# What is MNP (Mobile Number Portability)?

> MNP is the regulatory regime that lets a subscriber keep their mobile number when they switch from one operator to another. The number is unchanged; the routing is updated. Every operator maintains a central or per-operator number portability database, queried at call/SMS routing time so the message reaches the new operator's HLR, not the original one.

- Canonical URL: https://www.broadnet.me/answers/what-is-mnp
- Language: en
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-01
- Publisher: BroadNet (https://www.broadnet.me)

## Why MNP is messy for SMS

If you assume a number's prefix tells you the operator, you are wrong about 5–25% of the time depending on the market. In the UAE the ported share is ~12%, in KSA closer to 18%, in Egypt ~9%. Send to the wrong operator and the message dead-letters, or worse, gets rerouted through inefficient operator-to-operator interconnect that the originator pays for at a higher rate.

## How operators expose MNP data

Centralised number portability databases (CNPD) in some markets (UK, Singapore, India), per-operator portability flags in others. SS7-based lookup is universal: an HLR query returns the current serving operator regardless of original prefix. BroadNet's HLR Lookup API normalises across both models and returns `currentOperator` and `originalOperator` as discrete fields.

## What MNP means for sender-ID compliance

Sender-ID registrations are usually per-operator, per-country. If your sender ID is approved with STC but a recipient has ported from STC to Mobily, the message now needs Mobily's approval too. Mature aggregators register sender IDs with all operators in a country. Less mature ones quietly fail the cross-operator messages and tell you nothing.

## Practical recommendation

Run HLR Lookup on every new number at acquisition time, and re-scrub your active list quarterly. The cost is fractional compared to the SMS sent to dead-routed numbers, and your DLR success rate improves because fewer messages go to dead numbers.

## Related

- [All answers](https://www.broadnet.me/answers)
- [Glossary](https://www.broadnet.me/answers)
- [What are MCC and MNC codes?](https://www.broadnet.me/answers/what-is-mcc-mnc)
- [What is HLR Lookup?](https://www.broadnet.me/answers/what-is-hlr-lookup)
- [What is ENUM (E.164 Number Mapping)?](https://www.broadnet.me/answers/what-is-enum)
- [HLR lookup vs MNP — what's the difference?](https://www.broadnet.me/answers/hlr-vs-mnp)
- [SS7 MAP — what it is and why messaging still depends on it](https://www.broadnet.me/answers/ss7-map-explained)
- [HLR Lookup](https://www.broadnet.me/products/hlr-lookup)