“I was thinking to port my number, but after seeing these complaints from so many people from different places I think it's better to stay with the current network and better to go for new connection by buying new SIM,” says a June 26 posting on www.consumercourt.in.

After unsuccessful attempts to exit a network using mobile number portability (MNP), several subscribers seem to have abandoned the idea of porting, with some even willing to sacrifice their old numbers and go in for an entirely new connection, as evident from subscriber posts on online forums.

The grounds on which subscriber requests are being rejected by operators range from TRAI-specified criteria — such as unpaid billed amount of Rs 10 or above, post-paid connection with handset-bundled offers, corporate connections — to other “contractual obligations” such as lifetime validity cards, BlackBerry services, and roaming.

Some service providers say that they are rejecting requests only in adherence to TRAI's guidelines, even as their customer care teams reveal otherwise, as Business Line found out.

What is also prompting subscribers to abstain from porting out is the fear of being inconvenienced by the incumbent service provider. According to a subscriber's online complaint, after porting out of his network, callers on his previous network were unable to reach him on his old number, and were instead greeted with a message that the number was switched off.

Here is another complaint from a subscriber, who had to go through multiple interactions with his service provider over a month before giving up: “I was really fed up with the process of MNP. …all the operators are playing the same game. None of them are releasing their consumers to take the benefits of MNP. …some serious action must be taken or this MNP service needs to be revoked by the government.”

The above mentioned subscriber also claims to have rid himself of the old number and moved to a network of choice.

Consumer Forums Abuzz

Mr R.K. Verma, President of Chandigarh Telecom District Telephone Subscribers Association, said, “We have got around 400 to 500 written complaints with regard to MNP. TRAI officials have told us that rejection rate with regard to MNP is around 25 per cent.”

A Chennai-based consumer group, Consumer Association of India (CAI), has received multiple complaints on MNP implementation from subscribers, and even helped a few consumers successfully resolve their issues.

Mr G. Rajan, Secretary General, CAI, said, “Mainly the problem is that the subscriber, after porting out, is not clear on the status whereby he is left neither with the previous service provider nor the new one. The current service provider is supposed to make sure that the user is given full details on the modalities, including the time required for the change to happen.”

CAI Trustee, Ms Nirmala Desikan, is a member of a TRAI consulting committee. Mr Rajan noted that suggestions would be made to TRAI on the basis of feedback from consumers. Mr J.S. Sarma, Chairman, TRAI, could not be reached for comment.

Mr Rajan acknowledged that there was need for “better communication by the service provider to the subscriber to avoid such confusion”.

According to a senior professional from the telecom industry, the cost of acquisition of subscribers is too high for incumbent operators to let go of, especially the high-value post-paid ones, “without a fight”.

But this doesn't seem to be a fair fight, shrouded as it is in the grey confines of ‘contractual obligations'. The stated purpose of MNP — customer empowerment — stands defeated.

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