PREFACE

MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY: It is the latest technology which had not yet captured the market. I am lucky to have this project during my training period. Probably, it will capture the market by the end of this year. In this report i had tried to cover all the fields whatever I learnt during the training period. Mobile Number portability is a circuit-switch network feature that provides consumers with the ability to change service providers, locations, or service types without changing their telephone numbers. In this report I have focussed upon the basic concepts of MNP, implementation process, functions of various components, benefits and threats of the mobile number portability. I have tried my level best to cover all the fields and to give appropriate knowledge about the project. I expect it to be accepted and admired by all.

INTRODUCTION The much awaited Telecom project Mobile Number Portability (MNP) has got delayed and Department Of Telecommunications (DoT) has set a new deadline by the end of this year. Mobile Number Portability MNP allows subscribers to change their mobile service provider while retaining their existing mobile number . MNP is mandatory for all UASLs/CMSPs and is applicable within service area only. The project has already been delayed by over a year because of several technical and regulatory glitches. MNP is implemented by dividing the country into two zones namely Zone 1 i.e. North West' and Zone 2 i.e. South East. Zone 1 includes the following circles : Haryana, Gujarat, Himanchal Pradesh, J&K, Maharashtra, Punjab, UP(E), UP(W), Rajasthan & Mumbai. Zone 2 involves : Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Tamil Nadu including Chennai, West Bengal, Kolkata & Kerala. Central Clearing House (CCH) acts as the intermediate between the operators. All the communication oe jnformation exchange between the operators takes place via CCH. It communicates each operator through its local gateway. In MNP process DONOR Network and RECIPIENT Network plays impoortant role. The DONOR Network is the network where the number is located before being ported and the RECIPIENT Network is the network where the number is located after being ported. Apart from the two, the NPDB is also important. It stands for Number Portability Database. It contains all the information about the numbers which is being portedin or ported-out.

COMPANY OVERVIEW

An offshoot of RELIANCE Group was founded by Shri DHIRUBHAI H AMBANI(1932-2002) ,ranks among Indias top three private sector business houses in terms of net worth. The group has business interests that range from telecommunications (Reliance Communications Limited) to financial services (Reliance Capital Ltd) and the generation and distribution of power (Reliance Infrastructure Limited). Reliance Communications, is India's largest private sector information and communications company, with over 100 million subscribers. It has established a pan-India, high-capacity, integrated (wireless and wireline), convergent (voice, data and video) digital network, to offer services spanning the entire infocomm value chain. Other major group companies Reliance Capital and Reliance Infrastructure are widely acknowledged as the market leaders in their respective areas of operation. Reliance Consumer Finance Pvt. Ltd.-a member of the Reliance Capital family, and one of the fastest growing non-banking financial companies-aims to enable people people fulfill all their ambitions by creating assets for personal and business requirements. Reliance communication offers an exhaustive suit of financial solutions- Mortages Loans,Vehicles Loans,Sme Loans,Loans against ivestments and Microfinance.

Reliance Consumer Finance has a loan book of Rs. 9,170 crore(US $ 2 billion), with a customer base of over 1,10,000 customers, as on March 31,2010, across the top 16 indian metros. It will also marginally reduce tariffs in areas where there is insufficient price competition such as international roaming, value added services etc. The first segment that new entrants like Uninor, MTS and few others will target as soon as number portability is launched is the elite set of postpaid subscribers of existing operators like Bharti, Vodafone, Idea, Aircel, BSNL and Reliance. It is well known that nearly 95% of all mobile subscribers are in the pre-paid segment with extremely low ARPUs of below Rs 200. In contrast, the ARPUs of postpaid subscribers run into thousands of rupees.

