From the start of number portability application in Uruguay last January 12, the price of the internet connection rate fell by 53.58% while the average cost of the contracts fell by 10.03%, according to a report presented this Wednesday lto Communication Services Regulatory Unit (Ursec).
“I voted against this report, due to serious questions about the method and content (the criteria were changed at least six times) and with an inexplicable urgency to publish it today,” questioned the director of the Broad Front at Usec Pablo Siris .
The study, called Number portability: Comparative analysis of prices and performance before and after its implementationpoints, according to Ursec, to “start tracking deployment impact” of the new functionality.
From the regulatory body they explain that the analysis is limited to two variables exclusively: On the one hand, the monthly price and, on the other, the performance in gigabytes (GB) of the mobile phone plans offered by the three companies that operate in Uruguay (Antel, Claro and Movistar).. In this sense, the plans that have a monthly price in the range of $940 to $1,300 and a performance in GB in the range of 10 GB to 40 GB.
I voted against this report, due to serious questions regarding the method and content (the criteria were changed at least six times) and with an inexplicable urgency to publish it today. https://t.co/EAr84IGdLD
– Pablo Siris Seade (@pablosiris) March 23, 2022
Following this methodology, the plans were compared in December – before the implementation of number portability – with the prices and benefits of current plans published after January 12.
The comparison shows that in December 2021, the average monthly price of the contract with telephone companies was $1,080, while in March 2022, the price is $971, which means 10% less.
On the other hand, the study shows that the average price of GB fell 53.58% going from $54.50 in December 2021 to $25.30 in March 2022.
When it comes to performance in GB, the same increased 50% Come in December 2021 and March 2022, going from 26 to 39.
The controversy over portability
The latest articles from law of urgent consideration (LUC) –from 471 to 476– They are the ones that refer to the number portability and have pitted the government against the oppositionwhat are you looking for repeal them in the referendum against the 135 articles of the law of urgent consideration (LUC) next Sunday, March 27.
Number portability is a functionality that allows users to change phone companies without losing their number. One of its main characteristics from a commercial point of view is that removes the exit barriers users face in switching providers.
In Uruguay, it began to be applied on January 12 after an extensive process that included from the election of the Database Administrator (ABD) to the adaptation to the new system that had to be carried out by both the Communication Services Regulatory Unit (Ursec) and the three mobile phone companies in the country.
The Cleartech-Cietel consortium was designated as the ABD of the service and each of the telephone companies (Antel, Movistar and Claro) he had to invest US$ 375 thousand according to official figures.
Since the beginning of number portability, Antel has some 1,550 new clients compared to Claro’s 130, while Movistar has a negative balance of 1,700 clients.
