Operators begin trial operation of number portability: multiple restrictions, netizens are disappointed

We are not unfamiliar with number portability. As early as last year, relevant departments had notified operators to change the existing operating model and give users more choices. Today, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced a good news that the number portability policy will be implemented starting from December this year. However, before that, operators have already started trial operations.

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It is understood that the three major operators, China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom, all started the trial operation of number portability yesterday, and users can now apply for it. Although it is now possible, the operators told users that the various impacts after number portability cannot be fully estimated for now, which may lead to many problems during use. It is recommended that users wait until the system is stable and the number portability service is officially launched before applying.

In addition, according to feedback from netizens, they are disappointed with the many "obstacles" faced by China Unicom's number portability service, among which the ringtone service actually affects the number portability process. In addition, the services that affect China Unicom's number portability include international roaming, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan roaming, mobile email services, and welfare two-choice (other). In addition, number portability will affect the TDML card exclusive family number and WeChat debit service. It should be noted that China Unicom reminded the netizen that the number is in abnormal use and the number portability process cannot be processed temporarily. It is not clear what China Unicom means by "abnormal use".

It is worth noting that currently my country's number portability service is only available to users of mobile phone numbers (including China Mobile/China Unicom/China Telecom). Satellite, mobile communication resale, and Internet of Things application numbers (such as network numbers 1349, 174, 170, 171, 162, 165, 167, etc.) do not yet support number portability service.

If users want to check whether they are eligible for number portability, they can edit the text message CXXZ#username#ID number and send it to the home operator. Among them, China Mobile sends it to 10086, China Unicom sends it to 10010, and China Telecom sends it to 10001. After meeting the conditions, users can apply for the number portability authorization code from the carrier out of the number portability and apply for the number portability from the carrier in the number portability.

For users who meet the requirements for participating in free number portability, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has clearly stipulated that the three major operators cannot refuse, block or delay in any way the provision of number portability inquiry services and restriction removal services to users. At the same time, they cannot add additional processing conditions, and cannot refuse, block or delay in any way the provision of number portability authorization code services to users who meet the conditions.

In addition, users who want to participate in number portability should also meet the following points: register real identity information; keep the number active; cannot enjoy any discounts from the original operator before porting; the number for which number portability is applied has been in the network for 120 days.

In addition to the above conditions, the three major operators also have clear regulations on number portability. For example, people with contract phones, unbound VOLTE services, numbers starting with 188, 157, 170/171 (virtual operators), campus cards, family package users, numbers bound to broadband, and income from group membership services or group network services are all not eligible for number portability.

Judging from the current restrictions, there are still a small number of users who meet the requirements for number portability, and not all eligible users will port their numbers. In addition, the three major operators currently have similar pricing for 4G and 5G packages, which to a certain extent reduces users' interest in number portability. It is speculated that in the first year of the launch of the number portability service, only one or two percent of users may participate, or even less. It can be said that this service has basically no impact on the current market structure.