MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) hopes to start implementing the Mobile Number Portability Act in 2020.
DICT Undersecretary Elise Rio, Jr. said the 18-month period set by the telecommunications companies to integrate and enable interoperability under one platform would be too long.
“We will talk to the telcos and to the service provider this January so we could shorten the process without compromising privacy, security and safety of the subscribers,” Rio said.
Telecom giants Smart, Globe Telecom and new player Dito Telecommunity have tapped US-based Syniverse as their common service provider to implement mobile number portability, which allows subscribers to retain their mobile numbers even if they change networks.
They plan to make the number portability services available by the second half of 2021.
Rio, during an interview on Radyo Inquirer program “Good Morning Inquirer”, acknowledged that thorough testing is necessary before the new service is rolled out.
“Some mobile numbers are being used for banking and ‘wallet’ purposes. Some numbers are attached to bank accounts, credit cards, online shopping, etc.,” he told program host Ricky Brosas.
“That is why the third party provider needs to be careful and thorough in implementing the number portability,” he noted, even as he said some processes could be shortened to make it available ahead of schedule.
Rio also said that that Dito Telecommunity, the new network run by businessman Dennis Uy with China Telecommunications, is on track when it comes to delivering its commitments.
“They are given one year to cover 37 percent of the population. In terms of speed, it is now not less than 27 megabit per second. The average with Globe and Smart is around 20 Mbit/s,” he said.
The speed will be 55 Mbits/s in the second year of implementing the mobile number portability law, Rio said.