Mobile number portability in the UAE has been further delayed, the chief executive of telecoms operator du said on Tuesday, slowing down attempts to boost competition in the sector.

The latest deadline to launch the service had been the end of September and would have allowed customers of du and rival Etisalat to switch providers and keep the same phone number.

When asked if number portability had been delayed again, Osman Sultan, du's chief executive said: 'That is correct.'

'We were testing. In the testing phase certain technical issues can appear. We are just evaluating how long it will take,' he said.

Number portability would allow customers of du and rival Etisalat to switch providers and keep the same phone number. The Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA) had said portability would be available by mid-2008.

The TRA has been taking steps to boost competition in the UAE, considered the second-least competitive in the Mena region after Qatar, according to Nomura.

'Number portability in Oman and Saudi Arabia didn't have much impact on customer churn between operators and the same is likely to happen in the UAE,' said Diala Hoteit, NBK Capital telecoms analyst.

'It will increase the level of competition, with operators more likely to match each other's offers, but in this region most people have more than one SIM card so not many would permanently switch operator if number portability was introduced.'

An infrastructure sharing deal so operators can compete in fixed line services is slated to be introduced by year-end, but has already been delayed.

Last week, du said TV would not be part of the initial agreement. Both operators already offer landline telephone, broadband and internet-protocol TV, but not in the same districts.-Reuters