An 11th-hour deal has avoided legal action over the portability of phone numbers by major cellphone firm Digicel.

Digicel had asked for a four-month extension to next Monday’s deadline — and after it was refused, threatened to appeal to the Supreme Court.

But a spokesman for the Regulatory Authority, which oversees telecoms, said last night that Digicel had changed its mind and would meet the deadline after all.

The spokesman added: “The Authority is pleased with this development and thanks everyone concerned for their hard work to be ready for this date.”

The Regulatory Authority knocked back the extension for Digicel and said “the detrimental effect an extension would have on the public, who have been expecting number portability since August and on the other carriers who have worked to meet the stated Monday launch date.”

The portability agreement means that mobile customers will be able to keep the same numbers when they change carriers.

The move meant that all Bermuda carriers had to make changes to their networks.

Digicel Bermuda CEO Wayne Caines said the company had worked very closely with the Authority and other industry players to “ensure that a practised and professsional experience is delivered to all customers in Bermuda”.