Telcos to implement full mobile number portability by May
Beginning May 2015, you may not need to change your cellphone number while migrating to another state.
The government has asked telecom firms to implement full mobile number portability (MNP) by May 3, 2015.
At present, MNP norms allow users to retain their numbers while changing operators within the same service area. India has 22 telecom circles, or service areas.
Under the full MNP regime, a user in Delhi and the National Capital Region, for instance, will be able to switch to the network of either the same or any other telecom operator in a different state while retaining the same number.
“Intra-licensed service area MNP has already been implemented in 2010-11. Now, it has been decided to implement the facility of full MNP in the country, which will enable subscrib- ers to port their mobile numbers across the licensed service area,” the department of telecommunications said in a letter to operators dated November 3. “Telcos are being given six months time to implement full MNP from the date of issuance of these instructions,” the DoT said.
According to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), about 130 million people had requested for MNP facility as on August 31, 2014.
Last month, the Telecom Commission had accepted Trai’s recommendations to adopt full MNP, after which the DoT had set March 31 as the target date for implementation.