Some 33,000 switched accounts have been recorded since the introduction of number portability in June.

This was disclosed by Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Phillip Paulwell, at a LIME dealer awards ceremony, held at the Courtleigh auditorium, in Kingston, recently.

He said this is a significant signal that consumers are satisfied with the ability and freedom to change service providers, yet maintaining the independence of their long-held number identity.

"For me, it doesn't matter where they go, it is the freedom the consumer now has. We have enabled every single Jamaican to have that control," he said.

The minister congratulated LIME, one of the two major telecommunication service providers in the island, for its role in the introduction and full roll-out of number-portability in the island.

Paulwell said Jamaica has again showed its ability to adapt to change, which has allowed a seamless introduction of the number-portability regime.

The minister also hailed the merger between LIME and Flow, noting that it has facilitated more competition between providers.

Meanwhile, Managing Director of LIME/Flow, Gary Sinclair, said the merger is a significant breakthrough of opportunities for the Jamaican populace.

He pointed out that LIME has made significant growth in its subscriber and financial base.

"We've gone from under 300,000 active mobile subscribers to nearly 900,000 mobile subscribers to date, and from US$40 million in mobile revenues to over US$70 million in revenue," Sinclair said.