At 1 million, Gujarat tops MNP list in the country

As on May, 10.57 million subscribers have requested for porting their numbers

After retail, it is the telecom industry that has getting a taste of value consciousness of the Gujaratis. Which is why, the state continues to rank number one in India in number portability requests for changing telecom service providers.

Latest figures released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), by the end of May 2011, about 10.57 million subscribers have submitted their requests to different service providers for porting their mobile number. Of this, Gujarat tops the list at 1.053 million subscribers porting their mobile number. The same is followed by the likes of Rajasthan (825,000), Karnataka (795,000) and Tamil Nadu Service area (774,000).

"The number one reason why Gujarati tops the list is because people here understand value. For a long long time there were only six operators and customers had virtually no options. Which is why ever since MNP came, it is being well received in Gujarat," said Nipun Sharma, Chief Operating Officer, Gujarat circle, Tata DOCOMO.

What's more, telecom operators seem to have been gaining significantly out of this. "Even when operators offer a tariff deal, it is the overall all experience in terms of network and customer care as well that a Gujarati subscriber seeks as value. Now that three months are over, many a customers have started coming back to us. The deal is not the end of it but the value; it is the whole experience that matters and not just tariffs," said Rajesh Dongre, chief operating officer, Vodafone Essar.

Even at Tata DOCOMO, the telecom operator has seen an increased number of port-ins from subscribers. "When we launched our services in Gujarat, we became the first name in data services and competitive tariffs. We saw that the customer was waiting all these years to leverage this value," said Sharma, refusing to divulge MNP details for Tata DOCOMO. However, some operators argue that it is only the old service providers who have benefited much from MNP. "Gujarat has far more value conscious and value hunting subscribers than any other state in the country. However, most of the action is happening only on the old operators' turf," said Arul Bright, COO, Gujarat circle, Idea Cellular Ltd.