Porting numbers low

By Damaria Senne, ITWeb senior journalist

Johannesburg, 16 Nov 2006

Few subscribers have requested to port to rival networks since mobile number portability (MNP) was implemented on 10 November, says the Number Portability Company.

The trend is in line with Vodacom and MTN's expectations that MNP implementation is unlikely to make a big splash despite the hype.

"It will likely be more like a damp squib," an MTN spokesman said the day before MNP was implemented.

Clive Fagan, GM of the Number Portability Company, would not disclose the total number of subscribers who have ported so far, but says the initial numbers are in the hundreds, not thousands.

While Cell C and MTN would not indicate how many subscribers they lost or gained, Vodacom said on Monday that it gained 60 new customers and lost 40 to the rival networks.

Virgin Mobile spokesman Nicholas Maweni would also not disclose numbers. However, he says the company has been inundated with porting requests from customers who wish to move over to its network.

"It's a nightmare for our customer services centre," he says.

Vanashree Pillay, Cell C's executive head of corporate communications, says Cell C is showing a net gain and has enjoyed good incoming volumes across all channels.

Deterrents

Fagan could not predict to what extent the numbers would grow over time, but does not think a great number of people will want to port.

A big factor hindering postpaid subscribers from porting is the contract with their current provider, as those whose contracts have not expired will first have to settle their contract before moving to another operator, say EOH director Hubert Wentzel.

The issue is complicated by the lack of transparency with regard to cellphone charges, as the majority of operators do not disclose what portion of fees the user pays for airtime and what portion is paid for the handset, says Wentzel.

Fagan does not believe the findings of the handset subsidies investigation, which the Independent Communications Authority of SA has yet to finalise, will encourage more mobile subscribers to port.

Another reason consumers may be hesitant to port is the value-added services that mobile operators provide for their subscribers, and which they may lose if they move to rival networks, says Fagan.

Disrupted market

Peter Matlare, Vodacom SA's executive director: commercial, is confident the operator will continue to provide the kind of value-adds that will help it keep its market share.

"Approximately 10 million mobile phone subscribers make some kind of purchasing decision, and if Vodacom continues to meet the needs of customers as it has done in the past, it will keep its leadership position," he says.

Cell C, however, argues that MNP is not an exercise in futility.

"Far from being futile, the exercise has, in fact, levelled the playing fields and disrupted a market that was neatly carved up between Vodacom and MTN, "says Cell C CEO Jeffery Hedberg.