Over forty-five million subscribers opted for MNP till April, reposts TRAI

The Telephone Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in its latest report has revealed that a total 45.89 million mobile subscribers have used the mobile number portability (MNP) ? a mechanism of changing the mobile operator with retaining the same number ? system till April this year.

Karnakata has topped among states receiving the maximum number of 5.11 million requests till the end of April, according to official data released Wednesday.

Karnataka was followed by Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat where 4.44 million and 4.23 million subscribers opted for the service.

MNP was implemented across the country last January while the pilot launch of the service took place in Haryana Nov 25, 2010.

To opt for MNP, a customer has to pay a maximum of Rs.19 to the new operator for 'porting' the number and remain with the new operator for at least three months.

The customer has to send an SMS from the existing phone to 1900. A unique porting code is sent by the existing provider. An application then has to be filed with the new service provider mentioning the code for transferring the connection.

India currently has over 920 million mobile phone subscribers.

--With IANS Inputs--