SEC approves Smart, Globe, Dito JV for number portability services

MANILA, Philippines — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the creation of joint venture company composed of the country’s three major mobile operators to enable number porting services.

Globe Telecom, in a stock exchange filing, said it has received the approval of the SEC on the incorporation of Telecommunications Connectivity lnc.

Telecommunications Connectivity is the joint venture company of Globe, PLDT subsidiary Smart Communications and new player Dito Telecommunity in line with the new mobile number portability initiative of the government.

The creation of the joint venture company would enable the facilitation of orderly business transactions under one corporate umbrella.

It is also an important first step toward the full implementation of Republic Act 11202, also known as the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) Act.

Mobile number portability refers to the ability of a mobile postpaid or prepaid subscriber who has no existing financial obligation to the current service provider to retain an existing mobile number despite having moved from one mobile service provider to another, or to change the type of subscription from postpaid to prepaid or vice versa.

Through the MNP Act, mobile phone users can keep their numbers even when they transfer to another service provider, or when they switch their subscription from postpaid to prepaid, or vice-versa.
Syniverse, which has been tapped by the three mobile operators to ensure the smooth implementation of number porting services, estimates the period of integration and interoperability of the

MNP in the country to last for not more than 18 months from setting up of the support mechanism.

As the mobile number portability service provider (MNPSP), Syniverse will bring in the technical infrastructure to fulfill its primary function as clearinghouse for the three mobile operators.

Under the implementing rules and regulations of the MNP Act, the mobile operators will equally share the capital expenditure for the software, hardware and other facilities required by the MNPSP. 

The MNP Act, which was signed into law in February last year, seeks to promote consumer welfare “as it fosters the freedom to choose and to respond to quality, pride and other relevant considerations without the consumers having to change their mobile numbers whenever they change mobile service providers or subscription plans.”