Trai issues consultation paper for revising national numbering plan

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Thursday issued a consultation paper on revising the National Numbering Plan to create a sustainable pool of new phone numbers for the country's nearly 1.2 billion mobile phone connections.

In 2003, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) conducted a comprehensive review and revision of the national number plan to accommodate the rapid increase in subscribers. Subsequently, the National Numbering Plan 2003, was designed to allocate numbering resources for 750 million telephone connections across the country. 

“However, after 21 years, the availability of numbering resources is now at risk due to the expansion of services and the growth in the number of connections," Trai said.

With a tele-density of 85.69 per cent as of March 31, 2024, the regulator expects the current total of 1,199.28 million telephone subscribers to continue rising.

The plan aims to assess all factors affecting the allocation and utilisation of Telecommunication Identifier (TI) resources and proposes potential modifications to enhance the allocation policies and utilisation procedures, ensuring an adequate reservoir of TI resources.

"It is crucial to assess the utilisation of TI's and make prudent policy decisions to ensure a sustainable reservoir for the continued growth of telecommunication services," Trai said.

Currently, the DoT manages telecom identifiers for both fixed and mobile networks, following the E.164 series of the International Telecommunication Union's Telecommunication Standardisation Sector (ITU-T) recommendations.

India’s telecom landscape is currently undergoing a significant transformation driven by cutting-edge network architectures and services. The advent of 5G networks introduces unprecedented possibilities, including ultra-high-speed connectivity, minimal latency, and extensive device integration. In this interconnected ecosystem, TIs play a pivotal role in ensuring efficient communication and network management.

“The purpose of a National Numbering Plan is to ensure a structured approach for allocation and utilisation of TI resources, in line with international best practices. It defines the numbering space and its evolution for existing and potential services, aiming to accommodate a wide range of services and facilitate efficient expansion without premature depletion,” Trai added.

The comments on the consultation paper will be submitted by July 4.