, inspiration, perspective and stimulating discussion, throughout the writing of this report. Their constant review and excellent suggestions throughout the project are highly commendable. Also I would like to thanks Mr. Sarvesh Santhanam, Surveillance Manager for his support and cooperation.

This internship would not be complete without the support of our Prof. (Col) A. Balasubramaniam, President of Sri Balaji Society. I would also like to thank our Director Dr. Seema Singh Zokarkar for her guidance and unflinching support throughout the phases of our Internship.

Last but not the least, our endless appreciation goes to my family who has stood by our side and given me moral support whenever we was low and boosted our will power.

Thank You

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Certificate Of Authenticity

I Abhyudaya Singh Chundawat, student of PGDM program at Balaji Institute of Telecom and management (BITM) Pune, hereby declare that the work entitled Analysis of Frequent Failing Sites is a original study carried out by me, under the guidance of Mr Kuldeep Singh Chouhan, HOD Operation & Maintenance. The work does not form a part of any other work submitted to any other institution or university.

Place: Date:

Signature:-

Abhyudaya Singh Chundawat

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CERTIFICATE

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PREFACE

A project is a scientific and systematic study of real issues on a problem with the application of management concept and skills. The study can deal with small or big issues in any division of an organization. It can be case study where a problem has been dealt with, through the process of management. The essential equipment of a project is that, it should contain scientific collection of data, analysis and interpretation of data leading to valid conclusion. Winter Training is an essential part in PGDM curriculum. It enables the student to share the real experience in industry. My winter training has placed in INDUS TOWER LTD for the period of Eight weeks in Pune. The topic of my project was Analysis of Frequent Failing Sites.

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Indus towers overviewIndus towers is world largest telecom tower company it has more than 1,10,000 towers in India, it provide its service in 16 circle . Indus towers is founded in 2007 it is a joint venture of 3 companies Airtel, Idea, Vodafone. Indus towers built for sharing purpose means maximum use available resources. Indus share its towers with Airtel, Idea, Vodafone apart from these companies Indus provide its service to other telecom operator like TTSL, Uninor, BSNL etc. Indus Towers also launch a new project which is helpful for environment called as Green Technology in this type of project company run their towers with the help of solar energy which save natural resources.

November 2007, Indus Towers Limited has been promoted under a joint venture between entities of Bharti Group (rendering telecom services in India under the brand name Airtel), Vodafone Group (rendering telecom services under the brand name Vodafone) and Aditya Birla Group (rendering telecom services under the brand name Idea), to render passive infrastructure services to telecom service providers.

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1.1 About Bharti AirtelBharti Infratel, is a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Limited. Bharti Airtel, a group company, is one of Asias leading providers of telecommunications services with operations in India and Sri Lanka, spanning mobile services, telemedia services and enterprise services.

1.2 About Vodafone EssarVodafone Essar is the Indian subsidiary of the Vodafone Group and has operations across the country. Vodafone has partnered with Essar Group as its principal joint venture partner for the Indian market.

1.3 About Aditya Birla Telecom Ltd.Idea Cellular the mobile telephony brand for Aditya Birla Telecom group. It is a pan India integrated GSM operator covering the entire telephony landscape of the country, and has NLD and ILD operations.

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Indus Towers Limited is an independently managed company offering passive infrastructure services to all telecom operators. Indus is headquartered in the National Capital Region, New Delhi. Founded in 2007, Indus Towers Limited has been promoted under a joint venture among entities of Bharti Group (rendering telecom services in India under the brand name Airtel), Vodafone Group (rendering telecom services under the brand name Vodafone) and Aditya Birla Group (rendering telecom services under the brand name Idea), who created history by collaborating to share telecom infrastructure. Indus Towers was incorporated with an objective to provide shared telecom infrastructure to telecom operators on a nondiscriminatory basis. By sharing infrastructure, Indus has slashed the set up cost for mobile operators by almost 60%, giving them the viability to venture into the lucrative rural India market as well. Indus commitment towards continuous innovation enhances operational efficiencies and cuts costs, making it a win-win situation for vendors, operators and customers. Indus has a presence in the 16 major telecom circles of India, and has recently achieved 200,000 tenancies, a first in the telecom tower industry globally. Indus vision of transforming lives by enabling communication is setting a new paradigm for a networked economy, on a world leading scale, whereby there is inclusive and impactful growth for all.

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1.4 Vision, Mission and Corporate culture1.4.1Indus towers ValuesEXELLENCE CUSTOMER INTEGRITY TEAMWORK ENVIROMENT

1.4.2 Indus towers Vision We Transform lives By inabling Communication

1.4.3 Indus towers Commitment Protecting the environment is one of our core values and reflect our commitment to be socially responsible and deliver our services in an environment in friendly manner.

