Coop Mobile 'challenging' JT over number transfers
BBCTelecoms firms have complained about another company over an issue with transferring phone numbers, regulators have said.
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.
The Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority (JCRA) said it had received complaints from Coop and Sure about the issue and it was "actively engaging" with all the relevant parties.
JT said that, as Coop operated its service on a different network, swapping numbers over was "complex", but porting between the firms formed part of a "significant network upgrade programme", which was in its final stages.
Channel Islands Coop chief executive Mark Cox said in a letter to members it was "disappointing" number porting was not possible.
Cox said: "We're actively challenging this with the regulator and will continue to push hard to have number transfers made available as soon as possible."
A JT spokesperson said upgrade work had been under way for four years and implementing the number porting change required detailed technical configuration and coordination between operators.
"Once the necessary configuration has been received and reviewed, we will determine how this work can best be scheduled within the programme," the spokesperson said.
Sure Group CEO Alistair Beak said JT had not enabled number porting to and from the Coop network despite having "ample time and successfully testing the process".
"This creates an unnecessary barrier for customers wishing to switch and undermines genuine choice," Beak said.
Sure and JT confirmed customers were able to move between those networks without losing their numbers, adding number portability was a "basic consumer right and a cornerstone of fair competition".
He added all licensed operators has a regulatory obligation to provide number portability.
"Sure has therefore submitted formal complaints to both the GCRA [Guernsey Competition Regulatory Authority] and the JCRA to ensure that JT fulfils its licence obligations and that a level playing field is maintained for the benefit of all consumers."
JCRA chief executive Tim Ringsdore said the regulator was speaking to the firms along with counterparts at GCRA in an attempt understand and resolve the issue "as quickly as possible".
Ringsdore said the JCRA knew number portability was an "important feature of a competitive telecoms market".
He added: "Our priority is to ensure that the mobile market continues to operate in a way that promotes fair competition and protects consumer choice."
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