Number Portability: Wanna take it up regulator?

Creating competitive telecom environments in countries hitherto having monopoly control of services by incumbent operators is a continuous process. With the appearance of new operators, prices rapidly fall and new, innovative services reach market more quickly. However, as the market matures, other issues start jeopardizing the benefits of competition that customers can effectively enjoy. One key hurdle to the growth of real competition is users’ inability to take their telephone numbers with them when they switch operators–the lack of number portability.

The cost and time implications of communicating this change and altering internal telecommunications systems act as a disincentive for customers wishing to switch between service providers and as a barrier for new operators trying to compete.

The downside for carriers is potential rise in induced subscriber churn following the introduction of number portability. A recent survey done by In-Stat/MDR group for US market found that the willingness to churn could go up to 52 percent, after number portability is introduced.

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