After years of waiting and with numerous delays for mobile number portability, it will finally be available all over India from this January 20 2011.
Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal said,
“We’re very happy that we are going to launch it nationally. It’s a great step forward for the consumer. It enhances his choice.”
What is MNP?
Ever frustrated with your current service provider? Want to move a better service provider by keeping your present number..? This is just the right time. There are millions of cell phone users in India, So with MNP it gives you freedom to shift to a better service provider with less hassle. This service is applicable to both the Prepaid as well as the Postpaid customers.
Procedure
- To shift, send an SMS “PORT” followed by your mobile number from your phone to 1900.
- Your service provider will reply with a unique porting code.
- Use that code while filling out a detailed form for the new service provider you want to shift to.
- Within 48 hours, your service will be activated, a nominal fee of Rs 19 will be charged for the same.
More on MNP Process
- Your cell number will be switched off for only one hour. All bills after that, are paid to your new service provider. You’ll be stuck with them for at least 90 days before you can shift again.
- While you can shift from a GSM service to CDMA or vice versa, you cannot shift from one circle to another. If you do, roaming charges will be applied as usual.
- When you port your number, you also need to change your SIM
- For a prepaid number, carry forward of any balance to the new service provider is not permitted.
FAQs of Mobile Number Portability
1. What is Mobile number Portability (MNP)?
Basically, MNP which is the short form of Mobile number Portability which allows you to retain the same number and allows you to switch to different operator irrespective of GSM or CDMA mobile operator.
2. What is the Benefit of using MNP?
In an era of competition where Customer is a King, you get a freedom to choose from the services of different operators present across your circle. Since this allows you to retain the number and change the operator you will be relieved from new set of numbers which you previously used to get when you change the number.
3. What is meant by the term Porting?
Porting is basically a technical word which means that your mobile number is ported to a new recipient operator or in short it’s an act of switching to a new mobile service provider.
4. How i can Port and what are the requirements for taking the advantage of MNP?
There’s a procedure by following which you will be able to port your number to an operator of your choice. If you are a prepaid subscriber then you should have at least completed 90 days with the current operator before applying for MNP. If you are a postpaid customer, then here too you should complete 90 days with your current telecom operator before applying for MNP.
5. Is MNP available only for postpaid customers or prepaid customers can also avail this?
Irrespective of Prepaid or Postpaid, all subscribers who have been a customer of a particular operator for at least a period of 90 days.
6. Will my balance and scheme will be transferred with the number if i shift to any other operator?
No, all balances and schemes of your current operator will be lapsed and you need to choose from the plan which the recipient operator is offering.
7. Can i make use of MNP and shift to other operator without clearing the dues of my existing operator?
Unless and until you clear all the dues of your current postpaid connection you will not be allowed to port your number to any other operator.
8. What are the documents i need to carry when i go for porting my number?
You need to carry two recently clicked passport sized photos along with Proof of Address (POA) and Proof of Identity (POI). Do carry original documents as well as a copy of both.
9. Where i need to go for porting my number?
If you are a customer of Loop Mobile and wishes to move to Vodafone, then you need to go directly go to Vodafone’s official Gallery for porting your number.
10. Do i need to get porting code or the recipient operator will do the same?
It’s always better to take the UPC along with you to the recipient operator’s store. You just need to sms PORT (your 10 digit mobile number) to 1900 and within seconds you will receive the UPC from 1901.
11. What is the Porting charge, is it free?
Porting charge is not free; porting fee is fixed at Rs.19 by TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India), though some companies may offer porting charges less than Rs. 19, in some cases it may be nil due to immense competition in the telecom market.
12. How many days it will take to port my number?
Porting the number will not take more than 7 working days.
13. Can i shift from CDMA to GSM?
Yes, irrespective of CDMA or GSM, you can shift to the new operator and retain the same number. However you will need to have a GSM handset to accommodate the GSM Sim.
14. Can i cancel the porting request?
In an unlikely even if you wish to cancel the porting request you can do so but for this you need to give a written cancellation request within 24 hours of the porting request.
15. Are there any Cancellation charges?
There will not be any additional cancellation charges but the amount of Rs.19 which is the porting fee will not be refunded.
16. Can i shift within the network from Prepaid to Postpaid using MNP?
If you want to shift within the network like Postpaid to Prepaid or Prepaid to postpaid then it’s not required to exercise the MNP as you can do this without using MNP too. Just visit your Operator’s help desk and they will help you out regarding the same.
17. If am a customer of airtel Mumbai, can i port my number to airtel Maharashtra & Goa network or to any other network operator in Maharashtra & Goa circle?
Since, DOT has decided to implement Mobile Number Portability (MNP) within a circle; customer can port their number to another service provider as long as it is done within a circle. Portability between other circles (called Inter circle portability) is not allowed as yet.
18. Under MNP can i switch my Landline number to another operator?
As of now number portability is only made available for the Mobile customers, so Landline customers will not be able to use MNP service.
19. Do i need to submit the Old sim to the new operator?
No, in any case you should not submit your Old sim to the recipient operator as that sim will be with you.
20. Will there be any service disruption time during the MNP Process?
Yes, there will be a service disruption time of only 2 hrs during this process which will be preferably during the night time.
21. Can i port more than once?
Yes, as of now there is no cap on the number of times you can port to operator, as after every 90 days you can port your number to the operator of your choice.
22. If i have a Reliance number which is registered on my name, can i transfer the same number to any other person in the process of Mobile number Portability?
No, you cannot transfer the ownership in the process of Mobile number portability in any case.
23. How will I know when I have to replace my old SIM with the new SIM?
You will get an sms from the recipient operator with details like port-in date and time after which you can use your existing number on new sim.
24. For how long will be the Unique Porting Code be valid?
Unique Porting Code (UPC) received by you while making the porting request is valid for a period of 15 days after which if you wish to get UPC again then you need to again send Porting request to 1900.
25. Who is the recipient operator?
Recipient Operator is an operator or a service provider who will be providing mobile service to the subscriber after porting. In other words, recipient operator is the operator that a mobile subscriber wants to port to.
Meanwhile, for more info, these service providers below have given their toll free numbers as follows :
- Aircel - 9802098020
- Airtel -18001031111
- BSNL-18001801503
- IDEA MNP Helpline: 1800-270-0000
- MTNL Mumbai-1800221503
- TATA Docomo MNP Helpline: 1800-266-0000
- Vodafone MNP Helpline: 1800-1234567
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