A mobile subscriber who has applied for MNP will not be allowed to withdraw his request after 24 hours. This will help subscribers who are often denied porting by mobile operator for sundry reasons

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has asked donor operators (DO) not to entertain subscribers’ pleas for withdrawing their mobile number portability (MNP) requests. The move follows the regulator’s observation of a high cancellation rate in MNP requests by these operators. Experts have welcomed the move emphasising the need to streamline process for MNP and feel that now onwards subscribers would also think twice before applying for portability.

MNP allows customer to ports out from an existing provider, known as DO, to new a service provider, known as recipient operator (RO), while retaining the same mobile number.

According to the recent notification, if a customer wants to withdraw his porting request, he can approach the RO within 24 hours filing the request.
 
TRAI’s direction says that, “The authority... hereby directs all cellular mobile telephone service providers and unified access service providers, acting as donor operators, not to entertain any request from the subscriber for cancellation or withdrawal of porting request and not to reject a porting request except on the grounds mentioned under Section 12 of the Telecommunications Mobile Number Portability Regulations.”
 
Experts point out that DO, in order to retain their customers, often delay in implementing the MNP request. Achintya Mukherjee, secretary, Bombay Telephone Users Association (BTUA), says, “This is good a move as DOs always lure the porting out customers by promising to resolve all their issues. But once the subscribers agrees to stay and cancels his MNP request, the DOs, ignores him as has been observed in many cases in the past. ROs, in my view, are always happy to receive more subscribers. In fact subscribers only wants to port out if they are unhappy with the services. It may be beneficial for them but they need to be sure of porting out.”
 
Speaking with Moneylife, Rajan Matthews, director general, Cellular Operators Association of India, said that, “The regulator explaining the original MNP regulation has now made it clear that the DO cannot entertain the MNP cancellation or withdrawal request. However, the customer has a choice to withdraw his/her MNP request by approaching the receipting operator (RO) within 24 hours. The entire process of MNP needs to be streamlined. We are constantly in touch with the regulator and the service providers. In the end, we want the customer to be benefited.”
 
TRAI has clarified that DOs cannot reject the MNP request except in some cases such as where there is outstanding payment due from the subscribers, if the MNP application is made within 90 days of activating new mobile connection, mismatch of unique porting number or if the subscriber has not complied with the exit clause in the contractual agreement.