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Cell phone users will have to wait at least for one more year to enjoy mobile number portability (MNP) service, says the telecom regulator chief.
MNP is a service that allows cell phone users to retain their mobile numbers while switching from one mobile operator to another.
The Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and the telecommunications ministry are expecting to introduce the service after setting out a guideline and make some technological adjustments.
BTRC chairman Zia Ahmed told bdnews24.com that they have made initiatives to introduce the service after resolving some technological issues.
 "We're hopeful that it will be possible to start the number portability service within the next one year," he added.
Once the MNP is introduced, the mobile-phone users will get opportunity to change their operator by only changing the first four digits of their phone number.
It will usher in a fresh round of competition among the cellular phone service providers since the MNP option also offers subscribers a choice to jump operators.
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COIMBATORE: If competition offers choice, portability offers convenience. When customers get both, they go in for a change. A year after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) allowed mobile phone subscribers to switch to a competitively packaged service with the convenience of retaining their phone number, over 2.92 crore Indians have changed their telecom operator. According to Union Ministry of Communications data, ever since the mobile number portability was introduced in January 2011, 2,92,40,858 subscribers had opted for it.
In Tamil Nadu, 18.31 lakh subscribers had switched to a new service provider at the end of December 2011. Karnataka, which has a vast upwardly mobile population in Bangalore, witnessed the highest number of shift in the country. Service providers there honoured a whopping 28.33 lakh requests for portability. Gujarat comes next with 27.98 lakh subscribers followed by AP with 26.87 lakh customers looking for a better service. The lowest portability of 4,793 subscribers was in Jammu and Kashmir.
Analysts said the highest portability requests (33 per cent) came in April 2011. In December alone, 34 lakh people opted for a new service provider, a jump of 13.17 per cent from November 2011. “Most requests come from young subscribers who are attracted by a better package with loads of free talk time,” says Shanmuganathan, a multiple SIM card dealer.
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NEW DELHI: About 292.4 lakh (29.24 million) mobile phone subscribers have opted for mobile number portability (MNP) with Karnataka receiving the maximum number of 2.83 million requests till the end of December, according to official data released Monday.
MNP allows users to switch operators while retaining their mobile numbers.
 "By the end of December 2011 about 292.40 lakh subscribers have submitted their requests to different service providers for porting their mobile number," the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said in a statement.
Karnataka was followed by Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh where 2.77 million and 2.69 million customers, respectively, requested for the service.
MNP was implemented across the country in Jan 20 last year while the pilot launch of the service took place in Haryana Nov 25, 2010.
To opt for MNP, a customer has to pay a maximum of Rs..19 to the new operator for 'porting' the number and remain with the new operator for at least three months.
The customer has to send an SMS from the existing phone to 1900. A unique porting code is sent by the existing provider. An application then has to be filed with the new service provider mentioning the code for transferring the connection.
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