Paging companies have forayed into the lucrative call centre business to cushion an irreversible slump in their core business.

Companies like Pagelink, Mobilink, RPG Paging and Modipage, which began operations in 1995, are leveraging near-similar infrastructure requirements to earn a major chunk of revenues from business process outsourcing.

All three companies have suffered a 70 to 80 per cent fall in paging revenues over the past three years.

Pagelink, owned by the Himachal Futuristic Communications, is a case in point. Three years ago, at its peak, the company generated annual revenues of Rs 45 crore (Rs 450 million) offering paging services to 300,000 customers.

Today, revenues from paging have dwindled to Rs 10 crore (Rs 100 million) and the subscriber base is just over 50,000.

Conversely, BPO operations now account for Rs 25 crore (Rs 250 million) of Pagelink's revenues.

"The call centre solutions cushion a significant part of the losses from paging services," said Deepak Malhotra, chairman and managing director, Pagelink.

Adds Y K Modi, chairman Modi Telecommunications, which owns the Modipage brand: "The call centre business has been able to return at least 50 per  cent of the loss from the paging business."

The number of paging subscribers has dwindled from a peak of one million users in 1998 to just about 100,000.

Already six companies have shut shop even as others await regulatory intervention for a relief package.