Mobile telephony is the telecom niche market where higher growth is expected. Currently whenever users change to a different mobile operator they have to also change their mobile number as well. This situation is happening when changing to a different operator as well as when shifting to a new savings plan with one's current operator. According to industry experts, number portability will encourage competition in a market that has over eight million users. Additionally, portability implementation will increase new services in the mobile market.
Mobile operators see number portability as a threat to maintain their current clients.
As the CMT is encouraging the mobile operators to implement the portability system, the three operators have been allowed to set a calendar by themselves. Therefore, mobile operators meet once per month to analyze technical solutions since November 1998. According to industry sources, it seems that mobile operators propose April or May 2000 as the tentative date to implement number portability in mobile telephony. The extraordinary acceptance that pre-paid cards have had in the Spanish market makes a consensus more difficult. Given the lack of agreement, the CMT has warned that should an agreement not be reached, the regulatory institution will provide the operators with a final implementation date.