A retired government employee had to travel across Mumbai and stand on Tilak Bridge just to receive an MTNL porting SMS, highlighting the challenges facing India’s struggling state-run telecom operator.
Key Highlights
- A retired central government employee travelled across Mumbai to receive a porting SMS.
- Poor MTNL network coverage near her home prevented message delivery.
- MTNL officials directed her to Tilak Bridge in Dadar, where the SMS was finally received.
- The customer successfully ported her number to BSNL with assistance from MTNL staff.
- The incident highlights the deteriorating condition of MTNL’s telecom infrastructure.
- MTNL’s debt has crossed ₹36,000 crore while revenue continues to decline.
- The company has received multiple government revival packages but continues to face operational challenges.
- Experts say infrastructure issues, staff shortages and ageing networks have weakened service quality.
One SMS Became a Citywide Journey
What should have been a simple mobile number porting process turned into a cross-city journey for a retired central government employee in Mumbai.
The subscriber, who had used MTNL services for years, needed a single SMS containing a Mobile Number Portability (MNP) code to transfer her number. However, weak network coverage near her residence in the Deonar-Chembur area prevented the message from being delivered.
After visiting the local MTNL office, she was informed that the network in her locality was too weak to receive the SMS. She later travelled to MTNL’s Wadala office, where officials suggested that one of the few places with reliable signal was Tilak Bridge in Dadar.
Standing on the bridge, she finally received the required message and completed the porting process with assistance from MTNL staff.
Employees Helped Despite Infrastructure Issues
According to the account, MTNL employees were cooperative throughout the process and guided the customer at every step. The incident points not to employee negligence but to the deteriorating telecom infrastructure that has reduced network coverage in several parts of Mumbai.
The experience reflects the difficulties faced by many long-time subscribers who continue to depend on public telecom services for banking, UPI transactions and other essential digital services.
MTNL Continues to Face Financial Pressure
The customer’s experience comes at a time when MTNL is facing significant financial and operational challenges.
The company has reported mounting debt, declining revenues and continued losses in recent financial disclosures. Regulators have also flagged service quality concerns, while the government has extended multiple revival packages aimed at modernising MTNL and BSNL’s telecom networks.
Despite these efforts, network reliability remains a concern for many users.
A Reminder of Digital Dependence
The incident highlights how reliable mobile connectivity has become essential for accessing financial services, digital identity and everyday communication.
For many elderly subscribers, especially those unfamiliar with technical workarounds, poor network coverage can create unnecessary hurdles in completing even basic telecom-related tasks such as receiving a verification SMS or porting a mobile number.
