The Hindu Business Line : Revive mobile number portability, says TRAI

New Delhi, Aug. 9 The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is in favour of the Government reviving mobile number portability to improve the quality of services.

“Mobile number portability would go a long way in improving the quality of services. We have recommended to the Government to implement it this year,” said a TRAI official.

Mobile number portability allows subscribers to change the operator without changing their telephone number.

According to surveys, most subscribers are unhappy with their operators and would prefer to shift if they are allowed to retain the phone number. The proposal has, however, been objected to by the service providers on the grounds that the market was not mature for the introduction of the system. The Department of Telecom has so far not taken any action on the TRAI recommendations.

The telecom regulator is also cracking down on poor quality of service in its own way. It has issued warnings to operators who have been offering services below the prescribed quality norms continuously over two quarters.

3-tier system

The regulator had earlier put in place a three-tier system to address consumer related issues. It is now appointing an audit agency to check whether the operators have put in place nodal officers. The audit agency will also check whether the three-tier system is effective in dealing with consumer issues.

“We have had a series of meetings with the operators on the quality of service issue and things are improving. In the enthusiasm to grow the market and take in more subscribers, the existing consumers are the worst hit,” the official said.

The regulator has also told the operators to deploy technologies that will help improve their services. “The infrastructure is clearly not enough to support the growing subscriber base. Operators are not being given permission to set up towers by local municipal authorities in some cities, and in other areas the local authorities are imposing additional tax. Then there are issues related to interconnection which is being discussed at the telecom dispute tribunal. Once these issues are resolved, the quality should further improve,” the official said.

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