Mobile number portability with IEEE Material

Mobile Number Portability

(MNP)Submitted to Submitted by

Sachin Saini

1120029

CO-1

National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra

Contents• Abstract

• Introduction

• History of MNP

• Types of MNP

• Porting Process

• Implementation

• MNP routing mechanisms

• NMNP(Nationwide MNP)

• Benefits of MNP

• Obligation & Restriction

• Future implementation

• Conclusion

• References

Abstract• Mobile Number Portability (MNP) is an ability of changing

operator (porting) without changing the number. This

scheme provides freedom and convenience for

customers to get the best services.

• This article describes and analyses mobile number

portability and its routing mechanisms.

• This study focuses on the implementation, evaluation

and affects of MNP on various service providers in Indian

market, various aspects covering portability rate,

charges, benefits of MNP to customers and telecom

service providers, prospective effects of MNP on

telecom subscribers, future implementation for telecom

service providers etc.

What is MNP ??• “Mobile Number Portability” means mobile phone

subscribers, who are not satisfied with the service of

a telephone company, can shift to another

company(Telecommunications operators) at a cost

as little as Rs.19 while retaining the same number.

This principle is also known as operator portability or

service provider portability.

• Number portability is a network function that allows

a subscriber to keep a “unique” telephone number.

History Country Year of implementation

Singapore June 13,1997

Hong Kong March 01,1999

Australia September 25,2001

Italy April 01,2002

Germany November 01,2002

France June 30,2003

USA November 24,2003 Saudi Arabia July 08,2006

South Africa November 10,2006

Canada March 14,2007

Pakistan March 23,2007

New Zealand April 01,2007

Mexico July 05,2008 Brazil September 01,2008

India January 20,2011(MNP)

[ 3rd July, 2015 (NMNP)]

Types of MNPThere are three number portability services :-

• Service portability

• Location portability

• Operator portability

Location

service

operator

Description • Service Portability a subscriber may keep the same

telephone number when changing telecommunication services.(prepaid to postpaid)

• Location Portability a subscriber may move from one location to another without changing his/her telephone number. In this case, a given telephone number could be associated with any network termination device independent of location.(Haryana to Bangalore)

• Operator Portability a subscriber may switch telecom operators without changing his/her telephone number(Vodafone to Airtel)

Porting ProcedureRecipient Service

Provider(new)Donor ServiceProvider(old)

Subscriber(person)

Dealer

12

request

port request

Issue Unique porting code (UPC)

Approach withUPC

respond toport request

Inform &Negotiate

3

4

5

6

7

request response

ExampleFor example, You want to port from Airtel to Vodafone

• Step-1 - Obtain a Customer Agreement Form (CAF) & Porting

Form from Vodafone, these can be obtained from

any Vodafone store.

• Step-2 - Obtain your Unique Porting Code(UPC) by sending an

SMS from the mobile number you want to port to the number

1900 with text message starting "PORT" followed by a space, followed by your 10 digit mobile phone number.

E.g. "PORT 9876543210“.

• Step-3 - Complete the Customer Acquisition Form and Porting

Form. Remember to enter the Unique Porting Code (UPC)

code correctly on the Porting from. (UPC is valid for 15 days).

• Step-4 - Submit the completed Porting Form and Customer Acquisition Form along with requisite documentary proof of

the mobile service provider to your new provider Vodafone.

Continue...• Step-5 - You will be given a new SIM card from

Vodafone, after paying Rs. 19

• Step-6 - Vodafone will give you a porting date

(usually within 7 days)

• Step-7 - Replace the old SIM with the new SIM

provided by Vodafone, your new mobile phone

service provider, after the specified porting date

and time.

• Step-8 - You're done. You switched to Vodafone

and kept your number!

Note- For more information, visit- http://www.mnp.in/.

Functionality1. Local databases of Ported Numbers

• LDB is an active database, which is located near

the operator and contains necessary information for

routing calls to ported numbers, and therefore it is

used in real time when the call begins.

• Each operator have their own LDB.

2. Central Administrative Databases of Ported number

• CADB is a database that records the status of each transaction during the number portability.

• Contains the information necessary to route calls to ported numbers by which it regularly updates LDBs.

• It take care of the network update and administration message flow between the various operators.

• CRDB can be active or passive:

Active: Store, distribute and validate message

Passive: Store only.

• CADB contains a list of ported numbers, area codes, name of donor and recipient operator, dates of porting, information on the status of number portability(accepted, rejected, delayed) .

Implementation

Two issues to be considered in implementing number

portability:

• Number Porting Process

• Call Routing Mechanism

Number porting processIt involves a set of parties, which includes donor, recipient

and many participants.

• The basic requirement of the porting process is that a

subscriber needs to initiate a request to the service

provider.

• The request can be initiated to either of the service

providers.

There are two approaches by which the number porting

database can be maintained and implemented.

1. Peer-to-Peer approach.

2. Centralized approach.

1. Peer to Peer Approach• In this approach, there is a

bilateral agreement between two service providers.

• With this non-standard approach, there can be multiple commercial agreements between the service providers, which make it difficult to manage the terms of each agreement, and trackthe porting requests.

