What is MNP or Mobile Number Portability, What Are Its Key Benefits for Subscribers, and How To Apply For It

On September 30, 2021, the National Telecommunications Commission officially started implementing the Mobile Number Portability Act, which was signed into law by the President on February 8, 2019.

If you're wondering what MNP or Mobile Number Portability is all about, it essentially refers to the ability of a postpaid or prepaid mobile subscriber, who has no existing financial obligation to his or her network or mobile services provider, to retain his or her existing mobile number despite transferring to another competing network or mobile services provider. This also covers the freedom to change the type of subscription from postpaid to prepaid or vice versa without changing the subscriber's number.

Previously, a subscriber would have to change his or his mobile number completely with every change of network provider -- and this came with several challenges and issues.

What are the key benefits of Mobile Number Portability for Subscribers?

Free of charge, confidential, and fast, MNP effectively removes all the hassles and extra costs of having to inform all of your contacts that you have changed your mobile number simply because you transferred network.

This is particularly beneficial for business owners and managers who can potentially lose clients, suppliers, and business opportunities with every change of mobile number.

On a personal level, this can also help you stay in touch with relatives, friends, and loved ones who may be harder to inform of a mobile number change.

How to Apply for Mobile Number Portability in the Philippines?

It's a simple, three-step process for those who are free of any obligations from their home network.

1. Get your USC or Unique Subscriber Code from your current network or mobile service provider.

2. Prepare at least one Legal or Valid ID.

3. Visit a business center of the network you are planning to transfer to and apply for MNP via their agents or representatives. After a successful application, the porting process should not take more than 48 hours.

For details on how to get your USC, kindly message your home network and inquire about the procedure. I believe that for the country's bigger networks, you'd only have to text a code to a four-digit number.

To wrap up, let me share the government's basic premise behind the Mobile Number Portability Act, which is to promote consumer welfare as well as to foster the freedom to choose and to respond to quality, price, and other relevant considerations -- all while relieving consumers of the previous limitation of having to change mobile number with every change of network provider.