Cheyenne Suarez

Mobile number portability pushed telco competition but few are switching—study

Commuters in transit at the MRT-3 North Avenue Station in Quezon City. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Arthur Fuentes

ABS-CBN News

<div> </div>MANILA – A landmark law allowing Filipinos to switch mobile networks without changing their numbers has pushed telecommunications giants into a price and promotion war, even as actual switching rates remain stuck at less than 1 percent, a government study said.The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) on Tuesday released a competition impact assessment of the 2019 Mobile Number Portability (MNP) Act, finding that the policy has &quot;encouraged more competitive behavior&quot; among providers desperate to retain their user base.According to the antitrust body, firms have ramped up digital marketing and &quot;developed online channels where subscribers can find information on the benefits of switching to their services,&quot; including aggressive new product offerings and promotional packages.However, the &quot;clearing house&quot; for these transfers, Telecommunications Connectivity, Inc. (TCI), reported that the &quot;overall uptake of MNP services has been low.&quot; Data shows that less than 0.1 percent of registered mobile numbers utilized the service during its first three years.Of the system’s annual capacity of 10 million slots, &quot;more than 99 percent remain unused.&quot; While there was a &quot;significant influx&quot; of users moving to the third major player, DITO, in the first ten months of the law’s implementation, that trend has since cooled.The primary hurdle appears to be a massive information gap. A 2024 survey revealed that &quot;80 percent of respondents were not familiar with the law.&quot;The PCC noted, however, that the appetite for change is high: &quot;One-third of those respondents indicated that they would likely switch providers if they were aware that the MNP existed.&quot;The commission urged the government to launch &quot;joint awareness campaigns&quot; and warned against &quot;anti-competitive risks, including abuse of dominance, discriminatory practices, and the misuse of subscriber data.&quot;

Less than 1 percent of mobile phone users are switching service providers and carrying their phone numbers with them.

Less than 1 percent of mobile phone users are switching service providers and carrying their phone numbers with them.

Mobile number portability pushed competition among telcos but few are switching—study

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Mobile number portability pushed competition among telcos but few are switching—study

Arthur Fuentes,

ABS-CBN News

Published February 24, 2026 03:57 PM PHT

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mobile number portability

smartphone

telco

PCC

Philippine Competition Commission

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