Mobile Number Portability: Port of Distress?

The much awaited mobile number portability service was rolled out in January this year after a test launch in Haryana in November last year.

The much awaited mobile number portability service was rolled out in January this year after a test launch in Haryana in November last year. According to a report from TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India), by the end of February, about 38.33 lakh subscribers opted for the service. In a country with over 80 crore mobile subscribers, this is still a significant number. The service allows subscribers to change their service provider while retaining the same number. This is a big draw as many people who were dissatisfied with their service provider would previously grudgingly put up with it solely because they didn’t wish to change their number. With MNP, they can easily change their service provider without having to worry about changing their number. Roadblocks While the process seems quite simple, the execution is not without obstacles. People who have tried to port have faced a number of issues, leaving them in a lurch. Take, for instance, the case of Rajiv Patel, who ported from BSNL to Tata Indicom. He says, “I was not satisfied with BSNL mainly because of poor network. As I run a wholesale business, I didn’t want to change by number. So when MNP was launched, I decided to shift to Tata Indicom. Everything went fine; I even received the SMS informing me of the time and date when my number would be activated on Tata Indicom. But when that day arrived, I discovered that BSNL deactivated my number in the morning itself and there was nothing I could do but wait for Tata Indicom to activate my number. Thankfully, my number was activated sometime late in the night. However, the people who tried calling my number couldn’t reach me and were informed that this BSNL number has been temporarily disconnected. This continued for a week or two and finally after complaining, my issue was resolved. All in all, it was a nightmarish experience and I even lost some business as people could not reach me.”    Rajiv is not alone, as there many who faced similar predicament. Funnily enough, a few others found that their number was active on both service providers. Aditya Soni, who had a Reliance connection ported to Vodafone realized that his number was active in both places. The entire porting process in itself went smoothly other than this minor glitch, which he says went on for about a week. On the other hand, many users found their MNP request rejected due to various reasons, the most common being that they were part of special group plans. Another common ground for rejection was outstanding payment due at the existing provider. While the scenario looks chaotic, not everyone faced issues with the porting process. Prateek Chakraverty, who had a BSNL connection and switched to Vodafone, says, “I had a BSNL connection and, as you can imagine, the network quality was pretty lousy. Hence, I decided to move to a private player. The MNP process for me took about 10 calendar days (8 business days). But, of course, it depends on the old network operator. If they choose to delay the process, it might take a while, which is 14-21 business days. There would be a "no service" window for about one hour before your number is ported to the new network operator, about which you will be informed well in advance.” Is it worth the hassle? Or is it Hassle-Free Freebies With MNP, the power is finally in the hands of the consumer. If they are not satisfied with the service, talk plans, network, etc., they can switch to a different service without having to worry about changing numbers. On the other hand, in this highly competitive market, the service providers are tripping over each other to come up with exciting offers in a bid to retain their customers and woo others. While some have waived off the Rs 19 MNP fees, others are offering free talk time, free SMS, and even a free SIM card. But nothing beats the free pizza offer! Many users simply sent the SMS without ever intending to switch services, just for the free pizza. Where to Lodge Complaints? Almost all the service providers have set up dedicated helplines for MNP, but the experience is similar to calling up their regular helpline. It’s no guarantee that you will be able to get through, and if you do, you’ll probably be put on hold while the executive tries to figure out what’s wrong. Seven out of ten times, you will be asked to go to the customer care outlets, where you have submitted your documents. Most of the issues should get resolved at this stage. If not, you can approach the nodal officer of your service provider with the docket number of your complaint. You will find the contact details of the nodal officer on your service provider’s website or the TRAI website. As with anything new, there are teething problems that have come to light and TRAI, along with the major players, is keeping an eye on the situation and making amendments wherever required. Things to keep in mind before porting Porting can be done in the same service area only. Mobile numbers cannot be retained for another city. There should be no outstanding payment with your existing service provider. Maximum porting time is 7 days in most parts of the country, except for Jammu & Kashmir. Disruption time while switching off service providers cannot exceed two hours and happens during the night. You will have to wait for a period of 90 days before you can switch again. source

38.3 Lakh Users opt for MNP

The number of subscribers opting for mobile number portability (MNP) has more than doubled in less than a month, data released by the telecom regulator revealed.

By February-end, around 38.33 lakh people had opted for MNP, a service that allows subscribers to switch service providers but retain their original cellphone number, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India said on Wednesday.

Till February 5, about 17.11 lakh subscribers had put in requests for changing their mobile service provider. However, the MNP impact has been limited, given that only a fraction of the 771 million mobile subscribers have so far opted for MNP.source

