Mobile phone subscribers by January 2012 should be able to freely opt for the services of any of the network operators whilst keeping their original phone numbers. The technology is known as mobile phone number portability. In the meantime, technical and regulatory consultations would take place this year for the testing of equipment in 2011. Minister of Communications, Haruna Iddrissu announced this at a meeting with regulators and operators in the telecom industry in Accra on Tuesday. He said the players must ensure the deadline is realized, adding, the players should use the period between now and the deadline to fix all issues that will impede the smooth rollout of the programme. “As we embark on this exercise, let us at all times be guided by consumer interest and let the protection of the right of consumers to quality of service guide and inform the decision that we make,” he said. The former Managing Director of Kasapa Telecom, Bob Palitz, however tells Joy Business number portability can be implemented well before the January 2012 deadline if the operators are committed. “I think it is long overdue,” he said, urging the telecoms operators to be committed to the move. Though some operators foresee some challenges with implementation, the Director General of the National Communications Authority, Bernard Forson, says number portability can be realized. Source: Joy Business/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana