Mobile number portability (MNP)

Mobile number portability (MNP) enables mobile telephone users to retain their mobile telephone numbers mobile network operator to another. when changing from one.

overview:  

MNP is implemented in different ways across the globe. The international and European standard is for a customer wishing to port his/her number to contact the new provider (Recipient) who will then arrange necessary process with the old provider (Donor). This is also known as 'Recipient-Led' porting. The UKPorting Authorisation Code is the only country to not implement a Recipient-Led system, where a customer wishing to port his/her number is required to contact the Donor to obtain a (PAC) which he/she then has to give to the Recipient. Once having received the PAC the Recipient continues the port process by contacting the Donor. This form of porting is also known as 'Donor-Led' and has been criticised by some industry analysts as being inefficient. It has also been observed that it may act as a customer deterrent as well as allowing the Donor an opportunity of 'winning-back' the customer. This might lead to distortion of competition, especially in the markets with new entrants that are yet to achieve scalability of operation.

A significant technical aspect of MNP (Mobile Number Portability) is related to the routing of calls or mobile messages (SMS, MMS) to a number once it has been ported. There are various flavours of call routing implementation across the globe but the international and European best practice is via the use of a central database (CDB) of ported numbers. Network operator makes copies of CDB and queries it to find out which network to send a call to. This is also known as All Call Query (ACQ) and is highly efficient and scalable. Majority of the established and upcoming MNP systems across the world are based on this ACQ/CDB method of call routing. One of the very few countries to not use ACQ/CDB is the UK where calls to a number once it has been ported are still routed via the Donor network. This is also known as 'Indirect Routing' and is highly inefficient as it is wasteful of transmission and switching capacity. Because of its Donor dependent nature, Indirect Routing also means that if the Donor network develops a fault or goes out of business, the customers who have ported out of that network will lose incoming calls to their numbers. The UK telecoms regulator Ofcom completed its extended review of the UK MNP process on 29 November 2007 and mandated that ACQ/CDB be implemented for mobile to mobile ported calls by no later than 1 September 2009.

MNP in India : 

  As of today, if you are in India, and you are having problems with your new Mobile phone service operator and want to change to another operator, you will have to change the mobile number as well! Changing the mobile number is a problem when you have a lot of contacts. You will have to inform all the people in your phonebook about your new number. In addition to this, since the person who you have sent the information may or may not have noted the change in your number, it would create a problem for him as well as you again! Mobile Number Portability is a technique to solve this problem.

Using Mobile Number Portability, you can change the operator without having to change your number. So if you are using a mobile number (say) 9876543210 for and are using the service from some operator (say Reliance) and you want to switch over to another operator, say BSNL, then you will not have the need to change the number. So when Mobile Number Portability in India comes to effect, you will have the ease of having the same number while using any operator's service you want. Mobile Number Portability in India will offer you the freedom to select the operator whose network and the features you like without having to think 100 times about informing the change in your mobile number to your hundreds of friends and contacts! While this seems to be a dream for some people, it will be a reality in few days in India.

How much will Mobile Number Portability cost? 

Price of Mobile Number Portability in India is as lower as Rs.19, where MNP allows to change your number as many times you want. This cost is fixed by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and it is implemented for all service providers.

How to retain mobile number after changing the operator by using the Mobile Portability Service in India?While Mobile Number Portability is a buzzword these days, the bigger question is on how to change your operator after the facility has been provided! So here are the steps:

1. Send an SMS containing 'PORT' (without the quotes and in capital letters) to 1900.

2. After sometime (almost immediately), you will receive your UPC (Unique porting Code) on your mobile via a SMS.

3. Now you need to do what you did before to get a new connection, i.e. to go to a shop, pay Rs. 19 (or whatever the new operator asks for; Rs. 19 is the maximum) plus any other charges, like for the new SIM (yes, you will have to get another SIM card) and submit your documents and you should be able to use the new connection.

What has not been made clear is whether or not that new SIM will be usable immediately or not, or even when it will be usable. Since a switchover can be required by the customer immediately, the operators may not be that fast!

How much time does it take to change the operator having same mobile number using Mobile Number Portability in India? 

TRAI has said that operators should get it done within 4 days, it may vary due to many factors and the use of the old or new SIM is an issue as of now! For example, if both the old and the new operators are fast enough, it would be a matter of minutes. But if they work slow at their offices, Mobile Number Portability may take days to please you.