MNP: How to Engage Customers and avoid PORT OUT

Mobile Number Portability (MNP) is a facility that will allow a mobile service subscribers switch service providers without having to change his/her mobile number. India has more than 700 mn subscribers with nearly 10 operators in each regional circle.
Today, with MNP available to millions of subscribers, it would be interesting to see how consumers react to this potential telecom environment gamechanger and resultant marketing strategies adopted by service providers.
Let us attempt and understand the overall impact of the wireless ecosystem by uncovering what MNP means to subscribers and then to the service providers.
For the Subscribers: It is a reaffirmation that the 'Customer' is still the 'King'. Exit barriers for customers who placed substantial equity on their mobile numbers is no longer high. Issues that are less dependent on individual biases get relegated and more provider driven factors such as costs/call-quality/service/experience suddenly get the attention.
For the Service Providers: MNP is a potentially disruptive technology in an already competitive market. Operators suddenly find themselves facing questions on how to optimize resources in this changed scenario- acquiring customers through short-term offers or enhancing existing subscribers engagement to improve loyalty and retention. Summing up the effect, the limelight falls on businesses and operational 'efficiencies'. Scaling up on capabilities to address the empowered 'captive' or potential customers will be a paramount. Right from ensuring optimal utilization of budgets, to acquire the right type of customers, to going out to ensure consistent engagements and interactions are measurably meaningful to the existing subscribers.
Expected Churn Ratio
Preliminary empirical MNP data hints at a mere 1% impact to customers attrition. With an industry seeing a monthly churn rate of 4.5-8, the forecast does not seem to perturb many. This sentiment is echoed by most of the service providers where predominant messaging is aimed at luring competitor's customers rather than focusing on engaging (and retaining) with their existing subscribers base.
As has been the case with the most volume and distribution driven industries, the focus in telecom has always been gross-additions. The mantra being acquisition without a concerted focus on distribution efficiencies or loyalty-driven revenue enhancement, VAS and other ARPU enhancing measures are gimmicky and don't conform to a predictable pattern that encourages sustained spending habits.
The number of subscribers opting to shift providers, the MNP route as with any 'new technology adoption' would be limited in the first few months, as many are waiting for references of positive 'port' experience. MNP spurred churn and gained momentum, driven largely by higher levels of awareness and comfort with the 'concept' and lure of seemingly lucrative competitor offerings.
While it is understandable for the new and incumbent service providers to use MNP as the primary acquisition tactic, the strategy for larger players should be to carry out implicit acquisition campaigns while ensuring that the support system for existing customers is enhanced.
Service providers should ideally be looking at focusing their energies to limiting the impact in the 'mid-term' where 'positive port experience' could fuel the churn.
With MNP in the picture now, if the existing customer/revenue leakage is not contained, it suggests that the operator has fundamental issues or gaps in his existing service delivery model. It would be safe to assume that these reasons would lead to the same churn from newly acquired customers over time. Referrals and word of mouth have a strong influence on decision making. Sooner or later the newly added subscribers will face the same issues resulting in the customer churn and the vicious cycle will continue.
The Difference Maker: Customer Ownership Through Enhanced Customer Experience
MNP might be a 'minor' extension to the existing churn-propensities. It has a definite potential to create volatility in the telecom market. With service providers spending millions on brandbuilding, the good old customer loyalty is being put to test.
Customer Engagement-Ready for MNP
Customer engagement becomes an even more critical pillar in the retention strategy, from adoption to mature use of a service, there are points where the service provider could 'push' certain 'value-added' (and billable) features. In the long run, no customer will continue spending on a service where he does not see continuous value and so this in the telecom scenario has resulted in offers such as per-second-billing, pay-per-site (for internet access), etc plans. It is imperative that the service provider builds a system that studies individual subscribers at a granular level. But it is not so much as to build short-term revenue enhancement through services with 'transient' customer value, but to ensure customization of offerings with continued and tangible value to the user.
There are a few dos for a strong customer engagement strategy:
• Technology, Systems and Data: Revisit information you have on your customers. Are the data fields sufficient? Are they relevant? Is the data up-to-date or valid? Does your database allow scalability? Is there a system to unobtrusively collect and validate information when required? Are you capturing customer footprints at every possible touch-point? Ensure customer information systems are integrated to provide marketers a single-view.
• Insights: Create analytic driven and actionable consumer insights. Use call behavior, past interactions with the company and basic transaction data as the source. Monitor factors within the larger ecosystem to capture the information that might have a bearing to behavior while using your service. Many operators have made significant investments in churn modeling software, yet they fail to show RoI due to lack of focus or intent.
• Consumer Awareness: Educate your customers and empower your customer's decisions that are best suited for him/her in the long run.
• Personalize: Customize every interaction at every possible touch-point-be it an SMS, an electronic mailer, an outbound call or a visit to your website. Every interaction has to be meaningful. Give each and every customer an offer they are most likely looking for at that very point in time-the right offer at the right time and through the right channel.
Having meaningful and holistic engagement processes in place, service providers would be well tuned to customer needs while addressing concerns and future requirements to ensure that the customer is bonded by a dialogue. Rather than looking at it as a way of 'upping' exit barriers or increasing switching costs, the intent ought to be giving the customers no reason to consider switching providers.source

Vodafone emerges biggest gainer of MNP,adds nearly 1.9 lakh users

Nearly a month after the nationwide rollout of mobile number portability services, Vodafone Essar has emerged as the biggest gainer, notching up 1.9 lakh new subscribers, whereas state-owned BSNL lost more customers than it attracted from other service providers. 

Since the launch of MNP services, nearly 20 lakh mobile subscribers have switched service providers using the facility. 

MNP allows users to change service providers while retaining their phone numbers. 

"A total of 19,79,600 numbers of subscribers have ported their numbers so far using the MNP facility," according to official figures provided in the Rajya Sabha by the Department of Telecom ( DoT )). 

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had launched nationwide MNP services on January 20 this year. It has been a month since the service was started and as expected, older GSM operators like Vodafone Essar, Airtel and Idea Cellular continue to lure the bulk of subscribers to their networks. 

According to latest available figures, Vodafone Essar gained as many as 1.9 lakh customers, followed by Idea Cellular, with a net gain of 1.5 lakh subscribers. 

The figures denote the difference between the number of customers porting in and porting out. 

The country's largest operator, Bharti Airtel remained at number three with a net gain of about 1.48 lakh subscribers till date. 

However, most operators stick by the theory that MNP will not be a game-changer for the industry. 

CDMA operators are facing a huge exodus of subscribers, with RCOM, Tata Teleservices and BSNL losing subscribers to old and established GSM service providers. 

In the case of RCom (CDMA), as many as 1.34 lakh subscribers ported out, while 5,717 ported in. Similarly, TTSL (CDMA) lost over 1.04 subscribers while attracting only 8,298 subscribers to its fold. 

All that a customer needs to do for changing his telecom operator is pay a maximum of Rs 19. He/she will get a new service provider within seven working days as per the guidelines of the sectoral regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India . 

