News 

Currently when transferring a mobile number from one network to another it takes up to five days. This falls to two days on 1 April 2008 and will be reduced to two hours by 1 September 2009.

"These rules will make it quicker and easier for consumers to keep their number, thereby strengthening competition and consumer convenience," Ofcom explained. "It will also

ADVERTISEMENT

help protect consumers from the risk of losing calls if their old providers' network fails."

Ofcom is also requiring industry to create a common database to handle calls and introduce more efficient call routing. The database will ensure that consumers are not affected by problems with their old network, after they have ported their number by making it possible to route calls to ported numbers directly to the new provider's network without the need for the call to travel over the previous network. The database will effectively remove dependency on the previous network.

"Consumers deserve a quick and easy process for switching while retaining their number," said Ofcom chief executive, Ed Richards. "These measures will promote competition in the UK mobile market and act directly in the consumers' interest. Our new rules set tough but achievable deadlines to put new systems in place and I look to the industry to implement them effectively."