None of the telcos want to lose their customers. Be it the operator at the top or the operator at the bottom, everyone values their customers just the same. Thus, when the consumers put in the MNP (Mobile Number Portability) request, the telcos try to do their best to stop them from leaving their network. Because of this, quite often the telcos have been accused of offering differential pricing to MNP customers. It is the job of the sector regulator – Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to stop this from happening. Thus, according to an ET Telecom report, TRAI is working on the process of finalising auditors who will look into the telcos including BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) and MTNL (Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited) and determine whether they have offered differential pricing to the MNP customers.
Neither Telcos nor Their Channel Partners Can Offer Differential Offerings
The rules are laid out pretty clear. None of the telcos or their channel partners is allowed to offer differential offerings to the consumers. As per the report, TRAI is looking to hire multiple auditors so that they can look into the offerings of the telcos in multiple licensed service areas (LSAs). TRAI had clearly said that the telcos can only offer plans that have been already submitted before the regulator. This is to ensure that all the plans are completely compliant and fall under the existing regulatory framework. However, the telcos have been accused of offering lucrative plans to MNP customers to stop them from leaving their network. Customers in India today can port out very easily to the network of other telecom operators. All the users need to do is just text a port out SMS to 1900 with this format – ‘Port’ followed by a space and the ten-digit mobile number that needs to be ported. This will set the ball rolling for the consumer to port out to the other telcos.
