Now, change mobile operator but retain number

ADVANTAGE CONSUMER: Mobile number portability allows consumers to change the operator without changing the phone number.

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New Delhi: Soon it will be possible for you to switch cellphone operators without changing your mobile number. The much-awaited mobile number portability is all set to take off with the government on Monday announcing its trial launch in four metros — Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai — shortly.

"The number portability will be introduced in four metros on a trial basis initially," Union Communication and IT Minister A Raja said.

TRAI Chairman Nripendra Misra told journalists earlier in the day that number portability will be implemented soon. The move, however, is likely to see the light of the day only towards the end of 2008.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had earlier shelved the regulator's proposal for the implementation of portability.

This cutting-edge technology enables customers to move from one mobile service to another within GSM and also between GSM and CDMA while retaining the same number.

It gives flexibility to customers and keeps operators on their toes lest their service quality falls.

Country's largest CDMA operator Reliance Communications (RCom) welcomed the move, saying GSM operators will now face real competition in four metros for the first time.

"This a forward-looking initiative and for the first time in the four metros GSM operators will face real competition," company's Chairman Anil Ambani said. The step is pro-competition, pro-consumer and above all pro-choice, he added.