Finally! Looks like the Indian Government and the people have played enough of the waiting game. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is supposed to roll out number portability for mobile phones today at the Vigyan Bhavan official convention centre in New Delhi. So what’s in it for the average mobile phone user?
If you’re really fried with your current service provider due to coverage issues or tariff plans, you can change to another service provider. Your number stays the same, so you won’t have to notify all your buddies about your “change of number”. All it takes is a mere Rs. 19 and about seven days (fifteen days for people in Jammu & Kashmir and the Northeast) while your switch over to the new service provider is happening. You don’t have to worry when your number goes offline for a couple of hours between 12 pm and 5 am, because it's just a routine procedure. What if your new provider is as bad as or even worse than the previous one? Well, you still have to stick to the current plan for three months after which you can switch again.
The portability is pretty flexible, which means you can switch from a current prepaid connection to a postpaid one with the new service provider. There’s also compatibility between CDMA and GSM phones so that won’t be any kind of an issue whatsoever. The slight mess up is that you can switch only within your current service area. Which means, your number in Mumbai cannot be ported to a service in Delhi or vice versa. Here’s all you’ll have to do to change to a new number:
1. To begin with, you need to generate UPC (Unique Porting Code) by sending SMS to 1900.
• SMS to be sent : PORT to 1900. Operator SMS charges will be applicable.
• Eg. SMS PORT 98XXXXXXXX to 1900
2. After sending SMS to 1900, you will receive UPC (Unique Porting Code) as a SMS from 1901 giving 8 digit alpha-numeric Unique Porting Code (UPC) and UPC expiry date in MM/DD/YYYY format
3. Visit your nearest new service provider outlet / showroom
4. Fill Mobile Number Porting (MNP) form providing details like
• Current Mobile Number
• Current Operator name
• UPC code
5. Submit Address & Id proof documents, self-attested photo and last bill copy of postpaid connection (if applicable) along-with filled MNP form and Customer Agreement Form.
6. Buy the new service provider MNP SIM card from new service provider outlet / showroom. SIM charges, talktime value and porting charge are non-refundable in the event of cancellation / rejection of port-in request.
7. Your new service provider will send an SMS on your old/existing operator’s SIM (existing connection) intimating about the porting date and time, i.e. the date and approximate time till when you can continue to use your existing operator’s SIM card.
8. There will be a 2-hour ‘no service period’ which will begin after the porting time as given above. The ‘no service period’ will be between 12 midnight to 5 am during which your mobile service will not be active on any SIM. All efforts will be made to ensure that this ‘no service period’ causes minimum inconvenience to you.
So there you go, freedom to choose what’s best for you. Go ahead, change your number and let us know about your experiences.
Ah, now that's a buffet service
If you’re really fried with your current service provider due to coverage issues or tariff plans, you can change to another service provider. Your number stays the same, so you won’t have to notify all your buddies about your “change of number”. All it takes is a mere Rs. 19 and about seven days (fifteen days for people in Jammu & Kashmir and the Northeast) while your switch over to the new service provider is happening. You don’t have to worry when your number goes offline for a couple of hours between 12 pm and 5 am, because it's just a routine procedure. What if your new provider is as bad as or even worse than the previous one? Well, you still have to stick to the current plan for three months after which you can switch again.
The portability is pretty flexible, which means you can switch from a current prepaid connection to a postpaid one with the new service provider. There’s also compatibility between CDMA and GSM phones so that won’t be any kind of an issue whatsoever. The slight mess up is that you can switch only within your current service area. Which means, your number in Mumbai cannot be ported to a service in Delhi or vice versa. Here’s all you’ll have to do to change to a new number:
1. To begin with, you need to generate UPC (Unique Porting Code) by sending SMS to 1900.
• SMS to be sent : PORT to 1900. Operator SMS charges will be applicable.
• Eg. SMS PORT 98XXXXXXXX to 1900
2. After sending SMS to 1900, you will receive UPC (Unique Porting Code) as a SMS from 1901 giving 8 digit alpha-numeric Unique Porting Code (UPC) and UPC expiry date in MM/DD/YYYY format
3. Visit your nearest new service provider outlet / showroom
4. Fill Mobile Number Porting (MNP) form providing details like
• Current Mobile Number
• Current Operator name
• UPC code
5. Submit Address & Id proof documents, self-attested photo and last bill copy of postpaid connection (if applicable) along-with filled MNP form and Customer Agreement Form.
6. Buy the new service provider MNP SIM card from new service provider outlet / showroom. SIM charges, talktime value and porting charge are non-refundable in the event of cancellation / rejection of port-in request.
7. Your new service provider will send an SMS on your old/existing operator’s SIM (existing connection) intimating about the porting date and time, i.e. the date and approximate time till when you can continue to use your existing operator’s SIM card.
8. There will be a 2-hour ‘no service period’ which will begin after the porting time as given above. The ‘no service period’ will be between 12 midnight to 5 am during which your mobile service will not be active on any SIM. All efforts will be made to ensure that this ‘no service period’ causes minimum inconvenience to you.
So there you go, freedom to choose what’s best for you. Go ahead, change your number and let us know about your experiences.
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