Among the new operators, Uninor and Sistema Shyam attracted more subscribers than they lost, but others were hit by the facility as they lost more subscribers, the data revealed. 

To combat this, these operators had lowered tariffs along with doling out freebies. Regional operators have also upped the ante, as they feared losing customers. 

MNP services were first launched in Haryana in November last year and according to industry estimates, less than one per cent of subscribers opted for changing their operators. 

Both pre-paid and post-paid consumers can use the MNP service. source

Telcos on hiring spree

Staffing firms are set to rake in more revenues from the telecom sector, which is hiring temporary staffers in right earnest to meet the demand created by third-generation (3G) services, broadband wireless access and mobile number portability.

3G airwaves allow services such as high-speed internet, music, movies, TV, games and video conferencing on mobile phones seamlessly, while MNP allows mobile phone users to change their service provider keeping the same number. Over 17 lakh people availed of the MNP service from November to first week of February, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

Bharti Airtel, Tata Docomo, Reliance Communications and Aircel have launched 3G services over the past quarter at competitive tariffs in the hope of driving up revenues in a capital-intensive industry. India is one of the fastest growing telephony markets in the world. Both services have transformed into fresh business for staffing firms, with telecom companies asking for sales, marketing and customer support professionals.

In the next nine months, there is a demand for 6,000 to 8,000 network engineers for infrastructure companies, sales and marketing employees for telecom firms, says Kamal Karanth, managing director of temp staffer Kelly Services. This includes indirect placements (people on the rolls of temp staffing firms) and direct placements (people on company rolls), such as that of mid-level customer care staff in BPOs.

Average billing per hire, or the money a staffing firm may make on a single recruit, could range from 10 per cent to 20 per cent of the annual package, says TeamLease senior manager for sourcing Abhijeet Poddar. The talent crunch in this sector will push salary hikes over the current 15 per cent to 20 per cent, he added.

"There will be a demand for feet-on-the-street. Circle level hiring is happening more than at the corporate level. Our estimates and client demand means at least 150 to 180 people getting hired every month," says Poddar. Hiring in the telecom sector could touch 1 lakh a year, for the next two to three years, says India's largest temping firm TeamLease Services.

At least six of every 10 hires would be in segments requiring technical skills. More people will be required at entry-to-mid levels as telecom companies and network providers head into rural areas. Staffing firm Manpower India's estimates are more conservative, at upwards of 10,000 sales executives hired in the next six months, based on requests from clients such as Nokia Siemens Networks, Idea Cellular, Uninor and Aircel.

"While new players are slowing down on recruitment in the face of uncertainties over 2G (second generation) spectrum allotment, bigger players are trying to gain by hiring them in a scarce talent market," said Manpower India managing director Sanjay Pandit.

Telecom equipment makers and network providers are also expected to hire for services related to broadband wireless access airwaves that are superior to 3G, allowing very high-speed internet access, telephony and TV over the internet. Mid-and senior leadership levels will be strengthened, says telecom tower provider Viom Networks chief executive officer Arun Kapur.

"Our business is currently in a growth phase with plans to add more tower infrastructure to our portfolio. Hiring will be across functions including those that have a direct impact on the quality of service and business growth," he adds.source

BSNL gains 29,000 customers after MNP

Rajiv Agarwal, BSNL's chief general manager, Andhra Pradesh Circle, today claimed that more than 29,000 cell phone customers from other telecom services migrated to BSNL after number portability scheme was introduced.

As against that, only 8000 customers switched from BSNL to another mobile service provider, he said.

He said that to improve the customer service in the city, a 24-hour service center has been set up.

Agarwal also said that radiation from BSNL towers was minimum and they meet all the norms imposed by the Government on radiation.source

MNP or Mujhe Nahi Pata service?

With the much-hyped Mobile Number Portability (MNP) service, one would expect customers, who have long been frustrated with their service provider, heaving a sigh of relief. But sadly that is not the case.

Vikrant Jain, a professional in Ahmedabad, was very excited about the introduction of the MNP service. He was convinced that he would be able to switch to a better service provider and retain his old number at the same time. Three days after the MNP was introduced, Jain put forward his request to switch from Reliance to Aircel.

Despite TRAI's norm and the initial response from Aircel to effect the change within seven working days, Jain is yet to get a response from them, even after a fortnight. He also tried sending email reminders to both the service providers, but in vain.

And Jain is not the lone case. Many customers wishing to switch providers are facing the same problem.

Take the case of 68-year-old Nimesh Pujara (name changed) who applied to shift from Reliance to Vodafone. Pujara was denied the Unique Porting Code (UPC), which is essential to change the service provider, by Reliance. "I sent more than five mails to get the status but Reliance refuses to provide me with the code," he said.

In fact, consumers have nicknamed MNP as Mujhe Nahi Pata service, as service providers are clueless when consumers ask for any clarity.

Kalpesh Khara, a professional in Rajkot is yet another victim. Khara claims that he sent an SMS to 1900 on January 22 as he wanted to switch from Airtel to Idea or Vodafone.

"For that I need a UPC, which I will get from their customer care number 1901, after I send them a text message at 1900. I sent the text message thrice to this number. However, despite waiting for more than 12 days, I have not received the UPC to help me switch over to other operator service," Khara said.

"I emailed Reliance customer care more than 50 times and Aircel more than 20 times to get the status of my request but both the companies are completely clueless. When Reliance issued the UPC, Aircel said the code was incorrect. Aircel also said that Reliance conveyed to them that I had signed an agreement with them whereas I have never done anything like that," said Jain.

Jain said he also wrote to the principal secretary of TRAI. "I was told that the UPC is valid only for a fortnight. I can't recharge my number as it would be wasted if I move to Aircel. According to norms, the balance in prepaid account cannot get transferred to a postpaid account. So, I have to make do with a top-up of Rs10 and Rs 20 every day," he said.source

17lakh Opt for MNP till date in INDIA

About a fortnight after the national roll-out of Mobile Number Portability (MNP) service, more than 17 lakh mobile subscribers have opted for the facility, that allows users to change their service provider while retaining the number, the telecom regulator said on Tuesday.

