During 2011, 5.37 million Brazilians, both mobile and fixed-line users, have switched their telephone operators without changing their numbers. That’s an 18.37% increase from 2010, when 4.54 million number portability requests were registered. According to ABR Telecom, the association that manages number portability operations in Brazil, 37% (or 1.99 million) of the total referrals were users exchanging fixed-line operators and 63% (3.38 million) were for mobile devices.
The 5.37 million requests are also a record since number portability started in Brazil in September 2008. In the first year, 3.28 million subscribers changed their carrier but kept their number. In total, 13.31 million fixed and mobile phones have exchanged carriers without changing the identification numbers through December 31, 2011. Of these, 66% were mobile and 34% were fixed.
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Several countries along Latin America region has implemented number portability. Most recently, Colombia started it in July 29 and Chile is set to launch mobile number portability next Jan 16.
As part of number portability deployment, Chile’s Department of Telecommunications (Subtel) has approved a regulation issue which allows mobile phone users to ask their existing carriers to unlock their phones for free. In addition, all phones sold since Dec. 2 must be unlocked.
Number portability is being unveiled in stages in Chile, beginning Dec. 5 in Arica, the first city to offer fixed number portability. Arica will be followed by Santiago on March 12 and Iquique, Antofagasta and Temuco in April. All Chilean cities will have number portability by August.
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Mobile number portability starts Jan. 16 in Chile
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Number portability starts today in Colombia
