Click to play videoNew Delhi: If you thought, talking over the phone is cheap, you might change your mind after this report. Punjab's BSNL has auctioned over 900 phone numbers for almost a crore rupees.
And what's in a number? Plenty, says Jaideep Sarin from Chandigarh, whose car and mobile numbers end in 420. A number that doesn't always have the best connotations, but Sarin is willing to pay through his nose to retain, what he says is his “lucky number.” And he knows he isn't alone.
“Punjabis by nature are a flamboyant people. And if you have the money, why not show it off? That’s why people have special numbers for cars, mobile phones…anything,” says the 'premium mobile number' user.
BSNL is cashing on the Punjabi mania for so-called lucky numbers. On Thursday the telecom organization auctioned numbers ending in 1 for Rs 8.5 lakh, and those ending in 5 for a whopping Rs 9 lakh each. BSNL says it will reveal who the bidders are only once their identities are verified, and the ‘vanity’ numbers allotted.
“Fancy numbers are really popular in Punjab. People love fancy numbers. That’s why the state took an initiative to promote fancy numbers and started this scheme on an experimental basis,” S K NigamGen Manager, BSNL.
BSNL says its new auction scheme is meant to ensure that the premium numbers aren't allotted only to influential people.
Call it madness but then perhaps it’s more of a fad. While Punjabis are queuing up for fancy, premium ‘vanity’ numbers, the mobile phone companies are laughing all the way to the bank.
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