For the first time in over four months since mobile number portability (MNP) kicked in across the country, Vodafone Essar has slipped to the number two position on the list of operators who gained the most number of customers, as of May 30.

According to the latest data, from the MNP clearing house, Idea Cellular has overtaken Vodafone, albeit marginally, to gain the top spot.. Net gains clocked by an operator is the difference between the net port-outs from the port-ins. Number portability allows customers to switch operators without the hassle of changing their mobile numbers.

The biggest losers in the MNP race continue to be Reliance Communications (RCOM) and the state-owned BSNL and MTNL, besides Videocon Mobile and both the GSM and CDMA services offered by Tata Teleservices, said the TRAI data made available to TOI. The country'''s largest mobile services operator, Airtel maintained its third place with net gains of 6,02,328 subscribers while Aircel, a joint venture between Malaysia's Maxis Communications and Apollo Hospitals group, stood at the fourth spot with gains of 81,179 subscribers.

When contacted by TOI, a Vodafone spokesperson said, "We cannot comment on daily trends as it needs to be seen in a larger context." Vodafone had maintained the number one position over Idea but the margin between the two mobile players had been shrinking over the months.

"Idea has gained more than the others probably because it has been consistently promoting its network quality, 3G services and that has resulted in better brand awareness while others like Vodafone have stuck to showcasing their value-added services," said Romal Shetty, telecom head, KPMG.

The Aditya Birla group company was one of the first operators to have started the MNP buzz with a high-decibel advertising campaign. "It's not a one-day trend but we have maintained the lowest port-in/ port-out ratio over the last few months and now it is being compounded by the fact that we have also gained on the volume front," said Himanshu Kapania, MD, Idea Cellular. Kapania added there has been a consolidation in the minds of consumers even though any physical consolidation is a far cry for the telecom industry as the top three operators together made up for almost 80% of the net gains registered post the MNP rollout. Newer operators have not been able to benefit from MNP, he pointed out.

Airtel, despite being the largest operator in the country, has been behind both Vodafone and Idea since MNP was introduced. "According to the latest data, we have nearly 2 million port-ins till date and we are committed to continuously improve customer experience. However, total port-ins observed have been an insignificant proportion of the total telecom customer base and revenues. Even in this scenario, independent surveys continue to indicate that one out of three customers who are considering switching would eventually sign-up with Airtel," said an Airtel spokesperson.