At WATBlog we’ve constantly kept you updated about the latest from Mobile Number Portability. We were able to answer several questions as to -
- How VAS players will play a huge role in the industry as soon as the idea is implemented?
- What would be its impact in India?
- How would the operators bear the cost?
- But the question now is, when is it going to be implemented?
The story so far –
In the beggining it was planned to start by August in major cities and would have covered the rest of the area by the year end. But here it comes. The DoT announced today that MNP is not going to be lauched before 31st December. The 100 day delay in the execution has been primarily because of 2 reasons:
- Inability of operators to upgrade their network to the desired configurations for MNP
- Delay on part of TRAI to come up with the Tariff.
The DoT said that more time and effort is required on part of the mobile operators as it, “required customization and upgradation of the existing network to be capable of providing the MNP service.” Inspite of repeated reminders from the DoT, the operators were unable to stick to the deadline and has been long asking to delay the implementation.
On the other hand, TRAI itself has been delaying on their side, to come up with the regulations and the charges for the same.
With 3G Auctions already getting held up and MNP being the next big thing in the Telecom sector, this is doing no good. However, the delays have made sure that the next year is going to be very critical for the Telecom Industry with both MNP and 3G on its way. Undoubtedly, the VAS providers will also be looking forward towards the succesful execution of 3G and MNP. Under such circumstances when there are constant delays, is it really worth waiting for or one should just take a new connection, otherwise? My opinion – Wait for it !!
