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ShareNew Delhi: You can keep your mobile number, and shift to another service provider, without worrying about paying a hefty sum. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has said in a regulation that mobile number portability will cost a subscriber a maximum of Rs19.
This puts to rest the concern over a possibly high cost of porting, or shifting, given that most telecom service providers had wanted to be compensated for the "high expenditure" they would incur in the process.
Mobile number portability allows a subscriber to retain the mobile telephone number when moving from one access provider to another in a licensed service area, irrespective of the mobile technology. Portability is expected to help increase competition and act as a catalyst to improve quality of service, according to Trai.
The telecom regulator may review the charges for porting after a year of the regulation coming into force. The regulation, issued on Friday, will come into force on December 31, when all the metros and 'A' circle cities roll out mobile number portability. It will be implemented in other parts of the country by March 20, 2010.
