THE PREFERED MOBILE NETWORK CASE STUDY: JKUAT TAITA TAVETA CAMPUS.

OSALA ERICK OMBIRO

A research proposal submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of Bachelor of Science in mathematics and computer science in the faculty of science department of mathematics and informatics of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology

April 2012

Table of Contents
1. Proposal Cover Page....................i 2. 3. Table of contents ....ii Abstract .............iv

4. Introduction......1 5. Statement of the problem.....1 6. Purpose of the study.........2 7. Objectives........2 8. Research questions...3 9. Hypothesis.......3 10. Project justification..3 11. Limitations of the study.......4 12. Assumptions of the study....4 13. Literature review.....5 14. Research design and methodology...13 15. Location.....18 16. Target population ..18 20. Conclusions18 21.References ..........................................19 22. Appendix................................................................................................................21

ABSTRACT
A mobile phone or simply a mobile is an electronic device for mobile telecommunications which include mobile telephone, text messaging and data transmission .A big percentage of current cell phones connect to cellular networks consisting of switching points and base stations owned by mobile network operator. In addition to the standard voice function, current mobile phones may support additional services and accessories such as sms for text messaging, email, internet access among others. Its estimated that mobile cellular subscriptions worldwide will shoot up past 5 billion by the turn of the decade. It is in this regard that the mobile phone market has been expanding exponentially in Kenya hence the need to conduct the study as an attempt to analyze mobile phone usage and the subscriber of choice among the youths with specific emphasis in the Taita Taveta campus of Jomo Ken yatta university of agriculture and technology

AUTHORITY FROM SUPERVISORS DECLARATION Students declaration: I declare that this project is my original work which has not been presented for a degree in any other university.

Signature___________________________ Date ______________________________ Name: Osala Erick Ombiro

Registration number: JTC- SC-261 0054/08

Supervisors declaration This proposal has been submitted for review with my approval as university supervisor.

Signature ______________________________ Date Name: _______________________________ Mrs.Zipporah N Sinino Mathematics and informatics

Department:

LIST OF ABBREAVIATIONS Spss- statistical package for social scientists Gprs General Pocket Radio service Edge Enhanced data gsm environment Sms- short messaging service Mms- multimedia messaging services Lan- local area network Wlan- wireless local area network ICT- information communication technology E mail- electronic mail CCK- communication commission of Kenya 3G- third generation mobile network Sd- standard deviation Sim- subscriber identity module Ram- random access memory Gsm- global system for mobile communication JKUAT-Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and technology CDMA-Code division multiple access ETACs-Extended Total access communication system

1.0 Introduction
The Kenyan telecommunication industr y is the fastest growing in east Africa since its inception in the early 2000s .Thus Kenya has grown to become one the fastest growing mobile market in the world. The mobile services were commercially launched in Kenya in early 2000s.in the past ten or so years the subscriber base has increased exponentially from less than one million subscribers in early 2000s to more than 25 million subscribers by October 2011. Among this subscribers are the youths, more specifically the campus students. It has always been ar gued that most students live under stringent economic conditions

especially due to inflationary tendencies. This has made many students to economize on their day to day spending with specific focus to mobile telephony .thus here I will try to examine what makes a student choose a particular mobile carrier over the other. In addition we will find out to what applications in a mobile phone the students mostly use.

1.1Problem identification
JKUAT, Taita Taveta campus, is mainly composed of a young population of youths

between the ages of 18-24.this are individuals who are still young with a lot of energy and who needs to keep in touch with their loved ones round the clock. Thus need to choose a carrier which gives them the maximum benefit from their money. Thus in this proposal I will be interested in finding out the mobile service provider of choice of the students

1.2 Statement of the problem

The main objective of a mobile phone is for communication purposes. In addition to communication the campus students may use it to aid them in the studies. But of late we have seen the influx of mobile phones which have capabilities such as browsing. This has resulted into students accessing the internet especially the social networks thus wasting considerable amount of learning time. Thus the question remains, what can the students do to manage their time well so that they can have ample time to study as well as communicate and socialize using their mobile phones.

1.3 purpose of the study

The main purpose of this study will be to ascertain which mobile network is preferred by campus students at JKUAT Taita Taveta campus. As a detour, I will also be delving into what makes the students prefer a particular mobile network as well what the students use their hand sets for .also we will look at what the mobile networks can do to attract retain their customers and

1.4 Objectives

1. To find out the most preferred mobile network.

2. To find out whether its the males or females who call more.

3. To find out the most preferred mobile handset by the students.

1.5 Research questions

a) Is there a relationship between the calling rate and the preferred mobile network by students?

b) Do males student spend more money on airtime than their female counterparts?

1.6 Hypothesis

a) There is no significant difference between the calling rate and the number of subscribers

b) There is no significant difference between the amount of airtime spent by males and females

1.7 PROJECT JUSTIFICATION

This study needs to be carried out since there is need to ascertain mobile network trends among campus students. We need to examine what network the students prefer and the reason for choosing that particular mobile network. Studies done have mostly been on the whole general population.

