Top MNP loser RCom OK with loss; to focus on value, not nos

MUMBAI: If the numbers are anything to go by, the much-touted mobile number portability (MNP), that got kicked in from January 20, has not made much of a dent in the fortunes of most telecom companies, as only about 4 million out of 771 million users have dumped their operators in the first five months.

While Vodafone, Bharti and Idea gained significantly during this customer-choice era, Reliance Communications (RCom) bore the brunt of the switch. But the Anil Ambani Group telco claims it is not keen on adding mere numbers, but adding high value customers.

"It is true - initially we lost big time. And even now, the net numbers are in the red. But we are happy with that. Most of the numbers we lost (port-outs) are small value customers, while our gains (port-ins) are mostly high value (high Arpu or average revenue per user)," Anurag Prashar, RCom President (Corporate & Wireless Customer Service), told PTI.

"Also, our MNP strategy is to get corporate customers and not small changes, which our rivals are focusing on. And we have been fairly successful in this too."

In April, RCom has evened out the port-in and port-out numbers, Prashar claims. "So far, we have ported in a good 10,000 corporate customers."

As per GSM body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) data, as of April 28, RCom is the biggest MNP loser with a combined net loss of 10,70,747 users, out of which its newly launched GSM operations took the worst hit with 7,45,877 port-outs, while its port-ins stood at a low 1,30,167.