TRAI Recommended Full Mobile Number Portability Service in Six Months

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on 25 September 2013 recommended implementation of full Mobile Number Portability, MNP by the telecom service providers, within six months.

The facility will allow subscribers to retain their numbers, even when they shift from one service area to another. Presently, Mobile Number Portability (MNP) is available only within the subscribers' service area. The facility of pan-India portability will allow a mobile subscriber to change the license service area without changing the number.

For example, if a person is a Vodafone Kerala subscriber and want to transfer to TATA Docomo in Karnataka, he can do so by retaining the number by sending MNP request to vodafone service provider.

TRAI Recommendations: Salient Features

a) After the Full Mobile Number Portability (inter-service area portability) is implemented the Recipient Operator will forward the porting request to the MNPSP of the zone to which original number range holder (the Telecom Service Provider to which the number originally belonged before its first porting) belongs.

b) Telecom Service Providers will be given six months time for implementation of Full Mobile Number Portability.

c) Some modifications have been suggested to the MNP service licence, to facilitate inter-service area porting (Full MNP)

d) Testing Fee for testing the various scenarios in Full MNP may be reduced to 25 percent  of the current prescribed Fee for TSPs and MNPSPs.