The questions this research will try to answer will be;

Which mobile networks is the most popular among campus students What influences students to prefer a particular mobile network

1.8 LIMITATION AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY a) The study will not be able to ascertain the mobile network trends across all the age groups, our main focus will on university student of mostly age group 18-24 years. b) The student population may not give an honest opinion. c) The student population at JKUAT Taita Taveta campus may not wholly represent all the campus going students.

1.9 ASSUMPTIONS

1 . All students of JKUAT Taita Taveta campus own at least one mobile phone

2. The students will give an honest opinion of their views.

1.10 DEFINATION OF TERMS Sim card- Is a small electronic card which contains a mobile networks subscribers account information.

2.0LITERATURE REVIEW 2:1 THEORITICAL LITERATURE REVIEW

This research proposal seeks to examine the mobile network which is preferred by campus students in Kenya. Specifically I will be dealing with students of Jomo Kenyatta university of agriculture and technology TaitaTaveta campus students will be seeking to ascertain what makes this age group (18-24) prefer a particular network over the other. The main focal point will be university students in Kenya, this study will not be able to bring out the trends in the universities globally It has been noted that campus students are economical in nature hence they prefer to switch to a mobile network which will allow them to talk more but spend less. Quality is also pivotal in choosing a mobile network especially with respect to internet connectivity and mobile network coverage.

2:2 EMPERICAL LITERATURE REVIEW

According to(Mohsen, Vitalis, & Solomon, 2007)safaricom had the biggest chunk of

subscribers as opposed to it only competitor by then ,Airtel .but since then other players have come into the market notably Econet wireless and Telecom orange who have eaten into the subscriber base of the major provider safaricom .

Safaricom has continued to dominate the market in terms of subscriber base due to reasons such being in the oldest in the market, in addition to having better infrastructure. Customer loyalty is also a key factor why safaricom has many subscribers. In this study I will be trying to find out if the same trend is exhibited by the a portion of the market share namely the campus students A ccording to research conducted by consumer insight more and more Kenyan youths are spending billions of shillings in airtime every month (Wafula, 2011) found that Kenyan youths spent around ksh 3.4 billion monthly on airtime. This translates to Ksh 75.6 billion annually. Among this spenders are campus youths whom most of them live under tight economic conditions accelerated by the increased inflation. The study found out that calling rates had dropped since august last year as most mobile providers seek to increase their subscriber base. With latest and lowest offers being provided by Essar telecom whose main target is mostly the youths. This means that the Kenyan youths below the age of 24 are spending about 50 percent in a year. The amount of money the most profitable mobile phone company in the country, safaricom is making in revenues. Thus making them a critical market for operators seeking new subscribers. The study concluded that the youths are using this money on their mobile phones mostly get connected to the internet Lower tariffs, faster speeds, better network coverage and more consistent quality are the factors which attracts subscribers to a particular mobile provider(Deloitte, 2011) found out that in addition to the next generation mobile networks (3G) are likely to be a major opportunity for mobile operators to attract subscribers. Moreover the use of 3g mobile technology may generate higher revenue in the long run. Thus providers need to use the

latest technology as wells as set their prices competitively in order to attract and retain customers. This ideology is replicated all over the world (Sathish, Kumar, Naveen, & Jeevanatham, 2011) says that calls rates is the major determinant when a client is choosing a provider. Its closely followed by network coverage, customer care, promotions and lastly advertisement. From the study, they concluded that service providers should focus more on increasing network stability and setting tariff rates competitively. Their findings also pinpointed those mobile service managers should shift focus on building corporate image and analyze more carefully the reason for consumers to switch brands in this industry in order to increase loyalty among these consumers. According to (Rajpurohit & Vasita, 2011)in India a number of mobile service providers compete to provide value added services to their customers. In addition the government and private sectors operators are competing to provide value added services in order to attract and retain customer. The stud y also revealed that consumers prefer a certain mobile network n the basis of call tariffs, network coverage, and value added services. In addition the consumers are highly influenced by their family members. They concluded that consumers prefer prepaid plan and they use their phone for both personal and business use. (Karjualoto, 2006) Found out that majority of the mobile services used via 3G networks are already available in the current 2.5G networks. Such services include browsing the web, sending and receiving multimedia messages and emailing. The study found out that majority of the current generation y prefer this services hence the major driving force in choosing a particular mobile provider. This fact lies in the sense that there is a strong

