[March 16, 2017]

Argentina Extends Mobile Number Portability Service Contract

APA, a subsidiary of Telcordia Technologies dba iconectiv (News - Alert), an authoritative partner of the global communications industry connecting more than two billion people every day, announced a two-year extension for its data administration contract for mobile number portability (MNP) in the Republic of Argentina.

Argentinian subscribers will continue to easily transfer their existing mobile number from one service provider to another with APA serving as a neutral verifier during the number process. The iconectiv subsidiary, APA, was first selected and awarded the contract in 2011 on behalf of the four service providers known collectively as the Regulatory Authority and was assigned administrator of portability data and verifier of numbering transactions.

From the beginning of the implementation of the number portability service in Argentina, there has been a steady increase in porting rates and overall market growth. Argentina is now the third-largest mobile market in Latin America with 61 million mobile connections. The country's mobile market now has 90% unique subscribers, higher than Europe (85%) and the U.S. (80%). In 2015, Argentina's mobile sector contributed over $21 billion USD in value-added terms equivalent to about 3.7% of the country's total GDP.¹

"APA has been a tremendous partner to Argentina since number portability services were first introduced to consumers five years ago," said Agustin Garzon, Executive Manager, Ente Nacional de Comunicaciones (ENACOM). "APA has worked closely with the country's service providers to enhance the portability process with simplicity and security for subscribers and improve porting rates to the benefit of the entire mobile industry." ENACOM serves as Argentina's official regulator for all teecommunication services and broadcasting within the South American nation.

"The rapid success of Argentina's mobile market is due in part to the strong commitment by service providers to aggressively deploy networks, with an important component being this trusted and efficient porting process provided by APA that allows subscribers to choose between different service providers within the mobile ecosystem," said Scott Puopolo, Executive Vice President, Information Solutions, iconectiv. "Our mobile number portability service gives consumers and businesses alike the flexibility to easily change providers as needed. Additionally, number portability aids business growth as start-ups can maintain the same telephone number as they expand."

In addition to Argentina, number portability solutions from iconectiv and its subsidiaries have been implemented in 18 countries worldwide, including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Brazil, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Pakistan, Greece, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Nigeria, Tunisia and South Africa.

About iconectiv
At iconectiv, we envision a world without boundaries, where the ability to access and exchange information is simple, secure and seamless. As the authoritative partner of the communications industry for more than 30 years, our market-leading solutions enable the interconnection of networks, devices, and applications for more than two billion people every day. Working closely with private, government and non-governmental organizations, iconectiv has intimate knowledge of the intricacies and complexities of creating, operating and securing the telecommunications infrastructure for service providers, governments and enterprises. iconectiv provides network and operations management, numbering, registry, messaging and fraud and identity solutions to more than 1,200 customers globally.

A US-based company, Telcordia Technologies, doing business as iconectiv, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ericsson (News - Alert). For more information, visit www.iconectiv.com.

¹ GSMA Intelligence - Country overview: Argentina; Impact of the mobile ecosystem: perspectives and opportunities (April 6, 2016)

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170316005623/en/

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