Indore (Madhya Pradesh): In tariff hike competition for mobile phones kick started by Reliance Jio and Airtel by raising recharge rates by around 25% from July 3, has become an opportunity for PSU telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to attract customers of its competitors. BSNL which was losing its customers, registered huge sale of new SIMs and port-in under Mobile Number Portability (MNP). In July itself in Indore Business Area it sold 46,964 SIMs, which in June was just 5,200.
Similarly, it was 11,595 customers of other telecom operators’ port-in in July, whereas in June this figure was merely 480. Stiff hike in recharge rates by Reliance Jio and Airtel are proving to be a boon for BSNL. By not hiking rates, the company succeeded in getting an edge over both of its rival telecom operators.
The extreme hike in recharge rates badly upset the middle class customers. The situation triggered them to switch to BSNL, which is also under major makeover in its service. Meanwhile, BSNL’s efforts to launch its most-awaited 4G mobile services, also created buzz among customers who were aggrieved due to recharge rate hike.
Pankaj Upadhyay, GM BSNL, Indore Business Area |
"BSNL is committed to provide trusted telecom services at affordable rates to people. In this respect, despite hike in rates by private telecom operators, BSNL did not follow the path. BSNL is providing quality services at lower rates. Therefore, the number of port-in in the month of July registered a huge jump compared to the quarter one this financial year," Says, Pankaj Upadhyay, GM BSNL, Indore Business Area