DOT wants 11-digit mobile numbers in India by April 2010

According to a new proposal by the Department of Telecom (DoT), all the 500 million mobile phone subscribers in India will soon have 11 digit mobile phone numbers.DOT has subsequently amended the National Numbering Plan for the move, which will affect all the mobile phone users in the country.

According to the new proposal by the DoT, the move is necessary because of the growing number of mobile phone connections. But there is no certainty that the proposal would be accepted.

DOT wants the move to take place by January 2010. DoT had earlier too proposed that 11 digit numbers be implemented in April 2009.

A mobile number has three components: the PLMN code, MSC code and subscriber number. DOT wants to add a digit to the existing 2-digit PLMN code.

According to the draft notification prepared by the DoT, customers will have to add the number ’9′ as a prefix to their existing mobile phone numbers.

The proposal by DoT has evoked strong reactions from the industry. Leading operators in the country say while it would be almost impossible to implement the move by January 2010, any kind of transition like this should be allowed, at the least, a time frame of 12 months.

The number change will have a huge impact both on the software and hardware side, from a network operator’s point of view.

India, one of the booming Asian mobile phone markets, already has a mobile phone subscription base of 500 million and it could well cross the one billion mark in a couple of years or so. According to the current 10-digit numbering system, there can only be one billion users at a time. This is the logic that has transpired the DoT to propose such a move.

According to a report in 2003, India could reach the 500 million subscription base only by 2030, but exceeding all expectations, that figure has been reached in just six years.