Telecom Commission Approved Full Number Portability in Principle
Telecom Commission Approved Full Number Portability in Principle
The inter-ministerial panel Telecom Commission has given its approval to a long line of pending plans. By approving full number portability, the Commission has dialled the right number. Subscribers will now be able to retain their numbers regardless of which part of the country they move to. The Commission has approved a revised strategy for the National Optical Fibre Network as well. Under this, 2.5 lakh gram panchayats will be able to access broadband connectivity by the month of March, 2017.
The plan to set up mobile towers for phone services in 9 Naxal infested states has also been approved by the commission. The proposal will now be placed before the Cabinet for the finalisation of the approval. Another boost for strengthening telephone connectivity in the North-East regions was established has it too has been given approval by the Commission. The proposal will be sent to the Cabinet as well.
The Telecom Commission has given in-principle approval to full MNP. Reference for the same will also be sent to the Telecom Regulatory Authority for further information as well as clarification. Full MNP enables a user to retain the number following his or her temporary or permanent relocation to any other part of the country. The portability currently allows the user to switch to another operator within the circle while the phone number has been retained.
As per the National Telecom Policy (2012) full number portability was on the anvil for a long time now. TRAI has asked DoT to provide the operators with a 6 months time from the date full portability is given approval for making transitions and changes in their networks.
For setting up mobile towers in Naxal hit locations, BSNL has submitted the final estimate of 3241 crore rupees for the project as against 3046 crore rupees approved by the Cabinet. Approval has also been granted by the panel for providing funds for GUN or government user network over NOFN project.
As per the GUN project, the government has asked to provide Wi-Fi services at panchayat levels as well. An additional requirement of funds beyond 20,000 crore rupees approved for the NOFN project has also been asked for. As far as spectrum sharing is concerned the TRAI has to provide recommendations for the same. The revised strategy for the NOFN is that there will be complete roll-out to 50,000 panchayats by March 2015, another lakh by March 2016 and all 2.5 lakh by the month of March 2017.
The Telecom department will seek additional details from regulator TRAI on topics such as bank guarantees and clarification on involvement of number of players. Currently, subscribers are given the opportunity to change their service providers while having the same number within one circle only. With full number portability on its way, working professionals will find it very easy to handle relocations. Retaining old numbers means less work when it comes to getting good service.