The MNP service was introduced on a pilot basis in Haryana on November 25, 2010 and later rolled out pan- India from January 20 this year. Of the total 17.1 lakh requests received, about 2.3 lakh were from Haryana circle where MNP was first implemented, Trai said in a statement. In other circles, Gujarat saw the highest number of switching requests at 1.7 lakh, followed by Rajasthan (1.44 lakh) in Zone-I (northern and western India).

In MNP Zone-II (southern and eastern region), maximum number of requests were received in Karnataka (1.16 lakh) and Tamil Nadu (1.14 lakh) circles.source

300,000 subscribers opt for MNP in North India

The northern region of the country comprising Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana has seen a significant jump in the number of subscribers requesting mobile number portability (MNP) since the initial launch of the service in Haryana on November 25 last year and which was later on extended to the rest of India on January 20.
According to the data collected from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), there has been requests from nearly 300,000 subscribers till February 2 from the northern region, while 1,350,000 subscribers have requested to avail the facility across India.
According to the data, Haryana is the frontrunner with 212,000 requests followed by Punjab (75,000), Himachal Pradesh (9,000) and Jammu and Kashmir (500). Insiders feel, in the coming days the figure might witness a quantum jump in Punjab and other states.

It is worth mentioning that Punjab has the highest telecom density. The state has a telecom density of about 80 per cent as compared to the national average of 65 per cent. Further, Punjab recorded over 21 million telecom subscribers, Haryana (about 17 million), Himachal Pradesh (seven million), Jammu and Kashmir (about one million) up to December 2010.
MNP allows users to change their service provider while retaining the number. In northern region, Syniverse Technology has been given a license by the department of telecommunications (DoT) to implement MNP.
According to experts, the requests will increase significantly in the coming months. Further, the service will increase competition between providers to improve their service, they feel. Also, in order to retain the prospective customers, the service providers are offering new schemes to retain clients.
However, consumer organisation revealed that many subscribers were finding it difficult to switch operators under the new MNP scheme.
Speaking to Business Standard, Chandigarh Telecom Subscribers Association President and Telecom Consumer Education & Protection Fund Member Randhir Verma said, “The actual number of subscribers who have requested for MNP would be much more than 13,50,000. We are getting complaints from the subscribers about the leading operators not generating the UPC number, which is a must for accessing MNP, besides other problems. We are going to take up the matter with Trai and Telecom Enforcement, Resource and Monitoring (TERM) Cells.”
To avail of the MNP service, a mobile user has to pay a porting fee of Rs 19. The user has to send a message to 1900, following which he gets a unique porting code. With this code, the user can fill a form of the new service provider. The process is expected to be completed in seven days.source

Study reveals MNP not to impact telecom operators

The MNP services, via which the customer can retain the number even after changing its service provider, was expected to shake up the telephony market, but now industry leaders are recognising that this may not happen, says a study. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh launched the nation-wide mobile number portability (MNP) services on January 20.
The service was first launched in Haryana in November last year.
“With 0.75 percent of mobile subscribers in Haryana having made use of the porting service in the three months since its introduction, it is still unclear how “well” the service will do across India following its pan-India launch,” the Sri-Lanka based research firm LIRNEasia said in a study.
Idea Cellular launched a major advertising campaign for the “impending” service, has indicated lower expectations on the impact of MNP.
These statements may be a consequence of the reported porting rate from Haryana, the first state in the country where MNP was launched.
In fact, nothing can be concluded from the first few days of the launch, considering the trajectory of porting rates over time in other countries that have introduced the service.
As speculation rises on how the Indian marketplace will receive the service, it will be interesting to note the post paid and prepaid porting rates, says study.
All that a customer needs to do for changing his/her telecom operator is pay a maximum of  19.
He/she will get a new service provider within seven working days as per the guidelines of regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
However, a consumer will have to remain with one operator for a minimum period of three months in order to avail the MNP service.
Earlier, in another study on the MNP LIRNasia had said that MNP will have limited value to the vast numbers of those on prepaid plans and who have little number loyalty.
Given the phenomenon of multiple SIM ownership that prevails in the country and rock-bottom call rates, there is likely to be little incentive or motivation for a majority of mobile subscribers to consider using MNP.
However, the service will benefit over 700 million subscribers, both in GSM and CDMA categories in the country.
The new policy would force the operators to shift focus from acquiring new subscribers to retaining the existing ones.
With monthly addition of 15 million subscribers, India has achieved a teledensity of 65 percent.
The Indian telecom sector, which is the fastest growing in the world with the lowest tariffs, has grown from 33 million in March 2004 to about 750 million now.
Both pre-paid and post-paid consumers can use MNP.

Gainers and Losers of MNP RACE

Data gathered during the first four days of MNP in India has revealed that consumers have clear preference for some operators over others.

 

Vodafone Essar, India’s third largest operator, appears to sit the best with consumers, with 61,789 users wanting to switch to it. Aircel comes in second with 28,088 while Idea Cellular comes in third at 15,220, according to data gathered by Financial Express.

 

The country’s largest operator, Bharti Airtel, had just 10,412 users who expressed wishes to switch to it.

 

State-owned BSNL and Reliance Communications, the country’s second-largest operator, appear to be the biggest losers. Net customer loss are estimated at 51,562 and 48,089 respectively.

 

The data also revealed differences in consumers’ preference by region. More than a third of the 30,627 subscribers who wished to port their numbers expressed a preference for Vodafone, while 11,502 out of the 25,000 customers who wanted to port their numbers in Maharashtra preferred Idea Cellular.

 

New operators fared badly, despite MNP being touted as the means for these new entrants to gain subscribers. Sistema Shyam’s MTS emerged the biggest loser, with a net 1,354 customers wishing to port out.

