UID number might become mobile number

BANGALORE, INDIA: The phenomenal growth of mobile subscribers in the country is taking the government with a thought, to propose the Unique Identity Number (UID) to be converted into mobile number.

With the exhausting current 10-digit mobile numbers, C-DOT, a research and development organization of the telecom sector, is studying if the Unique Identity Number (UID) could be used as mobile number.

The identity number could be the one to be issued by the government for every citizen of the country and for which a UID Authority has been set up under the leadership of IT honcho Nandan Nilekani.

With over one crore mobile subscribers being added every month and the all India mobile subscribers base crossing the 44 crore mark, the current 10 digit is likely to exhaust very soon.

The Department of Telecom (DoT) is planning to come up with 11-12 digit number, but doubts are raised whether this step would contain the demand.

“What we have thought is why not have one unique number associated with the person like the social security number in the US or the UID. So that unique number we can use for the purpose of mobile communications also,” quotes PTI, C-DOT Executive Director P V Acharya as saying.

The government is hoping to rework the current numbering plan and is already debating with the telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) whether 11-12 digit numbers could be offered. However, the cost and technology are a major consideration here.