1.5 Corporate culture & Daily Leadership1.5.1 Corporate Culture

Accountability Customer Equality Challenger Integrity & ethical dealing10

Environmental Consciousness Enjoyment & work life balance Health & safety Apolitical Gender Neutrality Open Door Policy

1.5.2 DAILY LEDERSHIP

Keeping commitments and making things happen

Treating all customers the same way Questioning status quo, trying out new ways Manage and reach our for business with integrity, Do our bit to save the nature Do things with a smile Never compromise on peoples health & safety Encourage openness and speak your mind Aim for at least 25% gender mix Peoples opinion comes before hierarchy

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1.6 Corporate responsibility1.6.1Creating clean green win-win solution We, at Indus, are committed to acting as a responsible member of the business community as an investor, employer and consumer. We believe that Corporate Responsibility means taking positive action, treating our colleagues, customers and suppliers with respect, applying consistently high standards to everything we do and playing a constructive role in the communities in which we operate. Indus Towers believes that it is not merely in existence to run a business and to make profits, but to make a real difference to peoples lives. Our vision of transforming lives by enabling communication translates into giving India unprecedented connectivity, on a world leading scale that gives India the means to realize untapped potential and transform her economic leverage. It is our commitment and proud privilege to contribute to Indias present and future growth. 1.6.2 Connecting largest population of the world With 110,000 towers in 16 circles across the country, Indus has the widest coverage in India.

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1.7 Management committeeAt the helm of Indus Towers, is an exceptional management team. With their rich experience and knowledge, they are taking the lead in cementing customer relationships, maximizing operational efficiencies and finding new ways to take Indus and India towards a better future. B S Shantharaju Chief Executive Officer, Indus Towers Mr. B S Shantharaju is the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Indus Towers since June 2009. Though qualified accountant and MBA, he has rich general management experience in leadership positions for reputed companies. Prior to his current assignment he has worked with Delhi International Airports (P) Limited as the Chief Executive Officer after the airport was privatized. In this capacity, he has successfully led the transformation of airport. He was the Managing Director for Gujarat Gas Company Limited, Indias largest city gas distribution company, majority owned by UK Hydrocarbon major BG Group Plc. During his tenure, GGCL was rated as one amongst 13 Best Managed Companies of India in a independent survey conducted by A T Kearney consulting firm and instituted by Microsoft India. He spent major part of his career with SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals (Currently part of Glaxo Smithkline) as Finance Director of India and Country Head of Bangladesh.

1.8 RecognitionIndus achievements have not gone unnoticed. These are a few of their prestigious industry awards.

Achieving 200000 Tenancies

CII National Energy Award 2011

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1.9 ServicesIndus winning edge A market leader in the Telecom Infrastructure space, Indus Towers has key differentiators. 1.9.1Exceptional speed to market 3 out of every 5 calls in India are made through an Indus site. By offering the largest portfolio of towers worldwide and the widest coverage in India, our customers are empowered with a significant strategic advantage and a reduced time to market over others. 1.9.2 Six sigma operational excellence professionals Our staff of 1,200 personnel across 16 telecom circles and over 50,000 managed outsourced deliver operational excellence through continuous innovation, resulting in the coveted 6 Sigma (~100%) reliability in over 164,000 tenancies. 1.9.3 Huge cost efficiencies 24X7 network availability. Our breakthrough improvements in network availability, have cut down the time of non-usage from 210 minutes to just 19 minutes per site. Huge cost reductions are achieved through our energy efficient programs with added scale benefits. Our tower sharing slashes capex by 75%, giving more operators the viability to participate in Indias infrastructure build-out. 1.9.4 Green technology Indus has the largest portfolio of green sites among all telecom/tower companies. Our green initiatives include an impetus to reduce GHG emissions, the use of renewable energy sources to power telecom, green telecom equipment and green design of passive telecom sites. We at Indus remain committed to be socially responsible and deliver our services in an environmentally friendly manner.

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1.10 Indus advantage & Benefits1.10.1 Advantage

Operational excellence Green technologies New energy solutions Largest portfolio worldwide Cost efficiency

1.10.2Benefits

To increase network up-time and operational efficiency To reduce carbon emission and energy cost To enable our customer with speed to market and the widest coverage in India To lower costs

1.11 InnovationInnovation in processes and approaches has become a critical factor for Indus. Resulting in enhanced uptime, higher revenues, better service, quick solutions and lower operational costs for customers,vendors and partners. 1.11.1 Tower Operating Centre (TOC) With the setting up of the Tower Operating Centre, Indus has set a new benchmark for telecom infrastructure companies, and the industry has experienced a paradigm shift in monitoring of operations. The ToC, a centralized monitoring centre located in Gurgaon and Chennai,is connected to all sites across India. It is a fully automated backbone for the operations of Indus infrastructure.

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1.11.2 Providing Comprehensive Asset Knowledge Indus Tower Operating Centre is the pioneering nodal hub for overseeing all infrastructure operations. The TOC: Monitors and controls all tower operation activities for all 110,000 sites spread over 2 million sq km (with 800 million people, of whom 500 million are telecom subscribers) Monitors site health on real time basis, 24X7, leading to optimal utilization of resources Has the potential to be a future hub for crucial socio-economic initiatives like e-governance, telemedicine, and distance education.

1.12 VendorsIndus Vendors are valued partners in our business development and we work with them in a spirit of mutual co-operation to meet our business objectives. Vendor Development and Strategic Sourcing is a part of the Corporate Supply Chain Management (SCM) Department. SCM identifies the vendors, rates the vendors based on feedback received from the Vendor Development Cell, sends Request for Proposal, drawings/ specifications, calls for quotes with detailed break- up of operation-wise costs, and negotiates the price at which the products will be supplied.