evidence to suggest that the main outcome is as a result of being able to access the internet services with faster data connection speeds. (Buzz City, 2008)Found out that majority of the youths use their mobile phones to access the internet. Communication with friends is the most popular reason for accessing the mobile internet in addition to entertainment and accessing new sites. Most of the users access the internet frequently with more than half going online more than five times a day. Usage is spread out all over the day but the highest traffic in during the evening to late at night. Students account for one third of mobile internet traffic. The study also revealed that nokia is the preferred handset of choice. (Rao, 2011)Says that 940 million subscribers out of the 5.3 billon mobile subscription are third generation mobile service. They estimate that mobile phone subscription to be 5.3 billon and 6.1 trillion text messages have been sent in 3 years. They further assert that the number of internet users has doubled over the last five years. According to (Rajpurohit & Vasita, 2011)in India a number of mobile service providers compete to provide value added services to their customers. In addition the government and private sectors operators are competing to provide value added services in order to attract and retain customer. The stud y also revealed that consumers prefer a certain mobile network on the basis of call tariffs, network coverage, and value added services. In addition the consumers are highly influenced by their family members. They concluded that consumers prefer prepaid plan and they use their phone for both personal and business use. Mobile banking is poised to become the biggest development mobile application area.(Infogile, 2007)Found out that the biggest decision network providers need to make

is to channel their effort on mobile banking support services. This can be done through an sms based service that would require the minimum effort on every subscriber. This is because more and more youths are embracing mobile banking which is both convenient and hustle free. Currently majority if not are using the sms based transaction services

which are embedded on the subscribers sim card, what they are suggesting is that more and more service providers should embrace a wap based services and/or mobile applications so that they may attracts more youths who are techno savvy. The wap

service will also be beneficial since it can let go of the need to customize usability to the profile of each mobile phone. Kenya's communications market began full liberalization in 1999, when policy and Regulatory functions were de-linked from mainstream operation. As a result, the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), an independent regulatory Authority, and the National Communications Secretariat (NCS), a policy advisory arm, Were created.

The Commission is financially and administratively independent, transparent in its Processes and protects the rights of both operators and consumers. This is meant to ensure that operators make reasonable return on their investment while giving Customers value for money. The Commission is funded through annual license fees and Spectrum management fees.

The Commission issues two main categories of operating licenses: facility based Network operator licenses (major licenses) and non-facility based service provider

Licenses (minor licenses). Until 2005, Kenya had two mobile operator and 1 national operator, they opened up the Telecom sector for further competitive and investment purpose. They awarded two Licenses one for Econet Wireless Kenya and another one for Orange Kenya which was recently privatized by the government. Safaricom, Mobile operator launched operations in 1993 based on an analogue ETACS network and was upgraded to GSM in 1996. Safaricom is the leading Telecommunications Company operating in Kenya. They provide a host of products and services for Telephony, GPRS, 3G, EDGE, Data and Fax. They hold 80% of the market share as of 31st Mar 2009.

Zain Kenya, Mobile operator launched operations in 2000 under the name of Kencell and it was sold to Celtel International in 2005 and in 2008 it was rebranded to Zain. and later to Airtel in 2010. The company offers mobile voice and data, services, fixed line, high

speed broadband, telecom solutions for enterprises and national & international long distance services to carriers.

Telkom/ Orange It started with fixed mobile operator. From 1948 to 1977 as a postal service in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda was provided by the East African Posts and Telecommunications Corporation. The dissolution of the first East African Community since that era forced Kenya to establish its own monopoly communications company, KPTC. It was privatized in 2007; Govt. sold shares to French operator Orange. Orange launched mobile service in Q4 2008. They provide integrated communications solutions

in Kenya with the widest range of voice and data services as well as network facilities for residential and business customers. They provide integrated communications solutions in Kenya with the widest range of voice and data services as well as network facilities for residential and business customers

Econet wireless Kenya won the 3rd license in 2004, due to financial crisis, it launched only in the last quarter of 2008. . In Ken ya it operates under the Yu brand. It provides a variety of services such as internet connectivity, mobile banking, messaging and calling.

. METHODOLOGY LITERATURE REVIEW (Matson & Huguenard, 2007)Used regression model to test to develop a model used for predicting the development effort for 104 software models. Regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between actual software development effort and software size in function points. An initial linear regression model was built, and upon further investigation was found to violate the constant error variance and normality assumptions of a linear model. Techniques for discovering these violations were demonstrated, along with one possible method of rectifying the violations: using a logarithmic transformation of the data. After transforming the data a second regression model was developed and was shown to satisfy the previously violated assumptions. We concluded with the use of prediction intervals to demonstrate the practical limitations of the final model. (cook, Alfred, & Edward, 2008)Tried to find out the significant factors that may influence or serve as indicators of potential cost over runs in construction of projects. In their study they used e regression to analyze the available data.

Prior to contract award from 203 constructions, projects over a full range of project types and scopes. While the proposed model captures 44% of actual cost overruns, its application reduces average contingency budgeting error from -11.2% to only -0.3% for the test sample. This study resulted in a multiple linear regression model that outperforms existing contingency funding practices using information available prior to contract award. The proposed model predicted the actual cost overrun percentages within 5% for 44% of the test projects, while the current practice performed to the same level in only 20% of test cases. The average difference between predicted and actual cost overruns was only -0.3% for the proposed model and -11.2% for the arbitrary assignment of a 5% contingency. (Neil, 2008) used multiple linear regression to
Multiple linear regressi on was employed to help

determine which of the six non-productive coping strategies could be used t o predict the experience of psychological distress for adolescents during outdoor education programs Most students reported using non-productive coping strategies between a little and sometimes. Over three quarters of participant s reported using at least one non-productive coping strategy at least sometimes during the program. The more st udents reported using non-productive coping strategies, the more they al so reported experiencing psychological distress during the program. Thirty four percent of the variance in psychol ogical distress was explained by the level of usage of four coping st rategies: Not Coping, Somatic Coping, Wishful Thinking and Worry. Self-Blame and Tension Reduction, whilst having small-moderat e zero-order correlations with Psychological Distress, were not significant predictors in the multiple linear regression.