Reliance Communications is India's truly integrated telecommunications service provider. The Company has a customer base of 105 million including over 2.5 million individual overseas retail customers. It ranks among the Top 5 Telecom companies in the world by number of customers in a single country. Reliance Communications corporate clientele includes 2,100 Indian and multinational corporations, and over 800 global, regional and domestic carriers. A pan-India, next generation, integrated (wireless and wireline), convergent (voice, data and video) digital network that is capable of supporting best-of-class services spanning the entire communications value chain,covering over 24,000 towns and 600,000 villages has been established by Reliance Communications. Reliance Communications owns and operates the next generation IP enabled connectivity infrastructure - The world's largest next generation IP enabled connectivity

infrastructure. Retrieved 2010-04-14 comprising over 190,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable systems in India, USA, Europe, Middle East and the Asia Pacific region. This project is suppose to drive telecom providers in improving the quality of service to retain their customers.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS Highlights Turnover : PBDIT : Cash Profit : Net Profit : Net Profit 10 years CAGR: Total Assets : Significant contribution to India's economic growth

Rs. 2,00,400 Crore ($ 44,632 million) Rs. Rs. Rs. 21% Rs. 2,51,006 Crore ($ 55,903 million) 33,041 27,933 16,236 Crore Crore Crore ($ ($ ($ 7,359 6,221 3,616 million) million) million)

4.5 % of Indias total exports 5.6 % of the 1Government of Indias indirect tax revenues 5.7 % of the total market capitalisation in India Weightage of 12.8 % in the BSE Sensex Weightage of 10.6 % in the S&P CNX Nifty index Growing importance across the globe

Largest refining capacity at any single location Largest producer of Polyester Fibre and Yarn 4th largest producer of Paraxylene (PX)

5th largest producer of Polypropylene (PP) 7th Largest producer of Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) and Mono Ethylene Glycol (MEG) Financial performance of the Company has been reported under the following three business segments:

Wireless Global Broadband

Wireless The Wireless segment functions in a retail mode. Wireless services are offered on both CDMA and GSM technology platforms. Global The global segment provides wholesale and retail voice and data services from many international locations. Broadband All services provided through wireline, LMDS etc. and involving the provision of IT infrastructure are covered under this segment. Services are provided across various customer groups including residential, SMEs, and large corporates.

TERMONOLOGY RELATED TO MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY

ORTING: It means moving of subscriber from one network to another.

RIGINATING NETWORK: It is the network serving the calling party.


before being ported.

ONOR NETWORK: The initial network where the number was located

being ported.

ECIPIENT NETWORK: The network where the number is located after

called party. It is of 4 digit uniquely identifying each operator.

OUTING PREFIX(LRN-LOCATION ROUTING NUMBER): Routable number to identify the service provider,technology and service area for the

ported numbers.

NPDB(LOCAL NUMBER PORTABILITY DATABASE): Repository of all

operators.

CH(CENTRAL CLEARING HOUSE): It acts as intermediate between two


the individual operator via its local gateway.

CH INTERFACE-LOCAL GATEWAY: CCH will communicate with each of

local gateway.

NPDB(CENTRAL NUMBER PORTABILITY DATABASE): Repository of ported numbers across the country. It will get updated operators LNPDB via

downloads.

NTERFACE WITH CCHs: It is used for subscriber porting and to receive

SS GATEWAY: It is used to support subscriber port-in or port-out process.

OCAL GATEWAY: It is used for provisioning LNPDB,STP,wire lineN and other NFs. Also it will act as interface for OSS gateway to interact with CCH.

mechanism,to route the call to correct destination.

UERY RESPONSE SYSTEM: To support ALL CALL QUERY(ACQ)


ORTED IN: Subscriber opted for any network.

ORTED OUT: Subscriber moved out from any network.

versa.

IGRATED: Subscriber moved to reliance GSM service from CDMA or vice-

ON PORTED: Subscriber not undergone through porting.

WHAT IS MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY? Mobile Number Portability (MNP) is a service which allows mobile users to retain their current mobile numbers when the subscriber switches from one operator to another.

