Three leading mobile phone carriers said Wednesday that subscribers will be able to keep their phone numbers by visiting their shops when they switch to another carrier.
The "one-stop" method of switching service providers is part of a number-portability system created jointly by NTT DoCoMo, KDDI Corp. and Vodafone K.K.
To keep their old numbers when they switch providers, subscribers will need to reserve the number from their current carriers by phone or via the Internet. They can then visit an outlet to cancel their existing contracts and sign up for the new service using their current phone numbers.
The number-portability system is scheduled to be introduced Nov. 1. It is expected to fuel competition among cell phone service providers.