Mobile Number Portability coming to India by June 30, 2010
The mobile number portability service, which enables the users to switch the service providers/operators without changing their mobile number may get implemented in India within next 1-2 months. The service which was supposed to be implemented by December 2009 was extended to March 31, 2010 and further extended to June 30, 2010. On December 31, 2009, the government decided to roll out the Mobile Number Portability serviced all in one go for the country than in phased manner in select areas.
The mobile network operators were ordered to carry out the call scenario test of VoiCE, SMS, MMS for all the networks (Basic, Mobile-GSM & CDMA and ILDOs). The deadline for this activity was May 15, 2010. The DoT will decide the actual date of implementation within one month. Indian subscribers may have to wait for about a month to know when will the MNP services be made available to all. Its also not certain whether there will be extra charges to opt for the service.
#-Link-Snipped-#As mentioned by the #-Link-Snipped-#, the salient features of MNP in India are as follows -
1. MNP facility shall be available only within a given licensed service area.
2. A subscriber holding a mobile number is eligible to make a porting request only after 90 days of the date of activation of his mobile connection. If a number is already ported once, the number can again be ported only after 90 days from the date of the previous porting.
3. The subscriber who wishes to port his mobile number should approach the Recipient operator (the operator to whom the subscriber wants to port his number). The Subscriber may be required to pay porting charges, if any, to the Recipient Operator.
4. The subscriber making the porting request is required to have cleared all the bills issued prior to the date of porting request. He shall give an undertaking that he has already paid all billed dues to the Donor Operator as on the date of the request for porting and that he shall pay dues to the Donor Operator pertaining to the mobile number till its eventual porting and that he understands and agrees that in event of non-payment of any such dues to the Donor Operator, the ported mobile number shall be liable to be disconnected by the Recipient Operator.
5. A subscriber may withdraw his porting request within 24 hours of its submission to the Recipient Operator. However, the porting charges shall not be refundable.
6. The regulation envisage a maximum time period of 4 days for the completion of porting process in all licensed service areas except in the case of J&K, Assam and North East licensed service areas where the maximum time allowed is 12 days. However, efforts will be made to further reduce the porting period.
7. Access Providers are required to implement All Call Query method.
8. The Originating operator shall be responsible to route the call to correct terminating network.