Aircel's loss is BSNL's gain, over 1 86 lakh Aircel customers switch over to BSNL

Chennai, Mar 6 (UNI) It would not be an exaggeration to say that Aircel's loss was state-owned telecom operator BSNL’s gain and the state-run telecom operator was bullish about significant increase in its subscriber base in the coming weeks.

A senior BSNL official said more than 1.86 lakh Aircel customers have switched over to BSNL in Tamil Nadu in the last couple of weeks, following the severe financial crunch faced by Aircel, forcing it to declare it as bankrupt.
The country's sixth largest telecom operator along with its units Aircel Cellular and Dishnet Wireless had filed for bankruptcy in the National Companies Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Mumbai due to high levels of debt.
Talking to reporters here on Tuesday, BSNL Tamil Nadu Chief General Manager R Marshal Antony Leo said so far a total of 1,86,135 customers in Tamil Nadu circle, comprising the entire state, barring Chennai, Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur districts, have migrated to BSNL in the last couple of weeks.
He said the state-run telecom operator was in constant touch with the Department of Telecommunications and steps were being taken on a warfooting for the benefit of Aircel customers, who have sought Mobile Number Portability (MNP).
Thanks to the recent surge in the number of Aricel customers porting to BSNL, he said "We are likely to increase our mobile subscriber base by anywhere between three to four lakh in the Tamil Nadu circle alone''.
A BSNL release said it had signed an agreement with Nokia to roll out 4G services in ten circles including Tamil Nadu and the roll out would happen after allocation of spectrum.