Research Design and methodology

3.0 INTRODUCTION I n line with the earlier stated objectives; I will adopt the methodology of simple random sampling .the survey will be conducted with the help of a questionnaire with a variety of questions. We will incorporate both descriptive and analytical research such as surveys and fact finding technique to come up with a more inclusive, precise and up to date conclusion.

3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN I will fit a regression model so as to analyze how the dependent variable which in this case the number of subscribers is affected the independent variable such as billing rates and customer services. The dependent variables will be; The age of the respondents The gender of the respondents Average spending

Multiple regressions enable us to simultaneously test and model multiple independent variables.

The model for a multiple regression takes the form: The model for a multiple regression takes the form: The modelx for ax multiple+..... + y = 0 + 1 1 + 2 2 + 3 x3 regression takes the form: And we wish to estimate the And we wish to estimate the 0 , 1 , 2 , etc. by obtaining , etc. by obtaining

y1 = b0 + b1 x1 + b2 x2 + b3 x3 +.....i.e. +

The b 's are referred to as the "regression coefficients". Instead of fitting a line to data, we 's are referred to as the "regression coefficients". Instead of fitting a line to data, we now fit a plane (for 2 independent variables), a space (for 3 independent variables), etc. now fit a plane (for 2 independent variables), a space (for 3 independent variables), etc. now fit a plane (for 2 linear regressions take a space The general multiple independent variables),the form (for 3 independent variables), etc. general multiple linear regressions take the form
.eq1 .eq1

The following statistical assumptions for a simple linear regression model: The following statistical assumptions for a simple linear regression model: The following statistical assumptions for a simple linear regression model: 1. the regression function is linear in the parameters, the regression function is linear in the parameters, 2. the error terms have constant variance, the error terms have constant variance, 3. the error terms are normally distributed, and the error terms are normally distributed, and 4. The error ter ms are independent. The error terms

The key assumption for multiple regression is give by The key assumption for multiple regression is give by
.eq2 .eq2

It means that all the terms that are contained in u should be uncorrelated with the It means that all the terms that are contained in u should be uncorrelated with the It means that all the terms that are contained in u should be uncorrelated with the explanatory variables U is the error term or the disturbance it contai ns other factors other than x U is the error term or the disturbance it contains other factors other than x affect y
1

,x2 .x k that

If we have k independent variables we estimate the 0 , 1 , 2 , using the ordinar y least If we have k independent variables we estimate the using the ordinar y least square (OLS) method.

eq3 eq3 Equation 1 is called the OLS regression line or the sample regression function (SRF) Equation 1 is called the OLS regression line or t he sample regressi on function (SRF) is called the OLS intercept estimate is called the OLS intercept estimate are called the OLS slope estimates are call ed the OLS slope estimates THE OLS estimates, k+1 of them are chosen in order to minimize the sum of squared residuals THE OLS estimates, k+1 of them are chosen in order to minimize the sum of squared residuals THE OLS estimates, k+1 of them are chosen in order to minimize the sum of squared residuals

.........eq4 .........eq4 The minimization problem is then solved using The minimization problem is then solved using multivariable cal culus Which leads to k+1 linear equations in k+1 unknowns Which leads to k+1 linear equations in k+1 unknowns i.e. i.e.

.eq5 .eq5

These equations are called the OLS first order conditions These equations are called the OLS first order conditions After solving the equations and getting the unknowns, we regress y on x After solving the equations and getting the unknowns, we regress y on x After the regression line will be getting the unknowns, we regress y on x Thus solving the equations and given by Thus the regression line will be given by

,x2 x k

eq6 eq6

Written in terms of changes we have Written in terms of changes we have

.eq7 .eq7

The coefficient of x

measures the change in yy due to one increase unit in xx holding the measures the change in due to one increase unit in 1 measures the change in y due to one increase unit in x other independent variables constant/fi other independent variables constant/fixed i.e.
1

eq8 eq8 eq8

After obtaining the OLS regression line we obtain a fitted or predicted value for each After obtaining the OLS regression line we obtain a fitted or predicted value for each After obtaining the OLS regression line we obtain a fitted or predicted value for each observation For observation i the fitted value will be given by , For observation i the fitted value will be given by ,
.eq9 .eq9 Under normal circumstances Under normal circumstances the predicted value y observation i
i

will not be the same as the actual value y will not be the same as the actual val ue y

for

Thus the residual for the observation will be defined as; Thus the residual for the observation will be defined as; ......................eq10 ......................eq10 ......................eq10 the From there, we calculate the total sum of squares(TSS),

