New MNP rules to take effect this month

New regulations covering mobile number portability (MNP) are set to come into force on 16 December, sector watchdog the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has announced. The measures were introduced in December 2018 but implementation has encountered several delays, as the amendment requires a ‘major shift in the mechanism for generating Unique Porting Code[s] (UPCs)’ but would result in a faster porting process. Under the new regulations, operators must complete porting requests within the same circle within three days, or five days for inter-circle porting. The regulator noted that MNP will not be available for subscribers from 10 December to 15 December as companies migrate to the new system.