No, Your Mobile Numbers Aren’t Going to Have 13 Digits Now

Your 10-digit mobile number will remain as it is.

(Photo: The Quint/@2shar)

Recently, there have been rumours suggesting that all mobile numbers in India are going to be switched from 10-digit numbers to 13-digit ones. Reports with clickbaity headlines have caused some to fret. However, as it turns out, the media reports have clearly given you half-baked information on this matter.

After clarifying with our sources in the industry and going through the fine paper, we can assure you that there’s nothing to worry about.

Yes, the length of mobile numbers is changing, but only for M2M or machine to machine connections, which are mainly used by enterprises for their automated communication. Your 10-digit mobile number will remain as it is.

It was decided that 13-digit M2M numbering plan will be implemented from 1 July 2018. And the existing 10-digit M2M numbers will also be migrated to 13 digits, latest by 1 October 20I8 and the entire process is likely to be completed by 31 December 2018.

<i>BSNL Notification</i>

Connected vehicles deploy M2M communication. (Photo: Reuters)

So, what exactly is M2M communication? The general definition puts it as network communication between two automated machines aka Internet of Things (IoT) devices like smart home systems or even the technology adopted by car makers for connected vehicles.

BSNL has stated that the move will bring the new 13-digit protocol to a machine to machine (M2M) communication, which is not meant for the general public. Which in simple term means customers of BSNL or any other telco for that matter need not to worry about the transition from 10-digit numbers to 13-digit numbers.

Recently, the TRAI also decided to slash charges for mobile number portability (MNP) for users. This was done after they saw the upsurge in mobile number portability (MNP) requests, which resulted in charges coming down Rs 19 to Rs 4 per successful porting.

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