MNP implementation postponed to Sept

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The much-anticipated and much delayed mobile number portability (MNP) in the country will not become a reality before September 30, said an official today.

“The MNP will be implemented by September 30,” MTNL chairman and managing director Kuldip Singh told CIOL on the sidelines of an event here.

Though, after a series of postponement, the Department of Telecommunications had asked the mobile telecom players to implement the MNP by June 30, it was reported that some telecom players including MTNL and BSNL are not ready with equipment to offer MNP.

Earlier, Telecom Minister A.Raja had said that MNP will be launched initially in the southern cities of Bangalore and Chennai and then extended to all other cities of the country.

The service allows users to switch mobile-services providers without having to change their phone numbers.