NUMBER PORTABILITY IN THE UK: A TWO-EDGED SWORD?

JOHN CLUNY

Abstract

Number portability, the facility enabling customers to keep their existing
telephone numbers when changing supplier, is currently being deployed
throughout the UK*s access networks. This innovation follows a prolonged
(and sometimes acrimonious) debate about the economic costs and benefits of
portability, and precisely how it should be paid for. Ultimately, however,
the prevailing view of the regulatory regime was that the corresponding
reduction in switching costs was an essential requirement for effective
competition in the local loop. This belief was universally endorsed by the
new access providers in the UK: indeed, several cable operators argued that
the absence of portability was the single most significant impediment to
competition in the UK telephony market.

The focus has now shifted from regulatory economics to commercial realities.
Based on the experiences of its pioneers, this Paper assesses the early
evidence of the effectiveness of portability and its impact on consumer
decisions. It also describes the daunting complexities of the
implementation process itself, and sets these against the parameters of the
earlier economic debate.

Author

John Cluny is Regulatory Business Manager for General Cable plc, a leading
provider of cable TV and telephony services in the UK. A major part of his
responsibilities has been the implementation of number portability within
the General Cable franchise areas.

Prior to joining General Cable at the beginning of this year, John was
Business Strategist for OFTEL, the UK telecommunications regulator. In this
role, John advised OFTEL*s senior management on significant business
developments within the telecoms market, with particular reference to the
competitive strategies of the UK*s major players. He also acted as project
manager for much of OFTEL*s work in anticipating market and regulatory
evolution, including number portability.

John has also worked as an economist for the ITC, the UK*s broadcasting
regulator, and has carried out a number of consultancy assignments within
the British television industry. On the basis of his combined TV and
telephony experience, John presented a Paper to last year*s TPRC entitled
Cable Telephony as a business: the UK experience.