Economy & Business - February 2021

URUGUAY | Catching up on number portability. A decree was published on 19 January regulating number portability in Uruguay, which means that from October this year mobile phone users in the country will be allowed to keep their phone number when changing operator. Uruguay is the penultimate country in South America to implement mobile number portability (only Venezuela has not). “It is a direct benefit for all users, as they will have the possibility to choose with greater freedom, without any barriers when changing [operator], and it is good for companies and competition, as it is one less barrier to the dynamisation of the market”, Mercedes Aramendía, the head of Uruguay’s regulatory unit of communications services (Ursec), said on 10 February. According to Ursec, as of June 2020 mobile phone services were concentrated in the hands of three operators in Uruguay: the state-owned telecoms company, Antel, has 51.5% of the market share; Movistar, 30.5%; and Claro, 18%.