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Vietnam may carry out MNP from 2014
  • | Vietnamnet | November 01, 2012 03:56 PM

Experts believe that Vietnam should begin applying the MNP (mobile number portability) when the penetration rate of Vietnamese users reaches 70 percent and the service charges can be controlled well.

 

Big mobile network operators still keep hesitant

The Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) is now consulting with people and businesses on the MNP plan. The ministry’s Telecommunication Agency has suggested that the plan should be kicked off from October 2014.

It believes that there are many favorable conditions for Vietnam to carry out MNP. Vietnam now has six mobile telecom service providers with the high subscriber rate 1.5 subscribers per capita. Meanwhile, the mobile service fees are relatively low and the number of unused activated simcards is relatively high which needs to be controlled.

The telecom agency has urged to carry MNP because it believes MNP would bring big benefits. Customers would have the right to choose service providers, which would create a more competitive environment among service providers. Meanwhile, the state management agencies would have more instruments to supervise and develop e-commerce.

However, Pham Hong Hai, Head of the Telecommunication Agency, said after the agency consulted with mobile network operators, it has found out that the operators still do not want to carry out MNP soon, because they fear that “subscribers would disappear.”

It happened in some other countries in the first phase of MNP implementation, that a high number of subscribers left big mobile networks to become the clients of small networks, and then subscribers left small networks, heading for big networks.

This explains why big network operators keep hesitant with MNP because it proves to be too risky to them. They may not be worried about the leave of subscribers for smaller networks, but they have every reason to fear that big networks would scramble for each others’ clients.

When?

Nguyen Manh Hung, when asked when MNP should be conducted in Vietnam, Nguyen Manh Hung, Deputy General Director of Viettel, said that MNP is very necessary, because it brings benefits to clients and push up the quality competition. However, he said Vietnam should take cautious steps when implementing the plan or it would bring the reverse effects.

Hung said in principle, the policy should be applied when the penetration rate of mobile phone users (not mobile subscribers) reaches the 70 percent threshold, and when the service fees can be controlled well with no subsidization for terminal devices.

Hung said if implementing MNP too early, this may lead to the fact that mobile network operators would set up a series of short term policies in order to prevent their subscribers from leaving for other networks. If so, they would not gather their strength on long term development strategies.

Besides, Hung said, it is necessary to analyze the Vietnamese consumption culture in order to choose the right time to implement MNP.

Meanwhile, small networks expect the MNP to be carried out soon. Elizabeth Fong, Managing Director of Vietnamobile, said MNP would bring more opportunities to small networks like Vietnamobile which has made heavy investment to develop the network.

She said a lot of subscribers want to try with other service providers, but they cannot, because they have to keep the same number contacts. With MNP, the subscribers would have the chances to use better services with more competitive prices.

Buu Dien has quoted Tom Kershaw, Deputy President of Telcordia as saying that Vietnam has been going on the right track with high mobile subscriber density and increasingly high number of smart phone users.

However, he has advised Vietnam to reduce the density to 90-95 percent per 100 people from the current 150 percent.

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