Dec 07/Jan/08

It will be possible to switch mobile phone numbers between network providers within two hours from September 2009. This, at any rate, is the intent of Ofcom, the regulatory authority in the UK.

Lack of mobile number portability has long been a bugbear in the mobile market, since it tends to tie users with established numbers to their existing supplier - a feature of which the networks are of course well aware.

The time lag for switching numbers is already due to come down from fives days to two in March 2008, but the reduction to two hours is a significant further step in this process.

The UK is only the second EU country to have revised its mobile number portability rules in recent times. In May 2007 the French regulator, ARCEP, shortened the process from two months to between seven and ten days. The new Ofcom rules undercut this by a long way, and are seen as tougher than in most other European countries, though consultancy Ovum points out that in Asian countries the time lag is even shorter. For instance, in South Korea it is said to be just thirty minutes.

 

Curiously, though, Ovum reports that globally, the number of subscribers porting does not increase as porting time decreases. It therefore thinks the only supplier in the UK that is likely to benefit from easier porting is 3, the smallest network.