# Mobile Number Portability (MNP)-All You should Know!



## oval_man (Oct 30, 2010)

" November 1, 2010 is the day when mobile number portability (MNP) will be implemented in India, but there are several things about MNP that are not known to the public. Let us take a look at what it is all about.

*What is MNP all about?*MNP is the facility that lets a mobile phone subscriber retain his/her original mobile number even after moving from one service provider to another. This is implemented in two different ways around the world. Some countries have the subscriber wanting to port his/her number to contact the new provider, also called the Recipient first. The Recipient then has to work with the old provider known as the Donor to arrange for the smooth transfer of the number. This method is known as Recipient-led porting.

Another, though a less popular way, is to have the subscriber to contact the Donor to obtain a Porting Authorization Code (PAC), which he/she has to provide to the Recipient. The Recipient then has to contact the Donor to complete the porting process. This is known as Donor-led method, but is not popular because there is a chance that the Donor may lure a subscriber to retain his subscription, leading to distortion of competition.

In India, MNP has been elusive so far. It has been implemented the world over and we are one of the last countries left to implement MNP - even our neighbor Pakistan implemented MNP way back in March 2007.

But the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has made clear that there won't be any further delays and it will surely be implemented on November 1, 2010. To use MNP facility, the subscriber will have to pay a non-refundable fixed charge of Rs.19, while the dipping charge is left to mutual negotiation between the telecom service providers and the MNP service providers. The porting charge shall not exceed the per port transaction charge of Rs.19, according to TRAI directive.

In India, the Recipient-led porting procedure will be used. The porting process would involve a break in service when a number is detached from the donor and added to the recipient, which should not take more than two hours during which no mobile service will be available. After this, the recipient operator has to carry out subscriber verification according to guidelines for acquiring a new user, within five days of receiving a written request. Once verified, the request is forwarded to the donor, seeking its clearance. The donor then has to verify and get back to the recipient with details within two days. MNP is then implemented.

To be able to cope up with the enormous logistics involved, mobile number portability will be carried out by dividing the country into two zones for the purpose of security and reliability. The zones are as shown in the map.

*i427.photobucket.com/albums/pp357/oval_man/113305_mnp-zones.jpg

*Implications of MNP*
The general opinion is that this is a good initiative, but is it really so? We need to consider a few things MNP will impact.

The first and foremost thing to note about MNP is that it will promote healthy competition. Mobile subscribers will no longer be faced with the dilemma whether they should shift to a better operator and lose their mobile number, or to stay dissatisfied with the current one and retain their number. They will now be empowered to go to any operator who they think will serve them better. Effectively, this will stimulate mobile operators to better their services to retain their subscriber base and prevent subscribers from looking towards greener pastures .

This is also like a double-edged sword. It can actually push established mobile operators towards the edge if people start moving towards a newer operator who has nothing to lose and is able to lure subscribers just because of good advertising, and no actual track record.

Postpaid mobile subscribers must have no outstanding bills on the date of application of porting. Prepaid users will lose their balance amount after number porting. Thus, you essentially start off with a clean slate, with the original number.

Though most do not know, the rule is that MNP is available within a telecom circle. This usually means a state. Therefore, you cannot retain your number if you shift from one state to another for change of residence due to your job. (Of course, you can retain your number the old way with expensive national roaming).

It will be impossible to easily ascertain the location of a number. Currently, the first few digits of a mobile number are enough to give you the location of the mobile number as well as its mobile operator. But with MNP in place, the number is not bound to any region or operator, making it very difficult to identify the physical location and telecom operator. Again, as noted in the last point, you can't port number between circles, so as of now at least it would be possible to identify the circle to which a number belongs.

From experiences of mobile subscribers abroad, especially in the UK and New Zealand, the process of changing your mobile number may not exactly be a pleasant ride. Subscribers in these countries have had to endure a lot of hardships owing to MNP. They have had to run between Recipient and Donor operators, re-submitting applications and documents again and again, having to wait for a much longer period for the porting to take place even though it should happen within a stipulated number of days (due to the enormous logistics involved in the process), and also facing with an interim period of uncertainty when you are actually a customer of both operators, thus having to pay monthly rentals to each one of them.

Once having changed your operator retaining the same mobile number, the TRAI directive states that the subscriber has to remain with the new provider for a minimum lock-in period of 90 days before shifting to another provider using MNP. While this sounds fair enough from the operator's point of view so that he gets a fair chance to prove himself , it may be a nightmare for the subscriber if this new operator is even worse than the previous one. However, if you have a quick second thought, you are given the liberty of withdrawing your porting request within 24 hours of the submission of the application. The porting charges will not be refunded.

If you use an iPhone locked to a certain network, then the chances are that you will not be able to use it with another network even though you can technically change your operator keeping the same number. In a similar manner, if you want to move from one technology to another, such as CDMA to GSM or vice versa, the handset won't work due to incompatibility.

To summarize, considering all the pros and cons, mobile number portability is a good thing that is happening and is something that should have been implemented many years ago. As is the usual case with all new technological implementations, there will be hiccups with MNP too. But we surmise that the end result will be good, or at least let us hope for the best."

