The time has come for mobile phone users to be able to transfer their telephone number between networks in a couple of hours

Ofcom, the communications watchdog, which has already cut the time it takes to transfer a mobile phone number from five days to two days, hopes speeding up the process will encourage more consumers to switch providers in order to get better deals.

Ed Richards, chief executive of Ofcom, said: "We would like to see easier, faster and more convenient processes to enable consumers to keep their number when they switch mobile provider."

Ofcom said the new arrangement, which should come into force in 2011, would make Britain the fastest country for number "porting" in Europe.
The watchdog first proposed the change in 2007, but the plans were scuppered last year when the Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT) ruled that Ofcom had failed to prove that speeding up the process would cost operators only £5m