Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in INDIA

Great news for all mobile phone users for INDIA!!!. It was amazing to see the Gazette (Press release from TRAI) get published yesterday.

Mobile Number Portability regulation has been approved. It will be in effect from 31st December 2009 (31/12/2009).

Now, moving from one Telecom Operator to the other would cost only INR 19.00. The only constraint in this regulation is that the mobile user (the consumer) has to use services from the Telecom Operator for ninety (90) days.

Pros

With MNP scheduled:

• Telecom Operators would be forced to think different to retain customers.
• Some of the unreasonable charges that are forced on us today must be reduced, if not removed completely.
• Telecom Operators are already looking for some other ways to get some out of our wallet. I am sure one of you reading this already would have Ringtones set, for your mobile phone number, and pay them some money, as if they are a music store.
• New service providers in the mobile area are coming-up to bust the mythical situation of “Telecom Operator should get paid for this”

Cons

We have already opened-up our country for OUTSIDERS TO RUN THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF OUR COUNTRY. Added to that regulations allow Overseas Corporate Bodies and Elements to own up to 72% of an INDIAN Telecom Company. Being a PRO-INDIAN paranoid of new “East India Companies” getting created, I am very much concerned.

In USA, it became a diplomatic issue some time back and due to the nature of the ownership take over transaction, National Security related agencies forced the government to get control over the situation. At last an USA based organization AIG made the real transaction, for an undisclosed amount (Ref.: Dubai Ports World controversy).

Our INDIAN Government has already allowed/floated way too many Foreign elements into the country in the name of Telecommunication Infrastructure Support. In one way, this law has given all the capabilities to Foreign elements to lure the current Mobile using citizens into their network.

Its only a matter of  time when we all get to a situation, where all the money collected in the name of Infrastructure goes as a profit for someone PAYING TAXES to an FOREIGN Government.

Finally

Some food for thought:

• Are you ready for the changing your operator (Backup your contacts, messages, photos, music, etc.,)?
• In case you have subscribed for Value Added Services (VAS) with your current operator, will the next operator give you the same/something similar ?
• As a patriotic Citizen sitting in INDIA, do you like the basic utility payments get outside of INDIA to enrich some other FOREIGN Government?
• Shouldn’t the repatriation clauses, for these non-INDIAN share holders, be revisited?
• Do you think External Affairs wing of our country has to do a little more to secure our national interests?
• Do you think someone outside the country could be watching us, because of the nature of FOREIGN stakes in these Telecom Operators?
• We have operators and other entities all over the world trying to take a piece of INDIA (business). Do you think we are seeing some more East India Company scenarios?

I have been working on this “INDIAN Telecom Infrastructure and East India Company” analogy for a while. I think I will post article on the same next month.