TRAI launches new rules for SIM porting: Check here

Telecom regulator TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) last week announced changes to its Mobile Number Portability (MNP) rules. According to the latest revision, if the SIM card is swapped or replaced, the relevant mobile phone number cannot be transferred out to other telecom operators within 7 days. This is the ninth new revision of the MNP regulations since their introduction. The new regulations aim to prevent and reduce SIM card swap fraud in the country. The new regulations will come into effect on July 1.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India releases Telecom Mobile Number Portability (Ninth Amendment) Regulations, 2024 last week. According to the new regulations, customers will not be allowed to transfer their mobile number to another telecom operator if they have changed their SIM card in the past seven days. TRAI said in a notification that these regulations are aimed at curbing the transfer of mobile phone numbers by criminals through fraudulent SIM card swapping or replacement.

It also introduces additional criteria for rejection of requests for allocation of Unique Portability Code (UPC), which is essential for transferring mobile numbers from one telecom operator to another. TRAI stipulates that if the UPC request is made before the expiry of 7 days from the date of change of SIM or change of mobile number, UPC should not be allotted.

TRAI’s latest regulations will come into effect from July 1. The MNP regulations were first introduced in 2009.

Users can switch service providers through the MNP facility without changing their mobile numbers.They can initiate the porting process by sending an SMS in the following format PORT<十位手机号码> to 1900. This will create a UPC and the user will get it via SMS. It can be used to make MNP requests.