[kictanet] CCK cuts number portability fee for mobile user

Wed May 19 15:06:03 EAT 2010

That's not what I meant. Of course I know which network *I* am on - I may be
dopey at times, but not that out of my mind that I don't remember which
network I'm on. But if there's no longer any certainty that 072... is
Safcom, and 073... is Zain, then I don't know whether I'm calling someone on
the same network (cheaper) or someone on another network (more expensive).
And no, even if tariffs come down, they won't be the same - makes no sense
because there's the interconnect charge.

On 19 May 2010 14:54, Walubengo J <jwalu at yahoo.com> wrote:

> @Andrea,
>
> the way i understand number portability (and i wish the guys in the
> industry/regulation could confirm) is that me as a Safcom subscriber, would
> approach Zain and tell them I am tired of the high costs and want to shift.
>
> Zain would then record my Safcom number and do some Backoffice operations
> with Safcom/Regulator which will conclude with them signing me up as their
> (Zain) customer WITHOUT me changing from my Safaricom (072xxxx) number to
> their Zain number. As a customer I wont have to worry about these back
> office technical and administrative exchanges.
>
> What matters is that from that point going forward, I will be a Zain
> customer without losing my number and by extension, I avoid the need to
> inform my 1,000+ contacts of my new number - which according to theory is
> one the key barriers to customer migration. So to answer your question -
> will you know which network you are on? -yes, because you will be legally
> and businesswise a Zain customer.  And so Zain Intra and Extra-network calls
> tariffs will apply -both of which have come down anyway :-(, someone from
> Zain needs to pay me for this free marketing.
>
> The only problem ofcourse will be what happens to your M-Pesa, M-Kesho and
> M-Whatever comes up from the endless innovation of Safaricom. If Number
> portability is allowing you to migrate voice only, then its impact would be
> quite minimal. Infact Safcom may harvest some customers instead?....Sam
> Gatere has already  asked about this and hope someone gives us an answer.
> ...
>
> walu.
>
>
> --- On *Wed, 5/19/10, Andrea Bohnstedt <
> andrea.bohnstedt at ratio-magazine.com>* wrote:
>
>
> From: Andrea Bohnstedt <andrea.bohnstedt at ratio-magazine.com>
> Subject: Re: [kictanet] CCK cuts number portability fee for mobile user
> To: jwalu at yahoo.com
>
> Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> Date: Wednesday, May 19, 2010, 1:54 PM
>
>
> Possibly a dumb question, but once we have number portability, I won't know
> if I am making a call on the same network or not, right? So no way of
> avoiding higher cross network charges?
>
> On 19 May 2010 07:46, muriuki mureithi <mureithi at summitstrategies.co.ke<http://mc/[email protected]>
> > wrote:
>
>> Hi listers
>> On the day MNP becomes operational,  the market dynamics for the growth
>> sector will change,  Safaricom will focus on retaining their customers
>> while the other competitors will exert their energies to entice customers
>> out of    Safaricom. For the other operators,  its much cheaper to capture
>> new customers from Safaricom  than make   huge investments to sensitise
>> and
>> educate new customers whose capacity to pay is increasingly  lower .  With
>> energy focused inwards  , who will grow the market and increase the
>> national
>> penetration? Considering that the 60% of our  economy is based around
>> Nairobi, it certainly will not make sense to focus on the rural areas
>> where
>> huge investments are required - instead just cannibalise the existing
>> market
>> and penalise the rural effort .
>>
>> CCK should consider  a package to go hand in hand with introduction of MNP
>> to ensure that the market grows to bring on board the 50% who are not yet
>> included in the mobile revolution..
>>
>> Cheers
>> Muriuki Mureithi
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: kictanet-bounces+mureithi=summitstrategies.co.ke@
>> lists.kictanet.or.ke
>> [mailto:kictanet-bounces+mureithi<http://mc/compose?to=kictanet-bounces%2Bmureithi>
>> =summitstrategies.co.ke at lists.kictanet.or.k
>> e] On Behalf Of alice at apc.org <http://mc/[email protected]>
>> Sent: 18 May 2010 15:20
>> To: mureithi at summitstrategies.co.ke<http://mc/[email protected]>
>> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
>> Subject: [kictanet] CCK cuts number portability fee for mobile user
>>
>>  By Okuttah MarkPosted Tuesday, May 18 2010 at 00:00
>>
>> Mobile phone subscribers intending to switch their current operators but
>> still retain their number will only pay a one off fee of Sh200 and not
>> Sh1,000 as had earlier been proposed, the industry regulator has said.The
>> Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) had earlier, when seeking
>> comments
>> from the telecommunication operators, proposed Sh1,000 and an extra two
>> shillings on top of the current tariffs, a fee that industry experts and
>> telecommunication operators warned could inhibit the uptake of the
