Zimbabwe to introduce mobile number portability

MOBILE phone users in Zimbabwe could enjoy mobile number portability (MNP) by end of this year, enabling them to switch  service providers while keeping their original mobile numbers.

The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) first announced plans to introduce the facility in 2013, but its implementation has been stalled by unclear reasons.

The regulator is still working on regulations for mobile number portability, POTRAZ director general Gift Machengete said.

"It's something that we are currently working on," Machengete told The Financial Gazette last week.

"The project has been approved by our board and it is one of our top priorities this year. If everything goes well, within a year it should be up and running," he added.

Mobile number portability allows customers to retain their numbers when switching from one service provider to another. This means that they will not have to change their telephone details.

POTRAZ recently invited tenders for the implementation of mobile number portability in a bid to deepen competition and force mobile phone operators to provide better service to customers.

Zimbabwe currently has three mobile network operators - Econet, NetOne and Telecel - and the new system will make it easier to acquire customers from competitors and make it more difficult to keep subscribers.

Industry experts said mobile portability technology is expected to boost competition in the mobile communication industry in Zimbabwe, improve network services for mobile operators in the country and compel telecommunications companies to reduce service charges if they must retain their customers.

In countries such as Tanzania, the procedure of changing from one mobile network operator to another is coordinated and controlled by a licensed entity.

In addition, the MNP regulations entitle the new network to manage shifting processes on behalf of the subscriber within a week after receiving a porting request.

Information gathered by this publication shows that the porting processes shall be designed around a "one-stop-shop" concept, whereby the customer shall start the porting procedure by contacting the new operator or service provider and the proposed recipient operator shall be required to manage the process on behalf of the customer.

In a country with about 14 million mobile phone subscriptions, according to statistics from POTRAZ, the current shifting process from one mobile operator to another requires a new registered SIM card with a different number and sometimes an extra handset.

Zimbabwe is taking a cue from African countries such as Tanzania, Morocco, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa, which have adopted the MNP service.

In Kenya, portability flopped because of the fee that was being charged and the preference by many subscribers for separate SIM cards, hence the popularity of dual sim phones.

Analysts have also criticised portability, saying it is not a valuable tool for small operators and not particularly helpful in promoting competition.

Discounts on calls between users of the same network and other rewards offered by the large operators have a stifling effect on porting, they say.