Number portability will have little impact on telcos: MTS

Mobile services provider MTS, owned by Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd, today said the proposed implementation of Mobile Number Portability would have a "minimal impact" on telecom operators and would help "new telecom players" in the country.

The company, offering telephony service on the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) platform in the country, would benefit from the implementation of MNP as a new player, Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd Chief Strategy Officer Cheenu Seshadri told PTI here.

Mobile Number Portability is a service that allows any mobile customer to change their operator while retaining the same number. "It (MNP) would benefit long time players... And also newcomers like us...," he said.

He said the implementation of MNP would only have a 'minimal' impact on telecom operators in the country with the introduction of multi-sim enabled handsets in the market.
    
"Already there are customers who have two-three sims and using dual-sim enabled phones... I think there will be a minimal impact...," he said.
    
The government had last month extended the deadline for implementation of Mobile Number Portability to October 31.
    
The MNP service was originally supposed to be implemented by December 31, 2009, in metro cities across the country. The deadline was later deferred to March 31, 2010, and then to June 30, 2010.
    
Sistema Shyam TeleServices entered India in December, 2008, and currently has 6.5 million subscribers across the country. It currently operates in 12 circles.
    
Stating that the company has changed their strategy to offer both voice and data services, Seshadri said the company would enter the Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh East and Western telecom circles by the end of this year.
    
"With the launch of these three circles, we should be operating in 15 circles in the country," he said.
    
On their 'MBlaze' data card offering, Chief Operating Officer (Tamil Nadu and Kerala circle) Sunil K said the company has already sold two lakh datacards.
    
"With the success of this service, we are planning to launch it in all the districts of Tamil Nadu" he said.
    
MTS currently operates in Rajasthan, Bihar/Jharkhand, Kolkata, West Bengal, Sikkim, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Mumbai, Maharashtra/Goa, Haryana/Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and the National Capital Region.