Telcos to commence mobile number portability services September 30

By Jennifer P. Rendon

Gone are the days when mobile phone users have to switch numbers when switching to other telecommunication networks.

Starting September 30., mobile phone users can be able to keep their mobile numbers even if they change their networks of transfer their subscription form postpaid to prepaid and vice versa.

The country’s three biggest networks – Globe Telecom, Inc., Smart Communications, and DITO Telecommunity Corp. – made the formal announcement a few days after they conducted the initial tests of their technical capabilities and interoperability.

Telecommunications Connectivity Inc. (TCI), the joint venture company formed by the major mobile network operators to implement Republic Act 11202, pegged that around a million subscribers will initially take part in porting out their networks and porting its in to other networks.

Number porting is the process of taking an existing phone number and transferring it to another provider

Signed in February 2019, RA 11202 or the Mobile Number Portability Act aims to “to promote consumer welfare as it fosters the freedom to choose and to respond to quality, price, and other relevant considerations without the consumers having to change their mobile numbers whenever they change mobile service providers or subscription plans.

The three telco giants have obtained a mobile number portability service provider (MNPSP), US-based Syniverse Technologies, in coordination with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

TCI stressed that there would be no porting fee.

Given that one million is just an initial number, Melanie Manuel, TCI general manager, said the company foresees more MNP transactions owing to the fact that around 30 percent of telecom subscribers in other countries change their subscriptions and networks.

For a mobile phone user to switch network, he must have an active bscriber identity module or subscriber identification module (SIM) or mobile number and has been cleared of any liability from his or her previous network provider.

It also important that the user did not have any   porting transaction in the last 60 days and holds no record of fraudulent activity.