The GSMA has launched a global number portability service branded PathFinder Number Portability Discovery.
The GSMA-managed service will be operated by Neustar, and covers 2.2 billion telephone numbers worldwide.
Number Portability is currently operational in 52 countries globally, with significant markets including China and India, expected to launch by the end of 2010.
The service will also aggregate numbering plan data from virtually every country in the world, including those with high number portability penetration.
“The service will help eliminate incremental fees, reduce costs, optimise rates in commercial agreements, improve traffic delivery and pave the way for new feature-rich IP-based services,” said Alex Sinclair, CTO and strategy officer at the GSMA.
Customers who subscribe to industry port corrected data from the PathFinder Number Portability Discovery service can also incorporate richer service delivery data, provisioned for the destination networks.
“Numbering plans and number portability data are a constantly moving target for both telecommunications providers and other industry verticals that are looking to deliver new mobile IP services to their customers,” said Neustar’s Converged Addressing Services business unit senior VP and GM Steve Edwards.
He added that the new service would alleviate a growing complexity for the industry by providing a single standardized data interface and business arrangement for accessing data regardless of traffic corridors.