Mobile Number portability : A synonym for telecom revolution
Now, consumers could start changing their mobile phone service providers without having to surrender their numbers by this year end.
Indian Telecom regulator TRAI has formulated the guidelines for mobile number portability (MNP), which will be introduced by August-end. TRAI also asked operators to keep their networks ready to roll out the services quickly.
Also, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) confirmed that the telecom operators are actively working on that, but they still need some clarification, but the association substantiates that MNP should come by September this year.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had issued guidelines for MNP implementation in August 2008. Also, in March, DoT had selected two US companies, Syniverse and Telcordia, as technology providers for the implementation. Syniverse will implement the technology in north and west, while Telcordia would handle the services in the south and the eastern states.
Now the question is what MNP is and what are its benefits to common user? Is there any hidden agenda or ill-effects of this transformation? Let’s check it out in the feature.
Mobile number portability (MNP)
MNP enables users to retain their mobile telephone numbers when changing from one mobile network operator to another, avoiding the costs of switching to new numbers. Like India, various countries asked mobile telephone network operators to offer MNP, but the question is whether it can produce positive net benefits.
Benefits of number portability
1. It facilitates consumers to choose across mobile operators, as it removes the inbuilt cost of a number change when moving to a new provider.
2. Any number change involves a natural cost to the user, who would otherwise have to notify friends, family, partners and allies of their new number or re-print cards or stationary.
3. With MNP, consumers can move in between operators, where they may get a better deal on tariffs or services with another operator.
4. The service will be available to both pre-paid and post-paid subscribers.
Number Portability problems
1. High end-user charges for MNP can deter usage of the facility. According to the state-owned Telco BSNL, upgrading networks to allow MNP would cost the company about Rs 1,200 crores and only 2% of the elite customers were likely to use this facility, which suggest that it will cost about Rs 6,000 per user to port their number. Hence, various telecom companies want users to bear number portability cost.
2. Consumers who have wireless connection or any contractual agreement with the service operator could be in trouble by losing its contract or remaining money on the operator, as there is no clear guideline available yet.
3. Also, the process of switching to the new operator will take time and it can run upto 5 days.
4. For a new vendor, with limited infrastructure, it will be very difficult to sustain in the competitive atmosphere and hence, the change-over rate will be higher when MNP is there.
Conclusion
Various customers switch operators at some point after their new mobile subscription, which has many reasons, e.g. changes in individual demand patterns, service innovation, operator new offerings and changing price and quality propositions. So, with the help of new portability, consumers would not change the number but only the service provider without paying any cost
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India's Rural Mobile Phone Users Hit 100 Million
India had 109.7 million rural mobile subscribers at the end of the first quarter, up by 18 percent from 93.2 million users in the fourth quarter of last year, the country's telecom regulator said on Monday.
The country's 282 million urban wireless subscribers accounted for 72 percent of all mobile users at the end of the first quarter, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said.
Indian mobile services companies and handset vendors have identified the rural market as a new growth opportunity, as urban markets are getting saturated.
Nokia, for example, launched its Life Tools service in June, after a pilot project in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The service offers agriculture information, education, and entertainment targeted at people in both rural areas and small towns.
The number of mobile subscribers in the country is on the upswing with demand both from rural and urban markets.
The number of subscribers for mobile services across the country has increased to 391.76 million in the quarter ended March this year, up by 50 percent from 261 million in the same quarter last year, according to TRAI data.
However competition and tariff cuts have brought down the average revenue per user, S.K. Gupta, advisor at TRAI, said on Tuesday. ARPU has been going down in India since 2003.
Indian mobile service providers are focusing on value added services, including applications to boost revenue, Gartner's Bhatia said.
A number of foreign mobile service providers have invested in joint ventures in India, including Vodafone and NTT DoCoMo.
Tata Teleservices, which has NTT DoCoMo as an investor, has begun rolling out services across India under the Tata DoCoMo brand. NTT DoCoMo said it plans to progressively bring to India new services such as its i-mode wireless Internet service, location-based services, and mobile payment.
India faces mobile pricing pressure as MNP looms
Number portability to trigger competition, ease playing field for new entrants in Indian mobile market, according to Syniverse; delays likely though.
Mobile nClick here to find out more!umber portability is due to come into effect in India next month.
There may be delays – the regulator is still ironing out the final details – but one thing is certain: sometime soon Indian mobile users will be able to keep their number when they move operator, and that will trigger a change in the competitive landscape.
"It's going to drive prices lower and operators will have to find more ways to keep things efficient," said Jeff Gordon, chief technology officer at U.S.-based Syniverse Technologies, one of the companies charged with implementing MNP systems in India.
Syniverse was named as one of two companies – the other being Telcordia – to provide number portability clearing house and centralised database services in India earlier this year. The company won the concession for zone one, which covers the north and west of the country.
According to rules set out by India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT), MNP is scheduled to come into effect in metro areas and 'A' circles on 20 September, with the rest of the country to follow by March 2010.
For Syniverse, that means the New Delhi and Mumbai metros, plus Maharashtra and Gujarat are due to go live next month.
However, delays are expected.
"There are a lot of operators that have requested extensions," said Gordon.
As yet, there has been no official extension granted by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), but there is a possibility that some of the operators are not ready for MNP, added Sanjay Kasturia, head of Syniverse's Indian operations.
"They do have some genuine reasons for that," Kasturia said, noting that operators have to make sure all their systems, such as rating and billing systems, are able to interface with the MNP systems, for example.
