Definitions:

A).Number Portability will allow subscribers to change their service provider while retaining their old mobile number.
Portability benefits subscribers and increases the level of competition between service providers, rewarding service providers with the best customer service, network coverage, and service quality.

B).Number portability is a telecommunications network feature that enables end users to retain their telephone numbers
when changing service providers, service types, and/or locations Mobile Number Portability" means the facility which allows a subscriber of a mobile telephone service to retain his mobile telephone number when he moves from one mobile telephone service provider to another, irrespective of the mobile technology or from one mobile technology to another of the same mobile telephone service provider,within such limits as may be permitted by the licensor

History
The first implementation of MNP starts in late 1990s with Singapore implementing the MNP (limited) functionality in 1997 followed by Hong Kong in 1999, Spain in 2000, Australia in 2001 and list continues to grow.

Basic glossary and terms used in MNP:

Ported out If a subscriber moves to new service provider, for the old service provider, he is a ported out subscriber. Ported in - If a subscriber moves to new service provider, for the new service provider, he is a ported in subscriber. Donor The service provider left by the subscriber is termed as donor Recipient The service provider joined by the subscriber is termed as recipient CDB Central Database ACQ All Call Query There are basically 3 aspects to be taken care of by operators while implementing MNP :Commercial Provisioning of Port in and De provisioning of Port Out subscribers.

Types
There are three basic types of number portability-

LOCATION based Portability This enables a mobile subscriber to use the same number when shifting from one geographical area to another.

Operator Portability

This makes it possible for a mobile subscriber (or a fixed telephony subscriber) to shift from one mobile (or a fixed) service provider to another in the same area and retain his original number too.

Service Portability
Enables subscribers of a company to use the same numbers across different mobile technologies Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) based Wireless in Local Loop (WLL)and 3G networks.
4. Convergence-based Number portability: It allows usage of the same number while shifting from fixed to mobile telephony. It can also be called a landline number portability.

Basic components required to deploy MNP

? Service Order Administration ? Number Portability Administration Center ? Service Control Point Management Server ? Local Service Management System ? Signal Transfer Point ? Service Switching Point ? Service Control Point Service Order Administration (SOA) ? Serves as an interface element between carriers' order and provisioning systems and the Number Portability Administration Center (NPAC). ? SOA's primary functions include subscription audit request or management, data administration, data transfer to the NPAC, report generation, bulk file parse and upload, subscription tracking, legacy order entry interface, and logging. Number Portability Administration Center (NPAC) ? Number Portability Administration Center (NPAC) is a third-party, neutral database administration function that supports number portability. ? This database is designed to receive information from both incumbent and new service providers, validate that info. and download the new routing information when a customer has been physically connected to the new service provider's network. Service Control Point Management System (SCP MS) The Service Control Point Management System (SCP MS) provides interface services between the LSMS and the SCP The SCP MS may or may not be physically integrated with the SCP. Local Service Management System ? The Local Service Management System (LSMS) is a fault-tolerant hardware and software platform that contains database with routing information to ported telephone numbers. ? The primary functions of the LSMS are subscription management, network data management, service provider data management, error processing and notification, transaction event logging and reporting, transmission of activation/deactivation events to the network elements, and audits. Number Portability Database The Number Portability Database (NPDB) contains all ported numbers within a ported domain as well as routing info. necessary to support number portability. Its function is to provide the association between the called party and the carrier LRN, identifying the switch to which the call should be routed. Signal Transfer Point (STP) ? The Signal Transfer Point (STP) receives the LRN query from the SSP/MSC, routes it to the appropriate NPDB, and returns a response to the originating SSP/MSC.) ? The basic core functionality of the STP as a network message router has not been impacted.

Service Switching Point or Mobile Switch Center ? The Service Switching Point/Mobile Switch Center (SSP/MSC) is owned and operated by the exchange carrier. ? These switch points must be able to generate a LNP query to the NPDB when a call is placed to a telephone number in a ported domain. ? A ported domain here is defined as a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) that has implemented number portability

(CHART)STEPS Customer making a written request to the recipient operator (RO) for porting along with other documents required.

RO verifies the docum ents Customer asked by RO to send an SMS to the Donor Operator (DO) DO sends an automated SMS reply along with a unique porting code Customer submits the code to the RO Within 24 hours, RO forwards the unique porting code to the MNP service provider (MNPSP). On receiving the porting request MNPSP verifies the 90 day condition and no pending porting request on that number from its If condition is satisfied, MNPSP forwards the details to the DO for DO checks if the criteria for porting are satisfied and inform MNPSP of MNPSP fixes a date and time of porting which should be 36 hours from the time of receipt of the clearance from the DO & informs the same to DO RO informs the same date & time to the subscriber through SMS or telephonically or an automated voice

message On the specified date, MNPSP communicates the instructions for disconnecting the number to the DO On receiving the report of the completion of number activation from the RO, MNPSP allocates the ported number a corresponding Location Routing Number and broadcasts the same to all the Access Providers and International Long Distance operators. RO will do the required within 1 hour of receiving information from the MNPSP and inform MNPSP of completion On receipt of the release from DO or completion of 1 hour MNPSP will inform the RO to activate the mobile number DO within 1 hour of receipt of instructions release the number and report it to MNPSP

