Mobile phone operators often came up with some mouth watering deals in order to lure customers to their network. However, some of these operators had pretty bad network and hence the mobile phone users were caught in a soup when it came to making phone calls. They couldn’t switch to any other network because their numbers were locked to a single operator. Mobile number portability India or MNP has been rolled out all over and through this facility, you can switch networks without changing the phone numbers. This facility was rolled out by the Indian Prime Minister; Dr. Manmohan Singh and service providers are scrambling with a ton of attractive offers and freebies to make sure that the customers don’t desert them.

This mobile number portability India facility will also force the cell phone operators to improve the network and service quality and you can also expect a lot of discounts and innovative schemes. Manmohan Singh said that through this move, the network operators can make bring in some new schemes in order to retain its customers and also bring in more customers from other networks. It would further enhance the growth of the telecom sector in India. Kapil Sibal, the telecom minister, also endorsed this move and said that it would redefine the competition in this field. There were a lot of attempts before this to bring number portability in the country but they were couldn’t materialize either due to security complaints or because of the operators who said that they weren’t ready with the networks. However, it was finally launched in Haryana last year and MNP India has materialized.

Mobile phone operators have already brought in some freebies for retaining their customers for MNP India. BSNL said that it will be waving the Rs.19 that their customers would have to pay for changing the operator and have also announced free talk time of Rs.100 for the customers who choose their network. They are offering free 3G/GPRS with 5GB free data usage for a month. BSNL also said that there will be a rebate of 50% on 1st month charges and SIM would be given for free. This brand is launching marketing drives for highlighting the quality of their network and is also planning to introduce more schemes in the future.

Sistema, which has services under the brand name MTS, said they have tied a deal with a lot of banks for offering the latest Smartphones through EMIs or easy monthly installments. Customers who are buying these phones will be offered some cool deals like money back offer, free local SMS, free local data, and free local calls from MTS to MTS lines. The service provider has also brought in a popular tariff plan called MTS Half Paisa; it is the first of its kind.

Cell phone operators who have huge and strong network coverage all over the country will benefit from mobile number portability India offer. Thus operators like Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications stand to gain a lot from the introduction of MNP India. Mahesh Prasad, the marketing president in Reliance Communications wireless department said that this is a boon to the customers and they are taking MNP as a positive thing.

Telecom companies are saying that the MNP India offers will give them a chance of grabbing new subscriber base and customers but they are also expecting a dip in margins and profits. The margins will be hit at least in the short run and only the mobile phone operators have deep pockets will be able to come out unaffected from it. Some experts are saying that Mobile number portability India won’t be a game changer, it will just make a bit initial impact and everything will flatten out in the long run eventually.

At the moment, India has about 700 million cell phone users and this makes it one of the largest mobile phone user-base in the world beaten only by China. Also, you’d be surprised to know that this country adds 15-18 million new connections each month to its network. Officials say that the maximum waiting period for the MNP India network transfer is 7 working days and your current network will be out of service for a maximum of two hours while the porting takes place.

MNP is new in India but it is has been around for a long time in other parts of the world. A lot of countries in North America and Europe and also Asian countries like South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore have had this since ages.

A lot was expected to happen on the first day when the mobile number portability India was launched but there hasn’t been much buzz seen around. Retailers say that a couple of mobile phone users did come to switch their networks but majority of them were just curious about it; they asked what MNP is all about and left.

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