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Journalism of Courage
The explosion of its mobile phone market is probably the single biggest component of Indias extraordinary,and continuing,transformation. Prices have come down to among the lowest in the world; previously unconnected parts of the country are now integrated into the larger economic and social life of India. But,for those benefits to endure,we need to ensure that competition takes root in this sector,not cartelisation; we need to be certain that the big players in the sector are subject to market discipline. And the only way that the market can discipline them is through the use of individual choice. A person should be able,with as little disruption as possible,to move from her current provider to another. In other words,we need number portability,and we need it yesterday.
Which is why news that the March 31 deadline for number portability to start working might not be met should rouse the government from its stupor. The March 31 deadline was already the product of postponement the original deadline was December 31. The delay will be caused,reportedly,by security considerations. Apparently a suspect could escape monitoring by frequently changing his service provider. This argument,weak on the surface,gets only weaker when subjected to sustained scrutiny. The point that is made is that calls are monitored at the switching centre attached to a particular phone company. If the person being monitored changes his company,he changes his switching centre,and the monitoring will have to shift too. But its not as if this will be happening at some zany,break-neck pace; a suspect wont be dashing back and forth between switching centres like the protagonist of a 40s cartoon,with law enforcement huffing and puffing behind him. No,the act of shifting operators will happen on a defined and probably leisurely schedule,leaving more than enough time for the monitoring agency to get its act together.
