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From Today 20 January, 2010, cellphone users in India, will have the facility to switch operators even while retaining their existing number by virtue of
Mobile Number Portability or
MNP.
Mobile Number Portability (MNP) allows the subscribers to retain their
existing mobile telephone number when they move from one Access Provider to
another irrespective of the mobile technology or from one cellular mobile
technology to another of the same Access Provider, in a licensed service area.
The facility of retention of existing mobile telephone number despite moving to a
new telecom service provider helps the subscriber maintain contacts with his
friends/clientele. Introduction of MNP also helps in increasing competition
between the service providers and acts as a catalyst for the service providers to
improve their quality of service.
2. Through these regulations, the Authority is laying down the basic business
process framework for implementation of MNP in the country.
i MNP facility shall be available only within a given licensed service
area.
ii 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.
iii 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.
iv 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 3
Operator, the ported mobile number shall be liable to be
disconnected by the Recipient Operator.
v 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.
vi 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.
vii Access Providers are required to implement All Call Query method.
viii The Originating operator shall be responsible to route the call to
correct terminating network.
‘
Dipping charge’ means the charge payable by an Access
Provider or an International Long Distance Operator, to the
Mobile Number Portability Service provider for dipping of each
message;
‘
Porting charge’ means such charge as may be payable by the
subscriber to the Recipient Operator, for porting his mobile
number.
The Per Port Transaction charge shall be
Rs.19/-(Rs Nineteen
only).
The Dipping charge is left to mutual negotiation between the
telecom service providers and the respective MNP service
providers.
