Number portability to come into effect before July ends – PM

Prime Minister Brigadier (retd) Mark Phillips has assured that, before the end of July, all systems will be put in place to allow persons to switch their mobile networks without changing their cellphone numbers.
It had previously been announced that this would have been in effect in July, but when contacted on Wednesday for an update on the progress, the PM said some technical aspects are being finalised.
“We’re working towards having it ready before the end of July…everything is already covered, it’s just mainly technical issues we’re dealing with to get it up and running by the end of July,” Phillips told this publication.
The introduction of the number portability system in Guyana was first announced in May by Chairperson of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), Dela Britton, during a webinar held in observance of World Telecommunications and Information Society Day. She had explained that the PUC has the statutory mandate to implement number portability in Guyana, a system which allows phone users to retain their phone numbers when changing from one network provider to another.
“Number portability is game-changing in the competition space, as it allows consumers to retain their existing telephone or cellular numbers when switching providers. It generally forces players, when faced with competition, to improve their service offerings,” Britton had said.

She had also explained that the process to ensure number portability is introduced locally began in July 2021 when a working group comprising representatives of the PUC and service providers was established.
“PUC now eagerly awaits the completion of the testing processes, and we anticipate number portability will become a reality in Guyana in July of this year,” Britton had outlined.
Currently, the phone service providers in Guyana are GTT, Digicel and E-Net. Another telecoms provider, Green Gibraltar, had received its licence in 2022. It is a 100 per cent Guyanese-owned company established in 2019.
Reports indicate that Guyana has 745,689 mobile subscribers; 97,179 landline subscribers; and 123,856 fixed internet subscribers.
The Peoples’ Progressive Party (PPP), after taking office on August 2, 2020, officially liberalised the telecommunications sector, with the commencement orders issued on October 5, 2020. (G11)