New mobile phone rules 'a missed chance'

NEW rules forcing mobile-phone companies to let users change provider within one day do not go far enough and deter consumers from finding cheaper deals, it has been claimed.

Telecoms regulator Ofcom this week announced that mobile-phone users will be able to move their number from one provider to another in a single day from next April.

Currently, it can take several days for consumers to receive the porting authorisation code (Pac) needed for users to switch provider and keep the same number. The time taken depends on how the codes are issued, with some providers still doing so by post, but providers will from next April be required to supply users with their Pac within two hours by phone or text. But the changes still leave the UK behind the rest of Europe in making consumers ask providers for permission to retain their number when they move.

Ernest Doku, communications expert at uSwitch.com, said the UK was the only country in Europe where consumers have to go cap-in-hand to their existing company when wanting to switch to a new provider.

"Ofcom just hasn't gone far enough and has failed to effect a major change - allowing consumers to switch without requesting a Pac code from their existing provider would remove the headache of changing networks for consumers once and for all. This review has dragged on for years and has still failed to deliver."

Its research shows more than four in ten mobile-phone users lose their number when they switch, deterring many from switching to a more competitive deal. Doku said: "Ofcom has missed this opportunity to make the process as quick, easy and consumer-friendly as possible."

A study into mobile phone switching by the consumer group Which? recently found that just 8 per cent of users have changed provider in the past year.