Security issues to hold up portability

NEW DELHI: The government on Monday said mobile number portability (MNP), which will allow users to change operator while retaining the number, will be delayed by two months to the end of May due to security reasons. “Due to security issues, MNP has been delayed by two months,” telecom minister A Raja said on the sidelines of a function here. This is the third time that the government would give a miss the MNP launch deadline. The service was to come into effect on December 31, 2009, which was later revised to March 31 this year.

The first deadline could not be met after several telecom companies informed the DoT that they would require more time for upgrading their networks. Later the government-owned telecom companies BSNL and MTNL sought time to make their network ready for implementing the service.

And now, the home ministry has raised security concerns about US-based Telcordia Technologies, one of the companies selected to provide solutions for laying down MNP. The home ministry has raised concerns regarding Telcordia’s presence in Pakistan and has sought the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance for Telcordia.

In another development, the FIPB on Monday deferred the proposal of US-based Telcordia on the home ministry’s request. US-based Telcordia Technologies owns 74% of MNP Interconnection, one of the two MNP service providers selected by the Department of Telecom (DoT).

Continuing with its aam admi plank, the government is betting big on rural connectivity. It will set up 10,000 telecom towers across the country this fiscal with financial support from the USO Fund, a corpus for providing affordable telephone services in rural areas. Addressing both the Houses of Parliament on the first day of the Budget session, President Pratibha Patil said, “The government has already initiated action to set up 10,000 towers in 2010-11 for connecting remote areas across the country.”

Ms Patil said the government is committed to the goal of extending the benefits of the modern communication facilities to rural areas. She further added that financial support is provided from the USO Fund to provide infrastructure for rural connectivity.
The Universal Service Obligation Fund was established in 2002 to provide telecommunication services to people in the rural and remote areas at affordable and reasonable prices.

Ms Patil said against the target of 60 crore telephone connections by 2012, the achievement already exceeds 57 crore, with an unprecedented addition of nearly two crore connections in December 2009 itself.