Last beeps from pagers in India

India could soon become the first country in the world to witness a total wipe-out of the radio paging industry.

The paging subscriber base in the country, currently just over a lakh, is all set to be wiped out by end of the month.

As per the quarterly performance report issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, paging subscriber base in the country has dwindled by 50 per cent between June and September, from 2.38 lakh to 1.02 lakh.

Three years back, there were over 7 lakh paging subscribers in the country. The last one year itself has seen a 60 per cent decline in the subscriber base.

Y K Modi, chairman, Indian Paging Service Providers Association, said, "It is really unfortunate that the government has not given us the same benefits as given to the cellular operators. If cellular operators can offer SMS without paying any licence fee, we are also asking for waiver of our licence fee. Paging as a service has its utility. Even in developed countries, like the US, paging it is widely used. "

Top government sources said the government was working out a policy to bring relief to the paging sector.

"The industry has told us that there is still some merits in the paging service. We will do whatever is required to support the sector," said an official.

However, the official did not set any time frame for finalising a relief package.

Meanwhile, the cash strapped paging industry is preparing to go to court if the government did not introduce a policy soon.

"We will not let our investments go waste. If the government does not recognise our demands in the next few weeks then we will have no option but to approach the TDSAT," said a paging company official.

At present, there are 10 operators offering paging services in the country. Four operators have already folded up, including BPL. Page Point, which offers services in four cities has 38,906 users.

PageLink with operations in seven cities, including three metros, has just 32,872 subscribers.