MILAN - Number portability - the ability to change your mobile phone company while keeping the same phone number - has failed to revolutionize the market in Europe, Asia or the United States as some predicted five years ago when the idea was first being bandied about. But it has provided new blood for some carriers, notably Hutchison Europe Telecommunications, the European affiliate of Hutchison Whampoa of Hong Kong.
In Italy, Spain and Britain, millions of people have changed phone companies while keeping their numbers, but in other countries, like France and the United States, a relatively small number have done so. The number of switchers is more related to the cost and amount of trouble it takes to change than to the amount of time that number portability has been available, experts say.
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International Herald Tribune
Oct 23, 2005, 08:02 PM
