[kictanet] Airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number Portability

Tue Apr 12 17:07:07 EAT 2011

As far as I understand, this was in response to an earlier Safaricom press
release today in which they claim that Airtel do not adequately inform
subscribers who want to port about the implications:

http://www.ratio-magazine.com/201104123892/Corporate-Press-Releases/Safaricom-Seeks-Regulatory-Intervention-over-Porting-Anomalies.html

I have no access to the data on unsuccessfully ported numbers and calls that
won't be completed. But the press release had the two porting request forms
by Safaricom and Airtel respectively attached as a scan. Safaricom's
requires the subscriber to sign that s/he has understood the implications
(cleared balances, withdrawn remaining funds from mobile money accounts,
deplete airtime, cash in reward points etc). Airtel's form does not include
this (unless it's on the back or on a second page that wasn't scanned).
Happy to send the attachments round if anyone is interested - just contact
me directly.

The FAQ are now fairly easy to find on CCK and Airtel and Safcom websites
but I still suspect that a lot of people don't entirely understand what's
going on.

Also interesting: Orange and Yu don't yet feature in this debate.

Andrea

On 12 April 2011 16:47, otsieno namwaya <onamwaya at hotmail.com> wrote:

>  That complaint by Airtel did not come as a surprise to me. For, there had
> been tale tell signs from the beginning. First, Safarisom had been the least
> enthusiastic about number portability. This was understable to me, though,
> because, as the market leader they stood to loose the most. But then I had
> not anticipated renegade behaviour from Safaricom and, worse still, failure
> to tame this kind of anti competition behaviour by the Communications
> Commission of Kenya. There are several things Safaricom is doing: First,
> they just dont complete the porting process of those who want to move from
> Safaricom to another provider. Second, where the porting is completed at
> all, they block the line, so the subscriber finds that he/she cannot be
> reached. This, in any fair business environment, is unacceptable and it
> would not have waited until one side cries foul. Someone at CCK is clearly
> sleeping on the job.
>
> OTSIENO NAMWAYA
> P.O BOX 7509 - 00200
> +254-733-893550
> NAIROBI
> KENYA
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
> From: stephen at cofek.co.ke
> Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:08:38 +0300
> Subject: [kictanet] Airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number
> Portability
> CC: kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
> To: onamwaya at hotmail.com
>
>
>  Hi. Interesting development this must be. We would be happy to have your
> views on this article below appearing on “Airtel Kenya” Facebook page (which
> we are unsure if it is the company’s official page).
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Stephen
>
>
>
>
>
> Stephen Mutoro
>
> *Secretary General*
>
> Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK)
>
> Natu Court, Block F-45
>
> Ngong Road/Ring Rd Kilimani Junction
>
> P.O Box 2733-00200, City Square, NAIROBI, Kenya
>
> Tel. 254-20-3861718, 3861719, 2300859
>
> Fax. 254-20-3861719
>
> Cellphones: 0715555550, 0736965590, 0770700007
>
> E-mail: hotline at cofek.co.ke
>
> Website: www.cofek.co.ke**
>
> *************************
>
> *Restoring Consumer Pride and Confidence!*
> airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number Portability
>
> by Airtel Kenya<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Airtel-Kenya/122273904502736>on Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 3:46pm
> April 12, 2011… The success of the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in Kenya
> is at risk with reports indicating that some operators may be employing
> under hand tactics to sabotage the MNP process, barely a week after its
> launch. While lauding the Communications Communication of Kenya for making
> MNP a reality at an event to welcome the very first customers moving to
> airtel from other networks today, Managing Director Rene Meza raised a red
> flag saying several anti-competition tactics were being used to block
> customers seeking to move to its network.
> He said that whereas initial technical hiccups in the implementation
> process had been deemed to be normal and expected, it is now emerging that
> some operators are reluctant to address the bottlenecks expeditiously, going
> against the spirit of MNP project of giving the customer freedom to own
> their number and move to the network of their choice within the stipulated
> terms. “How do you explain several complaints received from customers who
> have opted to move their number to airtel from Safaricom being unable to
> receive calls from Safaricom numbers for several days, while they are able
> to communicate on all platforms on the airtel network with the same number?”
> posed Mr. Meza.
> He said contrary to the regulations issued by the Communications Commission
> of Kenya, some operators, especially Safaricom, were still trying to woo
> back customers who had already ported out of their network. “It is amazing
> that after completing the 48 hour porting process, some players had
> deliberately declined to de-activate the old sim cards from their network.
> In essence, what this means is that the customer has not completely moved to
> his network of choice but is still held captive by Safaricom, an act that is
> anti patriotic and gross abuse of dominance by Safaricom clearly designed to
> beat efforts of the Government to fully liberalize the sector” he said.
> Prior to the implementation of MNP, all operators had expressed commitment
> to ensure the service was implemented smoothly, a move that was seen as
> another milestone in Kenya’s telecommunication sector. Largely seen as the
> next frontier in the battle for subscribers, the successful implementation
> of MNP is a test-case for CCK’s commitment to overseeing reforms in Kenya’s
> telecommunication sector.
> Mr. Meza added: “We have referred the matter to CCK since we feel that if
> the anti-competition tendencies are not weeded out at the onset, customers
> may not get a chance to enjoy real freedom and benefits of MNP. - END -
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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