The ability to “port” your phone number across to another network was launched in New Zealand back in April 2007 and is currently offered by 19 telecommunications companies.

The half-million milestone was reached on November 17th, according to the Telecommunications Carriers’ Forum and is testament to the growth in popularity of number portability.

“Reaching this figure is a significant landmark for the industry and for its customers,” said TCR CEO David Stone. “While its popularity has never been in doubt, the pace at which it’s taken up on a day-to-day basis clearly signals number portability’s value to customers wanting change without disruption.”

Being able to port your number over to a new network means you don’t have to organise a new number, update contact details with family, friends and business contacts.

“It’s not always been the case for our industry counterparts overseas, but thanks to the ongoing efforts of the many parties involved from the get-go with number portability here, it’s been relatively trouble-free. Reaching the half million mark is certainly a cause for celebration locally,” Stone added.

Here’s some pub trivia about porting numbers:

• April 1st 2007 – the date local and mobile number portability was introduced in New Zealand.
• $100 million – the estimated cost of implementing number portability
• 19 – the number of telecommunications service providers that port numbers
• 43.4% - the overall proportion of ported numbers that are local numbers
• 17,300 – the most mobile numbers ported in a month (August 2009)
• The 500,000th port was completed at 2:30pm on November 17th 2010