MNP in the offing

Country`s telecom regulator is in final move to implement Mobile Number Portability (MNP) to give  the mobile phone users freedom for switching over to any operators and choose their services without changing existing number.
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has already formulated a committee headed by the secretary general of Association of Mobile Telecom Operators Bangladesh TIM Nurul Kabir and the committee was asked to submit a proposal in this regard by July 31.
According to BTRC, the MNP is the long standing issue which is yet to be implemented in the country due to alleged ‘negligence of big operators’.  
The BTRC in June 2013 asked mobile phone operators to introduce MNP by January 2014 but the operators expressed their inability saying it would be a short time for implementing such a service.
The BTRC directive said all cellular mobile phone operators would have to complete the necessary preparation within seven months.
Mobile company officials, however, said the BTRC earlier formulated the guideline without consultation with the industry people. Even the market was not ready for a service like MNP.
According to the guideline, a subscriber will be able to get the service with a charge of not more than Tk 50 and will be able to avail the service through SMS, web application or retail service outlets.
The regulator thinks the initiative of implementation MNP will play a significant role to break 'monopoly' of some operators, and will improve their quality of service in general.
As per a study conducted in India mentioned that "High call rates and internet charges, poor network coverage, frequent network problems, voice quality, hidden charges, and dissatisfaction with customer service are the main causes to switch service providers".
Bangladesh will be the 'eighth' Asian country from implementation of MNP followed by Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.
India implemented the MNP in 2011, which is handled by third party. A customer pays Rs 19 for availing the service. In Thailand, MNP costs THB 99, while there is no charge for the service in Malaysia.