From there, we calculate the total sum of squares(TSS), the From there, we calculate sum of squares and the residual sum of squares as the total sum of squares(TSS), the explained sum of squares and the residual sum of squares as

...eq11 ...eq11

eq12 eq12

eq13 eq13 eq13

But Thus R Is defined to be Is defined to be

2

eq14 eq14

.eq15 .eq15 R2 can be shown to be

.....eq16 .....eq16

After getting the R we will create an ANOVA table for a a simple linear regression to we will create an ANOVA table for simple linear regression to we will create an ANOVA table for a simple linear regression to check if its the ideal model check if its the ideal model The table will be given by The table will be given by SOURCE DEGREES OF DEGREES OF FREEDOM(D.F) FREEDOM(D. F) SUM OF SQUARES (SS) MODEL K-1 ERROR TOTAL SS(MODEL) SS(MODEL)/K SS(MODEL)/K-1 MEAN SUM OF MEAN SUM OF SQUARES(MSS) SQUARES(MSS) F VALUE

N-K SS(ERROR) SS(ERROR)/ N-1 SS(TOTAL)

SS(ERROR)/ N-K

A mean A mean A test. to mean

square is the sum of squares divided by the degrees of freedom. We wish square is the sum of squares divided by the degrees of freedom. We wish square ratiowhich is the sum of squares The F-ratiowhich provides a test of divided by the degrees of freedom. We wish

H0: 1 = 0 versus H1

: 1=0

The F test is given by MS (MODEL)/MS (ERROR)= F(MODEL) We will Reject H0 if F (MODEL) > F (1, n - 2).

3.2 LOCATION OF THE STUDY My study will be based on the student population of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) Taita Taveta campus in Voi. 3.3 TARGET POPULATION The finding of the study will be beneficial to:To the communities at large Mobile service providers Policy makers such as the government Donors especially those that fund community based organizations.(CBOs) Student population in the campuses around JKUAT Taita Taveta campus Kenya with specific emphasis to

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

4.0 Introduction

The objectives of this study are to determine the most preferred mobile network

among

students In Jomo Kenyatta Taita Taveta campus. In addition the study wants to find out

what particularly makes the students to choose a particular

mobile network over the

other .as detour we will try to find out who calls more ,is it the males or the females.

4.1 Results summary 4.1.1 Respondents Demographics

A total of 120 questionnaires were issued to respondents from all the different courses offered at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) Taita Taveta campus. This represents approximately 10% of the student population present during the data collection. (Mugenda & Mugenda, 1999) Propose 10% of the population should be sampled for descriptive studies. The complete questionnaires were edited for completeness and consistency. Out the 120 questionnaires issued, 105 were completed and returned. This is a response rate of 87.5%.

Table 4.1.1: Response Rate

Number Percentage Questionnaires returned 105 87.5% Questionnaires not returned 15 12.5% Total 120 100.00% The questionnaire is made up of questions that capture the respondents course, their preferred mobile network, average amount of airtime they spend per month, how satisfied they are with their current mobile networks, factors which can make them switch from one network to another. In addition the type of handset used and their price range is also captured. The results are summarized in the following tables and figures.

4.1.2 Respondents selection of mobile Network

From the findings, 45.7% of students selected Safaricom as their preferred mobile provider of choice, 17.1% chose Airtel, 32.4% chose Econet/Yu while Telecom Orange was contented with 4.8%. From this we can infer that Econet/from this we can infer that Econet/Yu is closing on safaricom as the preferred mobile provider among the youth.

SERVICE PROVIDER

4. 76 %

SERVICE PROVIDER
Saf ari com Airt el Econet/YU T el com Or an ge

32.3 8% 45.7 1%

Pies show count s

17.1 4%

4.1.3 Respondents satisfaction with their current mobile network provider

The respondents are also asked to rate how likely they are able to switch from their current service provider to another. They were ordered from, Very unlikely, likely, Neutral,likely and Ver y likely. The bar chart in fig 4.1.3 shows the percentages of. the satisfaction levels among the students.

Fig 4.1.3 Student likelihood of switching mobile network provider

GENDER
6 0. 0% F e ma le Ma le

5 0. 0%

4 0.0 %

3 0. 0%

2 0. 0%

1 0 .0 %

0. 0% V er y Un lik el y Un lik ely N eu tr a l Lik e ly Ve r y L ik ely

SWITCHING PROVIDER

As shown above, it can be seen that generally, 29.5% of the respondents say that they are likely to switch mobile providers, 23.5% are very likely while 26.7% are neutral. On the other hand 16.2% and 3.8 said that they are unlikely and very unlikely respectively to switch their providers. In almost all the categories the numbers of males were equally the number of Females.

4.1.4 More than one sim card

Most of the student were to own more than one sim card with just a few sticking to one mobile provider. The study found out that only 7.4% of the sample population having only one sim card .the remaining percentage shared among Safaricom,Airtel,Econet/Yu and Telecom Orange in the ratio 36.2%,15.2%,19.0% and 21.9% respectively. This clearly shows that if safaricom is not the first choice then mostly likely its the second choice among the student population in the campus.

