TRA Sees Positive Mobile Number Portability Results Complementing Its Role To Endorse Competition Between Operators 55,555 Users Successfully Switched Operators Though Mobile Number Portability In UAE
The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) reported that as of May 18, 2014, 55,555 mobile numbers were successfully transferred out of the 190,185 mobile number porting requests received by telecom operators since the official launch of the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) service in December 2013. The implementation process of the service that enables the switch from one provider to another whilst keeping their original phone number has reached 30%.
Moreover, 134,222 applications were rejected, included applications that have been resubmitted more than once by the same owner of the mobile number. The reasons for rejection were identified under the service instructions that are available with service providers and focus on the mismatch of subscriber's name with the applicant name, or non-completion of a transfer request numbers due to lack of filling the required fields or the lack of clear identification or incorrect attachments.
As part of its main role in the UAE, the TRA has increased competition within the ICT market and benefited the consumer through the successful implementation of MNP. The TRA also stressed that the subscribers should be aware of their obligations and responsibility outlined in the contracts signed with the licensee before submitting any MNP requests. The main challenges seen to date include non-compliance with licensees to deliver documentation for the service and failure to complete all the information that will help complete the application process including legibility of attachments and photocopies.
TRA has received several complaints from subscribers regarding the rejection of their MNP applications without having a solid reason for the rejection, and is working on verifying many of these cases with the licensees. The Authority will continue to monitor the MNP process along with the accredited service providers in the UAE, and take all necessary actions whenever the need arises. TRA previously requested both "Etisalat and "du" to remove some of their ad campaigns due to them not complying with the regulatory framework, and would like to thank the operators for removing the material in due time.
Emirate: Dubai
Date: May 28, 2014
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