India's telecom regulator has announced that there will be no change in the 10-digit mobile numbering scheme that is being followed currently. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued this clarification after noticing some recent media reports that had misinterpreted its earlier announcement.
The statement issued by TRAI categorically rejects the claims made by some publications and says that it has not made any recommendation to switch to an 11-digit numbering scheme.
In fact, going by TRAI’s statement it suggests that the telecom authority recommended prefixing a 0 only for calls made from a landline to a mobile number which would result in an additional generating 2,5 billion additional numbering resources for mobile services to cater to the future requirements
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It also clarified that this should not be considered similar to increasing the number of digits in mobile numbers. "In fact, as per the TRAI recommendation, the country will continue to follow a 10-digit numbering for mobile services. We have categorically rejected shifting to an 11-digit mobile numbering plan," TRAI’s press release said.
TRAI also feels that while switching to an 11-digit number system will add a capacity of 10 billion new numbers, however, it also sees some serious challenges like additional cost required in the modification of the switching system across the country and more.
While rejecting the need for a unified number system, TRAI said that the migration is not needed as of now and suggested that making a minor change in the current dialling process will help create the required numbering space.
With the ever-increasing mobile user base in India, the current 10-digit numbering is expected to soon run out. This had prompted the agencies to come up with ways to free-up the unutilized capacities and thus TRAI had also recommended issuing the revised and new National Numbering Plan (NNP).
Via: Economic Times
