TRAI suggests new numbering plan to meet needs of future user growth

NEW DELHI : The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Friday suggested that the government should come up with a new national numbering plan for fixed line and mobile networks in order to meet the expected growth in the subscriber base assuming India’s population will surpass 1.6 billion by 2050.

Besides a new national numbering plan, telecom regulator suggested that the government should also, every year, enlist all newly allocated numbering resources for fixed line as well as mobile services. The ongoing plan implemented in 2003, was developed keeping in mind the projections till the year 2033.

“After 17 years into the National Numbering Plan, adequate availability of numbering resources is threatened because of an increase in the range of services and massive growth in the number of connections, especially in the mobile segment,” the regulator said in its recommendations on ‘ensuring adequate numbering resources for fixed line and mobile services’.