Excitement blows hot and cold as Mobile Number Portability launches today

The long wait is finally over for mobile phone users wishing to utilise Mobile Number Portability (MNP) to slide over to other service providers without changing their existing mobile numbers.

Industry analysts have hinted that introduction of the service will lead to a rush to grab new customers and may even trigger a price war for a short while.



SIM card outlets have reported that they have begun receiving enquiries regarding MNP services and some people are still wondering whether this is the real thing, since earlier attempts to launch the service fizzled out.

"We sell Idea SIM cards and people have been making enquiries. This could be because of Idea's advertising campaign. But we have not got any applications so far," said Anil Bagwe, of Jyoti Telecom in Andheri.

"I hope it is not postponed again at the last minute. I have already lost count of the times this had happened earlier on some pretext or the other.

Even Pakistan got mobile number portability a few years ago, but all we got were a series of never ending scams," said Achintya Mukherjee, honorary joint secretary of the Bombay Telecom Users' Association.

According to figures trickling in from Haryana, several providers have seen much movement as subscribers migrate to other service providers to avail benefits being offered.

"Tata DoCoMo (GSM service) has gained around 18,000 subscribers, while Tata Indicom (CDMA service) seems to have lost 8,000 subscribers.
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Customers who have opted for Tata Indicom's CDMA service are presently using the services of another CDMA service provider.

These customers seem to have switched from Reliance Communications' CDMA service to Tata Indicom's CDMA service," said a senior telecom industry source.

"This will only ensure that telecom companies will attempt to shift more customers to 3G services in a bid to garner more average revenue per user (ARPU).

But, only one-fifth of existing customers are expected to upgrade to 3G," said a telecom sector analyst.
However, customer awareness still seems very low.

MiD DAY asked a few mobile savvy college students about mobile number portability, but they seemed to be clueless. "I have not heard about number portability," said 18-year-old college student Mahesh Singh.

However, informed sources are a bit apprehensive.

"Initially, telecom company revenues might dip. But this will prompt them to push more expensive 3G services to customers whether they want it or not, so that they can make more money.

But I am unsure of improvement in actual service quality. It will be like going to vote and finding that all the candidates are crooks," said Ratanlal B Purohit, a consumer activist.