The Hindu Business Line : Now, bid online and get a fancy mobile number

New Delhi, April 18 How much are you willing to pay in order to possess a special mobile number? Owning a unique mobile number seems to be the latest status symbol and cellular service providers are cashing in on the fad.

Mobile operators, including Vodafone, Spice and BSNL, have all raked in additional revenues by auctioning VIP numbers in Punjab. Now, Tata Teleservices has taken it a step forward by launching a pan Indian online bidding scheme whereby its subscribers across the country can acquire a VIP number.

While BSNL recently took home close to a crore by selling 2,000 VIP numbers, in another auction conducted by Vodafone, 26-year-old Amit Malhotra from Ludhiana, son of a city garment manufacturer and property dealer, coughed up Rs 15.50 lakh for owning a special mobile number — 97800-00000.

A unique mobile number (94647-00001) of BSNL went for Rs 1.12 lakh against the reserve price of Rs 3,000. Tata Teleservices is now hoping to replicate this at a national level.

Mr K. Sukumar, Vice-President-Retail, Tata Teleservices, said, “Considering the growth in the current trend of acquiring special/premium numbers, we thought of providing our customers an option to choose a number of their preference. It is a known fact that certain phone numbers carry prestige and social status and are worth substantial value. Hence on popular demand, we have decided to offer select premium numbers to users. To be fair to all the participants, we are offering these numbers through a transparent auction mechanism and will make these numbers available to the highest bidders.”

The featured premium numbers from Tata include the Super Premium Series Numbers (like 92120-12345), Diamond Series Numbers (92120-55555), Golden Series Numbers (92120-22555), Fun Series Numbers (92120-30007) and the Auspicious number (9211 786 786).

For bidding, Tata consumers can log on to www.ichoose.in and place a quote for a number available for auction with an amount greater than the current highest bid. If the displayed number has not been bid for, the customer can start the auction for such a number. A customer can bid for more than one number, if desired. The customer also has the option of directly purchasing any desired number that is available by paying the ‘BUY NOW’ price. “Since owning a mobile is no more a matter of status, the high-class consumers are always looking out for newer things to set themselves apart. Having a unique mobile number is one such way,” said an industry observer.

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