With its nearest competitor, BPL Mobile Cellular, offering mobile-to-mobile (M2M) incoming calls free from Thursday, Escotel Mobile Communication is likely to announce free M2M incoming calls for its customers with effect from August 6.
Escotel, a joint venture of Delhi-based Escorts and Hong Kong-based First Pacific Company, currently operates its cellular phone services in Kerala, Uttar Pradesh (West) and Haryana circles.
Industry sources say, if Escotel delays the introduction of free M2M incoming calls any more, it may start losing customers to its competitors.
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Escotel is the market leader in the cellular phone segment in Kerala and has a customer base of 2.6 lakh subscribers. BPL Mobile and Airtel are the other two mobile phone operators in the state, with BPL Mobile placed at the second position with 1.5 lakh customers. Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) is also expected to launch its cellular service this month.
According to Escotel chief operating officer (Kerala) V G Somashekhar, out of the total 1,02,200 new mobile phone subscribers added in Kerala during the 12 months ending June 30, 2002, around 93,000 customers have opted for Escotel services.
Escotel has been granted licences to operate GSM mobile services in Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh (East) and is expected to launch its operations in these four circles within the next one month.
Meanwhile, Escotel has announced a new scheme termed