Finally the day comes – 20 Jan 2011. Mobile customers of India can easily switchover from one service provider to another without loosing the number. The proposed Mobile Number Portability facility has crossed several deadlines due to the technical issues with various mobile service providers.

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Frequently Asked questions on Mobile Number Portability

1. Can I switch over from CDMA service to GSM and vice versa ?

Yes .You can flexibly switch over from CDMA to GSM and vice versa. But you have to change the handset, because the technologies are different.

2. I am an Airtel customer of Delhi, Can I switch over to the Idea service of Chennai?

No– Presently Mobile Number Portability is available within the circle only.

3. Is there any Fee for MNP?

Yes– The new service provider will charge a fee (Port in Fee) for MNP. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has fixed a ceiling amount of Rs. 19/- for this. BSNL say that they will not collect the port in fee from the customers those who switch over to BSNL.

4. Is there any applying criteria for availing MNP facility ?

Yes.

If you are post -paid customer there should not be any dues with your existing service provider. For pre-paid customers the credit balance will not be carry forwarded.
You can switch over to a new service provider only after 90 days stay with the existing service provider.
You have to wait minimum 90 days for second number porting. This is to prevent the misuse of this facility and prevent frequent switching.

5. I have changed my mind after submitting the application- Can I go back ?

Yes- You can withdraw the application within 24 hrs of submission. However the Port in fee will not be refunded.

6. How long it will take to switch over ?

After the application submission, it will take maximum four days. In J&K and North eastern states it is within 12 days.

7. Is there any downtime while porting the numbers ?

Yes- There will be a down time of approximately 2 hrs while porting the numbers. During this period you may not be able to use the number. Both incoming and outgoing services will be interrupted. The porting will be carried out between the mid night and morning 5 O clock, so the two hours outage may not affect considerably affect the subscribers.

8. How to Change your Service provider thorough Mobile Number Portability ?

The following procedure to be carried out for opting a new mobile service provider under MNP

Send an SMS (Port <space>your mobile number) to 1900. Then you will get a reply SMS with a Unique Porting Code (UPC).
Submit an application to the service provider where you want to shift with this UPC in a prescribed format (Remember the UPC will be valid only for few days).
Your application will be processed by the new service provider and you will get an application receipt confirmation and the details of porting date.
Once the porting is completed, confirmation message will be received.

Who will win the game?

TRAI estimates around 10% of mobile subscribers may change their service providers in the first year after the implementation. During the subsequent years this figure will be considerably reduced because the service providers will be compelled to give good quality of service.

Most of the CDMA mobile subscribers are waiting for MNP to opt a suitable GSM service. The leading CDMA service providers in India- Reliance and Tata know this fact very well. Both these players are providing GSM services also. Main reason for shifting from CDMA to GSM is the non availability of good CDMA handsets. GSM handset industry is really booming and attractive featurefull GSM handsets and Smart phones are available in market. Here CDMA fails. None of the leading mobile handset manufacturers are providing good CDMA sets.

Reliance CDMA has started ad campaigns through visual and print media to beat this challenge. Now they are presenting a wide range of CDMA handsets in market, but it is too late to stop the people.

The 3G services will also become a deciding factor. All the mobile service providers are not possess 3G spectrum. If someone wants to avail 3G service, he/she will switch over to the desired service provider by utilizing MNP.