MNP & Cell Companies

     On 20th January this year across country Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI) implemented Mobile Number Portability or MNP after getting successful results in Haryana where it was launched in the month of November last year. MNP was feeling badly in the country by customers in the environment of stiff competition as in every circle (normally a circle is area of a state but in cases of big states it is divided into two circles) and service providers were using the marketing glitches to woo customers but often subscribers had found there is lot of differences between marketing terms and services and feel as if he/she was exploited by the operators. Right now as per stats of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAL) till the month of January 2011 total number of subscriber base of cell user in the country was 771 million, so considering stiff competition, scores of operators exit in one circle and marketing glitches used by cellular operators MNP comes as a very handy tools for the subscribers as they can dump any operator as per there choice if they are not happy with there service provider by switching another operator of there circle with same number by paying nominal MNP fees of rupees nineteen. MNP make cell operators on to there feet not only to give better connectivity but also attractive packages to retain there exiting subscribers plus also glue new customers. Subscribers will have the option at there disposal to choose operator as per there choice only restriction apply on them to use MNP is the gap of at least ninety days.
     Mobile Number Portability is a tool by using this option customer can switch to another company, whom he/she consider as the best service provider, beauty of this tool is that they can carry there existing number in spite of changing company by paying small fees of rupees nineteen, then it is the liabilities of the service providers to issue the same number to the customer within stipulated time frame of forty eight hours, finding themselves in the tight spots it was believed that companies will come up with new packages just to become magnet and pull other companies customers. It is just two month period since MNP comes into effect in the country and as per news biggest looser and winner of MNP is Reliance Communication and Vodafone Essar respectively. Stats provided by the Cellular Operators Association of India in its websites reveals that across country less then one percent have use the MNP, which stands five million but it was believe pre MNP era that once MNP comes into force then lot of churn will happen among cell subscribers and ten to fifteen percent customers will choose the MNP tools in the very first month. Three companies that added maximum number of subscribers are –

• Vodafone Essar – 1,92,761
• Idea Cellular – 1,50,789
• Airtel – 1,48,215

and in the list of top looser is –

• Reliance Communication – 3,06,417

Thanks to MNP that cell subscribers of the country get option to use cellular service as per their wishes and when ever they feel necessity at the time of not satisfied with there cell operator then can easily choose there desire operator of its circle, but only five million change there operators against the predicted ten to fifteen percent, which is even less then one percent, it is the lesson in the post MNP era for the service operators that they have to give better connectivity and plan package other wise they will be prove next biggest looser after Reliance communication.