Indians soon free to give bad carriers the flick

[tarunraju]

Here's some good news for cell phone users in India. From next year, cell phone subscribers in India can change their carriers without changing their cell phone numbers. Under Mobile Number Portability (MNP) set by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), cell phone subscribers will have to pay a maximum of only INR 19 (USD 0.408732) if they want to change their telecom operator without changing their existing phone number.
According to TRAI, MNP will promote competition among telecom operators to provide a better quality of service. The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) has issued a deadline of 31/12/2009 by which telecom operators should equip their networks for porting numbers in metropolitan cities.

The introduction of MPN might boost the sales of shanzhai cell phones in India, since most of the shanzhai phones come with dual SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards.

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[tarunraju]

TRAI fixes Rs 19 as portability fee to change mobile operators
Telecom regulator TRAI today fixed at Rs 19 the reference rate for portability fee-charged from users for changing operator while retaining the number.

The per port transaction charge will be Rs 19 and the subscriber will not be charged more than that. However, operators are free to levy any amount less than or equal to this charge, TRAI said in a statement today.

Government has fixed the deadline of December 31, 2009, by which operators should ready their networks for porting of numbers in metros.
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