Mobile users will now be able to change their service providers while retaining their numbers. On Friday, the government set a six-month deadline for the implementation of mobile number portability in the metros and category A circles. The scheme would begin in December-January in these circles, and all over the country by mid-June.

According to the guidelines announced on Friday, the country has been divided into two MNP zones, with two metros in each zone for managing the porting exercise. There would be one licence for each zone, which would manage the entire porting exercise. Existing telecom service providers cannot directly or indirectly have any stake in the MNP clearing agent, and vice-versa, in order to avoid any clash of interest.

The licence holders have to have at least 26% of the equity invested by a company, holding a prior experience of number portability in one or more countries, and it must have an experience of servicing at least 25 million consumers for at least two years.

The all query method would also be implemented in India, which means that all the consumer queries regarding portability would be handled by these two agencies in the country. While the total time to port from one service provider to another would not exceed two days initially, it would be upgraded to much faster levels. The user would have to approach the recipient operator for porting his/her number.

The eligibility criterion for the applicant specifies that the company must have a minimum paid-up capital of Rs 10 crore on the date of the application. The applicant company must also have a combined net worth of Rs 100 crore ( in proportion to their direct equity). The foreign entity must have a minimum of 26% stake and a maximum of 74% stake (in line with the FDI regulation for the sector). A minimum lock-in period of three years has been specified by the government for equity shareholders, having a share of 26% or more.

Also, a one-time entry fee of Rs 1 crore has been marked by the government for the MNP licence, and subsequently, a 1% charge on the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) would be levied by the government as the annual licence fee. However, there would a moratorium of two years on the license fee from the effective date of licence.

The pre-qualified applicants would also be subjected to a ?techno-economic evaluation? for the final selection.