France Mobile Users To Switch Co, Keep Numbers Spring 07"

PARIS -(Dow Jones)- Sometime this spring French mobile phone customers should be able to switch providers while retaining their phone numbers, said France's Minister of Industry Francois Loos, at a press conference in Paris Monday.

The option to keep one's mobile phone number while switching phone company has caused widespread customer turnover in the UK and Japan where similar laws have already gone into effect.

French mobile phone prices are likely to feel the pressure of competition, as customers hop from operator to operator to get the best deal.

Though several months late, the technical system provided by Groupe Steria is in place, the Minister said and in the midst of tests. Should all go well the French regulator should be able to announce the launch of the new system in mid-February.

"Of course I was disappointed by the delay but it was important there not be any faults in the system," Loos said.

There are roughly fifteen mobile phone operators in France but France Telecom's unit Orange, Vivendi Universal's SFR and Bouygues's Bouygyues Telecom are the largest.

-Nina Sovich, Dow Jones Newswires; + 33 1 40 17 17 55, nina.sovich@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires"

Posted to the site on 13th November 2006