The Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has launched nation wide Mobile Number Portability service in New Delhi on Thursday evening. The service will allow a mobile subscriber to change his service provider without changing the number. This will give rise to genuine competition, leading to an improvement in the quality of service of telecom companies. Mobile Number Portability service was launched in Haryana last November.Launching the service, the Prime Minister said, the advent of 3G and Broadband Wireless services will provide a further boost to the provision of affordable voice and internet services. He called for working on strategies and steps to leverage broadband telecom in addressing development challenges in the fields of education, health and rural development. Dr. Singh asserted that better telecommunication facility is the key to bring about socio-economic transformation of rural areas which will lead to more inclusive growth. He said, with the launch, affordable telecom service has become possible as the government has taken initiatives for faster rural telephony. An amount of eleven thousand crore rupees have been spent through the Universal Service Obligation Fund on various schemes in the 11th Plan. The Prime Minister said the launch of the service will improve the range and quality of telecom to existing and new subscribers. This he said, will spur growth in the sector. He said, India has already achieved 65 per cent teledencity with 750 million cell phone users.Addressing the function, the Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal called for collaborative efforts by the government and the telecom service providers to address the important challenges in the sector and tap the vast opportunities offered by it. He expressed confidence that mobile number portability will ensure its availability at affordable prices addressing the needs of the 'aam admi'. Minister of State for Communications Sachin Pilot also addressed the function.AIR Correspondent says that mobile subscribers can switch over to the service provider of their choice with just an expenditure of 19 rupees. It is expected that the service will go a long way in enhancing customer satisfaction.