Vodafone leads In MNP race

Nine million subscribers opt for mobile number portability in first three months of its launch

Nine million subscribers had opted for mobile number portability (MNP) in the first three months of its launch on January 20, and the biggest gainers were Vodafone Essar followed by Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular. However, there were others who fell. Reliance Communications (GSM and CDMA), followed by state-owned BSNL lost the number of subscribers.

There were about nine million requests for MNP till April 28. If the trend continues, it would mean 4.5 per cent of the 800 million customers would have availed of MNP. The numbers are based on data provided by service providers to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).

The data shows the incremental number of subscribers going in for MNP has stabilised after the initial euphoria. Between January 20 and February 28, about 3.8 million subscribers had requested for MNP (it includes subscribers in Haryana where the scheme was introduced first).

The number stabilised between March 1 and 31, when the incremental number opting for MNP was 2.6 million. Between April 1 and 28, the number remained the same.

Industry experts says MNP will not be a game changer. Even operators do not expect the churn rate to be lower than they average — 4-5 per cent per month.

Bharti Airtel saw the highest number of port-in requests for any service provider and also the most requests for port-out. The total port-in number for Airtel stood at 1.57 million while the port-out numbers stood at 1 million. For Vodafone Essar, the port-in number stood at 1.43 million and port-out at 0.92 million. Vodafone Essar, has captured the first position in MNP as the net gainer with 0.51 million shifting to its network. Airtel stood at number two, with a gain of about 0.5 million users.

Idea Cellular, which was on the number one slot in March, has now come down to the third position with a gain of 0.47 million users. The port-in numbers for Idea stood at 1.16 million and port-out at 0.69 million.

Among the top service providers who lost the most users opting out of its network were Reliance (GSM+CDMA) and BSNL. Reliance GSM lost about 0.61 million users for the period, while Reliance CDMA lost 0.35 million users. This was followed by BSNL, which lost about 0.4 million subscribers. (For port-in and port-out numbers, see chart)

To avail the service, a mobile user has to pay Rs 19 as the porting fees. The user has to send a message to 1900, following which the user will get a unique porting code. With this code, the user has to fill up a form in the outlet of new service provider. The whole process is expected to be completed in seven days. However, subsequently, the users cannot avail MNP service again for a period of 90 days.