MNP to be commercially available in PH on September 30

The country’s top telcos, Globe, Smart, DITO, have announced that the commercial availability of Mobile Number Portability or MNP will be on September 30, 2021.

To recap, MNP is a global practice that allows mobile phone customers to keep their number even when they switch networks or change subscriptions from postpaid to prepaid and vice versa. In the Philippines, it’s in accordance with the Republic Act No. 11202, or the Mobile Number Portability Act. Number porting is a free service.

Telecommunications Connectivity Inc. (TCI), formed by DITO, Globe, and Smart to enable number porting services in compliance with the Mobile Number Portability law. The TCI is the implementing arm for all activities between mobile service providers on one hand and the mobile number portability service provider (or the clearinghouse) on the other. Melanie A. Manuel has been named as TCI’s Interim General Manager.

A separate entity is required to facilitate decision-making and approvals in the various contracts that will be entered into during the course of the implementation of mobile number portability. It will be too unwieldy to secure approvals from the 3 operators of any decision or contract that will have to be entered into with third parties. TCI will continue to operate as long as the law requires mobile number portability.

Furthermore, the Philippine mobile operators, through a technical and commercial evaluation system, chose Syniverse as its mobile number portability service provider (MNPSP). The company will bring in the technical infrastructure to fulfill its primary function as a clearinghouse for the three telcos and ensuring smooth implementation of number porting services.

How to conduct porting services?

To port within networks, one needs to meet the following requirements:
• An active SIM and the requestor is the assignee of the mobile number to be
ported
• No remaining balance from your previous bill (for postpaid)
• No existing court prohibitions
• No pending transfer of ownership

You can learn about Globe and Smart‘s number porting processes via the links provided.