Number portability inches closer

Last Modified: 01 Apr 2008
By: Benjamin Cohen

Ability to take your mobile phone number from one provider to another speeds up, heralding prospect of cheaper deals.

From today it will take just two days to switch your mobile phone number to a rival provider, down from a maximum of five.

The reduction is part of telecom regulator Ofcom's plan to introduce mobile number portability. By this September the time it will take to switch will reduce further to just two hours

At present the system for transferring mobile phone numbers is rather archaic.

At present, the process for transferring a telephone number seems complicated and cumbersome.

If, for example, you have a Vodafone telephone number and you wish to transfer it to rival Three, when someone telephones from their O2 telephone, in a practical sense the call is actually routed through Vodafone and then to Three.

This is known as a donor conveyance charge and it's something your original provider can actually charge for.

The new mobile number portability system, which operates in some other parts of Europe will create a central database where all telephone numbers would be stored.

Ofcom said: "These rules will make it quicker and easier for consumers to keep their number, thereby strengthening competition and consumer convenience."

But some in the industry dispute Ofcom's estimate of £12m to build the new computer system.

Earlier this year, Vodafone said the real cost could be as much as £120m.

The real benefit to consumers will probably not be the time it takes to transfer a telephone number in itself, but a more user-friendly process and, ultimately, lower prices.

At present, the process for transferring a telephone number seems complicated and cumbersome.

If you decide to keep your current handset and just switch operators you can effectively be left swapping your new and old SIM cards for days on end, to get your voicemail and texts as well as taking advantage of your new price plan.

Many consumers, believing that switching operators to be harder than it is, simply stick with their current price plan and operator. This in turn has reduced competition and the incentive for the incumbent operators to reduce prices.