OR Mobile Number Portability means the facility which allows a subscriber to retain his mobile telephone number when he moves from one Access Provider to another irrespective of the mobile technology or from one cellular mobile technology to another of the same Access Provider. Number portability is the ability of end users to change service providers (SPs),locations, or service types without changing their telephone numbers. Prior to number portability,changing SPs required end-users to accept a new number or if available, use a switched based,remote call forwarding. Once number portability (NP) is implemented in an MSA, the Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC) or the Regional Bell Operating Company (RBOC) can remove the remote callforwarding tariffs. Further, the FCC 1st Order & Report did not require interim NP measures for wireless service providers (WSPs). The order did require that NP should be transparent to consumers meaning remote callers are automatically connected to ported subscribers, requiring no procedural or dialing changes to the originating caller. Number portability is driven by local-loop competition. A recent survey indicated that 90 percent of business customers would not change their service providers if they had to change telephone numbers.

TYPES OF NUMBER PORTING There are three kinds of Number Portability: Location Portability. Service Portability. Operator Portability. Location Portability A Subscriber may move from one location to another without changing his telephone number.

Service Portability A subscriber may keep the same telephone number when changing the telecommunication services eg. fixed telephone service and mobile phone service.

Operator Portability

A subscriber may switch operators or service providers without changing his telephone number.

HOW THE MOBILE NUMBER IS PORTED?

MNP

would

work

like

the

following

$ A customer contacts the new service provider and request him to have his number ported

$ The new service provider will submit the request to the Licensee

$ The Licensed entity informs the old operator regarding this requests and asks them to take steps

$ With in a short period, the old service provider deactivates the number and the new service provider activates the number

$ The Licensed entity makes sure that the MNP has been implemented in the specified time frame and in the best interest of the customer.

$ The Licensed entity once making sure of MNP informs both the service providers and the customers.

MNP SOLUTION OVERVIEW

MNP OVERVIEW

CENTRAL SIDE SOLUTION To support MNP solution Central side:

ar CCH(Central Clearing House):-intermediate between operators -heart of MNP solution -monitors all SLAs during the Process CCH interfaces local gateway: CCH will communicate with each of individual operator via its local gateway CNPDB: -repository of ported numbers across the country -get updated by CCH, therefore it

Inte

Loc

inte

OSS

-sup

ou

LN

Que

Sup

will update operators LNPDB via local gateway

WORKING OF CENTRAL CLEARING HOUSE

Action by Recipient Operator Verifies CAF and all specified documents . Shall record in CAF that all documents are verified with originals and found them to be in order Ask the subscriber to send a message through SMS to a specified short code of the Donor Operator from the subscribers mobile number which is sought to be ported.

Upon receipt of the message from the subscriber, the Donor operator shall forthwith send back a reply message through an automated system generated SMS containing a unique porting .

Upon receipt of the unique porting code from the Donor Operator, the subscriber shall incorporate the same in the porting request form. The Recipient Operator shall, within a period of twenty four hours, forward the mobile number, the corresponding unique porting code and the date on which porting request is made by the subscriber, to the concerned Mobile Number Portability Service provider The Recipient Operator shall be liable to pay Per Port Transaction charge in respect of each porting request forwarded by it to the Mobile Number Portability Service provider Action by Donor Operator Donor Operator shall, within twenty-four hours, verify such details and communicate to the MNPS Provider . Where it finds that the porting request is covered under any of the grounds of rejection requests as specified in regulation, the details of the specific ground or grounds, as the case may be, on which it has any objection to the porting of the number from its network; or Where it finds that the porting request is not covered under any of the grounds of rejection of porting requests as specified in regulation , it gives clearance for the porting of the mobile number.

MNP ARCHITECTURE

TRAI RECOMMENDED ROUTING SOLUTION

1. NPDB sends the NPDB Prefix to the NPDB.

2. NPDB returns the routing prefix associated with the dialled called party number.

3. The originating network re-route the call based on response query:

Towards HLR for its own non-ported subscriber & ported in subscriber.

Towards other operator using outing prefix for ported out subscriber.

