Kudos to TRAI - Mobile number Portability is here

Mobile Number Portability is here!!!

After a long wait, the mobile number portability (MNP) is finally here. Set for a nationwide roll-out today, MNP will usher in an era of new freedom for mobile subscribers in the country. The technology will allow subscribers to change their mobile service provider without the fear of losing their old mobile number.

This means users will be able to retain their old mobile number even after they decide to change their service provider. And yes, the service is available for both postpaid and prepaid customers and also on both GSM and CDMA platforms.

The consumer-friendly service was mooted over two years ago and was planned to be implemented by the end of 2009. However, implementation had to be deferred several times owing to reasons ranging from lack of preparedness of operators to delay in appointment of an agency to oversee MNP execution.

As per the eligibility criteria, there should not be any outstanding payment by way of pending bills before customers can apply for availing of MNP services, the Department of Telecom (DoT) said.

It also said that the mobile number sought to be ported should not be subjudice and also there should not be pending request for change of ownership of the mobile number.

The DoT has claimed that the entire process of switching operators would take a maximum of seven days and subscribers may face disruption of services for about two hours during that period.

"The maximum time period for porting would become seven working days except in Jammu & Kashmir, Assam and North East licensed service areas, wherein it would be 15 working days," the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India said in a statement.

Switch by high spending, post-paid subscribers, business subscribers could start another round of price war among operators. High-end users make up 5 per cent of the total subscriber base but generate around 20 per cent of revenue.

India has more than 700 million subscribers across the country with nearly 10 operators in each circle.

Customers willing to exercise the option of changing their service provider without change of number will have to follow the following simple steps.

Send an SMS to 1900 in following format: PORT - eg. PORT 9999999999.

You will get an SMS reply that contains a unique porting code from the existing service provider.(This code is valid only for a few days, and one must apply again if it expires.)

The customer can then make an application in the prescribed form (SMS to the preferred operator quoting the unique code) mentioning the code to the selected new service provider for porting of number.

Your existing operator will check with new operator & if there are no dues then approval will be given for porting.

You will get an SMS on the time and date when porting will take place. Rules mandate that process be completed within 4 days of applying. However a period of seven days has been prescribed for completion of porting (transfer) of the mobile number to the network of the new service provider.

After porting is complete, wait for an SMS from your new operator confirming the switch. Your phone may be dead for about 2 hours when the porting takes place.

Excerpts from the TRAI direction for the mobile service providers released on 10 Feb 2010:

A mechanism for the purpose of receiving Short Message Service messages from its subscribers requesting for a unique porting code which shall provide:-

(i) a Unique Porting Code consisting of 8 characters of which the first two shall be alphabets that denote the service provider code and service area code which have been specified by the Authority (for example: TD for Tata Teleservices Ltd in Delhi service area) and the remaining 6 characters shall contain 1 to 9, A-N & P-Z only, and small letters and the alphabet ‘O’ shall not be allowed;

(ii) the Unique porting Code allocated to a subscriber shall be valid for a period of fifteen days from the date of request or such time till the number is ported out, whichever is earlier, for all service areas except Jammu & Kashmir, Assam and North East licensed areas where the validity for the Unique Porting Code allocated to a subscriber shall be valid for a period of thirty days from the date of request or till such time the number is ported out, which ever is earlier, irrespective of. number of requests the subscriber makes; and,

(iii) the Short Message Service (SMS) text for requesting Unique Porting Code by a subscriber shall be the word ‘PORT’ followed by a space followed by the ten digit mobile number which is to be ported which shall be case insensitive. (i.e. it can be port or Port etc.) and in case the subscriber’s Caller Line Identification does not match with the ten digit mobile number, Unique Porting Code shall not be allotted but a message shall be generated to inform such subscriber that the Caller Line Identification does not match with the mobile number.

Courtesy: Times of India, NDTV, TRAI.GOV.IN