TRAI issues mobile number portability regulations

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today issued the "Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability Regulations, 2009", laying down the basic business process framework that allows migration of one mobile telephone number from one service provider to another.

The regulations have made clear the eligibility conditions for porting of mobile telephone numbers and the procedure to be followed by each player in the chain in processing number porting request.  It has defined the rights and obligations of various stakeholders, specified clear time limits for completion of various steps by each player in the chain, ie, the "donor operator", "recipient operator" and the "MNP service provider". The regulations also envisage the least disruption of service to the consumer.

Under the regulations, the MNP facility will be available only within a given licensed service area.

A subscriber holding a mobile number is eligible to make a porting request only after 90 days of the date of activation of his mobile connection. If a number is already ported once, the number can again be ported only after 90 days from the date of the previous porting.

The subscriber who wishes to port his mobile number should approach the "recipient operator" (the operator to whom the subscriber wants to port his number). The subscriber may be required to pay porting charges, if any, to the "recipient operator."

The subscriber making the porting request is required to have cleared all the bills issued prior to the date of porting request. He should give an undertaking that he has already paid all billed dues to the `donor operator' as of the date of the request for porting and that he will pay dues to the `donor operator' till its eventual porting. In the event of non-payment of any such dues to the `donor operator', the ported mobile number will be liable to be disconnected by the `recipient operator.'