If you are waiting for Mobile Number Portability or MNP in India there is some bad news from the Union Minister of State for Communications & Information Technology, Shri Gurudas Kamat. MNP will not be available by the March 31st deadline . It was already delayed from December last year due to some operators crying foul . Now the Government is stating that all mobile networks in the country are not likely to be completely ready to offer MNP by this month end and the deadline is not likely to be met
We are sure that many operators fear loosing tons of customers once MNP is implemented. The Mobile Number has become part of our daily lives . It is much more than a number to us – it’s like an identity for many of us. And MNP which was like dream come true . It was going to offer us a chance to retain that identity and move to another operator without fear of loosing touch with your loved ones or key business contacts. Now we have to just keep waiting indefinitely for the dream to become a reality !
In a statement from the Press Information Bureau
The Union Minister of State for Communications & Information Technology, Shri Gurudas Kamat in written reply to a question informed Rajya Sabha today that the Government is making all efforts to get the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) implemented at the earliest. However, for this purpose, the whole networks in the country are to be ready and tested before the MNP Service is implemented. Various activities are required to be carried out by the operators including technical augmentation and upgradation of their existing networks, carrying out required installation verification tests, establishing links with MNP Operators and conducting inter operator test. After the service providers are ready with their own inter-operator test results, a complete Acceptance Test (A/T) is to be carried out by Department of Telecommunications (DOT) across the networks of all the concerned service providers in all the service areas before MNP Service is implemented.
Though the Government has set the time line for implementing MNP by March 31, 2010, all the networks are not likely to be completely ready by 31st March, 2010 and the deadline of 31.03.2010 is not likely to be met.The revised time line will be announced by the Government after ascertaining the status from all the stakeholders and reasonable time required for Acceptance Testing etc., so that no network problem in call processing/completion, surfaces out after MNP Services are launched