By Cyber Era NG Correspondent
Jamaican regulator, OUR has invited comments from the general public on its mulled tweaking of the Number Portability Guidelines. Number portability covers both fixed and mobile networks. The OUR has regulatory oversight of the number portability administration.
Since the implementation of number portability in Jamaica in 2015, the local telecommunications landscape has experienced robust competition. Service providers’ offers now include diversified sets of value-added services with competitive tariff packages to potentially entice subscribers to switch to the network offering the best package to suit their needs.
The existing framework that governs the operations of number portability in Jamaica has not been reviewed since its implementation. As the market dynamics change over the years, the framework must be reviewed to continually improve the process.
Further, with the recent reports of unauthorised porting of mobile numbers, the regime is at a critical juncture requiring the implementation of additional consumer safeguards and other measures to minimise instances of fraudulent/inappropriate porting and ensure that the efficiency and integrity of the regime are uncompromised.
