Trai monitoring Bharti, Vodafone for MNP irregularities

Telecom regulator Trai is closely monitoring Bharti Airtel and Vodafone for irregularities over Mobile Number Portability (MNP). The two firms have been served show cause notices seeking information on complaints by subscribers that their requests for MNP had been rejected.

Quoting Trai sources, The Economic Times reported that the regulator had received replies of Bharti and Vodafone, which were under examination.

Trai had also carried out investigation into rejection of MNP requests by various service providers by sending a team of its officers to telecom operators' offices, the sources said. They said the matter had been brought to the notice of the telecom ministry also and DoT may also initiate action against the companies.

Acccording to Trai data, 893 MNPs requests had been rejected by operators.

In a directive issued by Trai had called on all cellular mobile telephone service providers and unified access providers on 3 December 2010, to not charge extra for SMSes sent to '1900', the number for availing the MNP service.

As regards outstanding dues from subscribers who wished to avail the MNP service, Trai recommended that if the unpaid amount in the previous bill was less than Rs10, the service provider may include the same in the subsequent bill of the subscriber without any penal charges.