Hainan Province Starts Bi-directional Mobile Number Portability Trials
China.com.cn, 5/18/14
Zhang Feng, spokesperson for China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), has announced that China's Hainan Province has begun bi-directional mobile number portability trials, transitioning away from the province's current uni-directional portability system. Jiangxi, Hubei, and Yunnan will also be part of the new trials, with plans to offer bi-directional portability to users in the provinces by Q3 2014.
In November 2010, the MIIT began mobile number network portability trials in Tianjin and Hainan, with bi-directional portability implemented in Tianjin and uni-directional portability implemented in Hainan. Hainan's uni-directional mobile number portability allowed users of China Mobile's (NYSE: CHL; 0941.HK) Hainan subsidiary, with the exception of 157- and 188-prefix numbers (dedicated TD-SCDMA prefixes), to transfer their numbers to China Telecom (NYSE: CHA; 0728.HK) and China Unicom (NYSE: CHU; 0762.HK; 600050.SH). Users of Hainan Telecom and Hainan Unicom were unable to switch mobile numbers between the two operators. In the most recent bi-directional mobile number portability trials, users can transfer freely between all three of China's major telecom operators, with the temporary exception of 170-prefix (mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) service prefix) and 157- and 188-prefix numbers, which are not participating in the trials.
Editor's Note: For more background on this topic, please see "MIIT Expands Mobile Number Portability Trials to 3 More Provinces" MD 8/04/13 issue and "Participation in China's Number Portability Trials Slows to 1%" MD 3/08/13 issue.
Keywords: Hainan Mobile Hainan Telecom Hainan Unicom China Telecom China Mobile China Unicom wireless number portability MIIT CHL 0728.HK 0762.HK 0941.HK 600050.SH CHA CHU Zhang Feng trial
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