VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Information and Communications has announced that mobile phone users must wait until 2015 at the earliest before they can change network providers without swapping their mobile numbers.

The ministry previously planned to apply the project in mid-2014 but said it would need more time to prepare comprehensive policies to allow the new method to run smoothly.

According to the head of ministry's telecommunications department Phan Hong Hai, despite mobile carriers agreeing in principle to apply the method, most of them were not willing to do it on schedule.

Meanwhile, the ministry will also have to prepare technical infrastructure that will allow networks to converge and synchronise.

"With such slow momentum, many things still need to be done and at least in 2015 we could apply this modern method," Hai said.

If applied, all mobile phone numbers will be centrally managed by MIC's telecommunications department, instead of being partially managed by each network provider. This is a policy already applied in as many as 70 countries worldwide.

The new policy would give subscribers more choice to select their network providers, while creating fairer competition between telecommunication companies.

In addition, it would allow telecom authorities to measure the development of the mobile market, especially in e-commerce.

Mobile phone subscriptions in Viet Nam have skyrocketed in recent years, rising from 19 million in 2006, to 25 million in 2007, 74 million in 2008, 98 million in 2009 and most recently, 120 million in 2012.

Source: VNS