CALL ROUTING As mentioned above, a key question to be resolved early in the preparation for mobile number portability implementation is the method used for routing of calls from an originating network to the mobile network associated with a given mobile number. As with portability of other types of numbers, there are broadly two methods available for routing of calls in a mobile number portability environment : - Routing of a call directly from the originating network to the correct terminating mobile network, which requires the former to determine what is the appropriate network for a given number (ALL CALL QUERY); or - The mobile network that was originally associated with a given number is involved in the routing of a call to the correct terminating mobile network. The second method can be further divided into several different forms: - The mobile network originally associated with the called number identifies the correct terminating mobile network and routes the call onward to that network (ONWARD ROUTING);

- The mobile network originally associated with the called number checks if the number is ported and, if it is, releases the call back to the originating network together with information identifying the correct terminating network (CALL DROP BACK); or - The mobile network originally associated with the called number identifies that the number is ported and returns a message to the originating network indicating that the number has moved. The originating network then queries a database to obtain information identifying the correct terminating network (QUERY ON RELEASE). Onward routing is often regarded as the simplest routing method to implement and the all call query method as the most complex, with the other methods lying between these two extremes. This is also reflected in the costs of establishment, with onward routing regarded as cheaper to establish than the all call query method. By contrast, the ongoing costs associated with the all call query method are usually regarded as less than those of the onward routing method. Again, the costs associated with the other two methods lie between those of all call query and onward routing.

MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY AROUND THE WORLD The current state of Mobile Number Portability(MNP)-the ability of a mobile user to keep his or her number when changing mobile providers-is highlited in a new report from Telecommunications Management Group,Inc.(TMG). Mobile Number Portability Around The World draws together official data to

present

the

first

comprehensive

snapshot

of

the

availability

and

implementation of MNP around the world. It is an indespensable reference for regulators,operators, MNP solution providers,consumer groups and reseachers. Mobile Number Portability Around The World issues related to MNP, examine the advantages and disadvantages of MNP,and measures the impact of MNP. TMG researchs finds that the benefits of MNP has varied depending on the implementation methods employed. In addition, stastical data are provided for over 40 countriesthat have implemented MNP, including the date of launch,number of annual mobile ports,accumulated moblie ports,mobile subscribers, prepaid and postpaid penetration,churn rates,time to port a mobile number and the cost to the consumer. Statiatics include annual time series from 2000 to 2007. Together, the data in Mobile Number Portability Around The World provide an overview of porting trends since the tntroduction of MNP Country Austria Belgium Cyprus Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Date of implementation 16 October 2004 September 2002 July 2004 July 2001 1 January 2005 25 July 2003 30 June 2003 November 2002 September 2003

Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Norway Portuga Slovak Republic Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom

May 2004 1 October 2004 25 July 2003 April 2002 1 January 2004 February 2005 31 July 2005 April 1999 November 2001 l January 2002 1May 2004 October 2000 September 2001 March 2000 January 1999

Table 1: Dates of implementation of mobile number portability

STRENGTHS OF MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY

Mobile Number Portability enables mobile telephone users to retain their mobile telephone numbers when changing from one network operator to another. It is a very important concept that should be implemented in India where total number of mobile subscribers cross 45 crore mark at the end of August 2009. Number portability is also likely to help new entrants into the Indian mobile-services market,such as the Indian joint ventures of Telenor and Etisalat. The move to introduce the MNP comes as the country's mobile subscriber base is expanding fast, sometimes having an impact on network quality.Presently, MNP is already existing in many developing and developed countries across the world. The MNP option will, however, not lead to a dramatic shift by subscribers from one operator to another, as quality of service and network coverage are not significant differentiators in the Indian market. The introduction of number portability in other countries did not lead to a significant shift by subscribers from one operator to another, and in India too there will be an initial churn of up to 20 percent of subscribers,which will then taper off. Usually, customers do more likely to shift if new operator will introduce new services or if another operator introduces an aggressive tariff plan.

