New Delhi: The government’s department of telecom, or DoT, has awarded a purchase tender for implementation of a mobile number portability, or MNP, solution that allows mobile phone customers to change their service provider while retaining their mobile numbers. The award of the contracts will mean an MNP regime will be rolled out in the country by end of summer 2010, with the solution going live in the metros in six months, according to terms of the tender.

The government has issued letters of intent to Syniverse Technologies India Pvt. Ltd to implement the solution for north and west India.

The mandate to implement the solution in south and east India has been awarded to MNP Interconnection Telecom Solutions India Pvt. Ltd, a joint venture between Telcordia Technologies Inc. and local player Deepak Talwar Consultants Pvt. Ltd. The firms have 30 days to submit all the required documents including an entry fee and a performance guarantee worth Rs1 crore each as well as a financial bank guarantee of Rs 2 crore.