Xinhua Commentary: The "invisible threshold" for number portability should be removed

When checking the eligibility for number portability, I was told that many services had not expired and affected the application. When I asked which specific services and how to meet the conditions, there was no clear answer; I occasionally participated in a phone bill activity, but when I transferred out of the network, I was told that the contract had not expired, which made the number portability "awkward"...

[[283724]]

Currently, the trial operation of number portability is being rolled out nationwide. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has clearly required that telecom operators shall not refuse, block or delay providing number portability services to users without legitimate reasons. However, during the reporter's investigation, it was found that the phenomenon of restricting number portability due to service binding and other reasons still exists, and some users encounter "invisible barriers" during the process of number portability.

If users have already enjoyed high-quality resources when applying for services such as good numbers, it is understandable to require users to abide by market rules and the spirit of the contract. However, it is inappropriate to "selectively forget" some hidden services or even not give a clear explanation when users ask.

Number portability is a people-friendly project, but also a complex one. It involves the technical update of the operating systems of nearly 1.6 billion mobile phone users, the simultaneous transformation of third-party platforms such as banks, insurance companies, securities companies, and Internet companies, the joint debugging and testing of different versions in different scopes, and the response and adjustment of huge amounts of data and numerous businesses... It is indeed not an easy task.

But no matter how difficult a task is, if it is difficult in terms of technology and process, there is always a solution; if it is difficult in terms of attitude and ideas, there will be many challenges.

Whether the network switching process is complicated and complicated, whether the service quality can be guaranteed after the network switching... On the surface, users' doubts and concerns are due to specific terms or individual technologies, but in fact they are about convenient services and fair competition. Setting thresholds for normal business is suspected to be an attempt by China Mobile and other operators to win users and traffic.

The market has always been about retaining people with services, not tricks. Informing users of the specific reasons why they cannot port their numbers and making them public so that they can make timely adjustments and handle the issue, and letting users know what is going on even if they cannot, is part of the business of porting their numbers. Only by respecting users' right to know and right to choose can we win their recognition; only by fairer and more sufficient competition can we promote self-transformation of enterprises and achieve long-term development.

As of the end of September, a total of 2.9 million people in the five pilot areas had completed number portability. The management and service regulations for number portability have been continuously improved, which also demonstrates the firm determination and pace to advance the process.

Number portability is about to be officially launched nationwide, and many current phenomena also serve as a "reminder" for operators such as China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom. Do not use "service binding" as an excuse to set up barriers, and do not secretly dig pits to make users feel troubled. Only by respecting users and the market can we "transfer" the market and "transfer" to a win-win situation.