told the Department of Telecom that mobile number portability (MNP) should
not be introduced before January.
This is because the mobile networks are running at peak usage during
November and December due to the festival season. The GSM operators feel
that there may be difficulties in implementing mobile number portability
during this period.
The latest confirmed date for the implementation of mobile number
portability is 25 November 2010. Mobile number portability will be available
in Haryana from this date with other regions following over the proceeding
months.
During a meeting on 3 November 2010 between the mobile operators and the
Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the mobile operators said that
mobile number portability should not be introduced until after the first
week in January. A GSM industry representative continued "If MNP (Mobile
Number Portability) is introduced now when our networks are running at peak,
it could affect the implementation. Consumers will suffer as the networks
may not be able to offer quality service. We have been ready to implement
MNP for the past one year but it was never introduced. Now when we are in a
crucial period in terms of traffic growth, suddenly they want to introduce
it"
Mr S C Khanna, Secretary General of the Association of United Telecom
Service Providers of India, said "Only the incumbent GSM operators have an
issue. All the CDMA and new GSM operators are ready to start MNP by
December. The DoT should go ahead with it".
The GSM operators added that as most of their network is outsourced to
international companies, top engineers may not be available during the
holiday season. "It is globally accepted that no one tinkers with the mobile
network during these two months when a lot of executives take their annual
leave. Introducing MNP now could actually make it a damp squib"
Mobile number portability, or mobile number porting (MNP), allows mobile
phone customers to keep their existing mobile phone number when switching to
another mobile phone network. There will most likely be a fee for this,
details are not yet available, however Rs 19 is the estimated fee.
Initially, only mobile phone users in Haryana will be able to port their
mobile phone number, but this will be extended throughout India over the
proceeding weeks to months from Haryana's implementation of mobile number
portability (MNP).
For up to date information on mobile number portability in India, and to
find out when MNP will be implemented in your region, join our mailing list.
In 2009, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had set January 1, 2010,
as the date for introducing portability of mobile phone numbers.
The deadline for implementing MNP was shifted many times during this year,
the last one being set for October 31, 2010.
One of the reasons for MNP getting delayed is that the Foreign Investment
Promotion Board (FIPB) is yet to clear the proposal of Telecordia, a
US-based company, for operation in India. Telecordia was among the two
agencies (besides Syniverse) chosen to implement and manage mobile number
portability in the country.
For up to date information on mobile number portability in india, and to
find out when MNP will be implemented in your region, join our mailing list.
The MobileNumberPorting.in website will have full mobile number portability
(MNP) instructions for each region as soon as the data is available from the
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)
No comments:
Post a Comment