TRAI has released a consultation paper for the National Numbering Plan. In this consultation paper, it has been said to revise the National Numbering Plan in view of the increasing number of mobile subscribers in India. Earlier, the National Numbering Plan was last updated in 2003. No changes were made in it for the last 21 years. In view of the increasing subscribers and expansion of 5G network, the regulator has decided to make changes in it.
National Numbering Plan
The National Numbering Plan plays a vital role in the allocation and management of telecommunication identifiers (TIs), ensuring efficient communications and network management. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) manages telecommunication identifiers for both fixed and mobile networks.
In 2003, the National Numbering Plan was designed to allocate 750 million telephone connections. According to the Ministry of Communication, after 21 years, the numbering resource is at risk. India currently has 1,199.28 million telephone subscribers and India’s teledensity has reached 85.69 percent by March 31, 2024. In such a situation, there is difficulty in fully utilizing the existing number allocation system.
new series numbers
Under the new numbering plan, the telecom department will be able to allocate more mobile numbers and users will not face any problem in issuing numbers. Currently, the telecom department is asking telecom companies to issue recycled numbers. These are the mobile numbers which were previously used by someone, but after the SIM is closed for more than 90 days, the telecom companies are allocating that number to a new user. After the new numbering plan comes in, telecom companies may get a new series to issue new numbers.