Free article: MNP has failed in most markets

Mobile Number Portability (MNP) fundamentally enables open competition, by removing a barrier to customers moving freely between mobile network operators. MNP has already been deployed widely in developed markets, and many developing countries are now planning its introduction. However, the take-up of MNP by customers has been very low in many cases, as illustrated by Figure 1.

Figure 1: Relationship between the proportion of mobile numbers that have been ported and the length of time since the introduction of MNP in selected markets

Despite the high level of churn in the mobile industry, less than 10% of mobile numbers have been ported in many countries even after several years of MNP. In general, this is not because of lack of interest, but because of poor implementation.

There are several reasons for the wide differences in the take-up of MNP:

• Porting times. When a mobile customer takes a new mobile phone service they expect it to be active within a matter of hours. However, it can take much longer than this to port an existing mobile number. For example, mobile operators are allowed up to 28 days to port numbers in France, whereas the target time is a matter of hours in Australia.
• Cost. High charges are likely to deter customers from using MNP. In Denmark and Finland, operators are not permitted to charge for MNP, whereas in Portugal there is a charge of EUR40 (USD49).
• Convenience of porting procedures. If MNP involves inconvenience or stress, then customers will avoid it. For example, complex administration, or the need to justify migrating to their existing networks are potential barriers.
• Rejection of porting requests. In some cases, a customer’s existing network operator can refuse to port a mobile number for a variety of reasons, such as outstanding bills, incomplete contract periods and minor errors in paperwork. Australia has adopted a customer-friendly approach, which allows such problems to be resolved later.
• Customer awareness. One of the biggest barriers to MNP in many markets is that customers simply do not realise it is available. Even with the best technical solutions and processes in place, if regulators and operators do not publicise it then it will fail. In Finland, where mobile phones are the dominant form of voice communication, there is very high awareness of MNP

It is critical for regulators to learn from the markets that have achieved good take-up of MNP, and for operators to recognise that there are potential benefits by embracing MNP. MNP has helped a number of operators, both large and small, to make significant market share gains.

Mobile Number Portability (MNP): strategies for operators and regulators evaluates the impact of MNP on the mobile industry so far, for example in terms of churn and pricing. It demonstrates that the full benefits of MNP come only when it is implemented effectively and taken up by a substantial proportion of churning customers. Using a variety of case studies to illustrate best practice, the report defines the actions that regulators must take to achieve success with MNP, and the actions that mobile operators can take in order to fully benefit from MNP.