1.12.1Vendor Development of Strategic Sources Indus policy is to develop a vendor base committed to continuous improvement to meet quality, cost and delivery standards. Indus considers its vendors as partners in progress and believes in establishing mutually beneficial long term relationships. Indus provides necessary assistance in all areas of operation to maintain competitive cost & quality levels.16

Becoming a Vendor to Indus Towers is easy, involving just five steps 1 The first step involves filling the Questionnaire, which provides the basic inputs required for preliminary study. It is a three- stage approval process wherein approval to the next level is on the basis of evaluations done by the Vendor Development and Strategic Sourcing Team. 2 If Indus Towers needs the product you would like to supply, the Vendor Development Cell (VDC) will contact you for an on-site assessment. Otherwise, the Vendor information would be stored for future reference. 3 If the assessment meets the criteria, Indus will send the Request for Proposal, drawings and specifications to you for obtaining a quotation. In case of any gaps in the assessment meeting our requirements, you would be given adequate feedback and a resurvey would be undertaken. 4 If Indus expectations are met in terms of price, quality and delivery, then we would place a trial order. Indus will carry out the inspection of the trial lot before dispatch. Based on the outcome of the trial order, Indus will place you in the Approved Vendor List and Rate Contract proceedings would be initiated. 5 Monthly allocations shall be given depending upon demand forecast, ongoing performance and price, considering Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

1.13 ISmartCubeIt is a unique single platform based on workflow management system designed and developed by Indus. This solution manages the entire flow from Service Required to Fulfillment. All the customer requests are taken on this web based portal, and processed till the time the site is delivered to the customer through the system. The system is designed for an end-to-end solution in delivering a site, from the very first step of accepting a requisition for a site. All customers place their requests through this online tool and can view and download reports, to monitor the progress of their site requests.17

The process steps that this system caters to are the following: 1. Site Requisition (Customer) 2. Site Planning (Indus) 3. Site Acquisition (Indus) 4. Site Proposal (Indus) 5. Service order (Customer) 6. Deployment (Indus) 7. Project Management (Indus) 8. Quality Stages (Indus) 9. RFAI (Indus) 10. RFAI Acceptance (Customer) 11. Ready for Service (RFS) RFAI stands for Ready For Active Installation, i.e. when the operator can accept the passive infrastructure provisioned by Indus and proceed with installation of its active electronics, such as a Base Station (BTS). For more information the user would be required to login to the system. iSmartCube is integrated with various system or IT enterprise Architecture such as oracle, ToC, Remedy, etc.

1.14 Overview of company Department and its process1.14.1 Department Sales department Acquisition department Deployment department Operation and maintenance department Deployment and sharing department18

Financial department Supply chain management department

1.14.2 Sales department Sales department share the site details with customer like airtel, Vodafone, Idea sales dept in Indus play very important role after the getting information about sites customer put their request in service portal called ISmartCube, then request accept by planning team and planning team pass this request to acquisition team then again come to sales team , sales team share all requirement regarding a particular site to customer information which cabex required and what will be the rent after up-gradation on particular site. There are different type of tower like RTT,RTP,GBT.

1.14.3 Acquisition department Acquisition department work depend on customer request there are two type of request tower sharing and tower up-gradation or a new tower deployment request . depend on that request acquisition team visit that area and come back with a particular solution. If we talking about a new site deployment then depend in which area service provider demanding for tower hen acquisition team survey that particular area and find out some possible site then talk with owner of site if they agree so sign a LOI try to get this LOI within 1 day after that get NOC from owner, nagarparishad , grampanchayat, corporation depend on site coming on which area. Then handover that site to the deployment team.

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1.14.4.1 Site acquisition , zoning and permission Inteltec provides site acquisition (SA) services to telecom operators and other customers (governmental applications submission and follow up) as a part of its services portfolio and its experienced site acquisition team has acquired an extensive numbers of sites for its customers. Inteltecs site acquisition service includes the following distinct activities:

Study the sites design milestones based on customers sites process flow, and reflecting forecasted and actual dates. Perform investigation in the market during and after sites design time to meet with customers requirements. Study the project specifications and its initial issued plan in order to start ranking the candidates plan for each site. Perform all initial surveys for all candidates in order to be in conformity with the project objectives. Finalize lease agreements with landlords in order to obtain rooftop GSM sites. Obtain all required NOCs (No Objection Certificates) from the relevant services departments in order to proceed with sites permitting process. Secure all required approvals and permits for sites locations from municipalities. Solve all problems with landlords, official authorities and any problems which may face other concerned departments. Create communications channels with any sensitive governmental center 1.14.4.2 Site acquisition services We offer a full range of services, including:

Site identification The production of technical site survey reports Technical site surveys The evaluation of structural suitability20

Lease agreements Lease negotiations with land and property owners Negotiations with local authorities and municipalities for build permits

1.14.5 Site surveys All Indus towers site surveys are performed by engineers who are experts in structural

engineering. This allows us to assess the structural suitability of any given site at a very early stage, further accelerating the acquisition process.