[Courtesy:  Techtree.com and its author]


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## raj_in (Oct 30, 2010)

Can we change from Postpaid to prepaid


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## suhas_sm (Nov 2, 2010)

^^Yes. U can go from any network to any network.


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## oval_man (Jan 20, 2011)

Now,AIRTEL will lose many of its customers to VODAFONE

IDEA will also get more,Aircel will be the loser!!!!!!!


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## coderunknown (Jan 21, 2011)

Losers: Reliance, Aircel, Airtel.
Winners: Vodafone & Idea.
Unaffected: BPL, Spice, Uninor (as their user base is small).

BTW, MNP is valid on postpaid? actually mom use Reliance & may switch to Idea or maybe Voda. but needs postpaid.


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## rsk11584 (Jan 21, 2011)

but why aircel would be loser for me (touch wood) my aircel is working fine only the new uninor giving some probs like network mostly disconnects etc, etc, but aircel workign fine, but that aircel is in name of some friend from whom i received it. But for me on operator is good until they give probs .


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## pauldmps (Jan 21, 2011)

Sam.Shab said:


> Losers: Reliance, Aircel, Airtel.
> Winners: Vodafone & Idea.
> Unaffected: BPL, Spice, Uninor (as their user base is small).
> 
> BTW, MNP is valid on postpaid? actually mom use Reliance & may switch to Idea or maybe Voda. but needs postpaid.



You forgot to add BSNL in the Loser's list


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## gagan007 (Jan 21, 2011)

well Paul and Sam...maybe you are speaking your own experience so I will add mine too.

I am very very happy with my BSNL postpaid. Best thing about it the pricing and network. My wife's using Reliance and we have no complaints with them either. Dirt cheap call and rates. I wanna switch from Vodafone to Reliance.. So for me, Reliance is a winner and Vodafone's a loser. My mom uses Idea (prepaid) and they (Idea) have a habit of deducting balance every now and then, reasons which my parents are unaware of. So my mom is also planning to switch to BSNL.


So you see its only general perception that who'll be a loser or gainer. Most ppl are not happy with their current service providers. So it will not be a change..but an inter-change rather. In my very personal opinion, it won't affect any particular subscriber too much. But as OP has said (TechTree editor rather) that small players who don't have anything to lose will benefit from it initially.


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## coderunknown (Jan 21, 2011)

it depends where you live. in my place Reliance, Aircel & BSNL sucks. but parents are having BSNL & i am on airtel (a big mistake) and also have a reliance sim for the 1p/sms plan mainly but calls are problem & so is GPRS.


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## pauldmps (Jan 21, 2011)

Here in Jharkhand, most Govt. employees posted in rural areas use BSNL from the time when there was no other service available in those areas. Now the service of BSNL has deteriorated so much that everybody wants a change. However, they were mostly helpless now as they could not change their number which had already spread to various people they deal with. BSNL is going to loose plenty of customers here.

The service of Aircel & Reliance also sucks a big time in Jharkhand.


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## coderunknown (Jan 22, 2011)

another multi crore loss coming BSNL's way i guess.


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## utkarsh009 (Jan 22, 2011)

i currently use tata docomo and the edge tarrif is very nice but i want to switch to 3g network so i'll probably port my number as they don't provide 3g in jharkhand. can anyone tell me which operators will provide 3g network in jharkhand and their tarrifs? which operator should i choose on the basis of 3g tariffs in jharkhand?


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## oval_man (Jan 22, 2011)

Came across an interesting survey:  Hv a look:

The first-ever opinion poll on MNP was conducted across 8 major cities(Delhi, Lucknow, Kolkata, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad), covering both men and women(4564 subscribers) older than 18 years, between DEC 15,2010 and JAN 10,2011.


*i427.photobucket.com/albums/pp357/oval_man/20_01_pg1b.jpg

Highlights Of The Survey:

a significant number of subscribers are dissatisfied with their service providers – More than one out of six mobile phone subscribers (17.6%) want to switch over to another telecom company. Given India’s mobile subscriber base of more than 700 million, it could mean that up to 120 million people want to switch.

Airtel(31.9%) and Vodafone Essar(19.6%) will gain the most – One out of three consumers who are considering switching want to sign up with Airtel, and one out of five who want to change will go to Vodafone Essar. Followed by others(13.7%), Idea Cellular(9.7%) and Aircel(8.5%).

BSNL GSM, Reliance CDMA, Reliance GSM & Tata Indicom will be the losers in terms of subscriber base.

The reason to port is equally shared between ‘dissatisfied with the service(49.1%)’ and ‘want to change just for the heck of it(50.9%)’.

women make more loyal subscribers — 14.3% want to change compared to 18.8% men.

most dissatisfied customers were found in Hyderabad(37.3%), followed by Delhi(23%) and Ahmedabad(19.6%)

older customers(41-50 yrs : 18.7%) are more demanding subscribers whereas housewives(13.6%) constitute the ‘least demanding’ lot.

Post-paid(19.3%) customers are more dissatisfied than the pre-paid(17.4%) ones


Note#1 : figures indicate the percentage of respondents choosing a particular option.

