The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released a consultation paper regarding the National Numbering Plan. The paper proposes to revise the plan in response to the growing number of mobile subscribers in India. The National Numbering Plan has not been updated since 2003, and with the rise in subscribers and the expansion of 5G networks, TRAI has decided to make changes.
The National Numbering Plan is crucial for the allocation and management of telecom identifiers (TIs) to ensure efficient communications and network management. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) manages telecom identifiers for both fixed and mobile networks.
Originally designed to allocate 750 million telephone connections in 2003, the National Numbering Plan is now at risk after 21 years, with 1,199.28 million telephone subscribers in India. By March 31, 2024, India's teledensity reached 85.69 percent. The current number allocation system is struggling to accommodate this growth.
Under the new numbering plan, the Department of Telecommunications will be able to allocate more mobile numbers without causing issues for users. Currently, telecom companies are reusing old numbers that have been inactive for more than 90 days. With the new numbering plan, telecom companies may receive a new series of numbers to issue to users.
Meanwhile, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has established rules for recycling mobile numbers. According to these rules, telecom companies are not allowed to release a user's mobile number if the user has not used it or recharged it for 6 months. If a customer has requested Mobile Number Portability (MNP) but the number has not been ported to another telecom operator, then the number can be released after two months.
Mobile numbers are considered fixed resources, so they can be recycled multiple times. This is why telecom companies are required to recycle existing resources, such as available mobile numbers, to meet customer demand.
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