After 9 months of fruitless negotiations to derive a solution for implementing Mobile Number Portability (MNP), Hutchison 3G is initiating a proceeding with the Austrian regulatory authority against T-Mobile, One, Telering, Telekom Austria and UTA. Hutchison 3G's regulatory expert Bernhard Wiesinger commented: "The EU prescribes a deadline of July 25, 2003, for the implementing Mobile Number Portability. Merely installing the technical solution will take 3 to 6 months. Austria cannot afford more dead-end chats, with the old telcoms consciously delaying progress."
Customer-friendly solutions boost competition
Mobile Number Portability provides mobile phone users with the ability to transfer their existing mobile number (including the prefix) to a new service provider. This breaks down an artificial barrier and provides for a level playing field for competition.
Hutchison 3G wants One-Stop-Shopping
The customer should not wait more than 24 hours to transfer a number to a new service provider, while his contract with his old provider expires. Hutchison also believes that the customer should not pay penalties for the transfer. The charging should happen between the service providers.
RTR - Decision in 6 weeks
Hutchison 3G expects a decision in 6 weeks concerning the submitted branch solution (this term is designated by the telecom-law). But on Monday the Austrian Telecommunications Control Commission (TKK) announced the intention to rule on the admission the proceeding rather then the merits of the decision.