 

A net 956 customers wished to leave Loop Telecom while 288 wanted to exit HFCL. Uninor looked to be the only new entrant who stood to gain, with a net 379 customers wishing to port in.source

Switching to Operators Not So Easy despite MNP buZZ

Mobile number portability got off to a rocky start as customers complained they were unable to swap service providers and telcos accused rivals unfairly hanging on to top clients. Customers queuing up to switch operators without a change in cellphone numbers were told “servers were down” or there were technical glitches that prevented quick action on their request to desert their existing service provider.

Airtel customer SK Ghosh has been sending a text message for two days only to get a terse reply: “invalid entry”. ET spoke to a cross-section of customers across the country. All of them faced similar hurdles. The response from another service provider for subscriber in West Bengal was “no default configured”.

Vodafone Essar , which runs a countrywide network, said customer helplines were awash with complaints from angry subscribers of rival networks complaining their requests to make a switch fell on deaf ears. The telco plans to take up the issue with sector regulator Trai.

“We are getting complaints from customers who want to port in to us that they are not getting the unique porting codes from their existing service providers or there is a delay in the process. It is not appropriate to name any specific operator,” Samaresh Parida, Vodafone Essar’s director (strategy) told ET.

Reliance Communications , the country’s second largest telco by customers, also said its rivals were not processing requests to switch to the Anil-Ambani promoted company.

“I can confirm that RCom helplines have received umpteen complaints from (customers of rival networks) that their SMS requests were not being accepted by their present service providers. Most complaints emanated from Vodafone, Airtel and some Idea Cellular customers in Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Karnataka who been wanting to port into RCom,” said RCom’s president (marketing) for wireless business, Mahesh Prasad.

The CEO of Bharti Airtel , India’s largest telco by both customers and revenues, Sanjay Kapoor, said his company was not blocking customers’ request to switch to rivals. “There may be some technical issues, but we should not jump to conclusions, and allow the system to stablise,” he said.

Kapoor said Airtel would gain the most by the introduction of MNP. “Our revenue market share is far higher than our customer market share, an indicator of the quality of our subscribers. We have a credible track record for services and an enviable reach in terms of our networks and MNP will therefore enable us to get more customers,” he said.

He said eventually, a customer would be able to make a switch. “If a subscriber does not get a response, he will resend the SMS. It is not possible for any telco to block the process,” Kapoor added. According to Rajan Mathews, director general of The Cellular Operators Association of India, the body representing all GSM telcos, technical glitches were bound to crop up in the first weeks especially considering that scale of the project.

“No country with over 700 million cellphone customers and 14 operators has ever attempted such a project. Given the complexity involved, I can categorically state that there is no malicious intent by any operator to stall or delay porting requests. Besides, any telco that has complaints can always approach regulator Trai,” he added. source

MNP kicks off a lot of BUZZ created !!!, but few shifting yet

 After waiting for at least five years, most Indians finally got the ability to change their mobile service provider without changing their number on Thursday, but very few actually did, said industry watchers.
But that didn’t stop the phone companies from trying to generate as much buzz as they could, both online and offline.


 After waiting for at least five years, most Indians finally got the ability to change their mobile service provider without changing their number on Thursday, but very few actually did, said industry watchers.
But that didn’t stop the phone companies from trying to generate as much buzz as they could, both online and offline.
Mobile number portability (MNP) was the talk of the Indian microblogosphere, as the move came into effect. #MNP topped the list of trending topics for India, while “mobile number portability” was third.


A lot of the tweets were generated by the telcos themselves. Bharti Airtel Ltd (@airtel_in) promised potential crossover customers “a nice surprise ;-)” and later quoted a Hindustan Times MNP survey as saying that one in three consumers would switch to it. Meanwhile, Tata DoCoMo (@tatadocomo) cited a survey by @indiasurveys (which conducts surveys on Indian news issues on Twitter) that said 50% of all Airtel’s consumers would switch to its services.
Tata DoCoMo, which had the most aggressive Twitter campaign by far, also initiated a hashtag campaign named #switch2TataDoCoMo, which it inserted into all its tweets on MNP. A typical tweet by the company read, “f ur lookin to switch then ensure its to a #3G ready network, who believes in cool offers..aka us ;-) #Switch2TataDoCoMo #MNP”. The firm also adopted an informal tone in its replies to individual tweeters, often referring to them as “buddy” or “pal”.
Idea Cellular Ltd, which ran an aggressive television campaign asking people to “Get Idea”, was also active on Twitter, though not in quite the same manner as Tata DoCoMo.
Vodafone Essar Ltd (@vodafone_in) also had a restrained approach, although the company had been running a campaign to get consumers to switch to its services over the last few days. There was barely any mention of #MNP, with the company choosing to respond to customer queries and complaints instead.
Meanwhile, consumers used the opportunity to either praise or hit out at their mobile phone operators, with many of them announcing who they were planning to switch to and why. One user @krrish_vn said, “Every service provider hav their own probs..Lets see who take advantage...and who loses....Anyway Bsnl will lose a valble customer.nd its me”. There was also a lot of hilarity over a text message sent by Airtel to its consumers, which thanked customers for being on “India’s network” and the usual number of quips, slogans and witticisms. The top tweet for #MNP by @krishashok read “Can I get Aircel’s coverage, Airtel’s call centre, Vodafone’s EDGE and BSNL’s bill?”
The MNP wars were not restricted just to Twitter. Vodafone, Tata DoCoMo and Airtel have all bought advertising space on Google that appears on the result pages on searches for either MNP or mobile number portability.
Telcos went into overdrive offline as well. Many have rolled out massive advertising campaigns, while some of the operators have launched aggressive below-the-line campaigns as well.
“Many of the operators have been pushing their existing discounts along with promises of free gifts among other things,” said a telecom expert with one of the larger consulting firms. “Initially, many of them are launching mass-market schemes to attract the initial movers en masse. Later, the operators will launch specific, targeted schemes,” added this person, who did not want to be identified.
One winner that seems to be emerging from the battle is the distributor.
“The operators have started offering the distributors some Rs150-200 for every ported subscriber, while they are also looking at trade schemes,” a Mumbai analyst said. Trade schemes refer to gifts and rewards for distributors who push certain products to consumers. “One operator is offering subscribers a free watch to port,” he added, asking not to be identified.
There may be some impact on the prepaid market thanks to the distributor push, but that won’t last for long, experts said.
In any case, there didn’t seem to be much of an impact on the consumer base on the first day.
“Most subscribers that are looking to port have decided to wait a few days. There is a novelty aspect to the whole thing and many who have decided to move are weighing their options,” said a senior executive with one of the larger telecom firms, who did not want to be identified.
“There is a general inquisitiveness among the consumers and many are looking into the various offers. But the operators have gone into overdrive with their marketing schemes,” a second Mumbai-based analyst said, speaking on condition of anonymity.source

