Shimla: A mobile connectivity scheme of BSNL for students has proved a runaway success, with the service provider locking in over 2.5 lakh new subscribers in the past seven months.
By the end of March we had crossed the 8 lakh mobile subscriber mark in Himachal and had 8,00,122 subscribers on the network, said Saroj Nresht, commercial officer BSNL. By first week of April the base has risen to 8,20,225.
A low cost scheme for students, with connectivity provided at Rs 50/- only has seen many youngsters shift from other networks as well as catch the fancy of first time users also. “Since 8th September, 2008 when the scheme was launched we have registered 2,63 lakh subscribers on the students scheme,†said Nresht.
Data showed that by end of March, sector wise, Shimla circle had 1,94,582 pre-paid and post-paid subscribers, by far the largest, which was followed by Dharamshala with 1,90,691; Hamirpur with 1,54,828; Mandi with 1,05,166; Solan with 1,00822; and Kullu had 51,534 subscribers.
Given that there are as many as 8 mobile networks consisting of Reliance Telecom, Reliance Infocomm, Airtel, Tata Indicom, Idea, Aircel, Vodaphone and BSNL, there is fierce competition among the mobile players for subscribers in the state. The state already boasts of one of the highest tele-densities in the country.
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads a team of media professionals at Hill Post.
Spanning a career of over two decades in mass communication, as a Documentary Filmmaker, TV journalist, Print Media journalist and with Online & Social Media, he brings with him a vast experience. He lives in Shimla.
It is only Airtel & BSNL which rule the market here in Himachal. After BSNL outsourced their technical wing to Ericsson there has been a marked improvement in it’s services. Now they have to outsource their marketing and customer services and no one can best them in HP. With Airtel & BSNL ruling the markets here the market has become saturated and other players are just here for namesake to be labelled as Pan India operators.