Ofcom Lose Number Porting Case
Last Thursday, Ofcom lost a vital court case in their plans to reduce the time taken for customers to switch mobile telephone networks whilst retaining their number.
The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) ruled that Ofcom were required to rethink their aims after they failed to provide enough evidence to support the claim that modifying the number porting regime would cost the telecoms industry £5m.
In 2007, the regulator revealed plans to reduce the switching time from 5 days down to just 2 hours by September 2009.
The switching time has now been reduced to 2 days a new company named UK Porting have been formed to work as a central database for phone numbers.
However, Vodafone estimates the true cost of the regim will be nearer to £37m per network, totalling £185m. Vodafone mounted a legal challenge against Ofcom's proposals in January and were joined by o2 and Orange.
The judgment was met by rival operator 3 with dismay, 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.
Published: 23rd September, 2008
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