Mobile Number Portability is one of the best surfaced schemes of TRAI to encourage the right to chose a network ove the same number. This is actually a wonderful feature that will allow an user choose among the networks accoding to his requirement.
Do you think you mobile number is unique and cannot be used from different IMEI numbers at the same time? You are wrong!
Yes! One number can be used from different mobile phones and telecom companies are just hiding this possibility.
Even I thought the same till this morning but a major flaw in their networks transportation exposed a serious bug in their network gateway.
What actually happened?
I had been Idea’s loyal customer for the past 10 years and due to the prolonged interruption of the network in my area, I switeched it over to Airtel 5 months ago.
I saw the same problem with Airtel these days and I thought I’d switch back to Idea. So I went to a retailer and submitted my proofs and got an Idea SIM card (under MNP applicaiton).
I had to wait for Airtel to go offline forever to insert Idea SIM card for the activation process. I did not get any service turn off from Airtel but I got a message showing that Idea has been activated.
No I have two SIM cards, fully functional and active from both the networks.
Yeah! Thats’s what scared me.
How is this even possible?
There might be an issue in the common network gateway that these telecom companies are using. This duplicated my number onto another electronic chip which is a major bug in their gateway software system. This either should be updated or looked after to avoid further damage to the user identification.
Never throw away your old SIM card like a boss
With an out-of-service SIM card in hand and a newkly activated SIM in phone, anyone would feel the swag of a boss throwing it away into the bin or on road.
Imagine the possibilities if someone picks up the SIM and puts it in his mobile phone and uses it since it’s active and fully functional.
Sounds scary right?
So..
What shall you do?
If you want to dispose the old SIM card, break it into two and throw it away. That’s the best you can do.
But..What about the duplicate identity?
This somehow creates a worry abuot the identity security of our own. If someone could clone a SIM card which would be under our identify proofs and uses it for any anti-social activity or to destroy the personal reputation, may be they can.
Telecom industry should take this issue seriously and make sure this won’t happen. If this bug can give a notmal personal like me the access to have both networks active with one single number, it’s enjoyable to have multiple network access but not secured as of now.
Beware about the SIM cards till eSIMS come into real market. Stay safe!
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