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G. Rambabu

NEW DELHI, March 21

WITH the floodgates of the telecom sector being thrown open, private sector operators are all set to offer the customers a "choice" — something they had been denied so long.

Be it Bharti Telenet, Tata Teleservices or Reliance Communication, the consumers are being promised superior quality of services than the incumbent BSNL and MTNL. But, will the consumer really have a choice?

Think again. If you have a basic telephone connection (BSNL or MTNL), do you really think it will be easy to shift to a different operator as and when you please? No, it won't be. For the simple reason that you are tied down to your existing telephone number.

For one, can you imagine contacting all your friends and acquaintances to notify them about the change in your telephone number. Why take the trouble? It's much more convenient to stick to your original operator, and go in for the new operator only for any additional phone.

"Choice" to the existing subscribers, in the true sense of the word, would only exist if the customer has the freedom to retain his existing telephone numbers even while making seamless migration from one service provider to another, from one location to another or from one technology platform to another.

According to telecom analysts, this is referred to as "number portability" in technical lingo and is already operational in many developed countries, be it locational number portability and operator number portability.

They pointed out that while locational portability allows the subscriber to retain the same number even if he shifts from say Delhi to Chennai, operator portability allows him to change his basic operators, for instance from MTNL to Bharti in Delhi, MTNL to Hughes in Mumbai or BSNL to Tata in Hyderabad without changing his number.

But, no basic or wireline service provider has introduced this facility so far in India. More than the cost of upgrading their respective networks for number portability, it is the risk of loss of customers and revenue that puts service providers on guard against the "number revolution", they said.

The analysts point out that if they do, it will bring in a fundamental shift in the way telecom service providers do business. Number portability takes competition to a new platform where a subscriber can ditch an inefficient or complacent service provider within hours. It, thus, keeps all the service providers on their toes.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), however, is yet to apply its mind to the issue. In its consultative paper on Number Plan issued way back in 1998, the authority had dismissed number portability in two paragraphs and said this should be considered at the appropriate time.

The analysts note that it is time the authority prepared a comprehensive consultative paper identifying the needs for upgrading the existing basic service networks, and suggest a timeframe for introduction of different types of portability in each segment of service industry.

The customer will have a real "choice" only if TRAI gets cracking on the issue of number portability before the private operators start flooding the market.

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