At a time when there is a fierce battle on between cellular operators for a pie of the mobile phone market, the state-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd has stopped sales of its pre-paid card 'Trump'.
According to officials, the company does not have enough capacity to handle more than 100,000 subscribers it has already got.
Though the PSU is ramping up its network to add another 400,000 lines each in Delhi and Mumbai by end-2003 it is anybody's guess when the company will start Trump card sales again.
MTNL's loss is private operators gain. Idea Cellular which entered the Delhi market as the fourth cellular operator has already roped in 100,000 subscribers in the first month of operations.
Similarly, Airtel has recorded 100,000 subscribers in the first 40 days of launching its services in Mumbai.
More than 65 per cent of the cellular subscriber base are on pre-paid cards and MTNL's Trump card offers the lowest tariffs in the market with no initial charges.
While other operators charge nearly Rs 400 as the initial registration cost Trump offered the talktime for the entire amount.
However Narendra Sharma, chairman and managing director, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam feels the temporary stoppage in pre-paid card sales will not put the PSU in any disadvantage.
"There is no control over the pre-paid card user as he is not loyal to any brand. There is a huge churn in this segment depending on who offers the best rates. Therefore we can re-enter the market anytime and still attract the subscribers by offering the most affordable rates," Sharma said.
Sharma said that Mahanagar Telephone Nigam does not face any threat from the private sector on the tariffs front.
"Whatever tariffs a company can offer, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam can match it. We will always be in the market with the lowest tariffs. We also have our own advantages like all our investments have already been made."
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