§ Mr. WeirTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to introduce regulations to ensure that customers of telecoms companies can transfer existing numbers between suppliers of telecom services. [16812]
§ Mr. Alexander[holding answer 22 November 2001]: The regulation of telecoms operators is the responsibility of Oftel. All telecoms operators are subject to a licence condition, enforced by Oftel, which obliges them to provide number portability when customers switch networks, wherever that is reasonable.
We are now considering whether action is needed to ensure the regulatory framework meets the challenges of a competitive market.