3 criticises unfair MNP fee

Irish 3G mobile operator 3 is resisting calls from rival cellcos that it must pay them a EUR20 fee for any customer joining 3 but retaining their old number under mobile number portability (MNP) rules. The Sunday Business Post writes that Vodafone, O2 and Meteor have agreed a so-called ‘porting fee’, but 3 is dragging its heels saying the charge is uncompetitive and penalises new entrants. Meteor is also understood to be interested in a reduction in the fee and the issue is being discussed by ComReg in a wider debate on MNP. The country’s two leading operators Vodafone and 02 are currently the biggest beneficiaries under the scheme, but a spokeswoman for 3 says it had never agreed to any porting charge and as such would not pay it.