BENEFITS OF MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY MNP enables customers to keep their mobile number when changing to another operator. The benefits are usually seen as the savings in not having to change stationery or inform contacts of the new number. The retention of the same number will enable some business customers, especially those on the move such as electricians and salesmen, to maintain their contacts and flow of business. However for many customers, especially pre-pay customers, the benefits may be minimal, especially if they use the mobile phone to keep in touch only with a small circle of friends and relatives. Indeed, some pre-pay customers may be quite happy to lose their previous number if they do not wish to hear from certain acquaintances! In many countries about 20 - 25% of customers churn each year, but porting rates are well below this level, suggesting that most customers are happy to change operators without using MNP. The main benefit of mobile number portability (MNP) is freedom of choice. You are free to choose a new mobile service provider without losing your existing number. If you are not satisfied with your existing provider, you don't have to stay just to keep your number. If you are in business, keeping your number when changing phone companies means you will avoid missing calls, reprinting stationery and having any signage redone. For individuals it means avoiding the inconvenience of having to notify friends and associates that you've changed your number. The actual benefits of MNP may be quite limited, and restricted mainly to corporate customers who use MNP to move more easily between mobile operators,

and thus gain better prices and customer service. The majority of customers may gain the secondary benefits of lower prices if the introduction of MNP leads to increased competition between the operators, as happened in Hong Kong where it was introduced at the same time as additional competitors entered the wireless market. However whether these wider benefits materialise depends on other factors - the competitive dynamics of the market, the amount of publicity given to the availability of MNP, and the extent to which resellers and service providers are motivated to push MNP to the customer, for example. In some countries the process of porting is complicated; service providers receive no additional commission for porting customers, and so are not motivated to promote the service. THE COSTS OF MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY Operators are well aware of the costs created by MNP - the alteration of operational and customer support systems, the creation and operation of databases for ported numbers, the development of new processes for porting, the administration of the porting process, and the costs of additional call routing. However many additional costs are not counted in the equation - the negotiations between operators and the national regulatory authority over the design of the system and cost sharing, the need to amend many operating systems that depend on the mobile number as a reference point, and the costs of training retail staff, for example. Some of these costs can be reduced by the use of standard systems that include MNP as a feature, and by learning from the experience of other companies that have implemented MNP. The costs involved can be substantial - wireless operators in the USA estimate that they have spent US$ 1 billion to implement number portability (which includes

fixed to mobile number portability because both fixed and mobile numbers in the USA are based on area codes). However there are few other estimates of the full costs of MNP, as operators rarely collect data on the costs of such schemes. THE BALANCE OF MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY Do the benefits outweigh the costs? Although a number of regulators carried out cost benefit analyses before the introduction of MNP, they have not initiated any subsequent reviews. Most of the cost benefit analyses assumed that most customers moving between networks would take their number with them, and in fact only a minority do. They also underestimated the speed of growth in the mobile market, and these two errors generally cancel each other out. The estimates of costs omitted some of the wider costs mentioned above, and we expect that any subsequent audit would show that the costs and benefits are evenly balanced. The actual balance between costs and benefits will differ from country to country. Below we show the main factors influencing the size of the different costs and benefits. Table 1: Drivers of costs and benefits in MNP Drivers Decision to implement Number of operators Number of ports Benefits Costs Reference database Systems set up costs on Porting administration costs of number

Customer informing calling changes; part

savings

Traffic volumes

business retention Calling party savings on lost Costs of re-routing calls

Number customers

of

calls and business mobile Lower prices and increased competition

This table suggests that set up and database costs (which make up most of the costs) are fixed almost irrespective of the size of the mobile market, whereas most of the benefits are dependent on market size. Hence countries with small markets are more likely to find that the costs of MNP are greater than the benefits. Countries with low penetration rates for mobile customers, where operators are more likely to focus on expanding the market than on winning customers from each other, are likely to find the same. If the costs of MNP outweigh the benefits, how can the introduction of MNP be justified? Number portability is now seen as a customer right, enabling customers to retain their numbers if they so wish, irrespective of the costs and benefits. Hence MNP becomes an essential feature of a competitive mobile sector. With this new logic, the principles governing the implementation of MNP should become:

in order to maximise the benefits, the process should be as user-friendly as possible so that the most churning customers use MNP; the costs should be minimised, consistent with a user-friendly process.

