Number portability in the United Arab Emirates will be pushed back to the third quarter, the regulator said on Tuesday, to address technical issues.   

The move, which is meant to boost competition in the saturated UAE market, had already been delayed once to the second quarter.

'We are hoping it will be operational in the third quarter,' Mohamed Ghanem, the director general of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) told reporters at a conference.

The plan means customers of telecom providers Etisalat and du will be able to keep their old telephone number if they switch providers.   

Ghanem said the delay was due to technical compatibility issues.  'There were two upgrades to the mobile number portability software solutions. We have done that and opened the common database and testing will go in this quarter. The first phase will be on all mobile numbers, that is prepaid and post paid.'

He said TRA will also include fixed lines in the future. - Reuters