Mobile Number Portability Delayed – Yes Again! – to 25th November

Honestly, this is a headline that a lot of us are getting quite sick of. But it has happened again. Just a few days back, we were given hope that Mobile Number Portability will be available to subscribers in Haryana from November 1st. At least we can take solace in the fact that the DoT has announced a new deadline, can’t we! November 25th is now the proposed date for MNP to be available in Haryana.

According to the DoT, Operator’s networks have been tested and are ready for the roll out of the service. Applications for the same will be accepted from November 25th and the Government is likely to run ads in the first week of November. In fact, HT reported late last night that on Aug 12th, MoS for Communications and Information Technology, Sachin Pilot had informed the Rajya Sabha that all networks, except MTNL, had been upgraded technically.

In order to apply for this. A subscriber will have to send an SMS from their number to 1900. The existing service provider will then provide them with a unique porting code. With this code, the subscriber will apply to the new service provider and be able to switch operators without losing his/her number. According to the Deccan Chronicle the subscriber will have to bear a fee of no more than Rs.19 for the entire process.

Earlier the deadline had shifted from December, 2009 to March, 2010. Followed by revisions which set new deadlines of June 30th and October 31st. None of which were obviously met. With A.Raja announcing last week that November 1st would see the first implementation in the state of Haryana, there was a widespread belief that the wait had finally ended. Despite the fact that there seemed to be no clear cut plan in place for the rollout. This delay just reminds us that we’re running around in ‘circles’ and even the year end Pan-India Implementation may just a pipe dream.

I guess Rajiv’s monicker ‘Mobile Number Postponability’ rings true! Will it finally surface on November 25th? I won’t be holding my breath!..And neither should you.

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Pan-India Mobile Number Portability by year end?

Some analysts believe that MNP will hurt India’s large telecom operators more than the smaller ones and newcomers. It could potentially spark off another tariff war which will be disastrous for the health of these companies. Given such a scenario, Network, Value added services, and customer- service will become the key differentiators. Although good from the customers point of view, it would mean some serious transformation for the Telecom operator. This might be one of the reasons for the so called unpreparedness of our Mobile operators.

Unpreparedness and MNP have now become synonymous of each other thanks to the long history of delays associated with it. And it seems that we have not learnt from our mistakes. Without a definite time period of completion it is highly possible that we will continue playing in the circle.What do you think?If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS Feed OR Email Alerts!

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Categories: Mobile, News
Tags: a raja, BSNL, Department of Telecommunications, dot, Features, Haryana, mnp, mobile number portability, tariff war, telecom operators

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Pan-India Mobile Number Portability by year end?

It seems that Mobile number Portability (MNP) has become a part of the Great Indian Tamasha and the latest news from the block is a fitting example of it. In an event organized by BSNL, the telecom minister Mr. A Raja has said that MNP would be launched in a phased manner, beginning November 2010. Haryana has the honor of the being the “chosen-one” for the first implementation. The first phase of implementation will cover 11 circles and is expected to be completed by Dec 20,2010.

Department of Telecommunications (DOT)  has not released any roadmap suggesting the manner in which this phased rollout will take place. But there are indications which suggest that small states with comparatively small mobile subscriber base may get the initial preference. Some telecom companies will certainly hope so, as it would mean less churning of subscribers.

This raises a very important question: How long will it be before other states that have substantial subscriber base get the implementation? The phased roll out of MNP was always on the cards, given the complexity of the process involved. But a definite time period within which the entire process is expected to be completed is still missing. Or are we seeking too much of professionalism from the DOT?

Some analysts believe that MNP will hurt India’s large telecom operators more than the smaller ones and newcomers. It could potentially spark off another tariff war which will be disastrous for the health of these companies. Given such a scenario, Network, Value added services, and customer- service will become the key differentiators. Although good from the customers point of view, it would mean some serious transformation for the Telecom operator. This might be one of the reasons for the so called unpreparedness of our Mobile operators.

Unpreparedness and MNP have now become synonymous of each other thanks to the long history of delays associated with it. And it seems that we have not learnt from our mistakes. Without a definite time period of completion it is highly possible that we will continue playing in the circle.What do you think?

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Categories: Mobile, News
Tags: a raja, BSNL, Department of Telecommunications, dot, Features, Haryana, mnp, mobile number portability, tariff war, telecom operators

2 Billion – Number Of Users Using The Internet By End Of 2010

The report

Surprisingly, according to the report, out of the 226 million new internet users in 2010, 162 will be from developing countries. In spite of this, only 21% of the developing countries will be online as compared to 71% of the developed nations. Here is how much the different regions will have seen internet penetration by the end of the year.

Europe – 65%Americas – 55%Asia-Pacific – 21.9%Africa – 9.6%Contribution of mobile revolution

According to ITU broadband will be a key factor in increasing the internet penetration. However, we believe that mobile phones too will have a major role to play in this number. Smartphones have been taking the world by storm and giving users the power to surf the internet from anywhere making it convenient for a user to connect to the net. As important as broadband is, mobile phones and mobile devices will play a vital role in increasing internet penetration in developing countries.

Will India keep up?

Recent reports suggested that India will cross 237 million internet users by 2015. This is very encouraging and will largely be aided by mobile devices. We had earlier mentioned that mobiles phones are set to lead digital revolution in India and this will come true thanks to the advent of 3G services. Having said that, smartphones and other mobile devices are a key and creating a device that enables carious functionalities, including internet connectivity, and  which at the same time will be affordable is the key. There are some initiatives on this front but there need to be a lot more for India’s internet penetration to grow by and large.

All in all, internet users crossing the 2 billion mark is definitely good news. Don’t you agree?

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Categories: Mobile, News, Reports
Tags: 3G, africa, america, Asia, digital revolution, europe, india, internet, internet india, internet telecommunication union, mobile devices, mobile revolution, SMARTPHONES

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