Thanks To DoT’s Fee Reduction, Porting Numbers Might Becoming Difficult Next Year

Come March 2019 and those looking to port their mobile number from one operator to another could have some problems. The decision of the Department of Telecom (DOT) to slash the mobile number portability (MNP) fee by 80 per cent – from Rs 19 to Rs 4 – has left the firms operating the system in a lurch.

According to a report by The Economic Times, the two firms – MNP Interconnection Telecom Solutions and Syniverse Technologies – have written to the DoT that the reduced fee will force them to cease operations once their licences end in March next year.

Data from the DoT shows that the number of port request has increased manifold in the recent past, post the 2016 entry of Reliance Industries’ Jio Infocomm. Between 2010 and March 2018, 370.83 million customers switched operators with the highest coming from Karnataka (36.16 million) followed by Andhra Pradesh (31.24 million). Around 20 million users ported their numbers in March 2018.

While MNP Interconnection – which handles South and East India – has said that it surrender its licence and stop operations, Syniverse – looking after West and North India – has said that it is facing acute problems. Both companies have moved the court against the fee reduction, calling it non-transparent and arbitrary.