1.14.6 Deployment Department A deployment team is a team which develop that site, a Indus built site always made for minimum 3 tenancy, there are different type of tower depend on tower deployment team work on that tower and within 30 days ready that tower . 1.14.7 Deployement Indus conduct all the related civil work required to construct lattice towers, rooftop sites, monopoles and camouflaged towers, Indus activities and services:

1- Conducting technical site survey and determining the type of site structure to be installed 2- Construction of the required tower foundation which varies from dry raft to pilling 3-Construction of site boundary walls 4-Supply and installation of equipment shelter 5- Supply and installation of rooftop poles, Monopoles, lattice towers and camouflaged towers. 6-Supply and installation of grounding and lightning protection systems 7- Performing all the electrical work in conformity with the project specifications

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1.14.8 Operation & Maintenance Operation & Maintenance (O&M) facility in the Telecom sector, provides the maintenance for Passive infrastructure of telecom towers including maintenance of DG set, riggers, SMPS and others. O&M is also takes care of the house keeping of telecom tower sites.It provide DG maintenance, diesel filling, first level maintenance for DG, AMF Panel, UPS, Fire Alarm System,follow up for alarms, battery voltage, level of distilled water in the secondary cells, battery charger and electrical installation.O&M includes:

Preventive Maintenance services Corrective Maintenance DG servicing, AC servicing Break down Maintenance like tracking of Alarms for site outages and link failures Diesel filling

The electrical equipments of which it takes care of are: Shelter Diesel generator PIU Maintenance of earth pits Fire alarm system Fire extinguishers Mobile DG services DC power supply Battery bank Cables Air-conditioner units22

1.14.9 Supply chain management Supply chain management play very important role in Indus towers, as know that Indus tower most of work depend on outsourcing so then supply chain management role important because a supply chain management team passed the tender to vendor depend on work like an example of EB up-gradation so there are different vendors in different area , SCM team work assign to vendor and vendor follow some procedure before get any service order. In up-gradation work vendor goes to particular electric broad office then ask for EB up-gradation on particular site and electric broad team survey that particular site then decide which type connection is that service connection or transformer type connection. If it is service type connection then electric broad produce a firm quotation then vendor send that firm quotation to Indus towers and financial department paid DD to electric broad this process called FQ paid then work order release to vendor then vendor complete that work in particular time. If connection transformer type then electric broad of state give estimate to the vendor then based on electric broad estimate vendor make their own estimate then submit both estimate to Indus towers then get work order for work.SCM department work is to negotiate with vendor and assign work to them.

1.14.10 Financial department A financial department deal with all financial related work like when company going to launch a new project then financial department work on that project how much beneficial that new project to company. A financial team is the backbone of company, any company work for profit and serve their customer at minimum cist so all these work done by financial department.

1.14.11 Sharing and deployment department Sharing and deployment department is play very important role for Indus towers because Indus is built for sharing purpose so that company get more profit and operator get network on that area

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without put any other tower on same area. In sharing & deployment department there are many sub department like Planning department Acquisition department Deployment department EB up-gradation department

1.14.11.1 Planning department A customer send its service request on service portal a planning team accept that request and work on that. Planning department first check out which type of request is this means sharing request or optional product up-gradation. If it is optional product request then planning department check out what is the current status of that site. Is there any issue in that site? A customer ask for space to Indus towers , in the Shelter. Planning department get 3 type of request from customer 1. R/ RES request this is sharing request 2. Optional product upgrade request 3. Tower consolidation request 1. RES request is the fresh request means its comes from a new operator on a particular site apart from existing customer a customer want to share that particular tower to get coverage area. 2. Optional product request comes from existing customer on that site they want to upgrade that site in this site may be they want to increase one more antenna depend on their request planning department pass request if site full fill required condition. Expansion of BTS, sector, microwave antenna, fiber, DWDM.24

CHAPTER 2 TELECOM INFRASTURUCTURE INDUSTRY IN INDIA IntroductionIndian telecom industry is fastest growing industry in the world, so demand of telecom infra structure in increasing day by day . Telecom infrastructure

2.0 India is among the fastest growing mobile markets in the world: India, thesecond largest mobile market in the world, is also among the fastest growing mobile markets globally. The total number of mobile subscribers in India (i.e., the subscriber base) has increased from 6.4 million in March 2002 to around 350 million in December 2008, at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 81%, aided by a significant increase in network coverage and a continual decline in tariffs and handset prices.

India, a relatively late entrant into mobile services, has benefited from a significant decline in mobile network costs during the last three to four years. As compared with a capital cost of US$50-90/subscriber to provide mobile service, it costs as much as US$200-350/subscriber to provide fixed-line services. This and the added benefit of mobility have led to stagnation in the total fixed line subscriber base, which along with the significant growth in the mobile base has translated into India having one of the highest ratios globally of mobile subscribers to total telecom subscribers.

Despite the growth, mobile penetration remains moderate: As on end September 2008, India had a mobile penetration of around 27%, which is relatively lower as compared to other countries as depicted in Chart 2. Given the moderate penetration levels at present, mobile growth in India is expected to continue in the short to medium term albeit at a lower level because of the larger base effect.

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2.1 Towering Growth in IndiaPlayers Towers Added in FY 10-11 American Towers Bharti infratel BSNL GTL infra Indus towers MTNL Reliance Infratel Viom Netrworks Others Total 2,474 8,000 4,872 6,135 8,000 16,500 6000 51,981 Total towers in FY 1011 8000 33,042 45000 33,681 109,073 2,017 58,000 40,000 25,000 353,813 1.8 1.66 1.33 1.78 1.7 2.35 Tenancy ratio

2.2 Passive infrastructure sharing (tower-sharing) gaining significancePassive infrastructure being one of the most important components of a mobile network, the same has been a critical area of operations for telecom companies in the past. However, with increasing competition posing an urgent need for telecom companies to expand their coverage and sharpen their focus on core operations so that they can sustain and improve their market position, passive infrastructure has assumed the status of an independent industry during the past few years. Overall, sharing of infrastructure, passive as well as active, is beneficial for all parties involved as it brings along significant operational as well financial savings, thus enabling the companies to minimize duplication of efforts and costs and improve profitability.

