Searching for a new contract deal when your current one is almost up can be a bit of a stressful time…more so if you’ve found a great deal on another network provider.  Do you keep the number you’ve had for donkey’s years, and go through the lengthy process of porting your number across…or do you just take the new phone number, and avoid all the stress and hassle that comes with porting your number?  Interesting situation, but one, I’m sure, that has crossed the minds of pretty much all of us at one point or another!

Great news then that communications regulator Ofcom have announced that by April next year, all mobile phone operators will have to transfer phone numbers within two days, instead of the current five-day requirement.  There’s even talk that by September 2009 operators will port numbers across within 2 hours! That’s just fantastic!

The move is likely to create even more intense competition in the mobile marketplace by enabling customers to switch networks easier, with Ofcom claiming the current system is unnecessarily unwieldy and lengthy (which it most definitely IS… I can vouch for that!)

To make things even easier for the customer in future, Ofcom is consulting on a system under which the customer would only need to contact the new provider to switch their number, rather than the current method, which requires you to obtain a Porting Authorisation Code from the existing supplier and then provide that to the new network.

Welcome news then, but long over-due!