Plans are far advanced by some financial institutions and other businesses, to take full advantage of the availability of Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
Investigations conducted by this writer revealed that a number of banks and insurance companies will soon launch mouth-watering products onto the Ghanaian market and give away prizes of a particular brand of mobile phone, operating on a particular network. Beneficiaries of these prizes will not have to change their mobile number, because of the availability of Mobile Number Portability (MNP).
According to a senior officer in the marketing department of a leading financial research institution, discussions are being held at executive management level between and among the financial institutions, oil marketing companies, some major rice importers, and the telecom operators on how best to fully utilize the MNP facility to the benefit of all.
Explaining how the MNP facility will be utilized as a marketing tool, the Senior Officer who preferred to remain anonymous said, “for instance a bank will arrange with the manufacturer or major importer of a particular brand of mobile phone, and a telecom operator or operators, as the case may be. Under the arrangement, the bank will offer to its clients, products such as opening a new account with a certain minimum balance, to be kept for a period or depositing a minimum amount of money in one’s account over a period or even patronizing their loan facilities. Patrons of the products will be rewarded with a model of a particular brand of mobile phone, operating on a particular network, yet will not need to change their mobile phone numbers because of the MNP facility.
He also hinted on a full scale marketing war among the telecom operators as they prepare to implement various marketing strategies to rope in as much subscribers as possible.
Mobile Number Portability became operational in Ghana effective July 7, 2011. The facility enables mobile phone users to keep their phone numbers (including the network code) even when they switch (port) to another network. For instance when switching from MTN (024/054) t0 TIGO (027/057) you still get to keep your complete 024/054 number.
Most subscribers especially those who move around in the corporate world, put value on their mobile phone numbers especially when they have been in use for a long period of time. Their ability to move from one service provider to another for better service (customer care, low tariff) or any other reason was greatly limited as it could result in the change of their mobile numbers, and in the process, many contacts. MNP seeks to address this issue.
Anyone who has been a customer of a mobile network for at least 30 days and has not ported his or her number in the last 30 days is eligible to enjoy the benefits MNP.
To patronize the facility one could visit any telecommunications service provider’s office either with a National ID, Passport, Driver’s License, Voter ID, or National Health Insurance ID and also the phone/SIM they use on their current network. They can then choose any network they want to join and register a new account. Staff at the shop will discuss with the customer the features and offers available, as well as prices, fees, charges, phones, SIMs, or any other factors related to joining their network. They will also assist the customer to complete a porting request form. Customers will be informed that the only features available to them are those on the new network, and that the features they enjoyed or selected on their current network will no longer be available to them. They will also be told that any credit left on their old account will be gone after they port.
As at the time of filing this report, information sourced from the National Communications Authority (NCA), indicated that MNP was being implemented smoothly. According to figures this writer accessed, over seven thousand (7000) subscribers have successfully ported from one mobile network to another.
The fastest port recorded so far in Ghana took place in a mere 1 minute, 31 seconds with the average porting time for the first 10n days being 4 hours, 17 minutes. The maximum period for porting in Ghana is 24 hours. This compares very favourably to countries like India which has a porting period of up to (seven) 7 days, Sweden, twenty-one (21) days, and France, ten (10) days.
Porting from one mobile network to another is absolutely free in Ghana. All the mobile networks have absorbed the cost of porting. This, again, compares favourably to counties like Germany and Austria where porting from one mobile network to another may cost as much as twenty-five (25) and nineteen (25) Euros in Austria and Germany respectively.
Though the implementation of MNP comes at a huge cost to the service provider, it should be seen more as a customer right and an essential feature of a competitive mobile sector which will definitely lead to better service delivery.
EUGENE OBENG MARFO
yawmafio@yahoo.com