4.1.5 Reasons for switching mobile service providers

Many reasons were singled out as to the reason why a subscriber may change his/her service provider. The study found out that calling rate is the main determinant consumers consider before switching mobile networks. It had a cumulative percentage of 53.3%. It was followed by network coverage at 21.9%, Value added services at 11.4% and lastly by customer care service at 3.8%.

4.1.6 Most popular handset among the student

According the students Nokia is still the most popular handset .out of the 120 respondents, 40 had Nokia handsets which translates into 38.1% of the total student population. The respondents who chose Samsung, Motorola and Sony Ericsson were 29.5 and 15 respectively. This is equivalent to percentage of 27.6%,4.8% and 14.5%.The rest of the other phone makes such as Alcatel occupy the remaining 15.2% .

HANDSET MAKE
Nokia Samsung Motorola Sony Ericsson Others

Pies show counts

4.1.7 Services the Students mostly use in their mobile phones

The respondents are also asked to state the facilities in their mobile phones they frequently use. The simple bar chart below summarizes the information. From the chart calling still carries the lions share. This can be attributed to the reduction in calling rates especially by Econet/Yu. Its followed closely by short messaging services. This can be justified by the fact that most service providers allow subscribers to subscribe for unlimited sms for a fixed amount. Browsing, camera and music player are almost the same.

Fig 4.1.7 Services Student use in their mobile phones

MOBILE PHONE SERVICES

40

30

20

10

MOBILE PHONE SERVICES

4.1.8 WHO USES MORE AIRTIME

From the cross table it can be deduced that a greater percentage ie 79.1% of the students spend between ksh 300 to ksh 1000 per month on air time. The remaining percentage is almost equally distributed between the two extremes with those spending less than ksh 300 per month and more than ksh 1000 per month having 11.4% and 9.5% respectively. overally there is no significant difference between the amount of airtime spent between the males and the females. For instance in the ksh 0 to ksh 300 category the females stands at 12.0% while the males stands at 10.9%.

AIR TIME USAGE * GENDER Cross tabulation % within GENDER

GENDER

Female Male

Total

AIR TIME USAGE 0-300 12.0% 10.9% 11.4%

300-500 26.0% 20.0% 22.9%

500-800 18.0% 40.0% 29.5%

800-1000 36.0% 18.2% 26.7%

above 1000 8.0% 10.9% 9.5%

Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

4.2 Multiple Linear Regression

4.2.1 Variables and Parameter Estimates The Number of subscribers is affected by several factors

The dependent variable:

which included age, gender and average spending rate.

Location variables:

There are three independent variables; age, gender and the average

spending. Age has four levels: 0=18-20, 2=22-24, 3=22-24 and 4=24-Above.Gender has

two levels 0=Females and 1=Males. Finally, Average spending has four levels too with: 0= less than ksh 300; 1= ksh 300-ksh 500; 2=ksh 500-ksh 800, 3= ksh 800-ksh 1000 and 4=above ksh 1000.

After the data was coded and input into SPSS, multiple regression of the dependent and the independent variables is carried out. This is shown in fig 4.1.3 and fig 4.1.7,

The results are as follows:

Model Summary

Model R R Square 1 .046(a) .002 -.027 1.003

Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

a Predictors: (Constant), AIR TIME USAGE, GENDER, and AGE

The model summary shows the goodness of fit statistics indicating whether the model is a good fit .R is the correlation coefficient measuring the strength of the linear relationship. In this case its 0.46 indicating that the relationship is not very strong. R squared is the coefficient of determination which in this case is 20%. Indicating that 20% of the variability of the service provider can be explained by the variability of the airtime usage, gender and age.
ANOVA (b)

Sum of Model Squares df Mean Square F Sig. 1 Regression .218 3 .073 .072 .000(a) Residual 101.629 101 1.006 Total 101.848 104 a Predictors: (Constant), AIR TIME USAGE, GENDER, AGE b Dependent Variable: SERVICE PROVIDER

The ANOVA table shows a significance of 0.000 ,this indicates that the linear Model useful/Significant.
Coefficients(a) Unstandardized Coefficients Model 1 (Constant) 1.062 .273 3.891 .000 B Std. Error Beta Standardized Coefficients t Sig.

