The telecom regulator has called for speeding up the mobile number portability (MNP) process --- which allows customers to keep the same number anywhere in the country – by halving the processing time of porting requests within a circle down to two days.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has also mandated two sets of financial disincentives for failures on the part of telcos in stick to porting request processing timelines.
For instance, a telco, the regulator said, will have to shell out a peak penalty of “Rs 5,000 per contravention” for flouting rules requiring it to share customer details with the MNP service provider within 24 hours of a customer submitting a porting request besides texting the customer about the process being initiated. The penalty doubles to Rs 10,000 per violation for “wrongful rejection” of porting requests by a telco.
