Effect of recession or credit crunch on telecom companies case study Research Proposal

Effect of recession or credit crunch on telecom companies case study ORANGE - Research Proposal Example The cascading effect has made the companies to think about the ways and means to handle the crisis. The telecom sector which initially gave indications of defying the recessionary trends has also started feeling the pinch. Saverio Romeo, the ICT analyst at Frost & Sullivan recently said that, the IT sector is going to be hit mainly in two ways1; Technology has brought about many changes in almost all spheres of life. Information technology in particular has proved to be a great influence towards transforming the way we communicate, listen to radio broadcasts, watch television broadcasts, impart education, search for information, track the movement of processes and services etc. Telecom sector is the key beneficiary of the IT revolution. Today, a simple mobile instrument can be used for services like, mobile-banking, storing songs, m-commerce, handy television receiver, net-surfing etc. besides serving as a telephone instrument. Telecom companies are making fullest use of this fusion in ICT by coming out with a number of schemes for retaining the existing customers as well as for attracting the potential customers. Reputed brands like 'Orange' have been investing in Research and Developmental activities as well. 'Orange Labs' from the France Telecom-Orange Group play a leading role in carrying this trend forward. With the he lp of a strong team of about 5,000 researchers, marketers, and engineers the company has been actively on way to provide best available services to its customers. But the moot question is how long they can sustain such efforts if recession continues longer. Efforts will be made through this study to figure out how companies are moving forward to contain the damage. Objectives of the Study This study is primarily being undertaken to study the telecom sector in general and how the recessionary trends are impacting the sector. With the help of examples like that of Orange, efforts will be made to find out concrete policies, if any, being undertaken by the companies in this direction. The study will try to seek answers to the following key objectives; i. Analysing the growth of the telecom sector in the last couple of years ii. Analysing some of the previous challenging situations that the telecom sector went through, and how the sector was able to pass thru iii. Analysing how some of the leading telecom companies have been performing in the recent past. iv. Analysing the policies being adopted by some of the governments in different parts of the world to help the telecom sector. v. What constructive role the Government as well as other stakeholders can play to see that the telecom sector is able to sustain the crisis like situation. Research Methodology The research will be carried out with the help of; i. Existing literature on the subject from government database, telecom sector companies, international organisations or other reliable sources available on the internet. ii. By going out in the field and assessing the ground reality by way of soliciting the views of users/ consumers in the sector iii. By seeking the opinion of the some of the experts in the field, from private sector as well as from the