AGE .011 .098 -.011 -.410 .045

GENDER -.074 .196 -.037 -.375 .065 AIR TIME USAGE .024 .086 -.028 -.573 .023 a Dependent Variable: SERVICE PROVIDER

Let's focus on the three predictors, whether they are statistically significant and, if so, the direction of the relationship. The age ( Age , b=0.011) is significant (p=0.045), but only just so, and the coefficient is positive which would indicate that larger age sizes is related to some extent more subscribers. The effect of gender (b=-0.074, p=.065) is not significant and its coefficient is negative indicating that gender does not play a big role in determining the number of mobile subscribers of a given network. Finally, ( airtime usage , b=-0.024, p=.232) seems to be unrelated to the number of mobile subscribers. This would seem to indicate that the percentage of airtime usage of is not an important factor in predicting the number of mobile subscribers a provider has. This result was somewhat unexpected. The t and sig (p) values give a rough estimation of the impact of each predictor variable. A big absolute value t value and a small p value suggest that the variable has a large impact on the criterion variable. Age (t=0.410) has a large impact on the dependent variable, number of mobile subscribers. Gender (t=0.375) is not somewhat significant and air time usage (t=-5.73) is significant. Let the age be X1, Gender be X2 and air time usage be X3, The coefficients tables table gives us the equation that models lines. It has an intercept of 1.062 and slopes of 0.011,-0.074 and 0.24 respectively for age, gender and airtime usage respectively. The variables are actually significant since significant values are less than 0.05. Thus our regression equation will be, NUMBER OF SUBSCRIBERS=1.062+0.011X
1

- 0.074X

+0.024X

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Introduction This section summarizes the main findings of the research, draw conclusions from these findings, and give the necessary recommendations.

Findings Summary

One of the objectives of this research is to determine the mobile network which is the most popular among the students of Jomo Kenyatta University of agriculture and technology, Taita Taveta campus. From the research findings in the preceding chapter, it is found out that the most popular mobile network is safaricom at 45.7%, Airtel at 17.1%, Econet/YU at 32.4% satisfaction and Telkom orange at 4.8%.the findings also indicated that generally, 29.5% of the respondents s are likely to switch mobile providers, 23.5% are very likely while 26.7% are neutral. On the other hand 16.2% and 3.8 said that they are unlikely and very unlikely respectively to switch their providers. In almost all the categories the number of males was equally the number of Females.

The main reasons for switching mobile phone operators were found out to be the call rate. Many reasons were singled out as to the reason why a subscriber may change his/her service provider. The study found out that calling rate is the main determinant consumers consider before switching mobile networks. It had a cumulative percentage of 53.3%. It was followed by network coverage at 21.9%, Value added services at 11.4% and lastly by customer care service at 3.8%.

According the study Nokia is still the most popular handset .out of the 120 respondents, 40 had Nokia handsets which translates into 38.1% of the total student population. The respondents who chose Samsung, Motorola and Son y Ericsson were 29.5 and 15 respectively. This is equivalent to percentage of 27.6%,4.8% and 14.5%.The rest of the other phone makes such as Alcatel occupy the remaining 15.2%.

The study also found out that the facilities in the mobile phones that the students frequently use .calling still carries the lions share .this can be attributed to the reduction in calling rates especially by Econet/Yu. Its followed closely by short messaging services. This can be justified by the fact that most service providers allow subscribers to subscribe for unlimited sms for a fixed amount. Browsing, camera and music player are almost the same.

Conclusions

The conclusions arising from this investigation relate to the analysis method employed and to the specific results of that analysis. The following are the conclusions that can be drawn from the research findings: That; Call rate is the main determinant which subscribers put into perspective when choosing a mobile provider.

 Calling is still the most popular service in mobile phones followed by texting and lastly by browsing. Safaricom is still the preferred mobile service provider while Nokia is the most popular handset. A big percentage of the mobile subscribers are more likely to switch from one mobile service provider to another, hence the telecommunication companies should put more effort to retain their clients. There is no significant difference between the amount of airtime spent by the males and the females.

Recommendations.

From the above analysis, I would like to recommend to the mobile operators either to retain their customers or acquiring the new customers. If they follow the following strategies it will really benefit them

Mobile operators should be innovative new products/services with unique features having some multipurpose utilities which could cr eate an appeal to the customers. In case of price, price of products/services should be competitive. It should reach the masses .and also improves the quality of their services. Mobile operators should support more on greener environment by way of adopting the E-top up, disposing the used mobiles phones, sim cards etc. They should lobby to the Govt. for reducing the taxes on airtime in the interest Of the customers. So that should be able reduce their Tariff to affordable one.

Mobile operators should improve their coverage in order to cover the dispersed population.

REFERENCES
Buzz City. (2008). who uses the mobile internet? And what do they do? buzz city.

cook, J. J., Alfred, T. E., & Edward, W. D. (2008).

STIMATING REQUIRED CONTINGENCY

FUNDS FOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS USING MULTPLE LINEAR REGRESSION. AIRFORCE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. Deloitte. (2011). Addicted to Connectivity pesrpective on the global mobile consumer. London: Deloitte global services limited. Infogile, T. (2007). Mobile Banking-The future. Infogile.

Karjualoto, H. (2006). An investigation of third world (3G) mobile technologies and sevices. contemoprary management research , 93-100.

Matson, J. E., & Huguenard, B. R. (2007). Evaluating the Aptness of a Regression Model. Journal of Statstics Education .

Mohsen, E. K., Vitalis, O., & Solomon, G. (2007). Taxation and the growth of Mobile in East Africa. GSM ASSOCIATION. Neil, J. (2008). Writi ng Up a M ul tiple Regression Analysis. Creative commons attri bution.

