Bharti Airtel has started to ring fence Loop Mobile’s subscribers to keep other telecom companies from poaching them, as it awaits regulatory approvals for the proposed merger.

In February, Airtel had acquired Loop Mobile, Mumbai's oldest operator, to strengthen its presence in the metro.

Loop Mobile users got calls purportedly from Bharti Airtel’s call centres asking them to submit documents (proof of identity and address) to move them to the New Delhi-headquartered operator’s network. The call centre agents also offered to collect the documents from the subscriber’s home or office.

“The call centre executive said it was mandatory as part of the migration process to Bharti Airtel,” a Loop Mobile user, who got the call, said.

“Seeking documents means it is porting in. The integration of Loop Mobile’s customers would be seamless, with users getting only a welcome text message, once the firms get regulatory approval,” according to a Mumbai-based analyst.

Porting-in means, moving into another operator’s network while retaining the existing number. This is possible under the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) scheme, launched across the country in 2011.

“This could be done by direct selling agents of the company, rather than by its own call centre,” he added. When contacted a Bharti Airtel spokesperson declined to comment.

Regulatory hurdles Bharti Airtel’s acquisition of Loop Mobile would help the Sunil Mittal-controlled company add 3 million users to its existing 4 million subscribers in Mumbai, making it the largest operator in the metro. The deal – financial details of which were not disclosed - was subject to regulatory and statutory approvals, which is yet to be obtained.

However, according to industry sources, the election and formation of the new government had put all decisions on backburner. “It should be coming through,” one of the sources said. There could be also issues of Airtel “voluntarily” porting users as under MNP regulations, subscribers must be allowed to choose which operator to port to.

Further, other operators in the circle were also looking at poaching Loop Mobile’s users by offering “competitive” tariff plans.

A number of Loop Mobile users said that other operators were making calls stating that Loop Mobile is closing down operations.

The calls were being made from certain mobile and landline numbers and not from the TRAI-mandated numbers starting with ‘140’.

TRAI, in its attempt to stop pesky calls, had mandated tele-marketers to use numbers starting with 140, effective February 1, 2011.

For Bharti Airtel, the calls are an attempt to keep its house in order.

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