KEY POINTS:
The Commerce Commission has confirmed that prepaid mobile services are covered under local and mobile phone number portability.
Launched in April, number portability allows customers to change their telco provider but retain the same telephone number within a local calling area.
Mobile phone numbers can also be kept, including network access codes, when changing providers.
However, Telecom prepay mobile customers who switched to Vodafone prepay hadbeen unable to retain their original phone number.
Vodafone's head of corporate affairs, Tom Chignell, said the company had always intended to provide porting into prepay and was well advanced in its implementation.
"We expect to complete the prepay implementation in compliance with the date specified in the clarification," said Chignell.
Phone companies have until April 2008 to provide portability for prepaid services.
- additional reporting, NZPA
