In the first phase of mobile num-ber portability regime, several operators did not meet deadlines and that resulted in delay in MNP implementation across the country. The government's new tactics to launch MNP in Haryana circle from November 25 is prompting few service providers to gear up for increased focus on quality of services and launching new schemes.
Earlier, the industry pundits predicted that there will be no charm in waiting for MNP. But operators are taking up special efforts to spruce up the user base. Cus-tomers are looking for connecting with a 3G service provider when they shift the operator using the MNP. “3G will boost the scope of MNP in India,” said an analyst.
Gurdeep Singh, chief operating of-ficer, Aircel says, “Aircel as an operator is really looking forward for the imple-mentation of MNP and we believe that as we have proved ourselves at the national footprint of 3G and 4G, we will certainly do good business with MNP, as the consumer can now actually decide on the quality of service and network they actually had been aspiring for long and for this decision a reasonable period of 3 months is the most apt one.”
Rajat Mukherjee, official spokesper-son, Idea Cellular says, “The implementa-tion of MNP in India will definitely come as a boon for the established players as they have better service capability and the networks in comparison to the small operators who are yet to offer better service and networks.”
MNP-A Wow! Factor for India?
The first MPN service was launched in the United States way back in 2003, the launch indeed brought lots and lots of success, which boosted the countries' telecom sector and enhanced the entire mobile service industry along with set-ting the ball-rolling 3G service.
And now India too is somewhat sailing on the same boat with the recent launch of 3G, followed by the implementation of MNP on November 25. But the big question here is 'Can India too afford to walk on the same lines to that of US and take the Indian telecom industry to newer dimensions as well as generate big bucks out of it?
India no doubt has moved from 2G to 3G, and soon to MNP, the Indian telecom industry is indeed experiencing a new revolutionary wave. MNP will be rolled out on 25 November in Haryana circle where subscribers can switch in between any of the operators.
The launch of the technology will see India come up as a better competitive marketplace as removing the barrier of operator ownership of their subscrib-ers; operators need to be even more focused on services. Though it is quite predictable that the implementation of the technology will bring in a little change to operators, but it will certainly not reshuffle the entire market share and evolve as a game changer.
The technology that has been very much in news because of its much post-poned service, however may not experi-ence rave reviews as the majority of the rural and prepaid subscribers' base of the country however would not be very much inclined to embrace it with open arms.
Adoption will be limited to a relatively small segment of customers comprising postpaid and high-spending prepaid subscribers, as it is treated more to be an urban, postpaid concept.
Considering that more than 90% of the subscriber base is on prepaid tariff plans, the number of ports from the prepaid base can therefore be expected to be relatively low in comparison to the base size. The prepaid segment of customers in turn may not be affected much because of the technology as the Indian consumers are primarily tariff-sensitive.
The technology that happens to be a very late entrant in the country, as most of the developed countries have already inculcated it, but its success and failure however can't be estimated based on the track history of others.
The cost consciousness and the pres-ent market conditions have made India different from other markets. Porting mobile numbers in the country is how-ever not as simple as pushing a button. There is a lot that has to happen behind the scenes to allow for it.
The porting procedure might be seeming very easy and simple at the theoretical level but the actual channel through which the customer, willing to change the operator, goes however, might not be that easy and user friendly. Apart from the SMS service of porting, the subscriber is also required to give in writing their request to the operator to which they are switching and fill up a customer acquisition form. The switch is a long process of filling a request form to change their service provider. The acti-vation of the selected service provider takes place after 90 days. If a number is ported once, the number can again be ported only after 90 days from the date of the previous porting.
This regulation might create a small tiff among the mobile service switchers. One of the problems that arise at the surface of switching operators is that the user has to wait for 2 months at first. This 90-day activation is implemented to avoid any misuse of the system. More-over, the Indian government only men-tions number portability within a circle that usually means a state in most cases. So you cannot retain the same phone number if the customer is relocating from one circle to another.
This facility that claims to offer switch from one operator to another however can also be misused by the offenders to some extend, as SIM cards usually play an important tool in investigation of crimes, resulting in helping the police locate the presence of its owner in a particular area. The frequent number porting may prove to be hindrance in way of the investigation.
Moreover, industry analysts reveal that they do not foresee a significant shift by subscribers from one operator to another as a result of the MNP, as the quality of service and cost are no longer the key factors to differentiate between service providers in the market.
Threat, Opportunity or Just Hype?
Some of the determining factors for the success of MNP in a country are the penetration of mobiles, the number of mobile network operators operating in a zone, the time taken for a number port, and the cost that is charged onto a customer for a number port.
From an operator perspective, the technology is no longer a threat. Op-erators have come out of their shells to embrace it completely.
AK Bhargava, CGM, MTNL says, “For a technology like MNP that has already made its presence abroad, why should India stay behind. Accepting that its implementation will add to the already pressurized operators, I believe that it would also give the operators an oppor-tunity to improve their quality of service and network. And as operator MTNL has always been very hopeful on introduction of MNP and we welcome it completely.”
R K Upadhyay, Deputy General Man-ager BSNL says, “MNP implementation will put lots of pressure on the operators as the customers will have a choice to churn from one network to another. So, MNP will also act as a cataylst for improv-ing the quality of the operators whereas it will also give the customers a feel good factor.”
Meanwhile, the technology is also being seen as a threat for the larger operators and an opportunity for small operators. An aggressive strategy for high-ARPU customers can help small operators gain market share. Hence the larger operators should adopt a defen-sive strategy.
Well, to conclude despite of the highly debatable consequences and dynam-ics of MNP, we expect India to see it implemented at pan-India level over the coming years as the right to keep one's number happens to be a justified part of the competitive environment.
Ritu Singh
ritus@cybermedia.co.in
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