UK: Mobile Number Porting With In Two Hours

The UK's telecoms regulator, Ofcom has issued new rules making it easier for consumers to keep their mobile number when they switch providers. Under the new rules, consumers will be able to receive calls using their existing number within 2 hours of moving to a new mobile network. Previously the processing time was 5 days.



The move follows Ofcom's earlier decision to reduce mobile number porting lead times from 5 days to 2 days from 1 April 2008. Two hour transfers for mobile numbers must now be implemented by 1 September 2009.

In addition, industry will be obliged to ensure that the new porting process includes the necessary levels of protection for consumers.


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Wireless trend: Consumers have not reaped the expected benefits of cellphone 'number portability'

According to a report from Analysys Research, there are few countries where more than 10 percent of mobile phone subscribers have taken advantage of number portability, which refers to the rule that a customer can take a phone number to another carrier should he or she switch carriers. In Britain and Italy, just under 10 percent of mobile users took advantage of number portability. France and Germany's figure was so small its percentage was negligible. The U.S. saw about 5 percent of mobile users taking their numbers to a new operator. The curve-breaker of the 25 countries surveyed was (surprise, surprise) Finland, which saw 55 percent of mobile users transferring their numbers to a new carrier during the four years since portability first became available.

Number portability has not ushered in a new paradigm of radically improved mobile services or customer care as the hype machine predicted so many years ago. Here's a new topic to chew on: So, when do we do away with these numbers altogether?

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