MNP: 10million users since launch

The number of cellphone users who have chosen to avail mobile number portability has hit the 10 million mark in about four and-a-half months since the national launch of mobile number portability or MNP, an official in sector regulator TRAI told. Initial results have clearly established an underlying trend that incumbent GSM biggies, led by Vodafone Essar, have been the biggest gainers under this facility. As on May 24, Vodafone has recorded a net gain of 591,600 new customers followed by the Aditya Birla Group-owned IdeaCellular (590,343) and Bharti Airtel (563,460). While Bharti Airtel is the country's largest mobile phone company in terms of customers, the company has lagged behind its primary competitors in attracting customers to its networks. Analysts say consumers have a natural tendency to move away from the incumbent and join comparatively smaller established operators. 'The movement is largely due to brand perception and brand awareness.' KPMG's telecom head Romal Shetty added that Idea played its market campaign around MNP and its high visibility led to consumers leaving the incumbents and joining Idea's network. Shetty was also of the view that this service would not be a game changer in India. The churn from MNP was much less than the 3% industry churn experienced on a month-on-month basis, said a leading service provider. An Idea spokesperson said the company had made substantial investments in network, technology, processes to allow subscribers to switch network and move to Idea. 'On portout to port-in ratio, we stand ahead of all operators. For every 100 customer porting in, Idea loses only 59 customers,' the spokesperson added. Vodafone Essar's strategy director Samaresh Parida attributes the growth in number of subscribers to the company's focus on market place an [...]

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