S Tel tells customers to port numbers

Indian mobile operator S Tel is on the verge of shutting down its business, after the Supreme Court cancelled its licences earlier this month, writes The Financial Express. S Tel held licences in Assam, North-East, Bihar, Orissa, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, and the company is estimated to have a subscriber base of around 3.6 million. The company has admitted that bank funding is unlikely to come and has asked its customers to consider porting their numbers to other operators. The company has implemented a web-based UPC code generation facility for subscribers to get their porting codes. The company's infrastructure and media vendors have started ending services as well, the company said in a statement to the paper. S Tel has been checking with its advisors on what steps could be taken to help customers. S Tel said it will decide on whether to participate in the auction of GSM licences once regulator Trai decides on the terms.