EE introduces phone number portability but only on iOS for now

EE has announced it is the first UK MNO to launch ‘smart number’ technology that allows you to make phone calls on other devices using the same number.

The technology involved is ‘wifi calling’ so this move could be viewed as a somewhat belated follow up to the launch of that service by EE over three years ago. The big difference is that you’re no longer tied to the device in which your SIM card resides. You can now use your regular mobile phone number to make wifi calls on any device connected to the internet.

“We’ve made it our mission to give our customers amazing new technologies that make the most of our award-winning network to help keep them connected, wherever they go and whatever they want to do,” said Max Taylor, EE MD of Marketing. “Our new smart number technology is a great example of how we’re helping customers to seamlessly connect their favourite devices – whether on laptops, tablets or smartwatches, even if they’re away from their smartphone.”

There seems to be a few other handy features in this service, which is being offered at no extra charge to EE subscribers. You can be engaged in multiple calls simultaneously if that’s your thing and you can hand over a call from one device to another without interrupting it, which sounds useful.

The biggest restriction right now is that the service is only supported by iOS, with the Android app still in the pipeline. Also EE has capped the number of other devices you can use the service on to five, for some reason, and lastly it’s only available to postpaid punters. You can find out more here.