Keep your cell number, even if you dump your operator

Disgusted with your telecom service provider? Dump him and move on without having to fret over losing your unique number.

Disgusted with your telecom service provider? Dump him and move on without having to fret over losing your unique number. The government today set a six-month deadline for telecom firms in metros and Category A circles to implement mobile number portability MNP that allows users to keep the number even if they change operators.

While in metros, users will be able to change their service providers by December-January, in the rest of the country portability will be a reality by mid-June. While MNP will force all telecom companies to deliver quality service, it will immediately benefit new players who can offer great deals to lure subscribers of entrenched players. According to the guidelines announced by IT and Communications Minister A Raja, the country has been divided into two MNP zones, with two metros in each for managing the porting exercise. There would be one licence for each zone, which would manage the entire porting exercise.

To avoid conflict of interest, existing telecom service providers cannot directly or indirectly have any stake in the MNP clearing agent and vice-versa. The licence holders must rope in overseas experienced players by offering them a minimum of 26 per cent stake. The foreign partner should have been in the business for two years having served at least 25 million users.

India will adopt the all-query method, meaning consumer queries regarding portability will be handled by these two agencies in the country. The time to port from one service provider to another will not exceed two days initially, and will only be faster going forward. The user will have to approach the recipient operator for porting his/her number.

The eligibility criterion for the applicant specifies that the company must have a minimum paid-up capital of Rs 10 crore and a combined net worth of Rs 100 crore in proportion to their direct equity. The overseas partner can have a maximum 74 per cent stake in line with the FDI limit for the sector. A lock-in period of three years has been specified for shareholders with 26 per cent or more.

A one-time entry fee of Rs 1 crore has been specified for the MNP licence. Subsequently, a 1 per cent charge on the adjusted gross revenue AGR will be levied as the annual licence fee. However, there will be a two-year moratorium on the license fee from the effective date of licence.