MNP to be launched partially on Nov 1: Raja

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Amidst the speculation that the mobile number portability (MNP) may miss yet another deadline, Union Telecommunications Minister A. Raja today said that the facility will be partially launched from November.

While speaking to the media on the sidelines of an event organised by BSNL here today, Raja said the MNP will begin partially from November 1 from Haryana.

He also said that in the first phase, MNP will be launched in 11 circles and the implementation will begin from the second or third week of November. An official announcement about this will be made on November 1.

Though the DoT and TRAI had claimed that the much-delayed MNP will not be delayed further, and meet the October 31 deadline, operators were not sure whether the deadline could be met.

MNP will allow users to retain their mobile telephone numbers even if they switch their operators.

It has already been delayed four times. Initially, MNP was to be implemented by December 31, 2009 in all the metros along with the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

The deadline was then changed to March 31, 2010 and then to June 30, 2010. The June 30 deadline was again deferred as operators were not ready with the infrastructure to provide the service.