Want a free pizza? Threaten to switch mobile operator

The introduction of the mobile number portability (MNP) has prompted telecom operators to come up with innovative ways to retain customers. As if dirt-cheap call rates were not enough, operators are now treating subscribers to free pizzas as well.
Some of Bharti Airtel’s 145 million-odd subscribers were in for a pleasant surprise. Their threat to jump ship following the recent nationwide launch of MNP resulted in them getting pizza vouchers. Other service providers are also pulling out all stops — offering free talk time, discounts and customised data plans to retain customers.
Several subscribers chose Twitter to narrate their stories. “Airtel sends me a pizza voucher as a gift. First such freebie I’ve received from Airtel in six years I’ve used their service. MNP jitters?,” Bangalore’s Ashwin Prabhu tweeted on January 20, when MNP was launched by prime minister Manmohan Singh. “Airtel offers me a free pizza for being a loyal customer on fixed line. This on a day when MNP goes live,” tweeted Praveen Garlapati.
“We regularly offer delight programmes to our customers, MNP or otherwise. We are not offering any special plans for MNP,” Poonam Nikam, Bharti Airtel spokesperson, said.
A Vodafone spokesperson said, “We are not offering anything at this point of time.” However, Xylene from Bangalore wrote on Twitter on January 21, “Update Day 1: Vodafone called me and offered Rs99 VMC — Vodafone Mobile Connect — which they were previously offering for Rs299.”
Aggressive efforts by telecom operators to woo rival customers as well as retain their high-value customers seems to be the next chapter in a hyper-competitive telecom market in India. There are 10-12 operators per circle in the country.
From the perspective of competition, analysts tend to group telecom operators into old players or incumbents, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea and BSNL — and the so-called new entrants or challengers, including Uninor, Videocon, MTS and Etisalat.

Telecom sector analysts Rohit Chordia and Vineet Thodge of Kotak Institutaional Equities say the ‘carrot and carrot’ policy being used by incumbent operators has the potential to backfire. “We are surprised at the subscriber retention moves of the large incumbents post MNP launch,” Chordia and Thodge wrote in a note on January 21. “Put yourself in the shoes of a loyal customer with no intention to switch from her existing operator - she sees her mobile operator trying to woo new subscribers with attractive‘port in’ offers, and offering freebies to (some) fellow customers showing their intent to ‘portout’. Isn’t it natural for her to question the benefit of her loyalty?”
Loyal customers who have not been offered freebies may feel left out and hence, decide to port out, even if they are happy with their service provider. Even if the customer churn settles after a period of time, the MNP-related behaviour being seen now will likely have a long-lasting effect and financial impact as well, the analysts said.source

MNP USERS EQUALS 0.75% only in HARYANA

If the experience in Haryana is anything to go by, mobile number portability has been off to a slow start with around 0.75% of the subscribers opting for the service since its launch in late November.

According to agencies dealing with portability, on an average, around 3,000 applications per day have been received so far. So, till now, over the 45-odd days since the launch of the service, around 1.35 lakh subscribers would have opted for MNP, which is 0.75% of the subscriber base of 1.77 crore at the end of October 2010.

Analysts pointed out that the number could be higher in metros and cities, which could also be the result of a campaign launched by the government and the telecom regulator, including the high-profile launch by PM Manmohan Singh on Thursday.

They also said that in a state like Haryana, where a sizeable number residing in Gurgaon and Faridabad were actually using Delhi mobile phones, congestion levels could be lower. A recent study conducted by Trai showed that the six operators in Haryana offered network availability that was above the 90% benchmark. Three of the operators, however, were below the 95% benchmark in customer satisfaction survey conducted by the regulator on accessibility and retainability and four put up a below par show on metering and billing.

Mobile number portability was delayed by several years due to lobbying by telecom companies and the lack of preparedness by the government. While launching the service in Haryana in November, the government had promised a national rollout by January 20 and it has managed to stick to it.

While launching the service, the Prime Minister said: "Till now, operators were competing to acquire new subscribers. But launch of MNP will force them to offer innovative and quality services to retain their subscribers." source

FAQs of Mobile Number Portability

Finally, the most awaited Mobile Number Portability (MNP)is here. Starting today, you will now be able to switch networks as per your convenience and choice as MNP is now launched all over India. Many of us want to know about some of the frequently asked questions about the Mobile Number Portability. So, lets check out the same.

FAQs of Mobile Number Portability

1. What is Mobile number Portability (MNP)?
Basically, MNP which is the short form of Mobile number Portability which allows you to retain the same number and allows you to switch to different operator irrespective of GSM or CDMA mobile operator.

2. What is the Benefit of using MNP?
In an era of competition where Customer is a King, you get a freedom to choose from the services of different operators present across your circle. Since this allows you to retain the number and change the operator you will be relieved from new set of numbers which you previously used to get when you change the number.