How Calls will be handled after MNP

All Call Query would be the method that would be used to handle calls after MNP is implemented. All ported mobile numbers will be maintained in a Local Number Portability Database. Every Access Provider will be assigned a code called Location Routing Number. The MNP service provider will maintain a centralized database which would contain all the mobile numbers of the nation and their corresponding current Access Providers location routing number. When a call is made, the dialers network which has access to the MNP service providers database will query the database to find the dialed numbers Access provider. Based on the information the call is progressed further. This solution is an expensive one but the authority feels that in long Term it would be a stable one. The setup time of each call, whether the dialed number is ported or not is increased and would be inefficient in case the porting volume turns out to be too low. (imge draw)

Technical Solutions
o Number Pooling o Number portability database (NPDB) o Routing Mechanisms

Routing Mechanisms a) Indirect Routing or decentralized or bilateral architecture:

This model works bilaterally between the donor and recipient service providers who are responsible for informing all others of the change. It would suit to markets with less number of service providers. Each provider will have a dedicated setup and comprehensive database of ported out and ported in subscribers. As the number of service providers increases, the bilateral approach becomes a great burden to all service providers involved in terms of time, cost and resources. FNR (Flexible Number Register) will help the service providers have the ported database in addition to the original HLR database. Sample implementation of MNP in middle east: In one of the countries of middle east, the MNP service is implemented in bilateral architecture. There are two operators available in the country and each have their own customized system for handling the MNP database. Whenever a

customer wants to change his service provider, he visits the recipient provider and initiates a request to port in the subscription with the recipient provider. The recipient party then coordinates with the donor party for porting the number. During the process, the donor deletes the number from its HLR database and updates the number in its FNR ported out list. Similarly the recipient party updates the number in its HLR database and FNR ported in list. Ericsson MSC perspective of indirect routing MNP: For a single operator, three considerations have to be made. 1. Analysis for ported in Home subscriber or Native subscriber. 2. Analysis for ported in other PLMN subscriber or non-Native subscriber. 3. Analysis for ported out subscriber.

Issues with this type of routing: Routing to the ported user is indirect and possibly costly, because additional transit charges, interconnect charges, and/or extra conveyance costs may be generated even when the originating provider is the same as the terminating recipient provider. For the donor network, billing associated with ported and non-ported numbers cannot be differentiated easily. If the donor network uses a small, non-high-performance database, increased call setup time for ported numbers is inevitable. Due to the dependence on the donor network, the receiving network cannot serve The ported user reliably, because it has no control over the quality of service on the donor network. If the donor provider discontinues its operations or is experiencing a network failure,the ported subscribers cannot be reached even if they ported numbers years ago.This is a growing concern due to the increasing number of failures and the high cost to put these subscribers back in service.

b). Direct Routing or centralized architecture:

In direct routing, the concept of CDB comes into picture. This central database or Central clearing house will handle all activities related to porting of subscribers between service providers. This model is suited for markets with several service providers and this model is currently used almost in all MNP implementations. Two options are available with this model with all the service providers updating the ported number database in synchronization with the CDB and the other is to query the CDB for all call interrogation to get proper routing procedure. After obtaining the rules, rest of the call is handled normally.

Reasons Behind MNP or Advantages

Price war Competition on price instead of differentiated services Heavy marketing campaigns, free giveaways and airtime

 Ban on handset subsidies As well as SIM-locked phones and long service contracts Single-rate call plans Easy and costless MNP process for end-users ? MNP should reduce switching costs and strengthen competition

Number portability subscriber benefits may be categorized as

a. Type 1 benefits
1 ..Accrue to subscribers who retain their telephone number when switching an operator,and include cost savings from having to change mobile number. Such subscribers are able to avoid the costs of reprinting stationary, informing callers, changing signs and lost business.

b. Type 2 benefits
..Are those that arise out of efficiency and service quality improvements and any associated price reductions resulting from increased competition.

c. Type 3 benefits
1 ..Are those that accrue to callers to porting users who are able to avoid the need to change entries in their diaries, directories, databases and abbreviated dialers. They would also dial fewer wrong numbers and make fewer directory inquiries

MNP in India:
In India, this service is expected to be operational by the mid of 2009. The DoT (Department of Telecom) has issued license to two global companies to implement the feature in two zones. Telecordia, the worlds leading provider of MNP services has solutions deployed across none countries including the US, Canada, Egypt, Greece and South Africa has been issued with license for implementing MNP in north and west zone in India. Syniverse technologies, also a major player in voice and data solutions has been issued with license for south and east zones. The license issued in February 2009 quotes the companies to start service for metro cities by six months and other regions within twelve months. They will provide a central clearing house model for MNP in India.

Interesting facts about MNP:

1. United Kingdom is yet to switch to centralized solution ( as of Jan2008). 2. The time taken to port a subscriber between the service providers should not be greater than the time taken to activate a new subscriber. 3. It takes only 3 minutes in Australia to port a subscriber successfully. 4. The first MNP implementation was made in 1990 Singapore. 5. Free of charge in countries and chargeable in some countries.

Conclusion
MNP does not generate churn, it only removes one barrier from the way of free. As such, it brings challenges and opportunities for old and new telecommunications providers. To be successful in the competitive telecommunications environment, carriers have to carefully analyze their network and administrative infrastructures, select the best MNP solution for their needs and exploit the benefits of increased customer choice that NP provides.