Despite the ?fair? porting charges for impending mobile number portability (MNP) set by Trai, experts believe that this won?t be a respite for mass success of this technology in India. Strong regulatory enforcement along with low porting time would give an initial boost to give MNP a trial. Successful testing of MNP in the first few months, having back-end processes in place with operational efficiency like getting the no objection certificate from old operator, would give a positive impetus to the technology. ?Apart from porting charges, porting time is another factor that needs clarity. In other countries porting time ranges from a few hours to a few weeks. Amidst competition, providers will match the lowest common denominator, so tariffs won?t play a significant role for increasing MNP adoption. Retention of subscribers would be a focus of players but this should be done in a way so as not to hinder the MNP growth,? said Romal Shetty from KPMG.
Trai has fixed maximum porting charges at Rs19. The charges fixed by Trai are very low when compared to earlier expectations of the amount to be in the range of Rs250. Given that this is only 10% of the national monthly ARPU, and less than the upfront payment one needs to pay to get a new connection, it could lead to an increase in churn. Importantly, this is only a ceiling on the porting fee, and can be charged only by the recipient operator. Thus, operators could resort to significant discounts in porting fees and initial charges to attract subscribers. MNP is expected to hit India telecom sector from December 31 this year and would enable a subscriber to change providers while retaining the mobile number.
India has more than 90% pre-paid subscribers and country?s annual churn rate of about 50% which highlights the fact that MNP would not impact the Indian telecom industry. New operators would use the low porting charges to their advantage by innovating their tariffs.