BSNL number check: This potato trader paid ₹2.4 lakh for VIP number

BSNL number check: The VIP number was special as it had as many as six zeros and was bought by a potato trader.

BSNL number check: The VIP number was under auction for a week before the potato vendo bought it with a winning bid. (REUTERS)

BSNL number check: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) may not seem to be amongst the most attractive telecom operators in the country, but a recent event has highlighted its presence in the market. A BSNL VIP number was bought for as much as ₹2.4 lakh by a potato trader from Rajasthan's Kota district. Although VIP or other fancy numbers do not provide any extra benefits, it seems that they still hold a lot of interest among citizens.

This BSNL VIP number, which ends with six zeros, was up for sale on the online portal of BSNL, where people bid for it and among them, was a potato trader named Tanuj Dudeja.

According to Hindi daily Dainik Jagran, the BSNL VIP number was under auction for a week and it actually started at just ₹20,000 and went beyond ₹2 lakh. Tanuj Dudeja collected the mobile number after winning it from the BSNL office in Farrukhabad.

That seems strange as he could have bought as many as 3 iPhone 13 smartphones at the same cost, but he chose a VIP number of BSNL. The reason became clear when he revealed that he likes keeping VIP mobile numbers - it is his hobby. In fact, this is not his first VIP number as he had bought another one earlier for ₹1 lakh.

For those who may not know, members of the public can actually buy such VIP numbers from the BSNL website through auction. The VIP numbers of BSNL are available on its website, which can be purchased by anyone. If you are interested or want to take a look at the fancy numbers, then simply visit the BSNL website and click on the “Fancy Numbers Auction” option under the dropdown menu of ‘Mobile and Data'.

Meanwhile, BSNL has received licence to offer Inmarsat's Global Xpress (GX) mobile broadband services in India that would enable high-speed inflight and maritime connectivity for airlines and ships using Inmarsat terminals and infrastructure, the British satellite company announced on Wednesday. SpiceJet Ltd and Shipping Corporation of India have already signed up for the new GX services, which would open-up capacities as high as 50Mbps, Inmarsat India Managing Director, Gautam Sharma told PTI.