The number of subscribers opting for mobile number portability, MNP, has risen substantially. An official statement by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India says, till the end of April this year, about 45.89 million subscribers have submitted their requests to different service providers for porting their numbers. Karnataka has received the maximum number of 5.11 million requests. It is followed by Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat where 4.44 million and 4.23 million subscribers opted for the service.

AIR Correspondent reports, a customer has to pay 19 rupees to the new operator for porting the number and remain with it for at least three months under the MNP. The customer has to send an SMS from the existing phone to 1900. A unique porting code is sent by the existing provider. An application then has to be filed with the new service provider mentioning the code for transferring the connection. The country has over 920 million mobile phone subscribers.