New Ofcom Rules Allow Swift Mobile Transfer

The communications regulator Ofcom has brought in new rules requiring mobile operators to issue leaving customers with Porting Authorisation Codes (PACs) within a maximum of two hours – so users can get onto a new network the same day.

The decision was made after it was discovered that several operators were issuing PACs by post, which could take several days to arrive. Ofcom’s new rules now state that operators must issue PACs immediately over the phone or within a maximum of two hours by text message.

“Ofcom’s decision places the power back into consumers’ hands, putting them in a much stronger position to move networks and save money on their mobile,” said Ernest Doku, technology expert at uSwitch.com, commenting on the news. “This move is long overdue and finally puts the UK on a level playing field with the rest of Europe.”

Customers detered from switching

Ofcom previously attempted to make mobile providers reduce porting times to two hours in 2007, but was forced to withdraw the requirement, following a successful appeal by Vodafone to the Competition Appeals Tribunal.

According to research by Ofcom, eight percent of all people with a mobile phone switched provider in 2010. However, Doku said that over 18 million have never switched network, because they are worried about losing their phone number.

“Mobile numbers are as important as home addresses these days. Anyone who has lost their phone will know what a hassle it is to contact everyone you know with your new number – so of course people want to keep their number when they switch,” he added.

“From today it should be far simpler to pick an attractive deal and switch to it without the dread of having to communicate a new number to all your friends and family.”

Mobile users waste money

Simultaneous research by mathematics analytics group Billmonitor has also revealed that UK consumers could save billions on their mobile phone bills if they switch their contract to a tariff that more accurately reflects their usage levels.

Over half (52 percent) of the 28,417 customers surveyed were found to be wasting money on a tariff that is too large for them, using on average just one quarter of their monthly calling allowance, amounting to a total waste of £2.62 billion; 29 percent of customers waste money on a tariff that is too small, wasting money on out of allowance calls, texts, data usage, to the tune of £1.53 billion.

“Comparing customers’ actual mobile phone usage, as detailed in their monthly bills, to available contracts in the market, Billmonitor calculations show that 76 percent of UK mobile subscribers are currently wasting on average £194.71 per year on the wrong contract,” said Dr Stelios Koundouros, founder and director of Billmonitor. “Compared to the average UK monthly bill of £439 per year, this is equivalent to a 44 percent overspend.”

Meanwhile, in the world of fixed-line broadband, a recent survey by ISPreview revealed that nearly a third of the UK’s broadband users plan to switch to a different provider, as levels of dissatisfaction with Internet access speeds continue to soar.

Changing broadband provider has become easier and less expensive, since Ofcom last year persuaded three of the UK’s largest Internet service providers to reduce the fees they charge customers who want to change to a different broadband or finish their contract early.