Videsh Sanchar Nigam (VSNL), despite the recent schemes unveiled by the company, has not been able to make any significant increase in the number of Internet users in the dial-up segment in October.
The company's Internet subscriber base grew by only 10,000 to around 6.6 lakh as on October 31. K P Tiwari, officiating director (operations), VSNL, said the schemes were mainly aimed at the festivals in November and December.
"We might have added more users during Deevali and thereafter. The latest figures are yet to be collated," he added.
On an average, the company had been adding 12,000-15,000 users per month. During the first six months of the current fiscal, VSNL had increased the number of users by 80,000.
The company is unlikely to announce any fresh schemes in the coming months. At present VSNL has 1,200 corporate customers and the growth in that segment is not encouraging due to industrial slowdown.
According to analysts, the growth in user-base will be enhanced once the company reaches all main parts in the country. VSNL, with a Rs 100 crore expansion plan in the Internet business, is in the process of increasing its reach.
On October 2, VSNL had reduced the price of its regular dial-up access package by 25 per cent to Rs 750 (100 hours) from Rs 999. For this, the company reverted back to the pre-September tariff. The 100-hour scheme is one of the largest selling package from the VSNL stable.
Since the opening up of the Internet sector for private operators, VSNL's marketshare has come under pressure. Companies such as Satyam Infoway, DSL Dishnet, Bharti, Data Access, Pacific Internet, among others, are the leading players.
