Mobile number portability from today

The service was launched in Haryana on November 25 on a pilot basis. The MNP is expected to bring the much-required change in the quality of services as well as attitude of the operators towards redressal of grievances.

Customers who wish to exercise this option will have to send an SMS from their phone to 1900. Subsequently, they will get a unique porting code as a reply from the existing service provider. The customer can then apply in the prescribed format, mentioning the code, to the new service provider for porting the number.

Service providers should complete all the procedures regarding portability within a period of four days. The subscriber will have to pay Rs 19 as porting charge. Once a subscriber shifts to another operator, he cannot port his number again for another 90 days.  
The portability facility will be available only within a given licensed service area. The telecom operator must inform the customer through the phone about the exact date and time when the porting will happen. 

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has also made it clear that the new operator is not bound to repay any deposits made by the customer to the previous service provider.
As per the eligibility criteria, there should not be any outstanding payment by way of pending bills before customers can apply for availing of MNP services, the Department of Telecom (DoT) said.

Though telecom companies have already announced several schemes to attract customers, it seems so far the MNP has not made any impact on their customer base in Haryana since its launch. 

However, it is too early to predict the Indian market reaction to MNP, DoT Secretary R Chandrashekar said. The global experience shows negligible activity for portability service.

However, the operators are upbeat about MNP. “Overall, it’s a good move for the customers. It puts the service providers on their toes and will make them focus on delivering value, giving them the power to choose,” the Cellular Operators Association India said.