If you have ever felt like you were stuck to your current telecoms provider just because shifting services meant changing numbers, then TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) has an exit clause designed for you. From 20th September onwards (at least in Delhi, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chennai, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka) consumers will be able to shift their telecom service providers without having to change their numbers just by paying a fee.
In its directive issued to telecoms operators, TRAI has also mentioned that the same service will be made available to consumers in the rest of the country by March 20 of next year. Further, TRAI has made it clear that the fees that users will have to pay for number portability will be only be a nominal amount (about Rs. 300 according to a story done by The Economic Times) and the maximum time it will take a user to shift providers will be two days.
The entire document can be read at the Department of Telecom’s website (WWW.dot.gov.in).
In our opinion, TRAI has done good by the Indian cell phone user by finally addressing the issue of number portability. We only hope that the service providers stick to the deadline and that TRAI does make number portability an affordable option.
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