On December 20, mobile number portability (MNP) is launched in Ukraine. What does it mean? It is simple: if, for some reason, you are not satisfied with the level of services or prices of your current mobile network operator, you can switch to a different one. The procedure is simple enough. You just need to submit an application via the operator’s website, or send a text message. Within the next 24 hours your number will switch to the desired mobile network. And you will preserve not only your phone number, but the three-digit code as well.
According to Viktoria Ruban, head of the MTS-Ukraine public relations department, the service of the mobile phone number preservation will ensure that subscribers have the maximum freedom while choosing an operator. And even if only few subscribers use it, this is still a leap forward. But in order not to compromise this idea at the very start, correct and effective cooperation between all mobile network operators must be ensured. Also, the mechanism of the service must be fine-tuned by the database administrator: “If subscribers who wish to preserve their number start having difficulties, inconvenience, limitations in operation, the whole meaning of such switching will be lost.”
WHO IS WHO
Switching to another mobile network operator after choosing a better rate. Sounds convenient? Yes. But there are cautions, too. Let us remind that the point of the new service is to preserve the phone number completely, including the three-digit operator code. As a result, starting from December 20, it will not be possible to determine to which mobile network a specific number belongs, or to predict the cost of calling this number.
It is no secret that calls within one mobile network are significantly cheaper, and often free. And that is why Ukrainians often have two phones with SIM cards of different operators. Owning a couple of “zero-tariff” phones reduces the phone bill to minimum. But after MNP is implemented, a lot of subscribers might face unexpected expenses.
Andrii Osadchuk, director of the regulatory and legal business coverage at Kyivstar, explains that a mobile network operator must take care of this issue. However, the way it should be done is not clear: “It is hard to say in which exactly way an operator should inform his subscribers: through a voice message, a text, or some other way. In any case, the mobile network code will not be determining the operator anymore. And this creates certain difficulties in determining the cost of calls for the clients who use zero or cheap tariffs.”
So, at the moment it is only clear that solving the subscribers’ informing problem is possible only with joint efforts of all mobile network operators.
WATCH OUT FOR SCAMMERS
Operators appeal to subscribers to be on guard even today. The majority of mobile network users in Ukraine are the so-called “subscribed clients,” which means they did not sign an official agreement with a mobile network operator. So, a person can buy a SIM card at any store, activate it, and use it. And in such case it will be hard for an operator to determine who exactly sent an application for transfer.
Osadchuk warns that the simplified porting system can trigger serious problems for the customers: “This could cause a surge in specific scams involving SIM cards and SMS. It can result in the loss of phone numbers, as well as in complication and extra charges. Neither the donor nor the recipient will have mechanism which allow to identify the owner of a certain number.”
Oksana Rudiuk, PR director at life:), emphasizes the importance of mobile phone security, which should be taken as seriously as that of your ID. Scam minimization will depend on the users’ vigilance and responsibility. No one can guarantee that their phone, if left unattended, will never be used by a stranger: “The user’s porting is preceded by a procedure of information exchange among all the participants of MNP. The recipient cooperates with the donor to find out about the possibility of porting the number. At the final stage of the porting to a new network the customer will have to visit the new operator’s service center and get a new SIM card with the ported number. During this visit the operator will be able to see the customer’s identity. In this case scam risk is reduced to the level of illegal manipulations with a stolen telephone.”
COLLECTING DEBTS
Even now users point out to one more risk resulting from the simplicity of granting MNP. What happens to the user’s leftover balance? If you had just topped up your account nicely, won’t this sum be lost in the course of the porting? It is also quite possible that some individuals could be tempted to “defect” leaving their bill unpaid.
Rudiuk believes that such fears are exaggerated: “The user can reimburse any leftovers by filling out an application in the donor’s service center. Ukrainian legislation stipulates for reimbursement in such cases. As far as customers’ debts go, here the risks are not higher than under standard conditions. Even now a customer could stop using the operator’s services after having run into debt. Any debt to the donor, resulting from an acting contract, will be discharged in the same manner as while rescinding an agreement on telecommunication services.”
WHO WILL USE THIS SERVICE
A massive migration of subscribers is hardly expected. The most likely outcome is a fiercer competition and leveling of rates. The operators will become more interested in both keeping their customer base and winning their rivals’ clients over.
Viktoria Ruban explains, that in the EU not so many customers have used MNP: “In the UK eight percent of users have switched operators over eight years, which makes one percent a year. In Germany only one percent over four years. The European experience and the reality of today’s Ukrainian market show that the number of users, likely to use the service, will hardly exceed three to five percent.”
Another limiting factor is the user’s milieu. A rival operator may offer extremely favorable conditions, but if your friends and family are not tempted, you will hardly switch to a new network.
