ACMA - ACA MR3503

Media Release	Contact: paul.slocum@acma.gov.au

Media Release No. 35 - 24 September 2003

MNP delivers more than one million ports - ACA

More than one million mobile numbers have been 'ported' since the introduction of mobile number portability in Australia in 2001.

Mobile number portability (MNP), which allows customers to 'port' or transfer their numbers between mobile service providers and networks, was introduced on 25 September 2001.

Australian Communications Authority (ACA) Acting Chairman, Dr Bob Horton, said today ACA figures showed that more than 654,000 'ports' had been completed in the 12 months to June 2003, following over 430,000 in the first nine months of MNP (September 2001-June 2002).

Dr Horton said that a comparison of monthly porting figures revealed the positive effect on the consumer market of special offers by carriages service providers (CSPs).

"The figures show that there are spikes in monthly MNP activity around the time these offers are made which reinforces the apparent link between price reductions and porting," Dr Horton said.

"The opportunity to take advantage of lower prices is a clear benefit of MNP which consumers have been quick to recognise."

Dr Horton said carriers had been efficient in completing ports with 81.3 per cent of inter-network ports completed within three hours and 97.4 per cent completed within two days.

The 654,000 ports (540,000 between carriers' networks and 114,000 between different providers using the same carrier's network) during 2002-03 represented 5.1 per cent of mobile services in operation at 1 July 2002. This compares to 3.9 per cent at 1 July 2001.

The Australian Communications Authority is a government regulator of telecommunications and radiocommunications

For more information contact:	All media enquiries:
Bruce Matthews	Paul Slocum
A/g Executive Manager Telecommunications Licensing Group	Manager Communications
Telephone: (03) 9963 6844	Telephone: (03) 9963 6966
	Mobile: 0408 152 471

ATTACHMENT

Monthly ports to mobile networks since September 2001

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Number of ports to mobile networks per month 2002-03
	Jul-02	Aug-02	Sep-02	Oct-02	Nov-02	Dec-02	Jan-03	Feb-03	Mar-03	Apr-03	May-03	Jun-03
Inter-net-work ports	40,341	41,161	41,670	42,030	40,969	49,403	43,134	39,311	53,334	44,821	52,901	50,951
Intra-net-work ports	11,127	9,852	9,075	8,921	8,552	8,985	9,097	9,187	10,225	8,754	10,402	9,977

Note:

Inter-network ports includes ports between different carriers' networks and the same carrier's networks (for example, between the Telstra GSM and CDMA networks).

Intra-network ports include ports occurring in the same network between different service providers (for example, between different resellers on the same network).