How NMNP Will Benefit India’s Telecom Ecosystem?

With NMNP into effect, it will be even more important for operators to increase customer stickiness and work on delivering unique customer experience as well as create awareness about their innovative services available in the market. This will benefit the entire telecom ecosystem on the long run.

India is surely one of the biggest and fastest growing telecoms market in the world, but there are unique challenges as well. The country has 11 mobile operators working their way towards finding profitability in a highly competitive, predominantly pre-paid market that is largely driven by the subscriber’s unrelenting effort to secure better pricing options.

As India has a large chunk of its subscribers going in for prepaid service, many times, they are transitioning between mobile service providers to realize incrementally lower prices.

Unlike most developed markets, many mobile subscribers in India have the option of using smart devices with multi-service/SIM card capability. So it is far easier for subscribers to use multiple SIM cards in India, than possibly in any part of the world.

Now that India is moving towards NMNP scenario, it will be very important for operators to work towards increasing their bonding between themselves and their subscribers. And this can only be driven by delivery of unique customer experiences, through service quality and service support.

India’s Mobile Number Portability System

National Mobile Number Portability (NMNP) enables mobile subscribers to keep their mobile numbers when switching from one mobile provider to another. It is going to deliver significant benefits to subscribers by lowering barriers to competition while retaining their numbers, their sole identity in the telecom world.

Tata Docomo launches National Mobile Number Portability

Tata Docomo, the unified telecom brand of Tata Teleservices Limited (TTL) has launched National Mobile Number Portability (MNP). 

This will now allow customers to retain their mobile number while shifting from one circle to another anywhere across India. This can be done by simply initiating a UPC code from their home circle or new circle.

How to Port your mobile number Step 1- SMS PORT <10 digit mobile number> to 1900 and get your UPC code. You can generate your UPC code in your home circle or while roaming in the new circle. Step 2- Get a new Tata Docomo SIM and fill an application form. Enter the UPC code in this application form. Submit a passport size photograph, a copy of a valid address and identity proof. Step 3- Tata Docomo will send you an SMS with date and time of MNP activation. Just insert your new Tata Docomo SIM on the mentioned day and call 59059 to get started.

Gurinder Singh Sandhu, Head Marketing, Tata Teleservices, Limited said, “We are expecting a positive uptake on full number portability. Customers can expect a completely seamless experience while porting on to the Tata Docomo network. There will be no acquisition fee for porting from Tata Docomo to Tata Docomo and customers can enjoy free incoming on roaming on Tata network until the portability request is processed. To fast track the port-in process customers can walk into any of our several exclusive stores across the country. Customers can also easily walk into any of Tata Docomo exclusive stores across its circles and place their request for port- in.”

In readiness for this national MNP launch, Tata Docomo has already ramped-up its subscriber segmentation strategy over the last couple of months’ aligned to delivering an enhanced customer experience.

Full MNP activation process will remain the same as the prevailing intra-circle mobile number portability. With National Mobile Number Portability, the telecom industry is moving out of mandatory “0” dialing or “+91” dialing for STD calls,  implying that customers can call any STD number with or without a prefix. Service providers will not be able to restrict calling to local only numbers and similarly, customers cannot opt for local only calling; STD calling option will be activated by default.

The company is going all out to create awareness on availability of full number portability on their network and has invested substantially in network improvement, technology and processes to allow its mobile subscribers to retain their numbers while moving to other cities.

MTS applauds MNP

"MTS India welcomes the Government's decision to roll out Mobile Number Portability (MNP) on a PAN India basis on 3rd July 2015. The Company is fully geared up to comply with the deadline. The move will enable MTS India to quickly and efficiently process all number portability requests. The implementation of MNP is bound to set new benchmarks in customer service standards within the Indian telecom sector." - MTS India Spokesperson.

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