Soon, retain your CDMA number and switch to GSM platform

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In a move, which would clearly help boost Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications Ltd (RComm) and Tata Teleservices Ltd ambitious GSM plans, the department of telecommunications has allowed migration of their CDMA subscribers to the GSM platform under mobile number portability.

Mobile number portability, which allows subscribers to change their service providers while retaining their numbers, would be implemented in metros and A circles by January, while in the rest of the country by June 2009. As per the policy cleared by DoT, while number portability allows migration between CDMA and GSM platforms at inter-operator level, there was no clarity if the same operator having both the platforms can do so within itself.

This means that once number portability comes in place, a CDMA subscriber of Rcomm or Tata Tele can shift to the GSM services of the service provider without having to change his mobile number.

According to company sources the move is expected to give a massive push to both the companies GSM plans as it would add unprecedented numbers in their GSM kitty and hence help break-even on the billion dollars of investment the companies are going to inject into the GSM roll-out. “With this we expect to break-even in record time which would have otherwise taken long given the consistently falling tariffs and low ARPUs in the Indian telecom sector”, said an official.

According to analysts, the move would lead Rcomm and Tata Tele to focus majorly on GSM in the times to come. It would also help them ramp up their GSM user base fast while retaining the subscribers within their fold. The companies would now offer attractive bonanza packages to their CDMA subscribers to shift to their GSM platform. The DoT’s approval in doing so comes with a rider that the revenue to the government in terms of revenue-share licence fee does not go down.

RComm, which is the country’s second largest mobile service provider in terms of the subscriber base with 54 million users currently provides CDMA-based mobile services on a pan-India level with around 46 million subscribers, while its GSM footprint is minimal with presence across eight circles with about 8 million users, which are in category C. However, last year under the dual technology policy the government cleared its GSM plans and allocated it start-up 4.4 mhz GSM spectrum in the remaining 14 circles.