The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has extended the deadline for implementation of new mobile number portability (MNP) rules to 11 November from 30 September.

At the end of last year, TRAI had announced changes to the rules to fasten the process for consumers who wish to switch to a new operator without changing their number and suggested penalties on telecom operators on providing false information regarding a porting request.

The timeline to implement MNP regulations was extended after the telecom operators and MNP Service Providers (MNPSPs) sought more time to perform testing before migration to the new process, in order to ensure that subscribers are not inconvenienced.

In December 2018, TRAI had suggested imposing a penalty of Rs 10,000 on telecom operators each time they provide false information regarding a mobile number porting request and for each wrongful rejection of a porting request.

It was suggested after several small telcos, including Reliance Communications and Aircel, shut wireless operations, posing problems for many subscribers.

The timeline for porting requests in the same telecom circle was set at 2 working days and into another telecom circle was fixed at four working days.