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Overall, sharing of infrastructure, passive as well as active, is beneficial for all parties involved as it brings along significant operational as well financial savings, thus enabling the companies to minimise duplication of efforts and costs and improve profitability.

2.2.1 Types of Towers Telecom towers are broadly classified on the basis of their placement as Ground-based and Rooftop.

Ground-Based Tower: Erected on the ground, ground-based towers (GBTs) are taller (typically 200 to 400 feet) and are mostly used in rural and semi-urban areas because of the easy availability of real-estate space there. GBTs involve a capital expenditure in the range of Rs. 2.4 to 2.8 million, depending on the height of the tower.

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Roof-Top Tower (RTT): Roof-top towers (RTTs), which are generally placed on the roofs of high-rise buildings, are shorter (than GBTs) and more common in urban and highly populated areas, where there is paucity of real-estate space. Typically, these involve a capital expenditure of Rs. 1.5 to 2 million. It is the height of a telecom tower that determines the number of antennas that can be accommodated, which in turn determines the capacity of the towers, apart from factors such as location and geographical conditions (wind speeds, type of terrain, etc.). Hence, typically, while GBTs can accommodate up to six tenants, RTTs can accommodate two to three tenants.

2.2.2 Master Service Agreements A tower infrastructure company normally enters into separate Master Service Agreements (MSAs) with its occupants/tenants. MSAs are signed between tower infrastructure companies and telecom operators (tenants), and clearly spell out the overall tower requirements of the tenants, the pricing terms, and other binding terms and conditions between the two parties.

2.3 Industry StructureAt present, there are broadly two kinds of operators in the domestic tower infrastructure industry: Tower infrastructure subsidiaries, which are the spun-off tower divisions of the telecomoperator companies; and Independent tower infrastructure companies (ITICs)

2.3.1 Tower Infrastructure Subsidiaries: In India, Bharti Airtel Limited, Reliance Communications Limited, and Tata Teleservices Limited have hived off their tower assets into separate tower infrastructure subsidiaries, namely Bharti Infratel Limited, Reliance Infratel Limited, and Wireless TT Infoservices Limited, respectively. Also Bharti Infratel Limited together with Vodafone Essar Limited and Idea Cellular Limited in a joint-venture agreement

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has created Indias largest tower infrastructure company Indus Towers Limited, which has an estimated portfolio of around 85,000 towers.

Players

Towers in FY 10-11

Towers in FY 09-10

Tenancy ratio

Growth(1n %)

Indus TowersReliance Infra BSNL Viom Network GTL Infra Bharti Infra American Towers MTNL Others TOTAL

109,07358,000 45,000 40,000 33.681 33,082 8,000 2,017 25,000 353,813

102,93850,000 37,000 23,500 28.809 30,568 3,200 1,550 19000 296,565

1.781.74 NA 2.3 1.25 1.66 1.80 NA 1.25 1.68

6.016.0 21.6 70.2 16.9 8.1 150.0 30.1 31.6 19.3

3% 12%

Total10% American Towers Bharti Infra 14%

18%

BSNL GTL Infra Indus Towers MTNL Others

8% 1% 34%

Reliance Infra Viom Network

Hiving off of tower divisions into separate companies is strategically beneficial for telecom operators as it leads to significant unlocking of value while simultaneously improving operational and capital efficiencies. The parent telecom company benefits from reduced29

incremental capital requirements, lower operating costs, and a favourable capital structure, while the tower infrastructure subsidiaries gain an advantage in terms of an assured occupancy from their parent, which in turn may serve to attract other tenants.

2.4.2 Independent Tower Infrastructure Companies Over the past few years, a number of ITICs have ventured into the domestic telecom tower industry. These include, among others, GTL Infrastructure Limited, Quippo Telecom Infrastructure Limited1, Essar Telecom Infrastructure Limited, Xcel Telecom Private Limited, Tower Vision India Private Limited, Aster Infrastructure Private Limited and TVS Interconnect Systems Limited.

These companies have their business model based largely on the following two approaches: Contract Approach Anticipatory Approach

Under the contract approach, tower companies set up tower sites going by the requirements of the telecom operators, and the terms of the contract are specified beforehand in the MSAs signed by the two parties. Under the anticipatory approach however, tower companies set up tower infrastructure at sites with reasonable demand potential and subsequently invite telecom operators to set up their network on these towers. The latter model involves higher business risks as the tower company may not be able to achieve reasonable tenancy for its tower infrastructure and at profitable terms. ITICs, especially those following the anticipatory approach, are usually at a disadvantage as compared with tower subsidiaries as ITICs do not have assured occupancy on their tower portfolios. Moreover, as most large telecom companies in the country have their own tower subsidiaries, the market for ITICs consists largely of regional operators and new entrants, in whose case credit quality can also be a concern. Nevertheless, in certain cases, ITICs are in a better position to address the needs of growing telecom operators who have recently received licences and spectrum to launch operations in new circles because of flexible rollout30

plans that are more suited to new entrants. Moreover, ITICs differentiate themselves by offering flexible payment terms to mobile operators (for instance, back-ended payment structure), which enables the mobile operators to reduce their costs in the initial years

2.4.3 Economics of the ModelTower Infrastructure Companies The key points relating to the working of tower infrastructure companies are discussed in following bullet list. High initial capital investments: On an average, while a roof-top tower involves a capital expenditure of Rs. 1.5 to 2 million; a ground-based tower requires a capital expenditure of Rs. 2.4 to 2.8 million. Given the high capital investments required in the business, tower companies are generally highly leveraged.

