Mobile number portability by Feb

From February, mobile phone users will be able to keep their current number when they switch to another operator, Tarana Halim, state minister for telecom, said yesterday.

Subscribers will be charged Tk 30 for getting the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) service and will be allowed to change operators every 40 days. They will be able to choose the service through a text message, web application or retail service outlets.

The launch of MNP will improve the quality of services provided by the operators, as subscribers will be able to switch to a better option if they are not satisfied with the current one, she said.

It will create pressure on mobile operators to come up with new competitive offers and develop service quality to satisfy their customers, the minister added.

The government will arrange an open auction and a single company will get the licence to offer the service, according to the guideline. None of the current mobile operators or even their shareholders will be allowed to participate in the auction. Foreign companies can take part but they can own at best 51 percent of the consortium, Halim said.

The licence's tenure will be for 15 years and from the second year, 5.5 percent of the revenues will have to be shared with the government. The licence fee will be Tk 20 lakh each year.

Currently there are 13.08 active SIMs in the market, she said, adding that the launch of MNP will not reduce the number of mobile connections.

Mobile subscribers in nearly 70 countries have been enjoying the MNP services since the late 90s. Pakistan launched the service in 2007, Thailand in 2010 and India in 2011.