New 7-Day Waiting Period for Mobile Number Porting After SIM Swap Enforced by TRAI

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) announced a seven-day waiting period for mobile numbers to become eligible for porting after a SIM swap or replacement. This measure aims to prevent fraud involving mobile phone numbers.

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On 14th March 2024, Trai issued the Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability Ninth Amendment Regulations, 2024. These regulations will be effective from 1st July 2024. The previous waiting period was 10 days, but it has now been reduced to seven days.

New Regulations to Prevent Fraud

The amended regulations aim to curb fraudulent porting of mobile numbers through SIM swaps or replacements by unscrupulous individuals. An additional criterion for rejecting requests for Unique Porting Codes (UPC) has been introduced. Specifically, a UPC will not be allocated if the request is made before the seven-day waiting period expires.

Trai explained that some stakeholders believed a 10-day wait was appropriate, while others felt it could inconvenience subscribers needing urgent porting. They suggested a shorter wait period of two to four days.

Balancing Security and Convenience

Trai stated that the waiting period should not be too short to fail in preventing fraudulent porting, nor too long to inconvenience subscribers. Thus, the authority decided on a seven-day waiting period after a SIM swap or replacement.

In an explanatory note, Trai mentioned that the new regulations are designed to strike a balance between preventing fraud and ensuring subscriber convenience. The decision reflects input from various stakeholders and aims to address concerns about both security and urgency in porting requests.

The new rules will come into force on 1st July 2024, providing telecom operators and subscribers time to adapt to the changes. This move is part of Trai's ongoing efforts to enhance security and trust in mobile number portability processes.

By implementing these measures, Trai hopes to reduce incidents of fraud while maintaining a reasonable level of convenience for subscribers needing to port their mobile numbers urgently.

The regulatory body continues to monitor and adjust policies as needed to ensure the integrity and efficiency of telecom services in India. This latest amendment is a step towards achieving that goal.