With the current 10 digit mobile number collection likely to be exhausted soon, C-DoT, the R&D organization of the telecom sector, is considering if the Unique Identity Number (UID) could be used as mobile number.
The UID Authority set up by the government under the chairmanship of Nandan Nilekani has been assigned the task of issuing unique identity number for every citizen of the country.
With over 1 crore mobile subscribers being added every month and the all-India mobile subscribers base crossing the 44-crore mark, the current 10 digit numbers are likely to get exhausted very soon.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) is planning to come up with 11-12-digit number, but doubts are raised whether this step would contain the demand.
"What we have thought is why not have one unique number associated with the person like the social security number in the US or the UID. So that unique number we can use for the purpose of mobile communications also," P V Acharya, executive director, C-DoT, told reporters.
The government is hoping to rework the current numbering plan and is already debating with the telecom regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), whether 11-12 digit numbers could be offered. However, the cost and technology are a major consideration here.
The present numbering plan was framed in 2003 to serve estimated 75 crore subscribers until 2030. However, the booming Indian telecom sector is likely to reach 75 crore mobile users much before that as currently India's mobile subscriber base is 44.16 crore.
It is believed that both the government and the industry are looking at a numbering framework that will cause minimum disturbance to existing mobile phone users.
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