MNP to be delayed by at least 3 months

The mobile number portability (MNP), which enables subscribers to retain their numbers while changing operators, is likely to be delayed by at least another three months till July as a system is not yet in place to roll out the service.

This was decided at an internal meeting of the Department of Telecom (DoT) today, highly placed sources said, adding the service may see light of the day earliest by July this year.

Given the number of operators and as many as 12 billion calls per day, the system has to be in place and this may take some more time, they said. Asked whether by July the service will come into effect, sources said this will be the minimum period required for implementing the service.

The government had earlier given the deadline of March 31 for implementing MNP across the country. Minister of State for Communications and IT Gurudas Kamat had earlier informed the Rajya Sabha that the March 31 deadline for MNP would not be met.

"Since all networks are not likely to be completely ready by March 31, the deadline is not likely to be met," he had said.

Operators are required to carry our various activities, including technical augmentation and upgradation of networks, carrying out required installation verification tests, establishing links with MNP operators and conducting inter operator test.

After the service providers are ready with their own inter-operator test results, a complete acceptance test is to be carried out by DoT across the networks of all the concerned service providers in all the service areas before MNP service is implemented.

The revised time line will be announced soon after ascertaining the status from all the stakeholders and reasonable time required for acceptance testing, so that no network problem in call processing or completion, surfaces out after MNP services are launched, sources added.

The earlier date for introducing MNP was December-end 2009 in the metros and the category A circles.

But, with the DoT being unable to meet this deadline, it had then announced that this facility would be rolled out simultaneously across the whole country after March 31, 2010.