>> service.CCK said number portability would make it easier for subscribers
>> to
>> retain their numCCK cuts number portability fee for mobile usersbers
>> whenever they decide to change service providers and also enhance
>> competition in the sector.On Friday, CCK said it had settled for a one off
>> fee of Sh199.80, the winning bidder (Porting Access BV Netherlands) had
>> quoted and that no other extra fee will be incurred by the subscribers
>> apart
>> from the prevailing tariffs charged by the operator at the time of
>> switching
>> over.Mobile subscribers are expected to start utilising the service before
>> the end of the year."A one-time porting fee of Sh199.80 will be charged by
>> porting subscriber. If there are services a subscriber still wishes to
>> enjoy
>> then that's enough reason why he should not port out. But a subscriber can
>> port back to his former network if attractive services are introduced ,"
>> said Mr Mutua Muthusi, assistant director, public relations and
>> communication."Porting service will only enable you to retain the number
>> you
>> were assigned by Network X while in Network Y. You will retain no
>> relationship with your former provider if you decide to port out."Zain
>> Kenya
>> says other than the porting fees, there may still be other costs arising
>> from interfacing the equipment of various operators with the data base
>> manager, as it is not clear who will bear such costs or that of upgrades
>> for
>> interfacing with the database.Mr Rene Meza, the managing director of Zain
>> Kenya, says the company has started positioning ahead of the
>> implementation
>> of the number portability service because it believes that customers will
>> move to the operator that offers best value and that there are still
>> issues
>> to be sorted out such as interoperability of the money transfer
>> systems."At
>> present, the money systems of various operators are not fully integrated
>> or
>> interoperable. We believe it is just a matter of time before regulators,
>> especially the Central Bank, begin to push for full integration and
>> interoperability," said Mr Rene.Last Thursday, the operator reduced its
>> calls to other networks to six shillings from Sh12 from 6pm to 6am and
>> three
>> shillings for calls made on its network.A subscriber switching or
>> migrating
>> from operator X to Y can only switch back to his previous operator after
>> paying another similar porting amount.Once a subscriber has crossed over
>> to
>> another network, he cannot enjoy any of the services provided by the
>> former
>> operator.This means that if a subscriber switches from operator X to Y and
>> is travelling abroad, the subscriber will be charged roaming charges by
>> the
>> operator he has migrated to and not what the former operator was
>> charging.This also touches on customer care services or any complaint that
>> the subscriber may want to raise about network quality or pricing.Porting
>> Access BV Netherlands clinched the deal, beating Seven Seas Technologies
>> (Kenya, Infozillion (K) Ltd, Pluton ICT Ltd (Kenya), Teletech from
>> Slovenia,
>> Saab Grintek Technologies (South Africa) and Systor Group of Companies.The
>> implementation of mobile number portability is part of measures that the
>> regulator has come up with to enhance competition in the sector.The sector
>> has four mobile operators and close to 20 million subscribers, but 78 per
>> cent is controlled by the leading mobile provider Safaricom.Analysts say
>> attachment by many subscribers to their user numbers has prevented
>> millions
>> from changing service providers despite the marked differences in pricing
>> and quality of service offered by the different players.Retain numberCCK
>> says number portability should enhance competition and consumer
>> convenience
>> in the telecommunication sector by "enabling consumers to retain their
>> user
>> numbers whenever they decide to change service providers."That means
>> subscribers do not have to invest in new SIM cards or carry a number of
>> handsets to enjoy the services of other operators.It also enables
>> consumers
>> to make use of alternative networks in an area where one provider has no
>> footprint or is experiencing a network problem.
>>
>> Source:
>>
>> http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Company%20Industry/CCK%20cuts%20number%20
>>
>> portability%20fee%20for%20mobile%20users/-/539550/920330/-/item/1/-/chb9i8z/
>> -/index.html<http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Company%20Industry/CCK%20cuts%20number%20%0Aportability%20fee%20for%20mobile%20users/-/539550/920330/-/item/1/-/chb9i8z/%0A-/index.html>
>> Sent from my BlackBerryR smartphone from Zain Kenya
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>
>
>
> --
> Andrea Bohnstedt
> Publisher
> +254 720 960 322
> www.ratio-magazine.com
>
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-- 
Andrea Bohnstedt
Publisher
+254 720 960 322
www.ratio-magazine.com
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