Competition Concern as JT Blocks Number Transfers to Coop Mobile

The recently launched virtual mobile operator (mvno) for the Channel Islands, Coop Mobile, has complained to the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority (JCRA) that rival operator JT has been disrupting the ability of consumers to switch to Coop’s service by preventing them from being able to keep their existing mobile number as part of the process.

Just to recap. Coop Mobile came about after the States of Guernsey last year voted to temporarily suspend local competition law in order to allow the merger between Sure and Airtel Vodafone to proceed (here and here), which set in motion a £48m deal to build a new “world-class” 5G mobile broadband network across the islands. The establishment of Coop Mobile (Channel Island Co-Op) formed a required part of that agreement.

However, the BBC News reports that both Sure and Coop Mobile have complained that customers who want to switch to their mobile service from JT (Jersey Telecom) are struggling to do so, primarily because the latter is currently unable to ensure that customers can keep their existing mobile number during the porting (switching) process.

In response, the CEO of Coop Mobile, Mark Cox, said the operator is “actively challenging this with the regulator and will continue to push hard to have number transfers made available as soon as possible“. On the flip side, JT confirmed they were working on the “complex” problem as part of a “significant network upgrade programme“, although they have yet to determine when they’ll be in a position to support number porting.

The JCRA views number porting as an “important feature of a competitive telecoms market” and is working with all sides to “ensure that the mobile market continues to operate in a way that promotes fair competition and protects consumer choice,” although they don’t currently seem to know when number porting will be fully supported either.