Numbering phone plan for Bermuda revealed

Residents will be able to keep their phone number if they switch to a different carrier after March 3.

The Regulatory Authority released the list of numbers currently assigned to Bermuda’s telecommunications licence holders.

Regulatory Authority chairman Kent Stewart said: Historically, communications providers would apply to the Department of Telecommunications and request that a particular block of numbers is assigned to it for distribution to its customers. 

“If there were no good reasons to prevent those numbers from being used, the Department would grant the request and those numbers would be activated for use in Bermuda. To the knowledge of the RA there have been no major issues with the manner in which number assignment has been previously administered. 

“The only issue is that it has not been made public.” 

Mr Stewart said with number portability coming online in March, it wanted to make sure phone users would have no doubt as to which numbers they would be entitled to keep when they are switching to a different provider.

He said: “The first date by which carriers will be required to implement number portability is about two months away. However, the RA is concerned that waiting  until after the consultation process on the implementation of a number plan is  completed before publishing the national number plan would make it difficult to ensure that the numbering plan is in place and clearly articulated ahead of the implementation of number portability. 

“It is very likely that the consultation process will not run much further past the implementation date for number portability (if at all) but to avoid that possibility, the RA has decided to issue an interim general determination concerning the National Numbering Plan.”

The number assignments are to the left. TeleBermuda was granted their assignments in June, 2013, with the direction that TBI not advertise or otherwise promote such assignment until the RA has communicated in writing that the Telcordia Business Integrated Routing and Rating Database System (BIRRDS) has been updated to reflect the new ranges. 

FKBNet was provisionally approved in November 2013, pending further administrative procedures being completed.