Finally, India will see introduction of Mobile Number Portability (MNP) — which allows a mobile phone users to change his service provider while retaining his mobile number from November 25.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Ministry of Communications and Information Technology today announced that Mobile Number portability (MNP) will start from Haryana Licensed Service Area on November 25, 2010 without any further delay.
The networks are now technically ready for launch of MNP service in India. To facilitate an orderly and reliable introduction of MNP services, a suitable migration plan has been evolved in consultation with Mobile Service Providers (MSPs). According to the announcement by DoT, the countrywide launch of MNP services will start from Haryana Licensed Service Area on November 25, 2010. From this date mobile service customers in Haryana will have the option of changing their service provider without changing their mobile numbers.
How to Switch The Network Without Changing the Mobile Number ? :
Customers wishing to exercise the option of changing their service provider without change of number will have to send an SMS "PORT followed by Mobile Number" to 1900. Based on this they will get a unique porting code as SMS from the existing service provider. The customer can then make an application in the prescribed form mentioning the code to the selected new service provider for porting of number. A period of 4 days has been prescribed for completion of porting (transfer) of the mobile number to the network of the new service provider.
Accordingly, MNP service in rest of the service areas across the country will be implemented after the launch in Haryana in a phased manner. A detailed schedule for other service areas will be announced separately.
MNP charges Paid By the Subscribers:-
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has fixed Rs. 19 for the Mobile Number Portability Per Port Transaction Charge and the dipping charge is left to mutual negotiation between the telecom service providers and the respective MNP service providers. TRAI also cleared that the Porting charge amount to be paid by the subscriber shall not be more than the per port transaction charge Rs. 19. The operators are free to charge any amount less than or equal to this charge.
Features of the MNP are as follows:
- MNP facility shall be available only within a given licensed service area.
- The subscriber who wishes to port his mobile number should approach the Recipient operator (the operator to whom the subscriber wants to port his number). The Subscriber may be required to pay porting charges, if any, to the Recipient Operator.
- The subscriber making the porting request is required to have cleared all the bills issued prior to the date of porting request. He shall give an undertaking that he has already paid all billed dues to the Donor Operator as on the date of the request for porting and that he shall pay dues to the Donor Operator pertaining to the mobile number till its eventual porting and that he understands and agrees that in event of non-payment of any such dues to the Donor
- A subscriber holding a mobile number is eligible to make a porting request only after 90 days of the date of activation of his mobile connection. If a number is already ported once, the number can again be ported only after 90 days from the date of the previous porting.
- Operator, the ported mobile number shall be liable to be disconnected by the Recipient Operator.
- A subscriber may withdraw his porting request within 24 hours of its submission to the Recipient Operator. However, the porting charges shall not be refundable.
- The regulation envisage a maximum time period of 4 days for the completion of porting process in all licensed service areas except in the case of J&K, Assam and North East licensed service areas where the maximum time allowed is 12 days. However, efforts will be made to further reduce the porting period.
- Access Providers are required to implement All Call Query method.
The Originating operator shall be responsible to route the call to correct terminating network.
