Trai cuts MNP charges to Rs 4

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Wednesday reduced the charges for mobile number portability to a maximum of Rs 4, nearly 79% cut.

So far, the prescribed ceiling for mobile number portability (MNP) rates was Rs 19.

The latest decision means that subscribers cannot be charged more than Rs 4 for their network port out requests but the recipient operators are "free to charge" a lesser amount or same amount from them for MNP.

The new rate will come into force immediately and the regulator said its decision was based on the fact that operating costs of MNP service providers had come down substantially.