The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is looking at how the users can switch between postpaid and prepaid mobile services with the help of a one-time password (OTP) only. The process was suggested to the telecom department by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). The DoT doesn’t have any issues with the idea or its mechanism but just wants the operators to show a Proof of Concept (PoC) for the same. If the operators can generate the PoC, the telecom department will allow users to switch between postpaid and prepaid mobile services with the help of an OTP only.
OTP to be Treated as Consent By the User
Once the mechanism comes into place, the successful OTP will be treated as the consent of the user to switch between the mobile services. This will end up saving a lot of time for the users since they won’t have to go through the same KYC process all over again when they are switching their number from postpaid to prepaid or vice versa.
Users won’t even have to take out the SIM card and change it. The existing SIM card will change its nature to the desired service (postpaid or prepaid). Users will be given the option to change their mobile service through different options such as SMS, the company’s website, or an authorised app.
Further, one of the coolest things about the feature would be that users will not have to wait long for the conversion to happen. According to a PTI report, the DoT said that the disruption of services while conversion of the SIM card wouldn’t exceed more than 30 minutes.
So this process won’t only be convenient for the user but will also be very fast. At present, if a user wants to change his/her number from prepaid to postpaid or vice versa, he/she needs to first complete the KYC process with the company. Further, the user needs to wait for a considerable time before their new SIM card is active. But with the help of this new mechanism, users will be able to switch between the services whenever they want to with the help of a few taps/clicks on their devices.
