Mobile Number Portability from Nov 1
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After missing several deadlines Mobile Number Portability (MNP), which allows subscribers to retain their numbers even after changing service operators, will be launched from November 1, Telecom Minister A Raja said today.
''The MNP will be partially operational from November 1.
We wanted to inaugurate it in Haryana,'' Mr Raja told reporters here.
Speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of an event organised by the BSNL, Mr Raja said in the first phase, the MNP will be launched in 11 circles and the implementation will begin from the second or third week of November.
''An official announcement about this will be made on November 1,''he said.
The implementation of MNP has already been delayed four times due to several reasons including the absence of the necessary infrastructure.
Initially, MNP was to be implemented by December 31, 2009 in all the metros along with the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The deadline was then changed to March 31, 2010 and then to June 30, 2010. The June 30 deadline was again deferred as operators were not ready with the infrastructure to provide the service.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) had given licences to Syniverse Technologies and MNP Interconnection Telecom Solutions, a 74:26 joint-venture between US-based Telcordia and Deepak Talwar Consultants Pvt Ltd to implement the Number Portability service.
--UNI
