Here is everything you need to know about the TRAI’s New Guidelines for Mobile Number Porting and how it it going to effect your life. Customers who have swapped their SIM card within the past seven days will find themselves unable to transfer their mobile number to another service provider.
Recently, TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) unveiled updates to its mobile number portability (MNP) regulations. Under the latest revision, if a SIM card undergoes replacement or swapping, the linked mobile number becomes ineligible for porting to another telecom operator for a duration of seven days. This marks the ninth alteration to the MNP guidelines since their introduction. The primary objective of these fresh regulations is to combat and minimize instances of SIM swap fraud across the nation. Effective from July 1, these new rules will be enforced rigorously.
Last week, the Indian telecom regulatory authority introduced the Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability (Ninth Amendment) Regulations for the year 2024. Under these fresh directives, consumers face restrictions on porting their mobile numbers to alternative telecom operators if they have recently replaced or swapped their SIM cards within the preceding seven days. TRAI, in a recent circular, emphasized that these regulations serve to tackle the rising trend of fraudulent SIM swaps or replacements utilized for illegitimate number porting purposes.
Furthermore, an additional parameter has been implemented for rejecting requests pertaining to the allocation of a Unique Porting Code (UPC), which is a prerequisite for transferring a mobile number between telecom operators. TRAI specifies that the issuance of UPC should be withheld if the request for it is lodged within seven days following the date of a SIM swap or replacement for the concerned mobile number.
TRAI’s most recent regulation is scheduled to be enforced starting July 1. These MNP guidelines were initially introduced back in 2009.
Through the MNP facility, individuals have the convenience of switching their service provider without altering their mobile number. The process begins by sending an SMS containing the format PORT followed by the ten-digit mobile number to 1900. Subsequently, a Unique Porting Code (UPC) is generated and delivered to the user via SMS. This UPC serves as the key element for initiating an MNP request.
