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Telcos have already agreed to principles
TRCSL Director General Oshada Senanayake[/caption]
The number portability facility announced by the Government last year is expected to come into effect by mid-2021, enabling customers to retain their numbers while changing service providers, according to the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL).
TRCSL Director General Oshada Senanayake told The Sunday Morning Business that the public consultation paper, which is a formality arrangement, has been released last week and that the TRCSL is expecting feedback for that from mid-February onwards.
“All telecommunication (telco) providers have already agreed in principle. In fact last year, in the last quarter of 2020, they published their own statements that they are looking forward to collaborating on this initiative,” Senanayake stated.
He added that the necessary technical-side work is being done at the moment while interconnecting rate methods and systems are pending to do.
“This is something the consumers have wanted for years. So it's better late than never because all other countries have gone forward these long years back. This will enable a lot more autonomy to decide what they want, irrespective of the number. With this, consumers can switch to any service provider at any moment,” he added.
All our attempts to reach telecommunication service providers on Thursday (21) proved futile as they asked more time to issue their statements.
Nevertheless, soon after the announcement of this facility last year, Dialog Axiata PLC welcomed the move, issuing a statement.
Number portability, which enables the switching of mobile and fixed line numbers across competing service providers, is a customer facility widely practised internationally and is a key facet of a liberalised telecommunications market.
Dialog noted that it first proposed in July 2008 the initiation of a roadmap to alleviate consumer choice bottlenecks including number portability, and that it believes the paradigm that maximising consumer choice would result in the enhancement and development of the industry overall, resulting in benefits to all service providers and their customers.
“Dialog is honoured by the trust placed in the brand and its services by over 15 million Sri Lankan consumers. The success and growth of the company would not have been possible if not for our customers exercising their choice. Open competition and customer choice is at the root of our success and is a paradigm we deeply respect. Advanced technologies enable not only a suite of advanced facilities, but also the freedom of consumers to choose the best,” Dialog Director/Group Chief Executive Supun Weerasinghe stated at that point.
While Sri Lanka’s telecommunications market has been recognised globally for its affordability and quality of services as well as state-of-the-art technology and advanced facilities, enabling the portability of mobile and fixed numbers across networks has not been implemented to date.
“We are very happy to see the TRCSL moving forward with the next steps in the liberalisation of our industry and we congratulate the TRCSL for initiating the process of implementing number portability in Sri Lanka. Dialog is also optimistic that the TRCSL will move forward swiftly with other similar enablers of consumer choice,” Weerasinghe added.
Dialog entered Sri Lanka’s telecommunications market as the fourth entrant in the mobile sector. It rose to the top spot in 2000. Dialog and its principal shareholder, Axiata Group, also hold the distinction of being Sri Lanka’s largest FDI (foreign direct investment) with a total investment to date of $ 2.7 billion directed at telecommunications infrastructure development in Sri Lanka.