Mobile Number Portability in India: Making of a success story

India has recently achieved the unique milestone of crossing 1 billion Mobile Number Portability (MNP) requests, setting a world record in number portability as a consumer empowerment tool. Although India was a late adopter of MNP compared to other countries, it quickly progressed in terms of numbers and ease of process. It became a global leader, much like its rapid adoption of 4G and 5G mobile services.

MNP allows mobile customers to switch service providers without changing their mobile numbers. On the one hand, a high MNP figure indicates that consumers are able to use this facility in a much easier way to change their service provider. It also shows that consumers are not satisfied with their existing telecom service providers, may be either due to poor service quality or high tariff rates, or both. It also demonstrates that users do not hesitate to change their operators when dissatisfied. Notably, after 90 days, users can switch back to their previous provider if they find the new operator’s services/price are not satisfactory for the consumer. This facility, introduced by the Government of India and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in 2011, serves as a powerful empowerment tool for mobile users.

The importance of mobile numbers in everyday life
Mobile phones have become an integral part of daily life. Today, it is hard to imagine a day without them. Almost all government and private services are available at the click of a button. With the introduction of UPI-based financial transactions and mobile wallets, the need for physical cash has significantly decreased. Since financial and government services are linked to users’ mobile numbers, retaining the same number is crucial for the consumer. This makes MNP even more powerful tool, giving users complete control over their telecom service provider’s choice.

MNP has undoubtedly been a game-changer in India’s telecom sector. It has enhanced competition, improved service quality, and driven innovation among telecom operators. While the MNP process is now faster and more consumer-friendly, challenges such as porting request rejections and retention tactics by existing operators still persist, though at a significantly reduced level.

Evolution of MNP in India
MNP was first introduced on January 20, 2011, but was initially limited to intra-circle portability (within a telecom license area, generally equivalent to a state). In July 2015, it was extended pan-India, allowing nationwide portability.

Due to its unique ability to retain the same mobile number while switching operators, a mobile number now functions like an Aadhaar number, uniquely identifying individuals.

Challenges in implementing MNP
While working at TRAI, I was actively involved in formulating MNP regulations, designing customer-friendly porting processes, and porting charges. During the introduction of MNP in 2009-10 several challenges were faced however all were overcame with the help of involvement and participation of all the stakeholders and MNP was introduced in January,2011. Here are some of the challenges faced:

Customer identification
In India, identifying customers uniquely by his/her name is very difficult due to regional variations in naming conventions. Some customers use last-names after their names, others use their father’s name as middle name, and many write their names in abbreviated forms. Similar-sounding last names have multiple spellings (e.g., Sarma/Sharma, Agarwal/Agrawal). This issue was resolved by introducing the Unique Porting Code (UPC), a system similar to an OTP (one time password), to verify the porting request by the actual customer.

• UPC was designed to uniquely identify the operator and service area of the customer.
• Alphanumeric characters were used, avoiding confusing elements like ‘0’ (zero) and ‘O’ (letter O) to prevent errors.

Compensation demanded by the donor operators
Telecom operators from whose network customer wanted to migrate to another operator (known as Donor Operators), initially demanded a suitable compensation as due to MNP they were losing their customers to his competitors (Recipient Operators). Since the operators need to spend money for acquiring new customer by way of advertisement, opening of new service centres, customer care infrastructure etc, they expected that a known customer is going to their competitor, they should be compensated by the Recipient Operator or by the MNP service providers (MNPSP), facilitating the porting. This issue was addressed by TRAI by:

• Determining a nominal per port transaction charge of ₹19 per request, payable by the Recipient Operator to the MNPSP and mandating the Recipient operator not to charge more than ₹19 per porting request; Due to such a low charge of porting there was not scope of compensation to the Donor Operator;
• Introducing a 90-day lock-in period between a new connection and eligibility for first porting and between one porting and subsequent porting requests, thus ensuring that the Recipient Operator is able to recover at least some porting of its before the customer is allowed to port to another operator’s network.

As a result of these actions, almost all the Recipient Operators chose not to take any porting charge from the new customers as they benefited from gaining new customers. Therefore, MNP is practically free of charge for the customers.

Resistance from incumbent operators
Established telecom operators were initially unwilling to let customers move to competitors. They often rejected porting requests on trivial grounds, such as unpaid balances of just ₹0.10 or ₹0.25 for post-paid customers and some flimsy grounds. To counter such non-competitive actions, TRAI had taken actions like:-

• Surprise inspections at certain telecom offices of the Donor Operators.
• Initiation of legal action against some donor operators for wrongful rejections of porting requests.
• Concept of financial disincentives was introduced, with financial disincentive ranging from ₹2,000 to ₹10,000 per wrongful rejection of porting requests.
• Post-Paid customers porting request was not allowed to reject by the donor operator in case the outstanding balance is less than ₹10 (later this limit increased to ₹50)

These measures ensured a smooth and hassle-free porting experience for the mobile services customers.

Implementation of nationwide portability
During the pan-India MNP rollout in 2015, MNP service providers (MNPSPs) requested for higher per-port transaction charge to facilitate nationwide porting. However, this request was acceded to by TRAI because:

• Following the 2012 telecom license cancellations, many operators shut down, leading to mass portings to the operators which were to continue the mobile services, thus porting volume was much higher than the forecasted porting volume.
• The increased porting volumes generated higher-than-expected revenues for MNPSPs.

Thus pan-India porting was implemented without increasing the per-port transaction charge and porting charge.

Based on the high volume of portings, TRAI later reduced porting charges to about ₹6 per porting request, making it even more affordable for the consumers.

The actions of TRAI resulted in a win-win situation for all stakeholders in the MNP framework:

• Customers could port their numbers at almost zero cost.
• Recipient Operators acquired customers for just about ₹6.
• MNPSPs benefited from high-volume porting requests, ensuring steady revenue despite reduced charges.
• Donor Operators had a chance to win back customers after 90 days.
• Government earned revenue by way of license fees from the MNPSPs due to high volume of portings.

Future of MNP in India
With the advent of 5G technology, MNP is expected to become even more relevant. As customers seek faster data speeds, better network quality, and more competitive pricing, MNP will play a vital role in driving telecom competition and innovation. Additionally, initiatives such as e-SIM technology and instant porting may further simplify the porting process in the coming years.

Moreover, TRAI continues to refine regulations to ensure that MNP remains affordable, seamless, and beneficial for consumers.

Benefits of Mobile Number Portability
In summary, it can be said that MNP has brought significant advantages to consumers and the telecom industry:

Consumer benefits

• Freedom to choose. Users can switch to operators offering better service, coverage, and tariff plans while retaining their number.
• Improved service quality. Operators continuously enhance network quality and customer support to retain users.
• Competitive pricing. Intense competition forces telecom providers to offer better plans and lower tariffs.

Market competition

• Healthy competition. MNP prevents monopolies and ensures a level playing field in the telecom sector.
• Encourages innovation. Telecom companies introduce new plans, faster data speeds, and improved services to attract customers.

Business and corporate benefits

• Seamless business operations. Companies can switch operators without updating contact details.
• Cost optimization. Businesses can opt for better corporate plans with bulk discounts.

Conclusion
Mobile Number Portability has revolutionized India’s telecom sector, empowering consumers with the ability to choose their preferred operators. It has played a crucial role in promoting competition, improving service quality, and driving innovation. With ongoing technological advancements, MNP will continue to be an essential tool in shaping India’s telecom future.

Views expressed are personal to the author