Last time we talked about India’s Mobile Number Portability (MNP) it was in January when we said it is postponed for April. But it won’t happen next month, as it has been delayed yet again. The new date is not fixed, but we know MNP won’t be available in India before July, at the earliest.
According to The Economic Times, the decision was made few days ago at an internal meeting of the Department of Telecom. Apparently the reason is that mobile operators were not ready, though I find that hard to believe.
Nielsen’s last year survey indicates that almost one in five (18%) Indian mobile phone subscribers would be willing to change their mobile operator when Mobile Number Portability is introduced into the market. In other words, mobile operators are not ready to lose customers, so instead of making sure their network gets proper improvements they lobby the DoT to further delay MNP launch. That’s a temporary solution, cause at the end, the good ol’ market forces (and consumers) will win, picking the best and/or least expansive service provider. We’ll keep watching the ever vibrant Indian mobile market and get back to you as soon as something interesting happens. Stay tuned…
[Via: CellularNews]