2G ban ashamed; Mobile Number Portability rescues customers

New Delhi, Feb 3: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the watchdog of telecom services in India on Thursday, Feb 2 stated that only 5 percent of mobile users in the country will be affected by the Supreme Court verdict to cancel 2G licences of 122 telecom companies. Customers seem to have been puzzled with the verdict and are worried about their mobile phone connection.

However, TRAI tried to sooth the customers after declaring that affected customers easily can opt for Mobile Number Portability (MNP) and the telecom companies, whose licences will be cancelled, have been asked to provide necessary aide to their customers within four months. It seems that the 2G ban failed as MNP has already been started in India. [What is MNP? How to switch telecom operator? Complete details]

Which companies' licences will be cancelled?

Uninor, Tata Teleservices, Idea Cellular and Videocon are few of the most affected telecom companies. [See the list of 122 cancelled 2G licenses]

However, Trai chairman, JS Sharma informed, "If the operators are able to get back their licences, they can continue to offer uninterrupted service."

Which companies may enjoy the benefits now?

Vodafone, Bharti Airtel and RCom (whose licenses were allocated before Jan 10, 2008) might be the most benefited telecom companies.

What should customers do?

Customers can opt for Mobile Number Portability (MNP). In this service, the mobile user can switch to other service provider without changing the mobile numbers. Both prepaid and postpaid tele-users have the facility to switch to other favourable tele-operators.

Exception: Any user who has been a subscriber of these operators for less than 90 days cannot undertake this (MNP) measure, informed TRAI chief.

What should the vendors do?

As the contracts of vendors, infrastructure providers and financing companies with the telecom companies will be affected by the 2G ban, cases might be filed against them, though specific terms and conditions will differ from operators to operators.

OneIndia News