TRAI to write to DoT over MNP delays

Tired of waiting for mobile number portability, telecom regulator TRAI today said it will soon write to the government to find out the reason for the repeated delay.

"We will review the causes for the delay in MNP.. We are concerned why the delay is happening. I plan to write to the Department of Telecom soon to discuss the issues and we may take it up with the mobile operators," TRAI chairman J S Sarma told PTI.

Earlier this month, the Department of Telecom had said that MNP that will allow users to switch providers without changing their phone number was likely to be launched by June 30, 2010.

This latest deadline is a three-month delay over the deadline that has already been deferred twice.

The DoT said some of the operators are yet to test the readiness of their networks to launch MNP services and the government has set May 15 as deadline for completing the tests.

"Based on the successful completion of the action taken (tests)..., the DoT will finally decide the dates for MNP implementation," the Department said.

MNP was to be implemented by December 31, 2009, in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai as well as in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

The deadline was later changed to March 31 for launch across the country. In February, the DoT said it was planning to launch MNP by the first week of May, with initial launches in Bangalore and Chennai.

But now there are indications that MNP may be delayed even beyond the latest scheduled rollout date of June 30.