What do you mean by Mobile Number Portability?
“Mobile Number Portability” means the facility which allows a subscriber to retain his mobile telephone number when he moves from one Service Provider to another irrespective of the mobile technology or from one cellular mobile technology to another of the same service Provider. Hence one can port a CDMA number to GSM and vice versa.
In India it is currently available for intra circle only. However due to the configuration of each Telecom circle porting can also happen between Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh; Bihar & Jharkhand; Rest of West Bengal & Andaman and Nicobar; within the states of the North East excluding Assam.
What are costs and who will absorb them when number portability starts working?
The “Per Port Transaction Charge” as defined by TRAI is up to ` 19/- (Nineteen) per port request.
What is the status of NP in India today?
The Department of Telecom (DoT) in India has awarded licenses for two mobile number portability clearinghouse vendors to operate clearinghouses in two zones within the country. The MNP service was launched across India by Jan 20, 2011 as per the current timeline decided by DoT.
What circles are in Zone 2?
• Kolkata • Tamil Nadu including Chennai • Andhra Pradesh • Karnataka • Kerala • Madhya Pradesh • West Bengal • Assam • Bihar • North East • Orissa
How do the two zones affect the consumers when they wish to port?
DOT has decided to implement Mobile Number Portability (MNP) within a circle. Thus a consumer can port their number to another service provider as long as it is done within a circle. Portability between other circles (called Inter circle portability) is not allowed as yet.
How does a consumer apply to switch their telephone number from one operator to another?
TRAI has decided that MNP would be a recipient driven process. Hence a subscriber would wishes to port should go to the new operator that the subscriber wants to port with his porting request. Click here for the detailed process as defined by TRAI.
Who is a recipient operator?
“Recipient Operator" means a Service Provider who will be providing mobile telecommunication service to the subscriber after porting. In other words, recipient operator is the operator that a mobile subscriber wants to port to.
What are the benefits of Mobile Number Portability to the consumer ?
• It’s affordable and convenient.
• Consumer can retain old mobile number while moving from old mobile Operator to the new mobile Operator.
What is the porting time for a consumer?
The Porting Time for a consumer is 7 working days as per TRAI guidelines.
What is the duration for which the consumer will get disruption of Service?
Service Disruption during the porting as per the TRAI guidelines is of only 2 hrs.
Can a CDMA subscriber port to a GSM service and vice versa?
Yes. This is permitted.
How long the mobile Service will be disrupted during the Mobile Number Portability Process.
There will be service disruption time of only 2 hrs during this process.
What is TRAI ?
TRAI is Telecom Regulatory Authority of India or TRAI (established 1997) is the independent regulator established by the Government of India to regulate the telecommunications business in India
