Number portability to go live next year

By Patrick Githinji and Macharia Kamau

Mobile phone subscribers will have to wait another three months before they can switch service providers without changing their phone numbers.

Initially, the implementation of mobile number portability (MNP) was scheduled to start December 31. This has, however, been moved to April 1 when subscribers will change networks and retain their cell phone numbers.

A meeting held Friday between chief executives of the four mobile operators, the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) and the Kenyan arm of Porting Access BV, the Dutch firm contracted by CCK to set up the MNP platform, set the new date to give the telcoms ample time to get their systems ready to handle number portability.

And the operators will affirm their commitment to the porting process on December 17, when they sign an agreement on the same.

Patrick Musimba, chairman Porting Access Kenya, said the porting infrastructure is ready and the delay is due to the need among operators to fine tune their systems to be in line with platform.

The firm, which is 80 per cent owned by Porting Access BV, is mandated to set up and operate the porting infrastructure.

"We are set, our solution has been ready for a while now and even undergone tests… the delay has been due to operators getting ready, which has been rather involving given that they operate on different systems," says Musimba.

He says so far, there are no negative sentiments against the process by some operators. In the past, some operators were reported to have been uneasy with MNP, saying it was tailored to favour new entrants in the industry.

"All the operators are committed to the process, and also want it to succeed, which might explain why it is taking more time," he said.

And now working with an almost definite timeline, the stage is set for another blistering war for subscribers with telecom operators already realigning their operations ahead of going live on the porting process.

Analysts say this system potentilly spells the big break recent entrants to the Kenyan market have been waiting for to grow customer base.

Athar Ahmad Bhatti, a consultant with Ashvir Consulting Ltd told Financial Journal that under the new system, players with good value proposition and quality service will see their subscriber numbers growing.

Quality services

"By investing in sophisticated mobile suite, customer-responsive players will finally attract more subscribers," said Bhatti.

Information and Communication Permanent Secretary Bitange Ndemo tipped operators who will invest in quality services to carry the day.

"Number portability is good. It will increase competition, bring in more innovation and see Kenyans receive quality services," says Ndemo.

Other than give mobile phone users choice, porting is also expected to play part in further growth of the mobile phone industry in Kenya.

According to the African Mobile Market Forecast 2013 report, Kenya has seen remarkable growth in the telecommunication services during the past few years, and its mobile market is poised for amazing growth.

The report indicated that Kenyan mobile subscribers grew at a rate of around 19 per cent in 2009, with mobile penetration reaching around 50 per cent in the same year over the previous year, adding more than three million mobile subscribers.

Although the market has largely been dominated by a single player, other operators are giving tough competition to attract customers with different services.

According to CCK Director-General, Charles Njoroge, number portability would increase competition and consumer choice in the country.

Safaricom, the operator whose market share every other operator is after, does not expect significant loss in market and hopes to retain its market leadership position through innovation and tightening its grip on the data market.

"Innovative products, services and promotions have continued to defend our customer market share," said Chief Executive Bob Collymore at a recent press briefing.
Safaricom now has its eyes on the data market and has invested heavily in 3G-enabled sites. The company has also acquired a 100 per cent stake in two Wimax service providers; IGO Wireless and Instaconnect.

As a strategy to increase data penetration, Safaricom is engaging handset and laptop vendors so as to drive down the cost of devices.

So far, over 8,000 laptops, 45,000 data modems and 400,000 data-enabled handsets have been sold.

"With Internet and PC penetration estimated to still be below 10 per cent, there is huge potential for ongoing growth in data revenues," said Collymore.
The company’s total non-voice revenues increased 60.5 per cent to Sh14.62 billion, while the overall contribution of total data revenue increased to 23.8 per cent from 17.7 per cent of total revenue.

Money transfer

Despite introducing low cost voice and data services, entrants have fallen short of threatening Safaricom’s position.

Money transfer solution is among the key service that mobile operators are looking at to grow their subscribers.

For instance, Airtel is set to make a major announcement on its money transfer service in two weeks time.

According to the Anglophone Africa Chief Executive Jayant Khosla, the new upgraded version will enable the subscribers to make online purchases and pay for them using the services, across the 16 countries in Africa.

"You will be able to send money to any network across in the country," he Khosla says.

Though, the launch of Telkom Kenya’s IkoPesa is yet to be felt, observers note that it has a level of sophistication compared to other mobile money services and has features that "cater for the need of the Kenyans rather than wants".

The product allows users to manage their bank accounts from the mobile handsets.

It also enables consumers to make interbank cash transfers, payment of bills and even application for loans of up to Sh1 million.

Other than transferring money, IkoPesa is an electronic commerce platform that can be operated as an online payment gateway that enables users to book and buy air tickets or pay utility bills among others.

It also comes with a phonebook access technology that allows subscribers to send money to any person whose contacts are on their SIM card. This eliminating the risks of funds being transferred to wrong recipients.

Central Bank of Kenya statistics indicates that daily mobile cash transfers have risen to Sh3 billion making it an important player in the economy.