Cellphone number portability: Is it time for subscribers to rejoice?

Mobile phone subscribers have a reason to rejoice, as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has said a subscriber can retain his number while changing the service provider (also known as number portability). On payment of a small sum of Rs19, says TRAI, the mobile owner can take his number and switch to any other service provider.

The move is likely to see an exodus of consumers who will make a beeline for better services and better rates from their service providers. As newer mobile service entrants enter the field and try to grab more customers with tempting offers, the consumer will be the king in a market where everybody will be falling over each other to offer him the best possible deal.

The concept of one second billing by a new entrant in the field, has already shaken the existing players, who have had to either match the offer or offer other deals to hold back their customers.

But in all this, will the consumer be the clear winner? As experience from cutthroat competition in the airlines industry has shown, not all competition leads to benefits for the consumer. In fact, when a major airline went on strike, the others did not hesitate in making a predatory swoop on the market and raise their prices to astronomical levels.

The stage may come when tariffs may drop so low as to lead to compromise on quality and the consumer will find that he has jumped from the frying pan into the fire!

The TRAI communique is silent on several aspects of number portability, which are of essential interest to consumers. Will service providers be allowed to take in subscribers from other providers only if they have the capacity to give them a reasonably good service?

Will the infrastructure in terms of number of towers, capacity to redress grievances, accurate billing and the like be the criteria before allowing transfer of subscribers between providers? Will there be a cap on the number of subscribers who can be transferred from one provider to another? These questions are of tremendous significance when one realises that subscribers who flock to a service provider with “good services” may themselves over-crowd the new system they flock to and lead to its breakdown.

TRAI has also not clarified whether service providers will be given the opportunity or right to screen applicants who want to enter their system.

Will the incumbent provider be allowed to scrutinise the consumer’s bills and allow only high-end consumers to enter his portals? Will schemes be laid down to ensure minimum billing or onerous conditions drafted to change one’s service provider? Till all such issues are clear, consumers are advised to keep their celebrations on the backburner.