Mobile-number switching put on hold

Anyone wanting to switch their mobile number from 050 to 055 - or vice-versa - will have to wait a little longer.

A long-delayed system to allow mobile users in the UAE to switch between phone operators without changing numbers has again been put back.
 
The introduction of mobile-number portability (MNP) was tipped by analysts to boost competition between Etisalat and du, which are approaching parity in terms of mobile subscribers.
 
The UAE's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) said in April that MNP would be launch in the third quarter of this year, after several delays previously.

But the introduction of MNP, which has been in the pipeline for several years, has again been postponed.

Technical issues were blamed for the latest delay.

"It will not happen in the third quarter, that's for sure," Osman Sultan, the chief executive of du, told The National. "Will it happen by the end of the year? I think it is premature for me to say," he added.

The TRA said this week that there have been technical issues in the testing of the system, according to press reports.

Mr Sultan confirmed that this is the case. The TRA was not immediately available for comment.

"There are technical issues, there are glitches," said Mr Sultan. "We are now assessing how long it will take."

The two UAE telecommunications companies have been vying for customers since du launched mobile services in 2007.

According to its second-quarter results, du now has a 43.6 per cent share of the UAE's mobile market, up from 41.6 per cent in the first quarter.

Technical issues were also blamed for a delay in another initiative designed to boost competition between Etisalat and du.

Under long-delayed plans for 'fixed-line sharing', UAE residents are expected to be able to choose between the operators for landline and broadband services by the end of the year.

But it emerged recently that television services will not be transferrable under the initiative, which could act as a deterrent to consumers switching providers.