3. What is meant by the term Porting?
Porting is basically a technical word which means that your mobile number is ported to a new recipient operator or in short it’s an act of switching to a new mobile service provider.

4. How i can Port and what are the requirements for taking the advantage of MNP?
There’s a procedure by following which you will be able to port your number to an operator of your choice. If you are a prepaid subscriber then you should have at least completed 90 days with the current operator before applying for MNP. If you are a postpaid customer, then here too you should complete 90 days with your current telecom operator before applying for MNP.

5. Is MNP available only for postpaid customers or prepaid customers can also avail this?
Irrespective of Prepaid or Postpaid, all subscribers who have been a customer of a particular operator for at least a period of 90 days.

6. Will my balance and scheme will be transferred with the number if i shift to any other operator?
No, all balances and schemes of your current operator will be lapsed and you need to choose from the plan which the recipient operator is offering.

7. Can i make use of MNP and shift to other operator without clearing the dues of my existing operator?
Unless and until you clear all the dues of your current postpaid connection you will not be allowed to port your number to any other operator.

8. What are the documents i need to carry when i go for porting my number?
You need to carry two recently clicked passport sized photos along with Proof of Address (POA) and Proof of Identity (POI). Do carry original documents as well as a copy of both.

9. Where i need to go for porting my number?
If you are a customer of Loop Mobile and wishes to move to Vodafone, then you need to go directly go to Vodafone’s official Gallery for porting your number.

10. Do i need to get porting code or the recipient operator will do the same?
It’s always better to take the UPC along with you to the recipient operator’s store. You just need to sms PORT (your 10 digit mobile number) to 1900 and within seconds you will receive the UPC from 1901.

11. What is the Porting charge, is it free?
Porting charge is not free; porting fee is fixed at Rs.19 by TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India), though some companies may offer porting charges less than Rs. 19, in some cases it may be nil due to immense competition in the telecom market.

12. How many days it will take to port my number?
Porting the number will not take more than 7 working days.

13. Can i shift from CDMA to GSM?
Yes, irrespective of CDMA or GSM, you can shift to the new operator and retain the same number. However you will need to have a GSM handset to accommodate the GSM Sim.

14. Can i cancel the porting request?
In an unlikely even if you wish to cancel the porting request you can do so but for this you need to give a written cancellation request within 24 hours of the porting request.

15. Are there any Cancellation charges?
There will not be any additional cancellation charges but the amount of Rs.19 which is the porting fee will not be refunded.

16. Can i shift within the network from Prepaid to Postpaid using MNP?
If you want to shift within the network like Postpaid to Prepaid or Prepaid to postpaid then it’s not required to exercise the MNP as you can do this without using MNP too. Just visit your Operator’s help desk and they will help you out regarding the same.

17. If am a customer of airtel Mumbai, can i port my number to airtel Maharashtra & Goa network or to any other network operator in Maharashtra & Goa circle?
Since, DOT has decided to implement Mobile Number Portability (MNP) within a circle; customer can port their number to another service provider as long as it is done within a circle. Portability between other circles (called Inter circle portability) is not allowed as yet.

18. Under MNP can i switch my Landline number to another operator?
As of now number portability is only made available for the Mobile customers, so Landline customers will not be able to use MNP service.

19. Do i need to submit the Old sim to the new operator?
No, in any case you should not submit your Old sim to the recipient operator as that sim will be with you.

20. Will there be any service disruption time during the MNP Process?
Yes, there will be a service disruption time of only 2 hrs during this process which will be preferably during the night time.

21. Can i port more than once?
Yes, as of now there is no cap on the number of times you can port to operator, as after every 90 days you can port your number to the operator of your choice.

22. If i have a Reliance number which is registered on my name, can i transfer the same number to any other person in the process of Mobile number Portability?
No, you cannot transfer the ownership in the process of Mobile number portability in any case.

23. How will I know when I have to replace my old SIM with the new SIM?
You will get an sms from the recipient operator with details like port-in date and time after which you can use your existing number on new sim.

24. For how long will be the Unique Porting Code be valid?
Unique Porting Code (UPC) received by you while making the porting request is valid for a period of 15 days after which if you wish to get UPC again then you need to again send Porting request to 1900.

25. Who is the recipient operator?
Recipient Operator is an operator or a service provider who will be providing mobile service to the subscriber after porting. In other words, recipient operator is the operator that a mobile subscriber wants to port to.

With the help of Mobile number portability, yuo can port your number to any mobile service provider within your telecom circle like Vodafone, airtel, MTNL, BSNL, Videocon, Idea Cellular, Cheers Mobile etc.source

MNP may improve mobile service quality

Are you one of those who's desperate to dump your mobile operator because of the large number of call drops, but wary because a number change will create complications?

Well then, here's your chance. The much awaited mobile number portability (MNP) is here, starting today.

It allows customers to keep their mobile number irrespective of who their cellular network operator is. It means, if you switch operators, you need not have to send those "hange of contact" mailers to hundreds of your friends, family and workmates.

This freedom for consumers is also expected to enhance the quality of service providers as retaining this highly floating subscriber base would become challenging for providers.
Anupama Ahluwalia, senior vice president (marketing), Idea Cellular says, "We realise that a large number of subscribers are waiting to switch to a network that offers seamless connectivity across the length and breadth of the country.''

Suresh S Kumar, COO (Karnataka & Andra Pradesh) MTS, says MNP opens up a good opportunity for customers and mobile service operators to redefine their relationships based on quality of customer service and network performance. ``MNP is bound to add to competition within the various mobile service operators,'' he says.

Venkatesh V, CEO for mobile services in Bharti Airtel Karnataka, plugs for his service: "Joining the first family in mobile service will be rewarding."

