The crucial decision for mobile number portability (MNP) would rollout by November 3, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting sources. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board FIPB will consider MNP licencee for south and east India Telcordia’s proposal on November 3. Sources added that number portability would be made commercially available by month-end.
Haryana would be one of the first states with MNP effective from November 25, while testing to begin from November 8. Mobile subscribers will be able to change service providers while retaining phone numbers from November 25.
To begin with, mobile number portability (MNP)— which allows subscribers to change operators while retaining the same number—will be introduced in Haryana. It will be extended to other circles in the next few months.
Operators’ networks are ready and have been tested fully. Applications from subscribers will be accepted from November 25 and the government will come out with detailed guidelines and advertisements in this regard in the first week of November.
Some experts said the introduction of MNP services could be a game-changer in the telecom sector. It could put pressure on leading mobile operators to announce new schemes to retain their subscribers. While no study is available on how many subscribers are looking for a change in service provider, telecom analysts feel it may not be more than 10% at any given time.
MNP is the facility that lets a mobile phone subscriber retain his/her original mobile number even after moving from one service provider to another.
In India, MNP has been elusive so far. It has been implemented the world over and we are one of the last countries left to implement MNP.
Fab Furnish
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