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killsta

killsta

killsta

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Today I was bored so I thought I'd have a look on Wikipedia..

I stumbled across Mobile Number Porting and was suprised to read the following:

A significant technical aspect of MNP is related to the routing of calls or mobile messages (SMS, MMS) to a number once it has been ported. There are various flavours of call routing implementation across the globe but the international and European best practice is via the use of a central database (CDB) of ported numbers. Network operators generally hold local copies of CDB and query it to find out which network to send a call to. This is also known as All Call Query (ACQ) and is highly efficient and scalable. Majority of the established and upcoming MNP systems across the world are based on this ACQ/CDB method of call routing. One of the very few countries to not use ACQ/CDB is the UK where calls to a number once it has been ported are still routed via the Donor network. This is also known as 'Indirect Routing' and is highly inefficient as it is wasteful of transmission and switching capacity. Because of its Donor dependent nature, Indirect Routing also means that if the Donor network develops a fault or goes out of business, the customers who have ported out of that network will lose incoming calls to their numbers.
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Link to full article - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_number_portability

Which got me wondering. As we, in the UK, seem to be using this backwards way of porting numbers, what happens when you've had your number for many years and crossed many networks?

For example, my number originated from T-Mobile, then I ported to O2, then to Orange. Now according to that article, whilst I was with O2, my calls were still being routed via T-Mobile. Now I'm on Orange, does that mean my calls now go Orange > O2 > T-Mobile > wherever I'm calling?

Seems to be a hell of a waste of money and network capacity!

Anybody any thoughts? Is that article correct? :o
 
hehe my number has been tmobile > orange > 3 and i think going back to tmob next month :D
 
killsta said:
Today I was bored so I thought I'd have a look on Wikipedia..


Which got me wondering. As we, in the UK, seem to be using this backwards way of porting numbers, what happens when you've had your number for many years and crossed many networks?

For example, my number originated from T-Mobile, then I ported to O2, then to Orange. Now according to that article, whilst I was with O2, my calls were still being routed via T-Mobile. Now I'm on Orange, does that mean my calls now go Orange > O2 > T-Mobile > wherever I'm calling?
Click to expand...

As someone that works for a network's MNP department, I have to admit the UK system is a little terrible at the moment.

There is one central system run by a private company, but all they really do is maintain the MNP process and don't provide any major central databases (like that of other countries).

The originating network always owns your number, so if you started with T-Mobile (one2one/Mercury), they still have that number and they do all the routing for the lifetime that the number/MSISDN is active.

So your first move to Orange meant that callers would go to T-Mobile; they would then pass the call/text/MMS/videocall to Orange. When you moved to o2, Orange came out of the picture so T-Mobile would be routing your calls to o2 from there onwards.

At the moment there are changes coming (i.e. shorting porting times) but I think in the end they want to have a system like other countries around the world, but who knows if it will actually come into force.

The advantage of the system at the moment is when there is a fault (i.e. calls ringing half on your old network phone and on your new phone) - it keeps me in a job!
 
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