Most research finds that the churn on account of MNP would be less than 1%. But all service providers are gearing up. Idea Cellular, Tata Docomo, Vodafone, Aircel have all rolled out new TV commercials and other campaigns to lure customers under MNP.

MTS is in the process of rolling out a slew of offers, including subsidizing handsets for migrating GSM and CDMA customers. Many others are rolling out new tariff plans which would involve customers benefiting from getting free local calls, free SMSs and free data.source

3G for Aircel in 30days

Aircel Ltd, a privately owned service provider seems on the way to introduced third- generation telecommunications services across the country (India) within 30 days, company reveals.

The company was just waiting for the mobile number portability (MNP) services to touch the market.

Now the subscribers could change their network operators without changing the numbers and this has been launched across the Nation from Today.

MNP effect: Service providers alter gameplans

With over 600 million mobile subscribers set to get a choice to change their operators while retaining their numbers from tomorrow by availing mobile mumber portability (MNP), service providers are using every trick in the marketing trade to retain their customers and woo new ones. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be launching the service tomorrow.
However, operators are not expecting the churn due to MNP to be more than 1 per cent, from a current industry average churn rate of 4-5 per cent per month. This is also based on their experience in the circle of Haryana, where MNP was launched in December last year and about 100,000 customers decided to change their operators on a customer base of 19 million.

The operators focus is to retain their high-Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) postpaid customers, who contribute about 15-20 per cent to their revenue. They are also going out in a big way to retain their prepaid high-ARPU users.

Vodafone Essar, for instance, is already studying the records of their high-paying postpaid customers to see whether there has been a sudden drop in their ARPUs, as that is a clear reflection that he is using another alternate service.
“Our approach is to go to the consumer even before he registers to understand the reason — whether is it network problem, service or something else. Giving freebies or discounts is only a small part of the game,” said a Vodafone official.
Going by its record in Haryana (where the service was launched on an experimental basis last December), the company says it has been able to retain 60 per cent of the customers who might have shifted services.
State-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), which provide services in Delhi and Mumbai, also echoed similar views. “We have asked our marketing and customer care people to address the issues of our subscribers, who are likely to shift. MTNL also offers BlackBerry services, which has picked up very well. So, there will be a focus on high-end customers.”
New players like Sistema Shyam, which offer CDMA services are looking at wooing customers to their fold. The company is planning to offer subsidised mobile phones under a two way scheme — one you pay for the phone upfront but get reimbursed for the money you have spend through free talk time, downloads and even SMSes. The second offer is to buy it under a long term EMI scheme.
Sistema that runs under the MTS brand name is also planning to offer packages which have a lot of free talk time and data rolled in. The company is also cashing on the fact that with MNP, the differentiation in the numbering plan between CDMA and GSM would go away.
Other new players like Loop Mobile are trying to attract customers with a service guarantee — they have decided to compensate their subscribers for every call drop. “This does not mean that we have not stopped bringing a superior network. In case of any call drop, a subscriber has to send an SMS NC to 50800 (postpaid) / 50505 (prepaid) and get their money back.”
Loop is also bringing its customer care service under scrutiny. It will answer all calls to the customer care centres within 10 seconds or reverse the money spent on the call.
Operators however say state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) might be the one which would be impacted the most from MNP as it has not been able to make fresh investments to modernise and expand its network capacity-based on the trend in Haryana.
Incumbents also believe the churn would not benefit new operators, as customers are looking for established player with a tested pan-India network to churn.
Others like Uninor go further to say MNP will not be a game changer. “Our research suggests that MNP will not be a game changer. However, it could still result in some interesting new strategies. MNP will definitely have higher relevance in the postpaid segment since these number loyal subscribers haven’t yet had free choice on worries of losing their number identity. MNP may also force operators to think segmentation in the prepaid market,” says its Corporate Affairs executive Vice President Rajiv Bawa.
For availing the MNP service, mobile subscribers have to pay Rs19. To port his number, the subscribers have to request the new operator for acceptance of his connection and the process would have to be completed in four days.
Syniverse and MNP Interconnection Telecom Solutions (MITS) have been given licence by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to implement MNP across the country.
MNP was initially scheduled to be implemented from December 31, 2009 in the metros and category-A circles, while the rest of the country was slated to have this platform by April 1, 2010.source

MNP POLL ANALAYSIS

So atlast Mobile Number Portability (MNP) is going to be implemented in India. It has been delaying for 2 years from June 2009.

With MNP in hand, subscribers become more powerful in the multi-SIM environment of Indian telecom.

Though ICRA reports MNP can affect mobile operators in a short term basis, and other surveys (including Telecomtalk ’s Polls – Which Operator Will You Leave Once MNP Come Into Place? & Which Operator Will You Board Once MNP Come Into Place? ) shows almost similar trends i.e. in and out flow of the subscribers for the operators are more or less similar, so profit/loss due to MNP will be minimal.

But as 3G is coming, and data will be the main momentum of telecom sector in coming days with voice tariff war is stabilized, MNP can be lethal for some operators. If MNP is considered as cricket ball, with 2G means medium pacer is bowling and with 3G means its fast bowler! So non-3G players in circle-to-circle will have churns in coming days with MNP hits in.

As we conducted polls on MNP, we find out the following picture of post MNP telecom picture:

*The data used in the graph is per hundred (%).

**The poll result is based upon 986 votes  ‘Which Operator Will You Board Once MNP Come Into Place?’ and 880 votes on ‘Which Operator Will You Leave Once MNP Come Into Place?’ as of (12:19am Jan 20-2011).

The poll result says a maximum of 27% voters like to leave Airtel and at the same time maximum 21% of users said they will move to  Tata Docomo from their current operator.

This poll result can’t be taken as an accurate picture, as it is based upon only the users who voted on Telecomtalk’s MNP polls.

We can say most voters of these polls are from urban areas who have access to internet. As more people will be aware of MNP, MNP will be more helpful for massess.source