The Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) will proceed with issuing directions to implement mobile number portability under the Sri Lanka Telecommunication Act and the conditions of operators’ licences by the end of September, Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eranga Weeraratne told Parliament today.

He said the government will, if necessary, commission mobile number portability first, ahead of fixed services, so that the majority of subscribers are not forced to wait on disputes that do not concern them.

Mobile number portability allows consumers to switch service providers without changing their existing numbers. The Deputy Minister emphasized that this step would ensure fairness and convenience for millions of mobile users across the country.

The initiative has been in the pipeline for several years. In August 2020, TRCSL began preliminary measures to introduce number portability. A company named Lanka Portability, comprising all telecom operators, was formed, and TRCSL granted approval for mobile number portability in October 2021.

In 2022, the Commission laid the framework for implementing both mobile and fixed number portability. By 2023, legal clearance was announced for service providers to roll out the system in Sri Lanka.