In addition, the TRAI has yet to issue a final decision regarding interface specifications and the like.
While lengthy delays may be typical of the Indian telecoms space, Gordon pointed out that when it comes to MNP implementation, "it's not an unusual circumstance".
The operators have a lot to learn with MNP implementations, and "that can be a steep learning curve," he said. Meanwhile, it's all new for regulatory bodies and, last but not least, for consumers too, he added.
After a number of years, MNP is now working well in the U.S., "but it took a couple of years for the kinks to work out of the system," Gordon said.
"The whole country – subscribers, regulators and operators alike – is learning about portability for the first time," he said. "I would not be surprised if you saw some delays."
India's mobile operators have already changed their thinking on number portability.
"It took some time for operators to figure out what impact it would have on their networks," said Kasturia.
"The large operators were only thinking initially of losing customers," he said, but have since started considering that MNP could also enable them to gain customers.
Only time will tell what MNP will really bring to India. As Gordon said, "once the tech piece is up and running, then the real fun begins."
Syniverse predicts a relatively slow start – "it takes a while for the subscriber community to really understand... rate plans can be complex," said Gordon – but once MNP takes hold, a healthy rate of churn is likely to emerge.
"The level of competition will rise dramatically," Gordon said.
If the regulatory regime allows it, there will be room for niche and MVNO-style players to "enter the market and make a serious run at a segment," he predicts.
Nokia launches Nokia Money, a mobile financial service
Nokia has introduced Nokia Money, a new mobile financial service offering consumers with mobile device access to basic financial services. For many consumers, this will be the first time they have had any access to such financial services.
Nokia Money has been designed to be as simple and convenient as making a voice call or sending an SMS. It will enable consumers to send money to another person just by using the person’s mobile phone number, as well as to pay merchants for goods and services, pay their utility bills, or recharge their prepaid SIM cards (SIM top-up). The services can be accessed 24 hours a day from anywhere, meaning savings in travel costs and time. Nokia is building a wide network of Nokia Money agents, where consumers can deposit money in or withdraw cash from their accounts.
4 billion mobile phones but only 1.6 billion bank accounts
“We believe mobile financial services offer a market opportunity with long term growth potential. In many countries, mobile phone ownership significantly exceeds bank account usage, suggesting that many mobile phone users have very limited or no access to basic financial services. With more than 4 billion mobile phone users and only 1.6 billion bank accounts, global demand for access to financial services presents a strong opportunity to combine mobile devices with simple but powerful financial services such as Nokia Money”, said Mary McDowell, EVP and Chief Development Officer, Nokia.
Mobile payments will be the next step for delivering financial services to hundreds of millions of people, both urban and rural, who are underserved by existing payment means, especially in emerging economies.
“Rural consumers will particularly benefit from money transfers and, for urban consumers used to online services, we are enabling services such as payment of utility bills, purchase of train and movie tickets, top-ups, all through their mobile phones. Nokia Money is simple to use, secure and available across different operator networks and on virtually any mobile phone. This means millions of new consumers will soon be able to manage all their financial needs from their mobile phone”, said Teppo Paavola, VP and Head of Corporate Business Development, Nokia.
Building a new ecosystem for mobile payments
The Nokia Money service will be operated in cooperation with Obopay, a leader in developing global mobile payment solutions, which Nokia invested in earlier this year. The service is based on Obopay’s mobile payment platform, with unique and newly developed mobile elements. Nokia intends the service to be open and interoperable with other payment services as well.
“Obopay shares Nokia’s vision for bringing mobile financial services to millions of people worldwide. We’re excited that Nokia has chosen Obopay’s platform. Nokia’s leading market position, strong brand recognition and global distribution channel, using the Obopay platform with uniquely developed mobile elements, means the Nokia Money service is well positioned to bring the next generation of mobile payment services to the world,” said Carol Realini, Founder and CEO of Obopay.
Nokia Money is the result of a powerful collaboration Nokia is forging between different partners in different markets around the world. It is designed to work in partnership with mobile network operators and financial institutions, involving distributors and merchants in a dynamic ecosystem to seamlessly provide the new services.
“As a result of the innovative partnerships and comprehensive ecosystem we are forging with the banking and financial industry, as well as leading network operators, we believe Nokia Money will bring financial inclusion to many who currently have limited or no access to financial services. Uniting the strengths of the mobile and financial services industries will change the way people around the world can manage their money in the future”, added McDowell.
“Mobile financial services present a high growth sector for Nokia. Nokia’s asset strengths, including consumer brand awareness, distribution capabilities and global relationships should serve as logical and necessary extensions to drive innovation in the mobile payments and banking sector. To be successful Nokia must provide a legitimate bridge between operators, banks networks and security infrastructure in order to unlock the broad uptake of mobile financial services,” said Bob Egan, Global Head of Research and Chief Analyst, Towergroup.
The Nokia Money service will be shown for the first time at Nokia World on the 2nd and 3rd of September 2009 in Stuttgart, Germany, and it is planned to be rolled out gradually to selected markets, beginning in early 2010.
About Nokia
Nokia is a pioneer in mobile telecommunications and the world’s leading maker of mobile devices. Today, we are connecting people in new and different ways - fusing advanced mobile technology with personalized services to enable people to stay close to what matters to them. We also provide comprehensive digital map information through NAVTEQ; and equipment, solutions and services for communications networks through Nokia Siemens Networks.
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