Mobile Number Portability

Here is how it will work in India.

Finally, Mobile Number Portability (MNP) will be available in India (by 31 December in the metros and A category telecom circles, and in other cities by March 2010). And then, it’ll cost you no more than Rs 19 to keep your existing mobile number, irrespective of the service provider you use.

Here is how it will work in India. The newly chosen operator (recipient) must, within 24 hours of receiving a ‘porting request’, forward the mobile number, the corresponding unique porting code and the date of the ‘porting request’ to the Mobile Number Portability service provider (MNPSP). Also, TRAI regulations require that two porting requests have to be at least 90 days apart.

Three transactions will need to be complete for a ‘porting request’. Two of these—transaction cost and dipping charge—take place between the participating operators and MNPSP. You, who intends to shift to a new operator and retain your existing number, need to concern yourself with only the one-time ‘porting charge’.

MNP is not all that mobile: If you are moving to another city and want to retain your mobile number, MNP may not always be the answer. (You can apply for MNP only if you want to switch networks within the area your existing number is registered.) Put simply: you can go from Vodafone to Docomo in Chennai without changing your number, but not if you move to, say, Gurgaon. (Serves you right for moving to Gurgaon!)
Furthermore, you can make a ‘porting request’ only 90 days after the date of activation of your mobile connection. Alternatively, if your number has already been ported earlier, you can make another ‘porting request’ only 90 days after the previous ‘porting’.

Oops, you did it again: In case you want to withdraw your hastily worded ‘porting request’, you may do so within 24 hours of making it. The porting charges, however, are not refundable.

How long will it take: The process, it has been stipulated, will take a maximum of four days in all licensed service areas except J&K, Assam and the Northeast, where it can take anything from 12 days to an eternity.

About The Author

Avinash Subramaniam