Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) have asked Telenor (Uninor), Sistema (MTS India), Videocon and Tata Teleservices who’s telecom licences where cancelled by Hon’ble Supreme Court during the verdict on 2G scam case on 2nd February, 2012, to promptly inform its subscribers about closure of mobile service in unlicensed telecom circles from January 18, 2013.
TRAI have provided 10 days deadline for the telecom operator to inform all its existing subscribers in those telecom circles where they failed to renew the licences or get new licences, either in writing or through SMS. Reportedly, these four telecom operators have total 26 million active mobile subscribers ( GSM+CDMA) in those telecom circles.
After the TRAI directive, Uninor seems to be acting fast, as they have put up a public notice on their website asking its subscribers in Kolkata and West Bengal telecom circles to port out to other mobile operators in that circle. Resulting from the Hon’ble Supreme Court ordered license cancellation and no new spectrum being available through auctions in 2013, Uninor will close down operations in Kolkata and West Bengal on January 19, 2013. Uninor operations in twelve other circles where minimal obligatory rollout had been conducted to meet the license conditions will also cease on January 19, 2013 resulting from the same Supreme Court order.
Telenor Group has secured fresh licenses and spectrum for the next 20 years in the 6 circles of UP East, UP West, Bihar (including Jharkhand), Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra (including Goa) through its new company during the recent 2G spectrum auction.
In the two telecom circles of Kolkata and West Bengal, Uninor has a total subscriber base of 5.6 million. To simplify the port out process the company has further strengthened its MNP code generation processes for customers in these circles. Uninor has also dropped the 90-day lock in to allow customers to port-out even if they have taken up a Uninor subscription less than 90 days ago. Text SMS’es will be sent to all customers in Kolkata and West Bengal, encouraging them to exhaust their balance and port out to an operator of choice.
In all circles where Uninor services will no longer be available after January 18, 2013, the company will make a roaming arrangement to ensure that Uninor customers from the circles where services continue will be able to seamlessly use their Uninor connection while travelling to any other state anywhere in India.
If you are one of the effected subscriber, then act fast and MNP port out to other telecom operators in your area and also inform your friends/family about this.