• This approach is very complex, and the complexity is further increased with increasing number of service providers

2.Centralized Approach• In this approach, the

regulatory authority of the country sets up the guidelines, policies and processes for number portability.

• All the service providers in the country have a shared and well-defined interface with a centralized Number Portability (NP) administration centre for processing the porting request of a number.

• This adheres to a clear set of service level agreements for each of the steps involved in the process and it is mandatory for the service providers to follow them.

Call Routing MechanismThere are two types of routing :

1)Direct routing

2)Indirect routing

1. Onward Routing

Originating network connects to the donor network. It detects dialed number has been ported out of donor switch, then donor network itself routes the call to the recipient network

2. Call-drop back

The originating network connects to donor network which detects that the dialed dir.- no. has been ported out from donor switch and check with its LDB which returns the routing no. and then donor network release the call by providing the routing no. which is used to route the call to recipient.

3. Query-On release

The originating network first check the status of the dialled number with the donor network that return a message identifying whether the no. has been ported out. The O.N. queries the CADB to obtain information regarding the recipient network and route the call directly to recipient network.

4. All-Call query

The originating network first checks the location of the dialled number in the central database and then routes the call directly to the recipient network (the network where a number is located after being ported).

Comparison of Routing Mechanism• All Call Query (ACQ) scheme is the most efficient in

terms of using network resources.

The advantages of using ACQ to implement number

portability are:

• No dependency on other network for routing the call.

• Easy billing for calls to the ported numbers.

• Call set-up time for calls to ported numbers is minimal.

• Minimal impact on signalling.

• Impact on network complexity is very less.

Whereas, other Routing mechanisms like onward routing,

call drop back and query on release is :

• Dependant on other network for routing the call.

• Network is complex and time consuming.

Signaling RelayIt helps MNOs and MVNOs meet mobile number

portability (MNP) requirements, by routing queries from

GMSC platforms to the appropriate HLR.

The SRF validates enquiries

from the GMSC and relays

the query to the HLR. When

the appropriate response is

obtained, this is returned to

the GMSC, enabling onward

routing of the signalling with

the correct Routing Number

(RN). Alternatively, a Mobile

Station Routing Number

(MSRN) may be provided.

Nationwide MNPAfter several delays, telecoms across India have now

launched nationwide mobile number portability

(NMNP). Private mobile operators like Airtel,

Vodafone, R-Com, Idea Cellular, and Uninor as well as

state-run MTNL and BSNL issued statements on July 3rd

,2015.

• Nationwide mobile number portability means,

subscribers can switch to any telecom circle in their

country while retaining the same number.

• The process for full MNP is the same as intra-city

mobile number portability.

BenefitsTo Subscriber :

• Free mobility from one service provider to another,

without changing the mobile number.

• Price competition if the market is competitive.

• Improvement in quality of service and product

innovation due to Competition among service

providers.

• Many value-added services may be offered by

service providers to attract customers, either free or

at low costs.

Continue…To Telecom Operator :

• It provides a fair chance to all the service providers.

• Player with better quality of service and innovative

products can sustain in the long term.

• It can be one of the major reasons for the industry

to go for corporate restructuring.

Obligation & RestrictionRecipient and donor operators are responsible for the

entire process of porting,

• Proper adjustment of their electronic communications

networks, systems and services to ensure that the porting

does not impair the quality of existing services.

• The setting up, development, testing, maintenance

and management of CADB.

• The user can’t cancel the porting once recipient has

submitted a request to donor operator.

• Also, after the number has been ported, the same

subscriber cannot require new porting for that number for a

period shorter than three months from the date of porting.

Problem for User• The switching from one operator to another requires

you, to pay Rs.19

• You still have to follow the same old procedure of

going to a shop, getting a new SIM .

• It takes time for the switch to take place.(4-6 days)

• Balance and other value added services will be

lapse on previous card after porting.

Future Implementation• Not loosing balance on prepaid cards.

• Changing from CDMA-to-GSM or vice-versa without change in handset.

• If the customer has extra services, like caller tune, GPRS, voice mail and others alike, then these services will not be loss.

• The success of the implementation of MNP would depend on a number of factors including :

Porting Time

Porting Fees

Better Price Deals

Conclusion• To implement number portability, the best solution is to

implement the centralized system, maintain a common number porting database, and use the All Call Query (ACQ) call routing scheme to route the calls to a ported number.

• Also service provider has to be competitive to attract the customer.

• This will encourage competition among the service providers, and in turn will reduce the tariff.

• From subscribers point of view, it should reduces cost, time and money.

• From service providers point of view, specific network maintenance activities need to be done to ensure proper operation of the number portability service over time.

References • Yi-Bing Lin, “Mobile Number Portability”, IEEE-Network.

• Suresh A.S, “MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY –

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES”, IEEE-Network.

• “Introducing fixed-mobile number portability – Croatian

case”, IEEE- Network.

• Moch Fahru Rizal, ST. MT., “Techno-Economic and

Regulation Impact Analysis of Mobile Number Portability

Implementation”, IEEE-Network.

• Rajeev Ranjan Kumar, Amrita Singh, A. Damodaram,

“Phone Number Portability in GSM networks”, CSI Vol. 32,

Issue-7, Oct.2008.

• “MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY”- Wikipedia, Google

advanced search.

Thank you…!!!