The mobile number portability will be delayed by at least three months from its scheduled implementation date as the telecom regulator is still busy preparing regulations for the new system.
Mobile Number Portability will be implemented from December 31 in metros and category 'A' service areas, and by March 20, 2010, in rest of the country, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India said on Wednesday.
Nine million subscribers opt for mobile number portability in first three months of its launch.
The government will miss the June 30 deadline to implement nationwide mobile number portability, as telecom public sectors MTNL and BSNL, and a new operator Uninor, are not ready with equipment.
Mobile telephone subscribers would have to wait a little longer to change their service provider without changing their numbers.
The reason for this is the high implementation costs which the regulator might not allow firms to transfer to subscribers.
MNP is a service that enables mobile telephone users to retain their mobile telephone numbers when changing from one mobile network operator to another.
The government on Thursday said it has extended the timeline for implementation of Mobile Number Portability (MNP) to October 31, 2010.
"Within a week, DoT will invite bids for selecting an agency for implementing MNP. We will select the agency within next three months," Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura said on Thursday, on the sidelines of a function by Assocham. Earlier, the government had said that MNP can be started by the end of this year.
Telecom regulator TRAI on Friday fixed at Rs 19 the reference rate for portability to charged from users for changing operator while retaining the number.
it will allow users to retain their numbers even if they move from one state to another.
The 100-day delay in the scheduled execution of the MNP is attributed to operators' inability to upgrade their network as well as to the delay on the part of the regulator to come out with tariff for the service.
Kickstarting the process to introduce mobile number portability, telecom regulator Trai will soon set up a steering committee of operators, industry associations and telecom engineering centres.
An IMRB study details how mobile number portability will impact service providers.
Today my mobile service provider made me feel very special. Reason? I initiated the first step to change my service provider by getting a Unique Portable ID.
Mobile number portability is a dream come true for over 680 million cell phone users in India.
Even as the implementation of MNP is likely to be delayed from the scheduled date of September 20, the PSU, which hopes to attract substantial number of users from the rivals like Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications, has called for expression of interest for MNP gateway.
The move will deprive millions of the freedom to choose service providers without changing their phone numbers.
The Telecom Commission, which is the highest decision making authority within the Department of Telecommunications, on Wednesday, accepted the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on full-fledged mobile number portability.
Bharti Airtel on Wednesday said introduction of mobile number portability is unlikely to affect the company's margins as it expects a major churn out of subscribers in favour of GSM operators.
Currently, MNP is only available within a state/circle.
Communications Minister A Raja's promise to let people switch their mobile service operators while retaining their telephone number has got delayed once again - the deadline for the implementation of mobile number portability has been postponed from October 31 to December 20.
Country's top telecom service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited on Friday welcomed the government decision to introduce mobile number portability saying it would make the sector more competitive. The government, on November 12, announced its decision to allow mobile users in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai to switch their service provider while retaining the same number.
There will be a seven-day waiting period after the SIM swap or replacement for a mobile number to become eligible for porting, telecom regulator Trai said on Friday. The step has been taken to curb fraud taking place by using mobile phone numbers. "The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), on 14th March 2024, issued the Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability (Ninth Amendment) Regulations, 2024, which will come into force on July 1, 2024," the regulator said.
Deliberations by the government is being carried out to keep cost and charges at a level so as not to discourage subscribers willing to change their service provider, an optional facility, and at the same time make the service providers a viable business model. The charge is directly linked to the number of subscribers, who would seek the change in service provider out of the total mobile user base of about 400 million.
Operators play a wait-and-watch game, as users take well-informed decisions while moving between networks.
Telecom Minister A Raja said on Wednesday that the government is considering number portability in the mobile sector.
Telecom operator Vodafone has been the top gainer of customers through mobile number portability facility while Reliance Communications is the biggest loser.
BSNL has been among the top three net losers in terms of subscribers. MTNL, which operates in only the Delhi and Mumbai circles, has lost, too.
The new policy would force the operators to shift focus from acquiring new subscribers to retaining the existing ones.
Just days prior to his term coming to an end, TRAI chairman Pradip Baijal on Wednesday recommended on one of the most crucial issues of number portability on mobile phones saying the facility can be made available for a one-time payment of Rs 200.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has selected NYSE-listed Syniverse Technologies as one of the two companies to implement mobile number portability (MNP) services in the country.
Retaining the same number while changing the service provider may become a reality for Indian subscribers, as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India would issue a consultation paper on 'number portability' in a month's time.
Telcos say tariffs could be cut by up to 20 per cent. While post-paid customers constitute only 5 per cent of the total customer base of 670 million, they make up over 15 per cent of revenues thanks to their relatively higher average revenue per user (Arpu).
If true then it would be a major disruption in the industry
The finance ministry's ambitious plan to implement portability in savings accounts has not found favour with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The all India launch date is still not fixed due to differences between the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the GSM mobile industry.
In a major bonanza to over 37.5 million mobile customers, the Department of Telecommunications announced the introduction of 'number portability' in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.
Steering India towards a new level of wireless telephony, the government on Monday announced immediate release of spectrum for 'third generation' (3G) mobile services and allowed users to switch operators while retaining the cell phone numbers. Number portability, which would allow users to change their service provider while keeping the numbers unchanged, will be introduced in the four metropolitan cities at the earliest.
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