MNP trials start this week

By Damaria Senne for Saab Grintek

Johannesburg, 30 Oct 2006

Mobile operators are on track to implement mobile number portability (MNP) on 10 November and will start live trials this week, says Makhup Nyama, group CEO of Saab Grintek.

Saab Grintek was contracted by the Inter-Operator MNP Working Group to develop the central database for ported numbers.

Nyama says while the porting process will be simple and quick for customers, ensuring the back-end runs smoothly was more complicated than was made out in the media.

The reason Virgin Mobile is impatient, and has generated media hype on the subject, is because it launched with the anticipation that MNP would be implemented much sooner, he says. "Its timing was off," he says.

Nyama adds that Virgin Mobile and Cell C will have to come up with something that differentiates them from Vodacom and MTN in order to make it worthwhile for customers to port.

Good customer service and the ability to provide facilities, such as repair shops that are open 24x7, will be key, he says.

Window of opportunity

Even then, the window of opportunity from the time a mobile operator, such as Virgin Mobile or Cell C, launches something unique to attract customers to the time players such as Vodacom and MTN match it will remain narrow, he says.

"Vodacom and MTN have huge infrastructure in place and for the others to compete they need to throw large amounts of money into their business," he says.

Bernice Samuels, MTN`s head of corporate affairs, has previously emphasised the importance of live trials. That`s when you deal with customers who could get upset if something goes wrong with the porting process, she said.

As a build-up to the launch date, the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) says it is embarking on a public awareness campaign about mobile number portability.

The campaign will be unveiled at a press conference to be held jointly with Vodacom, MTN and Cell C on 1 November, at ICASA`s premises in Sandton.