In 20 months, 65 mn mobile subscribers change operators

Mobile number portability has become highly successful in India as about 65 million subscribers had submitted request for shifting from their existing service providers to other operators, Manoj Gairola reports.

Mobile number portability (MNP) has become highly successful in India as about 65 million subscribers had submitted request for shifting from their existing service providers to other operators.

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This is 7.3% of the total subscriber base of 900 million wireless subscribers.

Under MNP, a subscriber can shift to another service provider while retaining his mobile number.

"It is a healthy sign and shows that the consumers are actively choosing between players on the basis of the quality of service provided by them," said Mahesh Uppal, a Delhi-based telecom consultant. "This makes market more competitive and keeps operators on their toes to perform well."

In August alone, 5.61 million consumers made requests to change their operators, according to the latest data available with the telecommunications ministry.

Out of the total 900 million wireless subscribers, only 700 million are active. This means that about 10% of the total active mobile subscribers have applied for shifting their operator.

"MNP has increased competition in the market even though the number of operators has not changed," said Uppal.

The highest number of requests for MNP was received from Karnataka.

By the end of August, more than 8.1 million subscribers had applied for change of operators. Rajasthan is second in the list with more than 6.1 million consumers applying for MNP requests.

In Gujarat, more than 5.6 million subscribers had applied for change of operators.

MNP was introduced in India on a pilot basis in the service area of Haryana on November 25, 2010.

After a successful trial, it was introduced throughout the country on January 20, 2011.