THE Utilities Regulation and Competition Committee has released its final determination on the implementation of number portability in the Bahamas.

The communications regulator concluded that number portability shall be implemented in The Bahamas in order to facilitate two core purposes - to enable customers switching voice services from one fixed licensee to another to keep their fixed telephone numbers and also to enable customers switching their cellular voice service from one cellular licensee to another to retain their cellular telephone numbers.

URCA noted however that number portability will not be available for the transfer of a fixed telephone number to a cellular service and vice versa.

In April 2012, the joint regulator-industry Number Portability Working Group (NPWG), established to consider issues related to the implementation of number portability in The Bahamas and to generally guide the process of its implementation, presented to URCA its recommendations for the portability exercise, which included a detailed work plan and corresponding time line.

The NPWG projects a May 2013 date for the eventual launch of number portability for fixed phone line services in The Bahamas.

Number portability for mobile services is expected to become effective from the date that exclusivity in the cellular market now held by the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) ends.