mobile number portability (MNP) is finally launched in India

The mobile number portability (MNP) is finally launched in India today. Rohtak in Haryana is the place where the entire buzz is. Rohtak is witnessing a telecom revolution today. MNP is the procedure that allows consumers to switch from their existing operators to another while retaining the same number.



With Idea Cellular's TVCs on air for few days now, other operators are also coming up with their own promotions of MNP through various media. On the occasion of the MNP launch in India, we share with you the process and other facts of MNP.First the procedure. To change your operator all you need to do is send a SMS to 1900 with the message (PORTMobile number) from the number you want to be ported. On sending the message you will receive a SMS from your current operator giving you the Unique Porting Code (UPC). The UPC acts a reference when you fill an application prescribed by your chosen new network provider. The porting of number has to be completed in a span of seven working days, as per TRAI directives. The charge for porting your number to another operator is  19, payable to the new service provider. Post-paid subscribers need to ensure their billing dues are cleared before applying for number porting. Failing this, the request to the new porter will be rejected. For pre-paid users, the balance amount left does not get carried forward to the new operator after porting. So both kinds of subscribers start from a clean slate with the new operator.A point to note here is once you have switched your operators, you need to wait for a period of 90 days before you can change the operator again.
Let us give you a brief idea about how the MNP works. When a subscriber makes a request to port his number to a new operator, the porting can be done in two ways. One is called the donor-led porting and the other is recipient-led porting. In India the latter method is in usage.

In the recipient-led porting, the new operator (recipient) takes the appropriate steps to register the user to its network. The process is completed once the mobile number of the user and the chosen operator's network ID are paired and updated in the central database. The country is divided onto two geographical sectors for ease of implementing the MNP. These two zones are then divided into 11 service areas.
The master database will be managed by a third party firm. For zone I, Syniverse has been appointed with the MNP and related issues while for zone II, it is Telcordia. With this set of information, we hope the MNP will be a good thing for the nation that is heralding its gears to the new technologies and embracing them with open arms.