DoT sets April 2007 deadline for number portability

Posted on | October 2, 2006 |

Mobile number portability is on the horizon in India. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has set April, 2007 as the deadline for the implementation of mobile phone number portability.

The deadline had been recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) and submitted to the DoT in March this year.

Telecom operators have opposed the move citing various reasons.

Implement number portability on fixed line services also
Doing it on a national scale involves investments to the tune of Rs 18,000 crores
A survey conducted by operator body COAI found that its not high on customer priority!

To enable operators recover their cost, Trai had suggested that subscribers porting their numbers be charged a one-time fee of Rs 200. This way the operators would be able to recover their investments in a period of three to five years. Trai had also suggested that number portability be implemented in a phased manner - first in the metros and category A circles, and then in the B and C category circles within a span of six months.

Before it changes the licence conditions to accommodate number portability, DoT will initiate a fresh round of discussions with mobile phone operators and may fine-tune some of the suggestions made by Trai.

Number portability allows mobile subscribers to switch operators without changing their numbers. It has already been implemented in Hong Kong, UK, Australia, US, Germany, France, Netherlands and Singapore.

Related: Your number forever?

Source: Indian Express