According to Economic Times,the VAS industry has actually shrunk in India, thanks to a TRAI order banning four digit short codes, despite high monthly mobile subscriber additions. The government policy had mandated that the digit 5 be added as a prefix for all short codes (for example, 7272 would become 57272).
Companies are reporting almost 50-70% drop in revenues and claim the order has hit them hard.
Companies are reporting almost 50-70% drop in revenues and claim the order has hit them hard.
The only way out, to avoid the revenue bleed is to allow the four digit short codes for at least six to eight months so that new SIM cards are able to reach the market while older ones get phased out
According to operators, the issue has completely marred user experience and it will take time to hook him back to the service.

Source: Economic Times