Operator price wars in East Africa have blighted operators’ efforts to ensure quality of service, meet customers’ expectations and retain their loyalty. As consumers buy up multiple SIM cards to take advantage of the best deals, subscription rates have been artificially increased 19% year-on-year whilst ARPU has declined to a mere 12% to reach just US$7.13 at the end of 2010.
All of this is set to change with the impending introduction of Mobile Number Portability in East Africa. It’s well accepted that consumers elsewhere are loyal to their mobile number, not their operator, so for the first time East African consumers will benefit. It is likely the consumer will now look to network quality and value added service offerings when choosing their service provider, triggering fresh competition between the operators on quality, and away from the dirty price wars. As the artificial buffer of multiple SIM cards is knocked back, Safaricom - as the dominant incumbent so far - is expected to be the biggest loser, and competition will heat up further.
But there has been disappointing news in local press reports this week, that mobile operators in Kenya may not be ready for the adoption of the Mobile Number Portability which is scheduled to take effect from 1 April 2011. The four operators are yet to start test-runs on the switch platform dubbed, the ‘All Call Query System’ and insist that they need at least four weeks to perform the tests. The industry regulator, CCK has reiterated that the deadline for the switch-over will not be extended. For the sake of the consumer, we hope this doesn’t end in deadlock.
East African operator leaders will be meeting in Nairobi, 5-6 April to discuss implementation of new networks and services across the region at East Africa Com conference. Find out more online www.comworldseries.com/eafrica
Showing posts with label Mobile Number Portability. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mobile Number Portability. Show all posts
17 Mar 2011
6 Jan 2009
MNP remains a hot topic across a number of regions
Late last month, I received the notes put together by the Sao Paolo-based research team who have been busily preparing for this year's Americas Com event (30 June & 1 July, Rio de Janeiro). My Brazilian colleagues have been asking which hot topics should form the basis of the conference agenda, directing their questions to managers and strategists from telcos across Latin America.
One suggestion from respondents is that we include a round table session on the practicalities of implementing Mobile Number Portability (MNP). MNP was officially launched in Mexico in July last year, following a number of delays. In Honduras, the national telecoms regulator Conatel launched a public consultation on MNP in September, initially allowing operators Tigo, Claro, Hondutel and new entrant Digicel to consider proposals and offer comments. As of September 2008, Conatel had not yet made public a timetable for MNP. In the region's largest market, Brazil, the regulatory agency required the country's MNOs to go live with MNP by September 1 2008.
The roundtable suggestion seems to be a good one - we could have the optimum mix of participants with recent experience of MNP and others with a pressing need to anticipate the business and technical challenges.
Meanwhile, MNP appears to be causing some degree of controversy in India. Yesterday's Global Mobile Daily had news of the country's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) planning to begin accepting bids from applicants hoping to act as MNP clearing houses by mid-January. Bids are due to be opened on February 5th, according to local reports. The GMD piece goes on to say that "the DoT still faces key questions before it introduces MNP, most notably whether CDMA
operators will be able to automatically transfer their subscribers across to GSM services, a move strongly opposed by GSM players who say that CDMA players will transfer subs en masse to try and secure additional GSM spectrum."
I imagine that one CDMA player that could seek to gain from this alleged wheeze would be Reliance, which has finally launched its GSM services in the blue-chip market of Mumbai and has launched into the market with an aggressively priced plan offering subs free airtime worth NR10 S$0.21) per day for the first 90 days of a new subscribers' contract after an initial charge of just INR25. Reliance is offering new GSM subs local call rates of INR0.01 per minute and STD call ates of INR1.50 per minute with subs able to top up their accounts with prepaid packs offering NR10 to INR500 of value once they have used their daily free allowance. In addition, Reliance SM subs will get free unlimited talk time on the company's GSM and CDMA networks between 2200 and 0600 throughout Mumbai, Goa and Maharashtra. Reliance says it will be announcing additional prepaid tariff plans over the next three months.
