Mobile switchers reap savings

It’s official – the Mobile is King. Industry regulator Ofcom has confirmed that more UK households rely solely on their mobile phone than they do on their landline and, for the first time, the time spent on a mobile phone call (82 billion minutes) accounts for over one third of the time spent on all calls (234 billion minutes). However, a new study by independent price comparison and switching service uSwitch.com reveals that mobile phone users are failing to tap into a massive £1.9 billion in savings because, amongst other things, they are afraid of losing their phone number if they switch network.

43 million Brits have a personal mobile phone and 9 million have switched network over the last year – an industry churn rate of 21%. Switching has enabled consumers to make annual average savings of £113 and collectively over £1 billion in the last 12 months. It therefore comes as something of a surprise that 39% of mobile users – nearly 17 million people – have never made the move to a new network. While nearly 3 million believe that it’s simply ‘too much hassle’, 2.5 million are staying put as they incorrectly believe that they will lose their phone number.

The uSwitch.com poll of almost 4,000 mobile users reveals a severe gap in awareness of the ‘number porting’ process – the facility that enables consumers to keep their phone number when they change provider. The process was introduced into the UK in 1999 but contains several flaws and, as a result, consumers appear to be shying away from taking advantage of the process. The poll revealed that a staggering 12 million consumers would be willing to switch mobile network more regularly if it was easier to keep their phone number.

Of those that have switched to a new mobile network, 6 out of 10 did not keep their existing phone number; nearly three million consumers were unaware that this was possible and over 4 million, felt that the process of transferring their number was simply too long or too complicated to bother with. A further 1.8 million, decided to take a new phone number to avoid any interruption to their service.

While the UK was one of the first countries to introduce the number porting system, it now severely lags behind other countries, which are able to complete the process up to 350 times faster. Mobile phone users in Australia can transfer their phone number in 3 hours; in the USA it takes 2.5 hours and in Ireland the whole process can be completed in just 2 hours. More importantly, the process takes place at minimum inconvenience to the consumer – all arrangements are made by the new mobile network eliminating any need for the customer to make contact with the network they are leaving.

Steve Weller, Head of Communications Services at www.uSwitch.com comments: “The fact that over 12 million people would be more likely to switch network regularly if they could keep their number is a clear demonstration of how important our phone numbers are to us. While the £113 switching incentive is significant, it is currently not enough to persuade some people to go through the hassle of the current number transfer process. The alternative is to give up your phone number and be faced with the laborious task of having to contact everyone in your address book – and, worse still, having to memorise it.

“The number porting process in the UK is archaic so it’s no wonder that consumers are being put off. If they want to keep their number when they switch to a new network, they first have to contact their old network and request a PAC code. This stands for Porting Authorisation Code and is effectively their ‘exit ticket’. This alone is no simple task – some operators only accept requests in the form of a letter sent by recorded delivery. Once the PAC code is obtained, it has to be passed to the new network and, after a further 5 day processing period, the phone number is transferred. This process has been in place for 8 years so it’s amazing that 5.5 million mobile phone users are unaware that it exists.”

In July 2007 Ofcom published its plans for a ‘smarter, quicker process’ for transferring mobile numbers. Expressing concerns over the current process, it announced that as of 1st April 2008, all mobile operators must transfer numbers no later than two days after a consumer has decided to switch, and in two years time, a brand new process will allow numbers to be transferred between networks in two hours.

Weller continues: “As it stands, some consumers feel they have no option but to either take a new number when they switch mobile network, or not switch at all, so we are very pleased that Ofcom has decided to intervene. However, the pace that has been set for the consultation is disappointing. Ofcom has already had 8 years to get their heads around this issue. To now make us wait another 2 years just to get to the same level as our European neighbours is frustrating, and moreover costing British consumers millions of pounds in lost savings. We call on Ofcom to accelerate its proposed timetable and give greater urgency to resolving this issue. In the meantime, while the number porting process is not perfect, it does exist, and the saving of £113 is well worth the effort.”