High Demand for Number Portability in Pakistan

Speaking at a conference last week, the Chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, Maj. Gen (R) Shahzada Alam Malik said that since the introduction of mobile number portability in the country, more than 10 thousand subscribers have availed the MNP facility while 20 thousand have already posted their requests for shifting their cellphone numbers along with the code from one operator to another.

Chairman PTA said that there is fierce competition in mobile phone sector and it is not easy to retain the consumers. Companies will have to work hard so that their consumers don't leave them. He said that users are getting benefit of the healthy competition.

He said that MNP database has been established in Islamabad which hosts the data of all ported out and ported in numbers. He said that MNP is working successfully and now it is up to the consumers to avail this service if they are not satisfied with their present operator.

Mobile number portability was launched in the country last month.

The Mobile World subscriber database notes that Pakistan ended Q1 '06 with a total of just over 55.6 million phone users - representing a market penetration level of around 33%"

Posted to the site on 30th April 2007