The Communications Regulatory Authority of Iran has announced Taliya subscribers cannot use the recently launched Mobile Number Portability scheme for now, but this may change in future. Mohammad Karim Nasser-Sarraf, the CEO of Taliya, had previously said negotiations were underway so that the network’s subscribers could also use the recently launched MNP services, Tasnim News Agency reported. He had said that Taliya’s network was being merged with the networks of Hamrah-e-Avval or Mobile Telecommunications Company of Iran, thus chances are high that Taliya subscribers could port their network while retaining their numbers. MNP enables cellphone users to retain their numbers while changing from one mobile network operator to another and its pilot phase was launched mid-July in Iran. A lesser-known mobile operator in Iran, Taliya was the first independent and privately held prepaid mobile network that started work in 2004. Taliya’s activities became limited over time and it lost its market share following the rise of more popular private mobile networks such as MTN-Irancell and RighTel, which offered a wider range of telecoms services. Taliya currently only offers call and text-messaging services.
