NEW DELHI: You may soon be able to retain your number even if you shift base to any other city across the country. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Wednesday recommended that mobile number portability (MNP) — which currently allows you to retain your number when you change operators within the same city — be implemented across India over the next six months, thus allowing a subscriber to have the same number even when he/she shifts base to another service area.
The issue of allowing one-number across the country was first raised in the National Telecom Policy 2012 and thereafter the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had in December last year told Trai to firm up policy recommendations. Trai's recommendations will now be taken up by DoT that will propose a final roadmap on the national mobile number portability (MNP) rollout. Trai debated the matter threadbare and had sought views of various stakeholders on the manner of national MNP rollout. Also, it looked into the amendments that need to made in existing regulations to enable its rollout. "The DoT may carry out the necessary changes in the existing MNP licence," Trai said in its recommendations.
MNP was first introduced in India in Haryana in November 2010 on a pilot basis and was launched all across the country on January 20, 2011. The move had seen subscribers shift from one operator to another, while retaining their numbers within same circles, after fulfilling some conditions. This gave people the freedom to easily change an operator in case he found his services unsatisfactory. "The authority is of the opinion that six months will be sufficient for operators to carry out the required changes in their existing systems, complete inter-operator testing and implement the solution."
Trai also said that once full MNP is in place, subscribers should be educated to dial numbers in the '+91' format — which is the standard dialling format — so that the calls get connected across the country without any trouble.
On who will bear the STD charges while calling the number that has been ported to another service area, Trai said most service providers are of the view that STD rates have plummeted to almost the same level as local call rates, hence, it is not a major issue. "Therefore, the onus should lie on the calling party to bear the STD charges, if applicable," it said.
The issue of allowing one-number across the country was first raised in the National Telecom Policy 2012 and thereafter the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had in December last year told Trai to firm up policy recommendations. Trai's recommendations will now be taken up by DoT that will propose a final roadmap on the national mobile number portability (MNP) rollout. Trai debated the matter threadbare and had sought views of various stakeholders on the manner of national MNP rollout. Also, it looked into the amendments that need to made in existing regulations to enable its rollout. "The DoT may carry out the necessary changes in the existing MNP licence," Trai said in its recommendations.
MNP was first introduced in India in Haryana in November 2010 on a pilot basis and was launched all across the country on January 20, 2011. The move had seen subscribers shift from one operator to another, while retaining their numbers within same circles, after fulfilling some conditions. This gave people the freedom to easily change an operator in case he found his services unsatisfactory. "The authority is of the opinion that six months will be sufficient for operators to carry out the required changes in their existing systems, complete inter-operator testing and implement the solution."
Trai also said that once full MNP is in place, subscribers should be educated to dial numbers in the '+91' format — which is the standard dialling format — so that the calls get connected across the country without any trouble.
On who will bear the STD charges while calling the number that has been ported to another service area, Trai said most service providers are of the view that STD rates have plummeted to almost the same level as local call rates, hence, it is not a major issue. "Therefore, the onus should lie on the calling party to bear the STD charges, if applicable," it said.
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