Stable and predictable cash flow business: Once a tower asset is rented out, it usually generates a stable and predictable cash flow in the form of tower rentals from occupants over the term of the MSA between the two parties.

Low working capital requirement: The tower business is also characterised by low working capital requirements, as most of the operating expenses (such as electricity and fuel and other variable operating expenses) are reimbursable by the tenants on actual basis. Moreover, the larger companies with a bigger and geographically spread out portfolio of networks may be able to get rentals for the towers in advance and also obtain better credit terms from their suppliers, thus further improving their working capital cycle. High incremental profitability: The costs of operating a tower, particularly the ones borne by the tower company such as security and maintenance and ground rent, are largely fixed in nature. Thus each increment in tenancy is accompanied by a minimal increase in costs. This leads to a more than proportionate increase in profits for every increase in occupancy.

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According to ICRAs estimates, the telecom infrastructure business generates strong financial metrics once the average occupancy ratio (indicating average number of tenants per tower) crosses 1.7 times. Assuming an initial capital expenditure of Rs. 2.6 million and a life of 15 years, the manner in which the IRR moves at various occupancy levels is depicted ..

2.5 Factors driving growth for passive infrastructure sharingApart from favourable industry prospects, there are several other factors too that drive increase in tower sharing, as discussed in the following bullet list. Viability of business at low ARPUs: At present, incremental growth in the subscriber base is coming mainly from rural/semi-urban areas (also in these areas, the incremental ARPUs are relatively lower). Further, network design and planning in rural areas is different from that in urban areas, given that the population in rural areas is widely dispersed, which increases the tower32

requirements to cover the same number of subscribers (vis--vis urban areas). But as Chart shows, even at low ARPUs, business viability can increase significantly on the strength of infrastructure sharin

2.4.1High usage and limited spectrum availability: India has one of the highest MoUs in the world, which increases the number of base tower stations (BTS) required to handle the same subscriber base. Thus while on an average, a GSM BTS can handle around 1,100 subscribers, in the case of high usage areas the figure can be as low as 600-700 subscribers, which means a larger number of cell sites would be required for the same area. Moreover, the country has the problem of spectrum scarcity, which increases the requirement of towers to maintain a reasonable level of service quality.

2.4.2 Quality of service: In the past, domestic telecom operators competed largely on the pricing plank. However, as mobile tariffs in India are currently one of the lowest in the world, the scope for further tariff reduction is low. Given this fact, going forward, quality of service (QoS) would become the prime distinguishing factor among the competing companies. Moreover, a rapidly increasing subscriber base and spectrum crunch would further add to the problem of telecom operators having to maintain the minimum level of QoS. Besides, with the likely introduction of mobile number portability, QoS will become more important as customers will then have a33

broader range of options available with limited switching costs. Thus to retain existing subscribers by preventing subscriber churn, operators will require additional infrastructure in their existing areas of operation to be able to offer better QoS.

2.4.3 Enhancement of profitability: Tower sharing helps operators lower their operating costs and capital expenditure and thereby earn better margins and higher Return on Capital Employed (RoCE); the overall impact on Profit and Loss is also positive. Analysis suggests that there would be net annual cost savings for mobile operators if they opt to lease towers from a tower company rather than own them.

2.4.4 Enhancement of profitability: Tower sharing helps operators lower their operating costs and capital expenditure and thereby earn better margins and higher Return on Capital Employed (RoCE); the overall impact on Profit and Loss is also positive. Analysis suggests that there would be net annual cost savings for mobile operators if they opt to lease towers from a tower company rather than own them.

2.4.5 Entry of new players and expansion plans of existing operators: Recently, several regional operators such as Vodafone Essar Limited, Idea Cellular Limited, Aircel Cellular Limited and Shyam Telelink Limited (now Sistema Shyam Teleservices Limited) have received licences as well spectrum in new circles, which would enable them to become pan-India operators in the next one-two years. Also, new licences have been issued to players such as Unitech, Swan Telecom, and S Tel Limited. Given the significant expansion plans of new34

entrants over the medium term and the need for them to optimise investments in order to maintain returns, demand for towers is expected to report a sharp increase.

2.4.6 Shorter rollout time, a key necessity: As the domestic telecom industry is highly competitive, doing business may not be easy for the new entrants. Moreover, given that the incumbents already have the competitive advantages of widespread distribution networks, established brand names and strong subscriber base, shorter network-rollout time would be a critical success factor for the new entrants; a longer rollout time could mean loss of substantial market share to other operators. Tower companies allow players to start operations in a particular region just by installing their electronics on the ready-to-use towers, thereby significantly shortening the rollout time.

2.4.7 New technologies to further stimulate demand: 3G services are expected to be launched in the country in 2009-10. Moreover, in order to augment their services, various operators plan to launch Wi-Max services as soon as they receive additional spectrum from Government. This would further increase the demand for sharing of passive infrastructure.

2.4.8 Industry on the path of consolidation: Within the span of the last one to two years, with several players spinning off their tower portfolios and independent operators expanding their operations, competition has intensified significantly in the domestic tower infrastructure industry. The market shares of the various players in chart.. With leading GSM players forming a consortium (Indus Towers) and other larger players such as Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications entering into long-term agreements for passive infrastructure sharing mostly with their tower subsidiaries, the new and smaller third-party infrastructure providers are likely to get most of their business from smaller players and new entrants, as the following table shows.

