The replacements haven't been satisfactory. The first one packed up soon after it was installed and was replaced by another which has irritating sound problems. ``There's no point in complaining, I've been repeatedly told that new phones are out of stock,'' said an exasperated Rajan.

Speaking to the press at the commissioning of an exchange in Vashi last month, MTNL's Chief General Manager Ramani Iyer had stated that the undertaking had received a fresh stock of over one lakh new telephones to replace old dial type instruments. This would tide over the instrument shortage MTNL had been facing. This, say MTNL subscribers, is a mirage. ``I have approached the Mulund phone exchangethrice since June to replace my 20-year-old phone, the last being on August 28, but I've always been told that instruments are out of stock,'' says Abbas, who runs an electric appliance shop. ``Only people with influence manage to get the instruments.'' However, an MTNL spokesperson clarified that MTNL had not stopped issuing fresh instruments. ``There's no need to panic, since it's possible that stocks of new phones have been exhausted in a few exchanges immediately after they were received,'' he said. The undertaking had issued advertisements asking subscribers to exchange their instruments as part of their drive to replace all dial-type instruments. He advised subscribers to meet the divisional engineer (external) of their exchanges and get themselves placed on the waiting list for an early allotment.

Referring to frequent instrument faults, he said the problem could well lie with the connecting link or in the exchange and would have to be checked. MTNL recovered instruments from subscribers and sent itto their authorised repairers after labelling it with the exact fault, he said.

Tanuja Sharma approached the Mahim exchange one month back to replace her dial-type instrument, only to be told that the instruments were out of stock. ``I've been trying to get my instrument replaced for eight months,'' she said. Consumer activist R Sridhar says a reason for constant instrument faults is that MTNL recycles its repaired instruments. ``You never get back the instrument that is taken away for repair.'' Plain instruments or parallel phones are not being replaced, he added.