Vodafone beats other in MNP race

Vodafone has emerged as the clear winner in MNP race, according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). The other major gainer is Bharti Airtel. 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.

Gujarat tops MNP requests: TRAI

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat ranks number one in the country in terms of requests made for mobile number portability (MNP), with 6.17 lakh subscribers opting for the facility from the state, says a Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) report. 

As per data furnished by service providers, 64.23 lakh mobile phone users applied for MNP in the country by March 2011 end, out of which 9.61 per cent requests were made from Gujarat. 

The first phase of MNP was launched on November 25 last year while it was rolled out pan-India from January 20 this year. 

Mobile number portability, which allows subscribers to switch from one operator to another without changing the number, has become an important feature in telecom arena. 

The maximum number of requests for MNP were received from Gujarat (6.17 lakh) followed by Rajasthan (5.49 lakh) in the Western zone. Elsewhere, Karnataka reported 5.29 lakh subscribers going for MNP followed by Tamil Nadu with (4.74 lakh), a TRAI report said.        

India adds 20 Million Mobile subscribers in March -2011

According to the latest report (March 2011) released by TRAI – India now has a total of 846.32 Million Telecom subscribers, comprising of of 811.59 Mobile subscribers & 34.73 wireline subscribers. The Indian Tele-density now stands at 70.89%!

If anything, the growth in mobile subscription is only increasing. Monthly Mobile Subscriber additions in last few months has been averaging about 17-18 million, but in month of March, subscriber additions crossed 20.2 million. Total Mobile subscriber base increased from 791.38 mn in Feb 2011 to 811.59 mn at the end of March 2011, registering a growth of 2.55%. 

Urban Vs Rural Mobile Subscribers

Urban subscribers are still going strong with 12.88 mn additions , while 7.33 mn rural folks were added to the tally! While the Urban Teledensity currently stands at 150%, rural teledensity is close to 33%. Essentially what it means is, in cities, for every 2 individuals there are 3 mobile numbers – And in rural areas, there is 1 mobile number for every 3 individuals!

For Pan-India telecom subscriber base, 66.65 percent subscribers reside in Urban areas, whereas 33.35 are in rural areas.

Mobile Number Portability Requests

Less than expected number of people actually took advantage of MNP in first couple of months of MNP launch. However, MNP requests are now picking up steam. 64.23 Lakh MNP requests were made in March 2011 as compared to 38.33 lakh in Feb 2011.

Over 38 lakh users opt for mobile number portability

Over 38 lakh customers opted for mobile number portability (MNP) – which allows users to switch operators while retaining their numbers – till the end of February, official data showed Wednesday.

The service was implemented across the country Jan 20, 2011 while the pilot launch of the service took place in Haryana Nov 25, 2010