Nimbuzz India

Great news!! Now you can keep your old mobile number intact while enjoying the services of the operator giving the most value for money. This is due to MNP or Mobile Number Portability, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has finally fixed the rate for Mobile Number Portability in India.

The fee that has been fixed is Rs 19 only. TRAI has indicated that the amount to be paid by the subscriber shall not be more than Rs 19 per change in operator. Operators can charge any amount less than or equal to Rs 19.

The main reasons for you to switch your operator could be:

1. High local calls
2. High SMS rates
3. High STD rates
4. Most important – High GPRS and internet rates

So if you feel that you can get better connectivity, better rates, and better Data transfer in a different operator than your current one, you can switch to that one at just Rs 19.

This service is expected to be available in Metros and Category A circles by January 1, 2009. It will also be made available in other circles by March 2010.

How do you go about it?

1. You will have to give a written undertaking to your existing service provider that you are switching to a new operator
2. Within five days, there should be mandatory subscriber identity verification call from the old operator
3. It would be then forwarded within two days to the MNP service provider who in turn will allow the change of your mobile operator.
4. The new operator will telephonically inform the customer of the exact date and time the change will happen.
5. Post-paid customers will have to clear all outstanding payments before they can change their operator.

As stated in CXO Today, the industry estimates that about 25 percent of current mobile users would opt for MNP, of the 450 million mobile subscribers across the country.

Do let us know if you like to change your service provider in the comments section below. If yes then what will be the main reason?

Image: trak.in