KUALA LUMPUR: Mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Tune Talk Sdn Bhd has signed up 200,000 subscribers since the launch of its service last August and is on track to meet its 12-month target of one million subscribers, its chief executive officer Jason Lo said.

Following a slow start in the first month of operations, subscriber growth has picked up. The prepaid mobile service provider now gains some 4,000 new customers a day.

“We will need to grow that figure to between 5,000 and 6,000 new subscribers per day to catch up with the first few months to meet the target of one million subscribers by next August,” Lo said at a function marking the 200,000-subscriber mark here yesterday.

“We now have a dealer base of more than 3,000, but we will increase this to 6,000 by Christmas.”

Monthly average revenue per user (ARPU), a standard gauge of telcos’ operational performance, was about RM40 to RM45, he noted. At 200,000 subscribers, Tune Talk’s monthly revenue comes up to RM800,000 to RM900,000. Lo said the target for the company was RM100,000 per day, or RM3 million a month in terms of top-ups. “We are on course to achieve that,” he said.

Other developments include ongoing talks with two Singapore network operators to establish a presence there. The Singapore connection would be made as part of Tune Talk’s phase two of development, which should happen next year, Lo added.

He said in line with Tune Group’s Asean agenda, Tune Talk was in the midst of widening its presence in the region, starting with Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.

Tune Talk, whose major shareholders include Celcom, a subsidiary of Axiata Group Bhd, and Tune Ventures Sdn Bhd, which is owned jointly by AirAsia Bhd founders Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes and Datuk Kamarudin Meranun, was launched as a no-frills mobile service provider with a fixed calling rate, targeting the youth market.

The mobile service provider has also enticed customers by offering incentives such as e-vouchers for flights on AirAsia, and insurance policies for subscribers. Customers are also able to choose their own numbers from Tune Talk’s online portal, as well as reload their prepaid accounts.

Currently, Tune Talk offers voice and SMS services and will launch its data services next month. The company rides on Celcom’s nationwide 2.5G network and will soon offer full roaming on the back of Celcom’s current roaming arrangements overseas.

This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, November 25, 2009.