TRAI to set up steering committee for MNP

New Delhi, Dec 4: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today said it will set up a 'Steering Committee' consisting of operators, industry association and the DoT's engineering wing telecom engineering centre (TEC) for implementation of mobile number portability (MNP).

The committee will address a plethora of issues involved in the implementation of MNP with special reference to the methodology of its implementation, establishing of neutral third party for data base management, level of centralisation of data base in terms of national versus regional set up, time frame of implementation, method of tariff transparency for off-net and on-net calls billing system, dispute resolution mechanism between the various mobile service providers.

It will also discuss issues relating to time taken for porting a number and porting fees, a statement said.

It added that telecom regulator TRAI also proposed to bring out a Consultation Paper on specific issues concerning implementation of MNP in the country.

Last month, the government had approved the proposal to implement number portability starting with the four metros -- Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai -- while adding that in the next phase, it will be extended to more parts of the country.

The MNP enables end user to retain their telephone number without compromising on quality, reliability and operational convenience when they change their service provider in a service area.

UNI