Mobile number portability from Nov 1

NEW DELHI: Telecom Minister A Raja said mobile number portability (MNP), which allows subscribers to retain numbers even after changing service operators, will be kicked off from November 1, starting with Haryana.

"November 1 onwards MNP would be operational partially... We wanted to inaugurate in Haryana," Raja told reporters here.

The service is expected to be rolled out in the rest of the country in phases.

Its implementation is already delayed thrice due to different reasons. Necessary infrastructure not being in place was one of the reasons for dealy.

The Department of Telecom had given licences to Syniverse Technologies and MNP Interconnection Telecom Solutions, a 74:26 joint venture between US-based Telcordia and Deepak Talwar Consultants Pvt Ltd to implement MNP.