India is one of the biggest telecom markets globally. The government and the telcos have enabled the customers to keep changing their preferences as per their choice by simply making a porting request to 1900. Consumers can change their choice of operators but continue using the same number for calling and texting. Because porting is free (which is how it should be), the consumers can change their choice of operator anytime they feel that their existing operator is not giving a decent network experience.
According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) report on monthly telecom performance for Oct 2022, Indians made over 11.81 million mobile number portability (MNP) requests. Out of this, 6.97 million MNP requests came from Zone 1, while 4.83 million requests came from Zone 2.
It is most likely Vodafone Idea (Vi) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) that are losing customers here. Airtel and Jio both added customers during the month, while Vi and BSNL saw a decline. Porting requests can also be made by the Vi and BSNL customers in large numbers in the coming months because of the lack of 5G, which Airtel and Jio have started deploying around India.
So far, in Zone 1, the maximum number of MNP requests received are from Maharashtra (about 62.67 million), followed by UP East (about 62.65 million). In Zone 2, the maximum requests have come from Karnataka (about 56.99 million) followed by Madhya Pradesh (about 56.72 million). The total MNP requests have reached 759.92 million at the end of Oct 2022.
