MTNL, the government owned telecom operator, had around 348,000 3G subscribers, out of a total GSM subscriber base of 4.78 million, at the end of the financial year 2009-10. That means that only around 7.27 percent of MTNLs total subscriber base, in the high-ARPU, high-priced markets of Delhi and Mumbai, are 3G customers. At the current priceof 3G spectrum in Delhi and Mumbai, MTNL can be expected to pay the Government Rs. 55.71 billion. This works out to around Rs. 160,073 per existing 3G customer, and Rs. 11,643 per customer, assuming 100 percent conversion of MTNLs subscriber base to 3G. Financial Results During the quarter, MTNL suffered a net loss of Rs. 15,737.59 million, more than double the net loss of Rs. 730.39 million suffered during the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The loss is being attributed to provisions for retirement benefits on revised pay, including arrears, effective 1st January 2007, and the decrease of qualifying service for pension from 33 to 20 years of service, effective 1st January 2006. Staff costs increased to Rs. 27,077.16 million from Rs. 6767.88 million for the year. Tariff reduction also hit MTNL hard, as income declined to Rs. 8,483.31 million for Q4-10, from Rs.10,687.95 million during the corresponding quarter of previous year. Still, its performance looks better than it actually was, due to an increase of Rs. 4967.38 million in Other Income from income tax refunds. MTNLs Cellular segment revenue also declined year on year to Rs. 1839.71 for the quarter, as…
