Phone users may soon be able to switch between providers without changing numbers
People may soon be able to switch between fixed-line and mobile service providers without changing their numbers.
The government is studying the possibility of introducing fixed-to-mobile number portability, in which a fixed-line user can switch services to a mobile operator, or vice versa.
Under existing arrangements, a fixed-line user can only switch to other fixed-line service providers using the same number and vice versa.
Mobile numbers, usually prefixed by '9' or '6', cannot be transferred to a fixed number, which starts with '2' or '3'.
'We are conducting a market survey to study the demand for fixed-mobile number portability,' the deputy director general of the Office of the Telecommunications Authority, Ha Yung-kuen, said yesterday. 'The results of the survey will be announced no later than the second quarter.'