Mobile users can switch operators after 90 days

Mobile Number Portability (MNP), which allows subscribers to retain their mobile telephone number while discarding one service provider for another, will be implemented in 'category A' circles (which cover major towns and cities) from December this year and the rest of the country from March 20, 2010.

Consumers, however, will be allowed to switch operators only 90 days after a connection is activated and can change operators within the circle in which they are registered, according to a final notification issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) today.

The notification, which has been issued after almost a year of delay, stipulates a maximum of four days within which the switch from one operator to another should be completed.

In Jammu & Kashmir, Assam and north eastern circles, however, operators have been allowed 12 days to make the switch.

Subscribers will have to pay recipient operators non-refundable porting charges, which are yet to be decided.

The regulator has also mandated that a subscriber making a porting request should clear all bills issued first.

The MNP regime is expected to put additional pressure on telecom operators. At present, churn in the industry stands at around 4.5 per cent per month in the country, which roughly means that more than half India's over 400 million subscribers change operators in a year.