Senator Sherwin Gatchalian renewed his call for the immediate implementation of the Mobile Number Portability Act (MNPA) ahead of Congress’ grant of franchises to new players in the telecommunications industry.
The senator made the appeal following deliberations on House Bill No. 7332 which will renew for another 25 years the franchise granted to Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company Inc. or Mislatel, presently known as Dito Telecommunity Corp. – the country’s third player.
The company’s existing franchise is set to expire on April 24, 2023.
“The MNPA will give us the flexibility of moving to a new telco without changing our personal numbers. It’s very difficult and very taxing to change and send notices to everyone if we switch to a new service provider,” Gatchalian said.
The National Telecommunications Commission, along with Smart Communications, Globe Telecoms and Dito should expedite the process of interoperability ahead of their earlier commitment to fully launch commercially the mobile portability by September this year.
“With the MNPA in place, it will enhance competition and it will make our lives easier as we will be able to choose which service suits us best,” Gatchalian added.