OPPORTUNITIES IN MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY MNP is implemented in different ways across the globe. The international and European standard is for a customer wishing to port his/her number to contact the new provider (Recipient) who will then arrange necessary process with the old provider (Donor). This is also known as 'Recipient-Led' porting. The UK is the only country to not implement a Recipient-Led system, where a customer wishing to port his/her number is required to contact the Donor to

obtain a Porting Authorisation Code (PAC) which he/she then has to give to the Recipient. Once having received the PAC the Recipient continues the port process by contacting the Donor. This form of porting is also known as 'Donor-Led' and has been criticised by some industry analysts as being inefficient. It has also been observed that it may act as a customer deterrent as well as allowing the Donor an opportunity of 'winning-back' the customer. This might lead to distortion of competition, especially in the markets with new entrants that are yet to achieve scalability of operation.

WEAKNESSES OF MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY 1.Inconvenience: Mobile users may decide not to port their existing number if it involves significant inconvenience , for example filling in extra forms,waiting on

the end of a phone for long periods, or needing to contact both their old and new network. 2.Limitations in the services that can be ported: Ideally, porting should allow all of a customers existing servicesto be portd to a new network(provided the new network supports those services). Customers who regularly use videotelephony, for example, are unlikely to move to a different network if this service will not function after porting. 3. Problems with access to third party services: Some third-party services such as, ringtones and logo downloads,operates on the basis of customers mobile number and could become unreliable after porting,for example if third parties utilise inadequate validation processes or out-of-date information. 4. Lack of awareness: While mobile operators and service providers may be keen to encourage mobile users to switch from another operator,they will also be keen to minimise the cost of acquiring new subscribers. Therefore operators may not be keen to promote the fact that it is possible to retain the mobile number if MNP adds cost for them. A customers current mobile operator is unlikely to promote MNP in case it encourages churn. Many existing MNP schemesexhibit some of these obstacles,and in most countries only a small proportion of churning customers havechosen to port their numbers. Regulators and operators must work hard to avoid these barriers if they are deploying MNP for the first time, and to eliminate them if they already exist in previous implementations.

THREATS OF MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY The introduction of Mobile Number Portability is considered good news for consumers, but presents a looming threat for mobile operators since it presents consumers with the choice of retaining their current mobile phone numbers even if they change their operator. And according to a recently conducted Mobile Consumer Insights study conducted by The Nielsen Company to gauge consumer attitudes and behavior towards mobile operators in India, it seems that close to one in five (18%) Indian mobile phone subscribers would change their mobile operator if Mobile Number Portability is introduced into the market. Among the respondents, one in four Reliance and Tata Indicom subscribers would be keen to change their operator if Mobile Number Portability is introduced, followed by close to one in five (19%) of BSNL subscribers. In the third consecutive round of the Mobile Consumer Insights study by Nielsen in India, 12,500 mobile subscribers were surveyed across 50 centers in India. Nielsen augments the study with objective measurement of network performance, with the Consumer Insights part of the study measuring metrics such as satisfaction, willingness to recommend, reasons for churn and reasons for operator selection. According to the study, high spenders, postpaid subscribers and business subscribers show a greater tendency to switch if Mobile Number Portability is introduced. Prepaid, low and medium spend users are not motivated to switch. Postpaid subscribers have almost double the minutes of usage compared to pre-

paid subscribers and the incidence of data application usage is also higher among postpaid and high spenders.

FAILURE COUNTRIES

OF

MOBILE

NUMBER

PORTABILITY

IN

MOST

A study has concluded that mobile number portability (MNP) has failed to take off in most parts of the world despite its important role as an "enabler of open competition." UK-based research firm Analysis said that although regulators have already introduced MNP in many markets in an effort to enhance competition and improve customer satisfaction, few countries have implemented MNP well, and there are still many countries that have not yet introduced it. 'While it is a fundamental enabler of open competition, MNP has essentially failed so far in many markets, having achieved very limited take-up, due to critical weaknesses in implementation. These need to be addressed urgently," said Dr. Mark Heath, a research associate at Analysys. The report indicated that the full benefits of MNP come only when it is implemented effectively and taken up by a substantial proportion of churning customers. The research used a variety of case studies to illustrate best practices and defined actions that regulators must take to achieve success with MNP.