The UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) confirmed on Tuesday that Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (etisalat) and Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du) are technically not yet ready to launch cellular number portability service yet.

The service was scheduled to be launched before end-September.

TRA announced it has indefinitely extended the time given to both telecom operators to launch the cellular number exchange service, according to 'Al Khaleej'.

Mohamed Al Ghanim, Director-General, TRA, said: "The body tried its best to have the service up by the end of the third quarter, but etisalat and du are not yet ready."

Al Ghanim said that TRA will be co-ordinating with both telecom operators on the new launch date.

Meanwhile, the delay is because the firms are sparing no detail unchecked to offer customers hi-tech and a glitch-free service, he added.

When asked if number portability had been delayed again, Osman Sultan, du's chief executive said, "That is correct."

"We were testing. In the testing phase certain technical issues can appear. We are just evaluating how long it will take," he said.

Sultan refused to predict when the service would be introduced.

The cellular number exchange service, once implemented, will increase competition as subscribers will be able to switch from one operator to another without changing their numbers.
It will also impact the market share of the telecom operators.