Big three ask about phone number portability

Telecom, TelstraClear and Vodafone have asked the Commerce Commission to investigate number portability for fixed and mobile phone lines.

Number portability is the process of allowing users to keep their phone numbers when they switch between providers. The industry working group, the Telecommunication Carriers Forum, has been working on the technical detail of a number portability scheme which should be implemented within the next two or three years.

The commission is investigating a separate application into how the cost of providing number portability will be apportioned. Now it will consider whether to extend that to include this new investigation.

The applicants are seeking a determination on the scope of the number portability agreement the carriers forum is developing.

The commission released a draft determination on the original investigation in December and is accepting submissions on the matter. It has to decide whether to investigate this new determination within 10 working days.

Most developed countries have a system for number portability.

However, the New Zealand telco community has been arguing over what kind of system to implement and how to pay for it for more than a decade. The outgoing Minister of Communications, Paul Swain, described the lack of resolution on the matter as one of the most pressing matters facing the industry.