Welcome to the Australian Communications and Media Authority's website. If you are utilising a screen reader, please read our accessibility information page for details as to how to gain access to content on our site in other formats.
Australian Government - Australian Communications and Media Authority

Number portability

Contacts

 

Number portability - an overview

Number portability refers to the ability of a customer to retain their number when change the telephone company - or telephone provider supplying a particular telecommunications service. 

Number portability provides customers with freedom of choice to shop around for the deal that best suits their telecommunications needs.

For customers wanting to port their numbers, the important interface is with the telephone company to which they intend to port a number. That telephone company will advise the customer if they can provide a service on a ported number and if so, make the necessary arrangements on the customer's behalf.

Moving to a new telephone company may cancel a customer's existing contract with a telephone company, but it does not cancel the obligations that a customer may have in relation to that company.

The regulatory framework

The regulatory framework for number portability is a combination of formal government regulation and industry-wide self regulation. Industry self regulation is co-ordinated via an industry organisation, Communications Alliance Ltd.

Competition law and access arrangements are subject to the Trade Practices Act, which is administered by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, (ACCC).

The Telecommunications Act 1997

Under Part 22 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 (the Act), the ACCC has powers to direct the ACMA in regard to number portability. Sections 455 and 458 of the Act set out the main responsibilities of the ACMA and the ACCC in relation to the portability of allocated numbers.

ACCC Directions

The ACCC has issued appropriate Directions to the ACA - one of the ACMA's predecessors - to amend the definition of 'portable services' in the Telecommunications Numbering Plan 1997 to include the following services in the list of services for which number portability must be provided:

The above links provide a brief history and useful information.

The Telecommunications Numbering Plan 1997

The Numbering Plan is a legal instrument which sets out the rules for the use of allocated numbers in association with the provision of carriage services. Consistent with ACCC directions, the Numbering Plan specifies declared portable services and number portability rules.

The Numbering Plan defines number portability as:

"the right of a customer receiving a service in relation to a number within particular number ranges to change either the carriage service provider involved in providing the service, the carrier network involved in providing the service, or both, and retain the same telephone number."

Chapter 11 of the Numbering Plan sets out the rules regarding number portability.

The Numbering Plan at section 11.8 requires carriers and CSPs to ensure that, from the date in which a service becomes portable, they have the:

  1. technical capability required to provide number portability for the portable service; and
  2. technology available for use within their network to provide number portability in such a way as to provide equivalent service and enable end-to-end connectivity.

The Numbering Plan:

  • obliges a telephone company to have the capability and technology to provide portability;
  • obliges a telephone company to allow a customer to port away their number;
  • obliges a telephone company to provide an equivalent service on the ported number if it agrees to a provide a service on the ported number;
  • defines routing arrangements in relation to portable services;
  • sets out obligations on telephone companies when a customer cancels a service associated with a portable number; and
  • outlines the requirements for an application for exemption of the above obligations.

A telephone company must have the capability to provide portability from its network in relation to a portable service and no action or inaction on its part should prevent the customer porting their number.

Equivalent service means that customers who have ported numbers receive a service that is equivalent to that of customers on the new network who have not ported.

Industry codes

The ACMA and industry have come together to produce codes for number portability. The codes are used to set out procedures between telephone companies that enable a customer to retain their phone number when transferring from one company to another or changing carrier networks. The Codes also specify time frames for portability transactions.

Codes relevant to number portability may be accessed from Communications Alliance Ltd. Codes that have been registered under section 136 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 are consequently enforceable by the ACMA.

Exemptions

A telephone company that cannot meet its obligations under the Numbering Plan may apply to the ACMA for an exemption. The Numbering Plan under Part 6 of Chapter 11, outlines the process that a telephone company must follow to apply for such an exemption.

The matters that the ACMA must consider when deciding an LNP exemption application are set out in section 11.19 of the Numbering Plan.

In deciding the application the ACMA must consider:

  • the network capacity of a CSP or carrier;
  • the support systems available to a CSP or carrier; and
  • any other matters the ACMA considers relevant.

The Numbering Plan requires that if the ACMA is satisfied that it is not practicable for an applicant to meet its porting obligations, then it must approve the exemption application.

The ACMA may approve an exemption if satisfied that it would be in the long-term interests of end-users to do so.

The ACMA may consult the ACCC on the application. Additionally, the ACMA may consult other stakeholders in making its decision.

To find out what exemptions are currently in place, see:

Fact sheets and FAQs

Relevant fact sheets and FAQs on portability are provided on the following links:

Useful links

ACMA contacts

For more information about these matters, please contact the ACMA's Broadband Applications and Services Section.

 

Last update: 16 January 2013 13:52