In case you're surprised by the amount of detail in the above paragraph, I should admit to having grabbed most of it from the same edition of Global Mobile Daily. I won't pretend suddenly to have become an expert on the Indian mobile scene. That said, I did enjoy a (too) short stint in charge of our India & South Asia event and it was with regret that I ceded the territory to a colleague as part of a reorganisation in the Com World Series team last year. It was an exciting part of the world in which to make contacts and do business and I maintain an interest in developments there. For other readers who can say the same, I do recommend attending this year's India & South Asia Com, held once again in Mumbai - 12-13 May are the dates for your diary.
One suggestion from respondents is that we include a round table session on the practicalities of implementing Mobile Number Portability (MNP). MNP was officially launched in Mexico in July last year, following a number of delays. In Honduras, the national telecoms regulator Conatel launched a public consultation on MNP in September, initially allowing operators Tigo, Claro, Hondutel and new entrant Digicel to consider proposals and offer comments. As of September 2008, Conatel had not yet made public a timetable for MNP. In the region's largest market, Brazil, the regulatory agency required the country's MNOs to go live with MNP by September 1 2008.
The roundtable suggestion seems to be a good one - we could have the optimum mix of participants with recent experience of MNP and others with a pressing need to anticipate the business and technical challenges.
Meanwhile, MNP appears to be causing some degree of controversy in India. Yesterday's Global Mobile Daily had news of the country's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) planning to begin accepting bids from applicants hoping to act as MNP clearing houses by mid-January. Bids are due to be opened on February 5th, according to local reports. The GMD piece goes on to say that "the DoT still faces key questions before it introduces MNP, most notably whether CDMA
operators will be able to automatically transfer their subscribers across to GSM services, a move strongly opposed by GSM players who say that CDMA players will transfer subs en masse to try and secure additional GSM spectrum."
I imagine that one CDMA player that could seek to gain from this alleged wheeze would be Reliance, which has finally launched its GSM services in the blue-chip market of Mumbai and has launched into the market with an aggressively priced plan offering subs free airtime worth NR10 S$0.21) per day for the first 90 days of a new subscribers' contract after an initial charge of just INR25. Reliance is offering new GSM subs local call rates of INR0.01 per minute and STD call ates of INR1.50 per minute with subs able to top up their accounts with prepaid packs offering NR10 to INR500 of value once they have used their daily free allowance. In addition, Reliance SM subs will get free unlimited talk time on the company's GSM and CDMA networks between 2200 and 0600 throughout Mumbai, Goa and Maharashtra. Reliance says it will be announcing additional prepaid tariff plans over the next three months.
In case you're surprised by the amount of detail in the above paragraph, I should admit to having grabbed most of it from the same edition of Global Mobile Daily. I won't pretend suddenly to have become an expert on the Indian mobile scene. That said, I did enjoy a (too) short stint in charge of our India & South Asia event and it was with regret that I ceded the territory to a colleague as part of a reorganisation in the Com World Series team last year. It was an exciting part of the world in which to make contacts and do business and I maintain an interest in developments there. For other readers who can say the same, I do recommend attending this year's India & South Asia Com, held once again in Mumbai - 12-13 May are the dates for your diary.
2 Dec 2008
Turkish 3G awards: no surprises
The stalling and wrangling is finally over: the Turkish Government has awarded 3G licenses. The surprises? None.
As confirmed by today's Global Mobile Daily, the three established cellcos, Turkcell, Vodafone and Avea, all bagged licenses, raising between them a total of €822 million (US$1.04 billion) for the state coffers.
Market-leading Turkcell (55.54% of the subscriber base, according to WCIS as of Sep 2008) won the ‘A’ licence with the largest bandwidth block of 40MHz, with a bid of €358 million. Vodafone Turkey (26.56% market share) was awarded a license in the 35MHz spectrum band after paying €250 million, while third-placed operator Avea (17.90% market share) was awarded a 30MHz operating license €214 million. The auction for a fourth bid was cancelled due to a lack of suitable bidders.
