Number Portability Hits Two Big Milestones

New Zealand Telecommunications Forum

29 March 2012
Number Portability Hits Two Big Milestones

Number portability, the scheme that allows you to take (or “port”) your existing mobile or local number with you if you move to a new services provider, will hit two big milestones in April, according to the New Zealand Telecommunication Forum (TCF).

The first milestone is that number portability will be five years old on 1 April. The second is that the total number of mobile numbers that have been ported is expected to reach 500,000 during April.

“Reaching this figure is a significant landmark for the industry – and for our customers,” said TCF CEO David Stone. “This is certainly an achievement that needs celebrating, for customers and industry alike.”

A further 300,000 local numbers have also been ported since 1 April 2007, taking the total number of ported numbers to 800,000.

When number portability went “live” in 2007, there were 8 participants using the central, TCF managed, Industry Portability Management System. There are currently 24 service providers listed in the system, reflective of the growth in competition in the market that has been facilitated by number portability over this time period. With that growth, the rate at which people are porting their numbers has increased too. Almost 13,000 mobile numbers are now being ported every month, compared with just 3,000 a month during the first year the scheme operated. About 150,000 mobile numbers have been ported over the last year.

“The fact that porting your number is relatively seamless, in the face of the technical complexity behind it, is due in no small part to the efforts of dozens of staff across the telecommunications companies and the TCF that work to make this a reality,” says Mr Stone. “I thank them all for their hard work.”

“At some point, we may see a levelling off in recorded porting activity as we reach a natural equilibrium with ported and non-ported numbers” he says. “But for now, we have our eyes set on the one million mark and, at this rate, that’s not too far off.”

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Background facts and figures

1 April 2007 – the date local and mobile number portability was introduced in New Zealand.

$100 million – the estimated cost of implementing number portability

12,895 – the average number of mobile numbers ported in a month

7,201 – the average number of local numbers ported in a month

62.5% - the overall proportion of ported numbers which are mobile numbers

About the TCF

The New Zealand Telecommunications Forum (TCF) plays a vital role in the New Zealand telecommunications industry, collaboratively developing key industry standards and codes of practice that underpin the country’s digital economy.

Established in 2002 as the Telecommunications Carriers’ Forum, the TCF is a registered incorporated society. It changed its name in 2011 to the New Zealand Telecommunications Forum. Our objective is to actively foster cooperation among the telecommunications industry’s participants, to enable the efficient provision of regulated and non-regulated telecommunications services.

We work with both industry participants and government agencies to achieve our objectives. We work within the telecommunications industry to efficiently resolve regulatory, technical and policy issues, and provide a bridge to government with the results. We offer an expert, informed, and commercially-focused forum to debate problems, and to devise and implement practical, efficient, consensual solutions that enable competition to flourish.

For more information visit: http://www.tcf.org.nz

ENDS

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