Congress Votes for Number Portability

Peru's congress approved a bill by 71-14 votes to implement number portability (NP) for mobile telephony, local press reported.

The vote follows a recommendation from the country's transport and communications ministry MTC to implement NP starting in 2010. Congress is required to hold a second vote next week on the proposal and if approved, the bill will go to the executive branch for ratification.

Peru's timeframe for NP implementation is longer than that of some of it neighbors. Mexico's telecoms regulator Cofetel set a period of around 11 months to implement NP after its approval in December 2006, and Brazil's telecoms regulator Anatel approved NP earlier this month, setting a deadline of two years for implementation.

The detractors of the bill in Peru have argued that mobile penetration is still too low to justify the costs of implementation, and that it will not necessarily increase competition among operators, as is claimed by supporters."

Posted to the site on 23rd March 2007