Mobile number portability is suddenly growing in Asia again, with India starting the service in one region while Thailand plans for a launch in Bangkok on mid-December.
India's new communications minister, Kapil Sibal, yesterday launched MNP in the Haryana region and revealed plans to implement it nationwide on January 20.
Eight operators – Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, BSNL, Aircel, Loop, Vodafone, Etislatat and Videocon – now operate in the Haryana circle. Economic Times said.
Under regulator Trai's MNP rules, operators will have seven days in most circles to process an MNP request. The customer's number will remain in service for all but the last two hours of this time.
Operators may charge up to 19 rupees ($0.63) for porting, and users must wait a minimum of three months before switching providers again.
The introduction of MNP to India has been delayed multiple times. It was originally scheduled to be introduced at the end of last year.