MNP is all hype

Johannesburg, 06 Sept 2006

Mobile number portability (MNP) is all hype, say analysts, who forecast it will have little impact on the industry, journalists heard at a press conference in Johannesburg yesterday.

Research conducted by World Wide Worx, with financial backing from Nashua Mobile, shows how South Africans see MNP, which is set to go into effect on 18 September.

The survey sample consisted of 1 100 people from urban and rural areas, and respondents have been divided into three groups: consumers, SMEs and corporates.

A small percentage of respondents (consumers 11%, SMEs 19% and corporates 22%) say they will port when the option becomes available.

"And because of the inertia factor, we predict half of those [willing to port] to actually go through the effort in the end," says Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx.

He adds there will be no "big bang" impact because people will have to wait for their contracts to expire. "Contracts will definitely limit churn and we`ll only begin to see an impact after 24 months."

Steven Ambrose, director of World Wide Worx`s strategy division, believes Virgin Mobile, because of its constant drive to educate customers about MNP, will be the biggest winner in the end. "Vodacom stands to lose the most because of their market dominance."

Mark Taylor, MD of Nashua Mobile, notes that network operators and service providers have no choice but to see MNP as a threat to their business. "We`ve had to lift our game. We are employing more staff, opening more retail outlets, and expanding our range of services as well. MTN and Vodacom are both employing more service centre staff."

Ambrose adds that although there has been no finalisation, porting is currently estimated to cost R25 to R75.