Regulator seeks telecom industry’s views on number portability

September 23rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's telecom regulator Wednesday issued guidelines on mobile number portability (MNP) that will allow subscribers to change operators while retaining the original number, but only within a particular circle. The new facility will become a reality from Dec 31 in metros and by March 20, 2010 in the rest of the country, said a statement from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

September 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's telecom regulator Friday made it mandatory for operators to twice seek confirmation from cell phone users before they subscribe to value-added services (VAS). Under the amended rules, subscribers will be required to first confirm their subscription by pressing any cell phone key other than '*' (star) or '9'.

September 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The wait for number portability, which will enable subscribers to switch telecom operators without getting their phone numbers changed, has got longer with the government Thursday extending the implementation deadline from Sep 20 to Dec 31. "The implementation of first phase of the mobile number portability (MNP), in metro and category A service area has been extended to December 31, 2009, an official statement said.

June 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's telecom regulator Tuesday issued draft regulations for mobile number portability (MNP), highlighting the rights, obligations and duties of service providers. MNP allows users to switch operators without changing numbers.

May 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - J.S. Sarma, a member of the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal, Thursday took over as the chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), succeeding Nripendra Mishra.

April 30th, 2009 KOLKATA - MNP Interconnection Telecom Solutions India plans to implement mobile number portability services in Kolkata, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu circles by September this year, a top official said here Thursday. 'By April 2010, we plan to launch the service in circles in the eastern and the southern parts of the country, including the whole of West Bengal,' Ashok Sapra, managing director of the US-based Telcordia Technologies, which owns a majority stake in MNP, told reporters.

March 31st, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's telecom regulator Tuesday slammed the Department of Telecom (DoT) over its suggestion to charge a higher entry fee on internet service providers (ISPs) for rolling out internet telephony. In a reply to DoT, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said: 'The authority proposes no change in entry fee for ISPs to provide Internet telephony...

March 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Leading telecom player Bharti Airtel emerged as the most congested mobile network in the GSM space in October-December 2008 with competitor Vodafone close behind, the telecom regulator said Monday. As per the analysis by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for the period under review, Airtel had 14 congested points of interconnection (POI) - the geographical location where two networks interconnect and exchange traffic.

March 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has selected two US-based companies - Telcordia Technologies and Syniverse Technologies - to provide mobile number portability (MNP) services in India, a government spokesperson said Monday. MNP once implemented will enable mobile phone users to change their telecom operators while retaining their mobile phone number.

February 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The list of companies that will be granted licences for mobile number portability (MNP) - a technology that enables cellphone users to retain their phone numbers when changing operators - will be announced next month, the government said Thursday. 'The successful bidders for grant of mobile number portability service licences will be announced by March 5,' Communications and Information Technology Minister A.

February 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The country's telecom watchdog, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Wednesday said broadcasters should not have any control over distribution operations and vice-versa. 'Any entity having more than 20 percent equity participation in a broadcasting company cannot have more than 20 percent equity in a distributor (operators of cable, DTH, or mobile TV operators) and vice-versa,' TRAI said in a statement.

February 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government Wednesday said it has accepted the telecom regulator's proposal to allow companies to offer mobile phone services without owning network infrastructure or spectrum. The government decision would pave the way for foreign and Indian companies to set up mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) in India which can roll out wireless telecom services by renting spectrum and networks from existing telecom companies.

January 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The telecom regulator Wednesday extended the last date for receiving the industry's views on the proposed lock-in period on equity sale in new licence holding companies to Jan 27. On Jan 9, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had sought the industry's views on the lock-in period by Jan 20.

January 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Providers of value-added telecom services (VAS) do not require separate licences, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said Wednesday, a point of view that has come as a big relief to many firms. 'The authority does not envisage any separate category of licence for value-added services,' TRAI said in a recommendation paper.

December 30th, 2008 NEW DELHI - Inddia's telecom regulator Wednesday sought the industry's views on reducing the interconnect usage charges (IUC), a move that may lead to a further fall in call tariffs. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has issued a consultation paper to industry leaders in this regard.