Trai begins review of transaction charges involved in telecom network port-outs

The telecoms regulator plans to review the per-port transaction charge and related ancillary levies for mobile number portability (MNP) at a time when monthly porting requests are falling, post-sector consolidation.

When a mobile user moves from one service provider to another, the recipient telco pays a per-port transaction charge to the MNP service provider for processing porting requests. The per-port transaction charge was reduced from Rs 19 to Rs 4 by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) in January 2018.

“Porting data for the last one year shows the number of port requests per month is declining, and the Authority may review and modify the per-port transaction charge at the end of one year,” the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said in its discussion paper issued Friday.