India faces mobile pricing pressure as MNP looms

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.

August 26, 2009 7:04 AM

manish said...

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