Early move for switchers to keep mobile numbers

A timetable for the changes for people to keep mobile phone numbers if they switch provider has been speeded up, Channel Islands regulators have confirmed.

It means Jersey Telecom (JT) is delivering the changes for people using the Coop's mobile service by 17 March, six weeks earlier than planned, after the companies and Sure reached an agreement.

The Guernsey Competition and Regulatory Authority (GCRA) and Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority (JCRA) said they secured a revised timetable "that better serves islanders".

They said mobile providers had to offer mobile number portability to customers, even if technical arrangements between companies were governed by commercial arrangements.

The move comes after Coop Mobile, which uses Sure's network, said customers who wanted to switch from Jersey Telecom (JT) had been unable to keep their existing number - known as number porting.

Michael Byrne, GCRA's boss, and his JCRA counterpart Tim Ringsdore said: "Enabling mobile customers to retain their existing numbers is a critical component of effective competition in the Channel islands' telecoms markets."

They said the earlier date would "provide JT customers with an additional choice of mobile provider sooner than previously expected".

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