Indian operators ready for MNP

All the major telecom operators in the country are ready to launch full mobile number portability that would permit subscribers to retain their existing numbers even when they shift from one service provider to another.

The roll out is in line with the government's mandate to roll-out National Mobile Number Portability (NMNP) from Wednesday 3 July.

On Thursday, Bharti Airtel announced that the company was ready to launch MNP, which the company would facilitate with faster processing of porting requests, free incoming on roaming till the number is ported, balance transfers and carry forward options.

The operator is also providing subscribers the option to transfer their balance in pre-paid or carrying forward their unbilled and billed amount in the case of postpaid subscribers while porting their number.

''With our complete readiness to launch National Mobile Number Portability, we aim to empower customers enabling them to retain this identity as they move across anywhere in the country,'' said Ajai Puri, director (Market Operations) at Bharti Airtel.

The services, however, would not be available for users moving to Jammu & Kashmir, Assam and North East due to security reasons.

Reliance Communications (RCom) is also ready to roll out NMNP.

"RCom is ready to roll out Mobile Number Portability nationally from July 3, 2015 onwards. Rcom will also be offering attractive and aggressive plans for both its pre-paid and post-paid customers, as well as customers porting in from other networks, to ensure that this is a seamless and easy transition," an RCom spokesperson said.

Sistema Shyam Teleservices (SSTL), which offers telecom services under the 'MTS' brand name, has also launched the services.

''The company is fully geared up to comply with the deadline. The move will enable MTS India to quickly and efficiently process all number portability requests. The implementation of MNP is bound to set new benchmarks in customer service standards within the Indian telecom sector,'' an MTS India spokesperson said.

Vodafone India, a fully-owned subsidiary of Vodafone Group, has also launched NMNP.

''Customers will be the biggest gainers of the National MNP service as it allows them to carry their existing number across India and also choose the operator of their choice. Vodafone India has benefited from the intra-circle MNP that was rolled out in 2011 and we look forward to a similar response this time,'' said Vivek Mathur, Chief Commercial Officer at Vodafone India.

Vodafone India has a pan India base of over 184 million customers serviced through a network of over 130,000 sites, of which over 35,000 are 3G sites.