Government announces a major change in MNP policy effective from July 1st

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has announced an important amendment to the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) regulations. As a part of the new MNP rule, the telecom industry regulator has introduced a seven-day waiting period for the issuance of the Unique Porting Code.

The move, to be implemented from July 1st, is aimed to address the fraudulent SIM Swap activities which is a new MNP rule change.

An additional criterion has been added to the MNP amendment for rejecting requests for the allocation of a Unique Porting Code (UPC). According to the new rule, a UPC (number) will not be allocated if the request is made within seven days of a SIM swap or replacement. This step aims to prevent scammers from porting mobile numbers through fraudulent SIM swap techniques.    

TRAI took this decision due to the increasing incidents of SIM swap fraud, where fraudsters obtain a new SIM card for a victim's phone number, enabling them to intercept calls and messages, often leading to financial and personal data theft. With this mandatory waiting period after a SIM swap, TRAI aims to introduce an extra layer of security to the MNP process.

The implementation of these amendment regulations underscores TRAI's commitment to safeguarding mobile users from fraud. This move is expected to enhance trust in the MNP process by ensuring that only legitimate requests are processed.

A Unique Porting Code is a code allocated to users after they raise the MNP request. Users are supposed to share this code with their new telecom service provider to successfully port their phone number into their network. Or with the same telecom operator in case of SIM replacement. This delay adds a critical barrier, requiring legitimate users to wait, thus preventing unauthorised porting attempts and safeguarding mobile numbers from misuse and theft.