The telecom regulator Trai has ordered telecom operators not to deny the porting request of a mobile subscriber if his previous outstanding bill is less than Rs 10.
There have been a lot of complaints about telecom operators rejecting porting requests of the subscribers on flimsy grounds. This has forced Trai to come out with a strict order on mobile number portability. While the earlier Trai order said that telecom operators can reject porting request if the consumer has previous outstanding bills, companies were abusing this provision to prevent porting by their subscribers.
“Trai is of the opinion that rejection of a porting request for a small amount such as Rs 0.13, Rs 0.70, Rs 1.50 is against the spirit of the regulation specially when the service provider has liberty to adjust the said outstanding amount in the next bill,” Trai said. It said that such rejection is neither in the interest of subscribers nor in the interest of service providers as for collection of such a small amount the operator has to spend a far higher amount.
Trai also found that mobile operators were rejecting porting requests on the basis of some kind of arrangement signed with the customer prohibiting him from porting. On such case was of premium numbers. Premium numbers are unique mobile numbers (like 90999999999), which mobile operators usually sell for high rates.