Telcos given rev-up over portability

By RICHARD BRADDELL

Communications Minister Paul Swain is urging telecommunications companies to get on with an economic analysis of number portability or live with a six-month delay until the exercise is undertaken by the new telecommunications commissioner.

Mr Swain has written to members of the number administration deed (NAD), an industry body set up under the previous Government, asking them to get on with a planned cost-benefit analysis.

If not, the incoming commissioner, who will be established under legislation expected to be in force at the end of August, will have to begin his own analysis from scratch.

Portability is one of the industry hot spots since its absence gives Telecom an important marketing advantage as customers are often unwilling to change carrier if they cannot keep the same telephone number.

But aside from forceful rhetoric in its December 22 telecommunications policy statement, some industry members are concerned that the Government has provided no direction as to how it might be achieved.

The main stumbling block to the NAD's study would appear to be resistance from Clear Communications.

Clear says it is concerned about the study's terms of reference.

"We were concerned that the current definition and terms of reference for the cost-benefit study were asking the wrong questions and unlikely to deliver a suitable answer for the implementation of long-term portability," Clear industry relations manager Grant Forsyth said.

"We think that with the signal given by the Government there is every opportunity for the parties to the deed to modify the study to produce some useful information for the incoming telecommunications commissioner to make a quick determination."

Although not part of this Government's policy, Mr Swain said a failure by the numbers administration deed to kick-start number portability efforts would result in a more forceful regulatory response.

Though European countries are moving towards implementing intelligent networks to deliver number portability, there is concern that New Zealand could end up saddled with the same call forwarding it has now.

While call forwarding is economically most efficient when only a few numbers are transferred between carriers, it does not allow enhanced services to be operated over ported numbers and it is costly when high volumes of numbers are transferred between carriers.

A representative of one equipment vendor said there was no technical reason why full or long-term portability, which enables numbers to be transferred cost-effectively between towns as well as locally, could not be implemented cost-effectively.

He expected the argument to centre on who paid the costs.