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CHAPTER 3 Operation & Maintenance

For Indus Towers there mainly 3 Network Operators with 3 different Operating Models :3.1 Network Operation Situation

Managed services in 21 circles by strategic parteners. Out of which 16 circles are managed by Ericsson and 5 circles are managed by Nokia.

Managed Services in 14 circles by various strategic partners such as Ericsson/ Siemens/ Nokia/ Huawei Equipments.

Managed Services in 12 circles by strategic partner Nokia. For its 4 circles services are managed by Motorola/Ericsson equipments.

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3.2 Esssence of Infra OM Excellence

Operating Discipline

Quality of Equipments

Alignment of Stake holders

Surveillance Man Power Monitoring

These are the most important parameters which helps a lot in maintaining uptime stability of site and in turn lead to operational excellence.

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3.2 Key Goals

The two key goals of Indus Towers are :

Transactional Goal:- These are the economical goals, to cut down the cost and expenses for organization.

Uptime : 99.95 for all circles by December 2011 and for all districts by March 2012

Stability : 95% sites with compliance ie. Outages < 21 minutes

Energy : Reduction in energy cost.

Transformational Goal :- These goals are laid down to transform technology to become more innovative.

Technology Transformation : TOC integration- I Navigator & I Propeller

Manpower Transformation : Professional InfraForce development.

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Strategic Benefit Operational Excellence

Worlds first multi opcos multi OSSs _ Multi Interface TOC

Monitoring uptime for 203+k Tenancies for 12 OpCos

Scalability & online control : Can manage upto 250k sites

Capable to manage : 866 alarms/min.. 1.25million alarms/day..456.25 million alarms/year

Watch-Dog on 0.21 million critical events/day.

Navigate & propel 250+ Indus/7500+ OME / 8500+ SME Work force

Single System Single Report Approach.

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CHAPTER 4 Analysis of Frequent Failing Sites

4.1 Introduction :- When any site goes down ie. unable to transmit signal,that site is considered to be Down or Fail site. There are some sites which goes down frequently in a short period of time, these sites are known as Frequent Failing Sites. There are several reasons which are responsible for failing of site. Reasons for site down : Owner Issue:- When Owner restrict DG running due to noise problem or rent not received then he doesnt allowed technician to solve the issue, it comes under Owner Issue.

Society Issue :- When nearby locality is having some problem regarding DG running and some myths, they oftenly down the site. This comes under Society Issue.

DG Faulty :- The diesel generator which is used for power supply needs maintenance, after a period of time problems like oil leakage,filter faulty,control panel faulty,battery faulty etc. in its parts starts arising.

Low Back Up :- The back up of battery bank goes down with time and its usage. It is one of the major reason at most of the sites for site down.

PP Faulty:- Another reason for failing of site is problem in power plant.

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PIU Faulty :- PIU is Power Interface Unit. Faults in its parts also causes site failure

Automation Fail :- When battery back up goes over, site started running on DG cause of automation. But when automation fails it tooks time for technician to reach the site and to start the DG. Its an another reason for site down.

Alarms not patched :- If alarms are not patched then during low back up or dg fail to start or might be warning of other things are not received, which causes site down.

Long Mains Fail :- During failure of mains for long time back up becomes zero, which causes site down for longer period.

High room Temperature :- Due to high load or if AC not working the temperature inside shelter goes up,causing site down.

Cable Faulty :- The power cable used for connection got damaged or becomes faulty,causing site failure.

DG Overload :- When there is high load on dg,site goes down.

Voltage Problem :- This problem arises mainly in rural areas. Sometimes there is problem of low voltage and sometimes there is problem of high voltage, these fluctuations in voltage causes short circuit in electrical appliances.

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Access Issue :- Some sites are built at such location where there is problem of access during night,or during rains,also some people doesnt allow technician to go through their plot. In case of RTT, towers on commercial buildings, schools causes access issue during holidays.

Theft Problem :- Theft of ac,fibre cable diesel and some other material from site also results in failing of site.

Diesel Issue :- When supply of diesel is not up to the requirement, then due to low fuel dg stops and in turn site goes down.

These are the various reasons because of which the site goes down . If the problem is not sort out then it results in frequent failing of sites. The above listed issues or reasons for site down comes under INDS TOWER ie. it is responsible to sort out all the issues. There are also some other issues which causes site down but they are link issue, need to be resolved by strategic partners.

Working MethodologyIn the project analysis of frequent failing sites my job was to collect the reasons for frequent failing of sites from ground people ie. technicians either by telephonic call or by visiting the site.This data which is collected by me was tranferred to the surveillance team for instant remedial action. I was acting as a catalyst between OMEs and Surveillance team which helps companyIt is the task of Operation & maintenance Department to clear the issues. When ever any site goes down the operator charged heavy penalty to the company, if the issue is related to it. Thus, to avoid this and to ensure effective service to the operators Indus with its OMEs resolves the issues and avoid failing of site and in turn reduce the down time.

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4.3 Alarm MonitoringAlarms are generally warnings or indicator generated at TOC that is Tower Operation Centre for a particular site. To monitor these alarms and to forward these alarms to technicians for checking up is known as Alarm Monitoring. Types of Alarms :- Alarms are broadly classified into three categories : Critical Alarm :- The alarms because of which site goes down immediately and may lead to some accident are known as Critical Alarms. The different types of critical alarms area as follows:-

1. DG Major Fault :- This type of alarm will arise in case of LLOP, high temperature, alternator fail/ DG failed to starto or stop etc.

