Record activity for mobile number porting

TCF Media Release – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Record activity for mobile number porting

Auckland - 8 September 2009

The Telecommunications Carriers’ Forum (TCF) today announced that a record number of mobile telephone numbers were ported during August. Number porting means that business and consumer mobile phone customers can keep the same telephone number when they switch between service providers in New Zealand.

TCF Independent Chair Richard Westlake said “August 2009 will be known as the month that we threw out the record books. Porting volumes increased so dramatically, the number of mobile portings alone, at almost 15,500, was triple the previous month’s record. Approximately 12,000 local numbers were also ported”

Westlake said that the August record relates in part to the recent introduction of widely publicised new products and services in the market. “Several new mobile services are being offered by existing companies,” said Westlake. “That is great news for consumers because it means competitive pricing, but it’s also good for industry, since it means New Zealand’s market for mobile services is still open in spite of the recession.”

“I would also like to acknowledge two of our members, Telecom and Vodafone, who stepped in to help with the sudden increase in volumes by offering other providers manual workarounds allowing mobile ports to occur seamlessly, without impacting on customers”

There are now over a quarter of a million ported numbers in New Zealand, and if recent trends continue, could easily exceed 300,000 by the end of the year.

Number portability (LMNP) was launched in April 2007. Number porting is free to customers but it cost the telecommunications industry over $100 million to implement.

ENDS

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