Note#2 : Interviews were carried out using a fully structured questionnaire and the results were collated using appropriate statistical tools.

Source : HT-MARS SURVEY

All said and done, one thing that is clearly taking the birth from the MNP’s womb is the huge churn in the mobile telephone market in India with survey clearly signifying a weak loyalty amongst the subscribers for the respective service providers.

Its outright ‘GAIN SOME LOOSE SOME’ situation for the service providers. on the other hand, the consumers will only gain as they’ll get the best of services arising out of stiff competition amongst the telecom giants.


Source:   Mobile Number Portability Survey India – Are You Changing Your Phone Signal Carrier?)


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## pauldmps (Jan 22, 2011)

utkarsh009 said:


> i currently use tata docomo and the edge tarrif is very nice but i want to switch to 3g network so i'll probably port my number as they don't provide 3g in jharkhand. can anyone tell me which operators will provide 3g network in jharkhand and their tarrifs? which operator should i choose on the basis of 3g tariffs in jharkhand?



3G services in Jharkhand will be provided by Airtel, Aircel, Uninor & S-Tel only (Sadly no Docomo or Vodafone). I'm keeping my fingers crossed on the latter two as their plans would be cheaper (& service will suck!).

However, there may be some tie-ups between some operators to jointly offer 3G services since no single operator was able to win an all-India spectrum license.

Where in Jharkhand do you live, btw ?


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## utkarsh009 (Jan 22, 2011)

^^i live in ranchi.


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## kool (Jan 23, 2011)

Guys, I'm from BIHAR. Here i'm using AIRTEL for calling + GPRS purpose because of full signal, and i use RELIANCE for cheap sms @1p (in roaming also) + Night calling free to STD reliance. 
*So i want to know that
_can i use RELIANCE for all purpose(calling+gprs+sms) by changing its network to  AIRTEL? 
_Will above reliance offer be same? 
_And what about GPRS speed on changed network?? 
_Will it be still on AIRTEL n/w in roaming?
_I'm prepaid user, what to do for changing its network?*

Reply guys...........


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## dhan_shh (Jan 23, 2011)

Thanks oval-man for a detailed report of MNP,

In Chennai,I'm using almost all Service Providers,IMHO

Airtel - Voice Clarity is excellent,No problem in signal,Gprs service is OK,blackbery srvice is really good,customer care is not upto the mark,

Aircel - GPRS is really good,all other features are below average,

Vodafone - Of late,there is plenty of improvement,easy online transaction,gprs is ok,bb service is also ok,customer care is far better,

BSNL - If you are in a place with good ventilation and good signal coverage,then their 3G service is excellent! no doubt,but overall poor voice quality,frequent signal drops,I've never tried customer care!


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## pauldmps (Jan 23, 2011)

kool said:


> Guys, I'm from BIHAR. Here i'm using AIRTEL for calling + GPRS purpose because of full signal, and i use RELIANCE for cheap sms @1p (in roaming also) + Night calling free to STD reliance.
> *So i want to know that
> _can i use RELIANCE for all purpose(calling+gprs+sms) by changing its network to  AIRTEL?
> _Will above reliance offer be same?
> ...



I didn't get that properly.

1. Do you want to port your Airtel number to Reliance or vice-versa ? By your post I think you want to use both Airtel & Reliance on single number & use both their plans simultaneously ? This is not possible. MNP allows you to get a new connection while keeping your old number. The tarrifs & plans of your operator will prevail.


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## moshel (Jan 23, 2011)

kool said:


> Guys, I'm from BIHAR. Here i'm using AIRTEL for calling + GPRS purpose because of full signal, and i use RELIANCE for cheap sms @1p (in roaming also) + Night calling free to STD reliance.
> *So i want to know that
> _can i use RELIANCE for all purpose(calling+gprs+sms) by changing its network to  AIRTEL?
> _Will above reliance offer be same?
> ...



You want to switch over your reliance number to airtel and keep your reliance plan??? 

That's not possible. You have to choose from airtel plans.

Once you change to airtel, you will get all its services, charges, plans, roaming, etc....as if its a airtel number. then you have to forget about reliance, its services, charges, plans, etc.


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## kool (Jan 24, 2011)

moshel said:


> You want to switch over your reliance number to airtel and keep your reliance plan???
> 
> That's not possible. You have to choose from airtel plans.
> 
> Once you change to airtel, you will get all its services, charges, plans, roaming, etc....as if its a airtel number. then you have to forget about reliance, its services, charges, plans, etc.



thnx bro, i got it...!!! i was confused about switching network..!!


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## avichandana20000 (Jan 24, 2011)

dhan_shh said:


> Thanks oval-man for a detailed report of MNP,
> 
> In Chennai,I'm using almost all Service Providers,IMHO
> 
> ...





For AIRTEL it is called MOBILE OFFICE, FOR VODAFONE it is MOBILE CONNECT

What is the concerned name  for AIRCEL?

Can you please provide the upload/download speed of each when connected to PC?


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## thetechfreak (Jan 24, 2011)

Vodafone service here in Assam is real bad..especially GPRS speeds..leaves us sleepy


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