Nationwide mobile number portability (MNP), which will allow customers to keep their existing mobile phone numbers while shifting between States and in-circles will be operational from this July, a senior telecom official stated.
“The service providers will roll it out on July 3,” Rakesh Garg, Chairman, Telecom Commission and Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, told in his statement to the media. Under the existing system as of now, if a person has a mobile number issued in Delhi, it cannot be transferred to another circle, for example, Mumbai or Chennai. While the numbers might not be large, this has also led to an inflated mobile subscriber base in the country, as a person is forced to get a new number when they relocate.
Full number portability was initially expected to be implemented by May 3. However, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) had sought an extension to allow telecom operators to make technical changes to implement the service. The ministry then gave an extension of two months. Last month, Union Minister for Telecommunications Ravi Shankar Prasad said the facility will be ready by July.
COAI director general Rajan Mathews remarked that the industry is now ready for the rollout and has not applied for any further extension to implement the system.
Tags: MNP Mobile Number Portability
