Eleven-digit mobile phone numbers are on the verge of making an entry as the rapid growth of cell phone users is likely to push the 10-digits into oblivion by early next year.
According to industry sources, given the current rate of growth of subscribers in the country, another 150-200 million can be added before the 10-digit quota is consumed. At the end of February this year, the subscriber base stood at 376 million.
Fifteen
million join the mobile club now every month, meaning the quota will be over in 10-15 months.
Officials of the department of telecom (DoT) said, “A 11-digit numbering framework will cause minimum disturbance to existing mobile phone users.”
The transition from 10 to 11 digits is most likely to involve prefixing a number before the last five digits or suffixing it at the end of the current number.
“According to international norms, mobile phone numbers in a country should have a uniform number of digits,” officials said. So, if it has to be an 11-digit format, all mobile numbers (irrespective of the operator) will have to follow the same model.
Most operators feel there is no need to change the hardware to accommodate an extra digit. “The change will be in the software and it will not take more than a month to make the changes,” said a senior executive of a mobile operator.
In India, the first numbering plan was announced in 1993 when mobile telephony had not yet begun.
In 2003, the DoT had come out with a 30-year numbering plan. However, the rapidly growing subscriber base has forced it to review the plan in six years.
The current growth rate in telecom is expected to continue as firms extend their reach to rural India and new technologies such as high-speed 3G enter the country.
Call rates are also expected to fall further as operators get involved in price wars to lure customers. The country is set to exceed the government target of 500 million mobile phones by 2010. China and the UK also had to introduce a similar change in digits.
Mobile alert
About 250 lakh handsets are expected to be out of service from April 15, as GSM operators, including Airtel and Vodafone, gear up to cease connection to cell phones without the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number. Every mobile has a unique 15-digit code, or IMEI, which can be known by keying in *#06#.
Source : www.telegraphindia.com/1090406/jsp/business/story_10780277.jsp
According to industry sources, given the current rate of growth of subscribers in the country, another 150-200 million can be added before the 10-digit quota is consumed. At the end of February this year, the subscriber base stood at 376 million.
Fifteen
million join the mobile club now every month, meaning the quota will be over in 10-15 months.Officials of the department of telecom (DoT) said, “A 11-digit numbering framework will cause minimum disturbance to existing mobile phone users.”
The transition from 10 to 11 digits is most likely to involve prefixing a number before the last five digits or suffixing it at the end of the current number.
“According to international norms, mobile phone numbers in a country should have a uniform number of digits,” officials said. So, if it has to be an 11-digit format, all mobile numbers (irrespective of the operator) will have to follow the same model.
Most operators feel there is no need to change the hardware to accommodate an extra digit. “The change will be in the software and it will not take more than a month to make the changes,” said a senior executive of a mobile operator.
In India, the first numbering plan was announced in 1993 when mobile telephony had not yet begun.
In 2003, the DoT had come out with a 30-year numbering plan. However, the rapidly growing subscriber base has forced it to review the plan in six years.
The current growth rate in telecom is expected to continue as firms extend their reach to rural India and new technologies such as high-speed 3G enter the country.
Call rates are also expected to fall further as operators get involved in price wars to lure customers. The country is set to exceed the government target of 500 million mobile phones by 2010. China and the UK also had to introduce a similar change in digits.
Mobile alert
About 250 lakh handsets are expected to be out of service from April 15, as GSM operators, including Airtel and Vodafone, gear up to cease connection to cell phones without the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number. Every mobile has a unique 15-digit code, or IMEI, which can be known by keying in *#06#.
Source : www.telegraphindia.com/1090406/jsp/business/story_10780277.jsp
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