By IANS,
New Delhi : About 155.48 lakh (15.55 million) customers have opted for mobile number portability (MNP) with Gujarat receiving the maximum number of requests at 15.51 lakh till the end of July, official data said Friday.
MNP is a service which allows users to switch operators while retaining their phone numbers.
“Mobile number portability requests increased from 129.85 lakh subscribers at the end of June 2011 to 155.48 lakh subscribers at the end of July 2011,” said the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India in a statement.
Gujarat was followed by Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh where 12.61 lakh and 11.66 lakh customers requested for the service.
MNP was implemented across the country Jan 20, 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. Based on this, a unique porting code will be sent by existing provider. An application then has to be filed with the new service provider mentioning the code for transferring the connection.