I switched from Vodafone to Jio and here's my whole experience.
Mobile Number Portability or MNP has made it easier for subscribers to jump between different network operators while maintaining the same phone number. Earlier, the process used to take more than a week. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recently changed the rules of MNP not only making it simpler but also made the whole process a tad bit faster. According to the new rules, the whole MNP process takes less than 4 days now. But mine took a little longer. Here's why.
I switched from Vodafone to Jio due to the network issues in my area. Well, I have had no issues in my time with Vodafone (5 years) but it is just that where I have started living now has better coverage for Jio. Here's how the whole process went.
In order to initiate a request, I had to send a message - PORT 'MY NUMBER' to 1900. In a few seconds, I received the Unique Porting Code (UPC), which I had to take to the Jio store. Since I generated the code on December 24, it was available until December 28.
If you are a postpaid customer, you will need to clear all your dues before requesting for mobile number portability. Since I was on Vodafone prepaid, I did not need to clear any bills. All I needed to make sure was that the validity of my prepaid plan was not more or less than 7 days. Even if you have extra days left on your plan, the process can still take place but the extra data or plan will go down the drain.
Now, all I had to do was to visit a nearby Jio store. As I stepped into one, an executive was ready to help me with the whole process. I was requested to show a government ID like Aadhaar card, PAN card or Driving Licence along with the UPC. Apart from that, I also needed a secondary number where an OTP would be sent. If you do not have a secondary SIM, you can always provide the phone number of your friend or a family member. The secondary number is used only during the porting process.
The Jio executive then clicked a picture of me and entered all the details on his smartphone. While the process can get over for most people at this point, I had one more step coming my way.
I was living in Chennai for the past few years and got the SIM from the same city. So, my Vodafone SIM was from the Tamil Nadu circle and even the address on my Aadhaar card was from there. Due to this, I had to provide contact details for a person living in my current city circle - Delhi NCR. Thankfully, I had my cousin to help me out. All I had to give was his name, phone number and address. Also, an OTP was sent to his number for the verification process.
Once that was done, I was sent home with a SIM card in my hand without needing to pay anything on the spot. From that day (December 24), the process would have taken 3-4 days and my new SIM should have been activated by December 28. However, my Vodafone SIM dropped network signals on December 30.
After the request is accepted from your current operator, it takes 24-48 hours to complete the process with the new MNP rules. However, these hours are only counted on working days. Since Christmas arrived on the very next day, the process was delayed by a day. Also, December 28 and December 29 were Saturday and Sunday, delaying the process even further.
Finally, my Vodafone SIM stopped showing network at around 10:20 PM on December 30 and I quickly swapped it with my new Jio SIM. The new SIM card immediately started showing network signals, which states that my number has been successfully ported.
Now, all I had to do was to recharge my new prepaid SIM with a plan to access 4G internet as well as make calls.
In a nutshell, the whole MNP process was quite easy and swift. However, it could have been a little faster if it hadn't been for the holidays. Also, I expect TRAI to work even further to bring an online method of switching networks. Since brands are heading towards e-SIM technology (seen on the Pixel 3a, latest iPhones), we expect this process to get even quicker and hassle-free in the future. I am looking forward to a future where I can hop to different mobile operators in less than 24 hours while sitting at the comfort of my sofa without needing to step out of the house even for once.