Rajpurohit, R. S., & Vasita, M. L. (2011). Consumer Preferences and satisfaction Towards various mobile phone providers. Rao, m. (2011). Monday. Sathish, M., Kumar, s. k., Naveen, K. J., & Jeevanatham, V. (2011). A study on consumer switching bahavior in cellular service provider: A study with reference to Chennai. Journal of Psychology and bussiness , 71-81. Nai robi: Far East Gurulul Bussiness review. Mobile

Mobile Africa Report,Regional hubs of exellence and innovation.

Wafula, P. (2011). Kenyan youths spend 3.4 billion shillings on airtime,says study. Nation Media Group.

(Wafula, 2011)(cook, Alfred, & Edward, 2008)(cook, Alfred, & Edward, 2008)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safaricom

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharti_Airtel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Econet_Wireless

http://www.airtel.in/wps/wcm/connect/about+bharti+airtel/bharti+airtel/about+bharti+airt el/

http://www.telkom.co.ke/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=60&Itemid= 95 www.cck.co.ke www.safaricom.co.ke www. yu.co.ke www.telkom.co.ke www.kenya.go.ke www.gsmworld.com

APPENDIX

JOMO KENYATTA UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTRE AND TECHNOLOGY

This questionnaire is aimed at collecting data required for a study entitled THE PREFFERED MOBILE NETWORK.CASE STUDY: JOMO KENYATTA UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTRE AND TECHONOLGY,TAITA TAVETA CAMPUS. your participation in completing this questionnaire is essential to this study and respondents are kindly requested to complete the questionnaire and give any additional information they might feel necessary for the study. The information you provide will be used for academic purposes and will be treated with utmost confidentiality. PLEASE ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS IN THIS QUESTIONAIRE

1) SERIAL NUMBER 2) AGE 18-20 3) GENDER 4) DEPARTMENT MATHEMATICS AND INFORMATICS (MI) BUSINESS STUDIES AND ECONOMICS (BSE) MINING AND MINERAL PROCESING ENGINEERING (MMPE) 5) YEAR OF STUDY ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE

20-22 MALE

22-24

above 24 FEMALE

6) WHAT IS THE MAKE OF YOUR MOBILE PHONE NOKIA SAMSUNG MOTOROLA SONY ERICCSON OTHER (please specify)_______________________________ 7) What is the average price range of your handset LESS THAN KSH 3000 KSH 3000-6000

KSH 6000-10000 MORE THAN KSH 10000 8) WHICH CONNECTION DO YOU USE POST PAID PRE PAID 9) WHO IS YOUR MOBILE SERVICE PROVIDER SAFARICOM AIRTEL ECONET/YU TELECOM ORANGE 10) DO YOU HAVE MORE THAN ONE MOBILE SERVICE PROVIDER YES (please specify)___________________________ NO 11) ON AVERAGE, WHAT WIL BE YOUR SPENDING ON RECHARGE/BILL PAYMENT FOR THE PHONE PER MONTH? LESS THAN KSH 300 KSH 300-500 KSH 500-800 KSH 800-1000 ABOVE KSH 1000 12) WHOM DO YOU COMMUNICATE MOST USING THE MOBILE PHONE? PARENTS/FAMILY/RELATIVES FRIENDS/CLASSMATES COLLEAGUES BOYFRIEND/GIRLFRIEND

13) WHAT SEVICES IN YOUR MOBILE PHONE ARE MOST FREQUENTLY USED? SMS/MMS CALLS WAP/GPRS/EDGE/3G CAMERA /VIDEO FM/MUSIC PLAYER OTHER (please specify)

14) WHAT IS THE LIKELINESS OF YOU SWITCHING YOUR MOBILE SERVICE PROVIDER. VERY UNLIKELY UNLIKELY NEUTRAL LIKELY VERYLIKELY 15) WHAT/WHO IS THE MAJOR INFLUENCE THAT SWINGS THE DECISION TO PURCHASE A SIM CARD. SELF FAMILY FRIENDS TELEVISION 16) WHAT IS THE MAIN FACTOR THAT CAN MAKE YOU TO CHANGE/SWITCH YOUR MOBILE SERVICE PROVIDER CALL RATES NETWORK COVERAGE VALUE ADDED SERVICES ADVERTISEMENT CUSTOMER CARE SERVICES

RESEARCH TIME TABLE In carrying out the study, I will adhere to the following schedule

TOPIC/MO NTH INTRODUC TION LITERATU RE REVIEW METHODO LOGY DATA COLLECTI ON DATA ANALYSIS

SEPTEM BER

OCTO BER

NOVEM BER

DECEM BER

JANU ARY

FEBRU ARY

MAR CH

APR IL

BUDGET RESOURCES REQUIRED The followi ng will be the expected expenditure

Item Expenditure

Cost( Ksh)

Computer: Specifications: At least 1GB RAM, 40 GB hard disk Flash disk 2GB 1200/=

35,000/=

Total cost 36,200/=