Ofcom forced to rethink number portability plan
pRegulator Ofcom was yesterday sent back to the drawing board to rework plans to reduce the time it takes for customers to switch mobile phone network while retaining their number, after losing a crucial court case./ppThe competition appeal tribunal (CAT) yesterday ruled that the regulator needed to rethink its plans after failing to provide sufficient evidence to back up its claim that changing the so-called number porting regime would cost the industry pound;5m./ppLast year, Ofcom announced plans to reduce the time it takes to switch from five days to two hours by September 2009. It has now come down to two days and a company called UK Porting has been formed to act as a central database for all phone numbers./ppBut Vodafone, which mounted a legal challenge against Ofcom’s plans in January, estimates the real cost of the regime will be closer to pound;37m per network, or a grand total of pound;185m. It was joined in its challenge by O2 and Orange./ppThe judgment was met with dismay by rival operator 3, which pointed out that the UK shares its “number porting” regime, in which customers must ask their old operator before they quit, with only one other country, the Dominican Republic. As the smallest of the five UK networks it is in the interests of 3, owned by Hong Kong-based conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa, to make it as easy as possible to leave the big four operators./pp”Vodafone and the other incumbents have fought this all the way,” said a spokesman. “Ofcom is trying to achieve fast, hassle-free mobile number porting to give UK consumers flexibility and choice, but the incumbents have consistently put up roadblocks./pp”UK consumers might well ask why are the incumbents going to such lengths? Consumers ought to be able to expect more competitive pricing and a painless process when they choose to move to a new operator.”/ppHe pointed out that customers of Vodafone and O2 - as well as 3 - in Ireland have been able to switch between operators in about 20 minutes for many years. The CAT, however, threw out 3’s argument that the number porting regime distorts competition./ppA spokesman for Vodafone stressed the company’s objections to the plan were over Ofcom’s bad maths. “We are fully behind number portability. What we object to is a costly and ill-conceived plan,” he said./ppThe CAT was particularly scathing about Ofcom’s lack of evidence to substantiate its calculations, saying: “At the hearing, counsel for Ofcom stated that the figure of pound;5m was adopted from internal working by Ofcom staff. The calculation did not appear in any documents before the tribunal.”/ppA spokeswoman for the regulator, whose plan included proposals for changing the way that numbers for fixed line phones are moved to other operators, said it will continue with attempts to simplify the porting process./pp”Following today’s judgment … Ofcom will reconsider its decision on telephone number portability for consumers switching suppliers … Ofcom is giving careful consideration to the CAT judgment and is considering next steps.”/pimg width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’http://www.guardianfeeds.co.uk/c/288/f/7511/s/1eb7496/mf.gif’ border=’0′/div class=’mf-related’pRelated Stories/pullia href=’http://www.guardianfeeds.co.uk/c/288/f/7511/s/1ead98d/story01.htm’NHS staff will be required to seek patients’ consent before accessing electronic medical records/a/lilia href=’http://www.guardianfeeds.co.uk/c/288/f/7511/s/1eb3e89/story01.htm’Tech’s high rollers scoff at Wall Street/a/lilia href=’http://www.guardianfeeds.co.uk/c/288/f/7511/s/1eb7497/story01.htm’FBI on the trail of hackers after Palin’s emails made public/a/lilia href=’http://www.guardianfeeds.co.uk/c/288/f/7511/s/1eb7498/story01.htm’Missing link: creationist campaigner has Richard Dawkins’ official website banned in Turkey/a/lilia href=’http://www.guardianfeeds.co.uk/c/288/f/7511/s/1eb7499/story01.htm’Click to download: Oasis and Third Eye Blind/a/li/ul/divdiv class=’mf-viral’table border=’0′trtd valign=’middle’a href=”http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/sendemail2.html?title=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/sep/19/telecoms.regulators?gusrc=rssfeed=technologyfulllink=Ofcom forced to rethink number portability plan” target=”_blank”img src=”http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/emailthis2.gif” border=”0″ //a/tdtd valign=’middle’a href=”http://res.feedsportal.com/viral/bookmark.cfm?title=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/sep/19/telecoms.regulators?gusrc=rssfeed=technologyfulllink=Ofcom forced to rethink number portability plan” target=”_blank”img src=”http://rss.feedsportal.com/images/bookmark.gif” border=”0″ //a/td/tr/table/divbr/br/a href=”http://da.feedsportal.com/r/19345390108/f/7511/c/288/s/32208022/a2.htm”img src=”http://da.feedsportal.com/r/19345390108/f/7511/c/288/s/32208022/a2.img” border=”0″//a
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