2. DG Fuel Level Low:- When the fuel level in the DG fuel tank has gone below the set level, this alarm will arise.

3. Rectifier Fail :- This alarm iarises when one or more rectifier modules have been failed.

4. DC Fuse Fail :- When one of the 48V load MCB is tripped, this alarm arises.

5. Fire & Smoke :- When there is a fire or smoke in BTS room then this type of alarm arises.

Major Alarm:- All those alarms which are warnings that if not given proper attention after them then site can go down in some time ,these types of alarms comes under Major Alarms.The major alarms generated for any site are as follows :-

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1. Low Battery Voltage :- The BTS site is powered from battery bank after the battery voltage drops to set value of DG starting and 230V AC is not available either from DG or state electric board,results in rise of this kind of alarms.

2. Shelter Temperature high :- This alarm arises when temperature inside BTS room has exceeded defined threshold. This threshold temperature setting is defined by circle team.

Minor Alarm:- The alarms which are just an indication about the things happening at site and are not big issue or responsible for site down are known as Minor alarms.Different types of minor alarms are :-

1. Mains Fail :- When 230V AC supply from state electricity board is not available this alarm arises.

2. DG on Load :- When DG set is on load , this alarm arises.

3. Intruder Alarm :- This alarm arises when shelter door is opened.

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I-Navigator :- At Indus these alarms are monitored through a software named I-Navigator.Working Methodology - Outages Synchronization of TOC Circle Desk and OME Circle team 1) Any Site down alarm will be escalated by Indus TOC Team immediately to OME 2) If any critical alarms is not cleared within defined time (30 Min) then TOC Circle desk will co-ordinate with circle OME team to ensure the clearance of alarms 3) If any minor alarm is not cleared within defined time (2 Hr) then TOC Circle desk will coordinate with circle OME team to ensure the clearance of alarms

PlannedOutage - OSS

1) TOC team will inform to Circle OME team and Surveillance Manager immediately via phone and mail if TOC team knows in advance OR Surveillance Manager will inform to TOC Circle desk and Shift Manager immediately via phone and mail if Circle team knows in advance 2) During the planned outage period existing resource from OME location will be deputed (Shifted temporarily) to OMCR location for monitoring the alarms till the outage ends 3) Once outage is over then there will confirmation from TOC Circle desk and Circle OME Team about the running of i-Navigator application 4) Alarms will be continued to monitoring from OME location.

Un-Planned Outage: OSS 1) TOC team will inform to Circle OME team and Surveillance Manager immediately via phone and mail Circle OME team OR Surveillance Manager will inform to TOC Circle desk and Shift Manager immediately viaphone and mail.45

2) During the planned outage period existing resource from OME location will be deputed (Shifted temporarily) to OMCR location for monitoring the alarms till the outage ends 3) Once outage is over then there will confirmation from TOC Circle desk and Circle OME Team about the running of i-Navigator application 4) Alarms will be continued to monitoring from OME location.

Planned Outages: i-Navigator

1) TOC team will inform to Circle OME team and Surveillance Manager immediately via phone and mail 2) During the planned outage period 1 resource from OME location will be deputed to OMCR location for monitoring the alarms till the outage ends 3) Once outage is over then there will confirmation from TOC Circle desk and Circle OME Team about the running of i-Navigator application 4) Alarms will be continued to monitoring from OME location.

UN-PLANNED OUTAGE I-Navigator

1) TOC team will inform to Circle OME team and Surveillance Manager immediately via phone and mail 2) During the un-planned outage team of alarm OME surveillance team will be relocated to OpCo OMCR locations 3) Once outage is over then there will confirmation from TOC Circle desk and Circle OME Team about the running of i-Navigator application 4) Alarms will be continued to monitoring from OME location.

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Escalation:

1) OME Circle team will intimate to TOC Circle desk and must get the response in 15 Min.

2) If there is no response from TOC Circle desk then escalate to shift manager and must get the response in 30 Min.

3) If there is no response from Shift Manager in 30 Min then escalate to TOC head

NOTE: Response from each level will be given about the resolution time and solution

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Problem in alarm monitoring i-Navigator

Assumption: 1) Internet is working fine

2) No other software (taking high memory) running in the PC

Possible problem:

1) Alarm delay

2) Alarms are not displaying in the window

3) Alarms are not coming during the preventive maintenance

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Recommendations & Preventions for frequent failing SitesAll the issues causing frequent failing of sites need to be resolved as soon as possible because company is charged heavy penalty by the operators for site down. Preventions & Recommendations for FFS are : For any issue regarding faults in electrical appliances, OMEs need to be work effectively keeping time line so that problem can be resolved quickly and up time can be maintained

Site should not be built at locations where there is access problem.

Proper agreement should be made so that owner doesnt create any issue regarding rent or any other thing afterwards.

During acquisition there need to be a proper check in the surroundings of the sites to ensure that site is not prone to any of the issues arising from local people.

High quality equipments should be used as it requires less maintenance.

Site should be properly fenced and locked to avoid theft.

Alarms should be monitored properly.

Technicians need to be more expertise in solving issues related to power .

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Bibliography

Websites

www.industowers..com

www.indiateleinfra.com

www.siteshare.com

www.google.com www.wikipedia.com

References and Books

Cognitel study material

Buisness telecom systems- by Kerstin Day Peterson

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