Chandigarh, November 12
State-owned telecom company, BSNL, has been the worst sufferer of Mobile Number Portability (MNP), losing a whopping 2.61 lakh connections in the region in the eight months since the launch of the scheme on January 20 this year.

In the Punjab circle alone, which includes Chandigarh, the BSNL has lost 1.35 lakh connections. The loss is more or less the same in Haryana where the 1.19 lakh BSNL customers have opted to shifted to other operators. Even in Himachal, the BSNL is the top loser with a tally of 5,997.

The latest data (till September 30) procured by The Tribune, reveals that private players, Airtel and Vodaphone, have gained at BSNL costs and they top the list of gainers. Among losers, the second slots are the CDMA services of Reliance Communication and Tata.

BSNL’s loss in Punjab has been a “net gain” for Airtel, which has mopped up 1.07 lakh connections. Reliance (CDMA) has lost 28,587 connections, followed by 23,696 of Tata (CDMA). In cellular operators parlance, “net gain” clocked by an operator is the difference between the net port-outs (connection lost) from the port-ins (connection gain).

The second biggest gainer of MNP in Punjab circle has been Idea, which got of 61,739 customers. In Haryana, Vodaphone has got the bulk of MNP with 1.32 lakh connections. Airtel is the second biggest gainer with 49,687 connections.

Nationwide, Idea has been the biggest net gainer 11.72 lakh connections. It’s followed by Vodaphone which has gained 10.01 lakh connections. Airtel is on the third place with a net gain of 6.39 lakh subscribers. Aircel, a joint venture between Malaysia’s Maxis Communications and Apollo Hospitals group, is on the fourth slot with net gains of 1,387 subscribers.

Telecom experts claim that Idea has gained the maximum because it has effectively promoted its network quality and 3G services. Till September, Rcom (CDMA) is the biggest MNP loser with a combined net loss of 7,57,809 users followed by Tata (CDMA)- 6,51,540 and BSNL (GSM) 5,81,990.