Coop Mobile Challenges JT Over Number Transfer Dispute

Telecoms providers have raised concerns about difficulties transferring mobile phone numbers between networks, according to the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority (JCRA).

Coop Mobile, which operates on infrastructure supplied by Sure, said customers attempting to move from JT had been unable to retain their existing phone numbers — a process known as number porting.

The regulator said it had received formal complaints from both Coop Mobile and Sure and was now actively working with all parties involved to address the situation.

Sure Group chief executive Alistair Beak said customers should be able to switch providers without losing their number and described number portability as “a basic consumer right and a cornerstone of fair competition”.

He said that while Sure and JT customers could already move between those two networks and keep their numbers, JT had not enabled number porting to and from the Co-Op network despite having had time to do so.

“This creates an unnecessary barrier for customers wishing to switch and undermines genuine choice,” he said, adding that all licensed operators had a regulatory obligation to provide number portability.

Sure has submitted formal complaints to both the JCRA and the Guernsey Competition and Regulatory Authority (GCRA) to ensure licence obligations are met and to maintain what it described as a level playing field for consumers.

JT said the issue was technically complicated because Coop’s service runs on a different network. However, it added that enabling number transfers between the operators formed part of a major network upgrade programme that was nearing completion.

Channel Islands Co-operative chief executive Mark Cox told members in a letter that it was “disappointing” customers could not currently port their numbers when switching providers. He said the company was pressing the regulator on the matter and would continue pushing for number transfers to be introduced as soon as possible.

A spokesperson for JT said the upgrade project had been under way for four years and that implementing number portability required extensive technical coordination between operators. They added that once the necessary configuration work had been reviewed, the company would decide how best to schedule the changes within the wider programme.

JCRA chief executive Tim Ringsdore said the authority was working with telecoms firms and coordinating with the GCRA to understand the problem and resolve it quickly.

He emphasised that number portability was a key element of a competitive telecoms market and said the regulator’s priority was to ensure fair competition while protecting consumer choice.