Mobile Number Portability: All you need to know

New Delhi : Are you planning to port your number to a new service provider? Well the rules have changed from today (Monday). Now, you will not have to wait for weeks to get the number port, the process has become easier.

The new regulations from Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) will come to effect from December 16.

The telecom regulator will generate a Unique Porting Code (UPC) only when a subscriber is eligible to port his/her mobile number. Trai will decide whether a customer is eligible for a mobile number portability or not.

Here are some of the conditions that the user must fulfill in order to become eligible for porting the number to a new service provider.

1) Those who use post-paid service have to clear the 'outstanding dues' of the current telecom operator for the issued bill according to the normal billing cycle.

2) User will have to use the active connection of any mobile operator for at least 90 days.

3) Your number will not be eligible for portability if you have already made a request to change the ownership of your mobile number.

4) The porting of the mobile number should not be prohibited by the court of law.

5) If your mobile number is sub-judice, you won't be able to port it.

6) "There should not be any pending contractual obligations to be fulfilled by the subscriber as per the exit clause provided in the subscriber agreement," said Trai.

The Unique Porting Code (UPC) will remain valid for a duration of four days except for the places like Jammu & Kashmir, Assam and North East. The UPC will be available for 30 days in Jammu & Kashmir, Assam and North East.

Cost: The telecom regulator will charge ₹6.46 as transaction fee for each porting request.

For individual users, the porting request shall not be rejected till the validity of UPC, said Trai.

The number will be ported to a new service provider in three working days for the same circle. If the porting is for another circle, it will be executed within five days.