TRAI seeks to ease mobile number portability with new norms

While mobile phone service providers have been claiming that the impact of the introduction of mobile number portability (MNP) has been limited as few subscribers are using it, the fact is that the service is far from easy to avail of.

Apart from the delays involved in changing one's operator, companies have so far tended to reject porting requests on the slightest ground. Taking note of this, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has come up with fresh norms for MNP.

A key directive is that operators should not reject an MNP request if the amount due from the customer is Rs10 or less (rounded off to the nearest rupee). The amount can be adjusted in the customer's next bill.

So far, companies have reportedly been rejecting porting requests over outstanding dues of as little as 13 paise.

Another reason for porting requests being denied is 'contractual obligation', particularly in the case of premium or vanity numbers. Now, TRAI has ruled that ''since numbering is allocated free of charge by the licensor, service providers are not justified in putting any condition for retaining premium numbers under the garb of contractual obligation.''

It has told operators that MNP can be rejected on the ground of contractual obligation only if: a) A post-paid connection has come bundled with the handset with an exit clause and the subscriber has not complied with the clause; or b) If it is a corporate connection with an exit clause and the subscriber does not comply with it.