Hubei's Communications Administration announced on March 17 that it has issued an administrative penalty against China Telecom's Xiaogan branch. The subsidiary was found to have engaged in unfair competition by using agreements without in-network period restrictions or breach of contract liabilities to hinder customers from transferring their mobile numbers to other carriers. The company has been ordered to rectify the issue and fined 200,000 yuan.
China introduced mobile number portability services in 2019, with the policy entering the implementation phase on August 5 of that year. On November 10, 2019, the three major telecommunications operators officially began trial operations for number porting services. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology held a launch ceremony on November 27, 2019, announcing the nationwide availability of number portability services.
During an earnings briefing in August 2025, then China Mobile Chairman Yang Jie commented that market competition had intensified, with numerous high-data and low-cost data cards being sold online. He noted that while number portability was originally designed to improve services and give customers more choice, it has increasingly become a tool for unfair and non-compliant competitive practices.
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