The 3G licensing process will not, therefore, introduce any new MNOs onto the Turkish market, as has been the case in one European country. A Romanian 3G licence was awarded to RCS & RDS, a cable MSO and broadband service provider with no previous mobility proposition. Having launched 3G services in December 2007, RCS & RDS has now built a mobile market share of just under 4.5% according to WCIS figures.
If operators do face any new competition for subscribers in the recently-initiated era of MNP in Turkey, this will come in the form of MVNOs, which look set to enter the market at some stage in 2009. Those who track the Turkish market will not be surprised to learn that MNO, MVNE and MVNO strategies are set to be discussed at length at our Istanbul Eurasia Com conference (31 March & 1 April 2009), which will gather delegates from Caspian and Central Asian markets as well as from the host country.
As confirmed by today's Global Mobile Daily, the three established cellcos, Turkcell, Vodafone and Avea, all bagged licenses, raising between them a total of €822 million (US$1.04 billion) for the state coffers.
Market-leading Turkcell (55.54% of the subscriber base, according to WCIS as of Sep 2008) won the ‘A’ licence with the largest bandwidth block of 40MHz, with a bid of €358 million. Vodafone Turkey (26.56% market share) was awarded a license in the 35MHz spectrum band after paying €250 million, while third-placed operator Avea (17.90% market share) was awarded a 30MHz operating license €214 million. The auction for a fourth bid was cancelled due to a lack of suitable bidders.
The 3G licensing process will not, therefore, introduce any new MNOs onto the Turkish market, as has been the case in one European country. A Romanian 3G licence was awarded to RCS & RDS, a cable MSO and broadband service provider with no previous mobility proposition. Having launched 3G services in December 2007, RCS & RDS has now built a mobile market share of just under 4.5% according to WCIS figures.
If operators do face any new competition for subscribers in the recently-initiated era of MNP in Turkey, this will come in the form of MVNOs, which look set to enter the market at some stage in 2009. Those who track the Turkish market will not be surprised to learn that MNO, MVNE and MVNO strategies are set to be discussed at length at our Istanbul Eurasia Com conference (31 March & 1 April 2009), which will gather delegates from Caspian and Central Asian markets as well as from the host country.
17 Nov 2008
Turkey's MNP adventure gets underway
Our Global Mobile Daily service last week told me that there had been around 50,000 porting requests in Turkey on the first day of MNP being available in the country. The story went on to say "it is thought that up to seven million porting requests could eventually be made by subscribers of the country’s three networks, Turkcell, Vodafone Turkey, and Avea."
Working to create the next iteration of our annual Istanbul Eurasia Com conference and exhibition has led me to watch the Turkish market a little more closely of late than I get the chance to do throughout the rest of the year. I daresay anyone asking about burning issues for Turkish cellco execs would get the same sorts of answers I've been hearing. 3G licensing, MVNOs and MNP are the three hottest topics. With this in mind, as well as making the usual calls, I tried using our Eurasia Com LinkedIn group to get a sense of who is set to gain from these developments. When asking which operator is set to gain most from the implementation of MNP, I've received a pretty mixed bag of responses. One school of thought seems to be that MNP will work well for third-placed Avea, which is owned by incumbent carrier Turk Telekom, the theory being that they will win market share by competing aggressively on price. Others feel that Turkcell, having made more progress with getting ready to launch 3G services, will gain by finding it easier to nab subscribers from rival networks less able to offer attractive services. I won't pretend to know enough to take a view one way or the other.
In other Eurasia Com-related news, I am pleased to announce our partnership with the organisers of Mobile Monday Istanbul. We are proud to be hosting the April 2009 meeting, which will immediately follow the day two conference sessions at Eurasia Com. Also, I gladly accepted the organisers' kind invitation to attend the January meeting and offer an overview of the Informa Telecoms & Media take on mobile social networking.
Working to create the next iteration of our annual Istanbul Eurasia Com conference and exhibition has led me to watch the Turkish market a little more closely of late than I get the chance to do throughout the rest of the year. I daresay anyone asking about burning issues for Turkish cellco execs would get the same sorts of answers I've been hearing. 3G licensing, MVNOs and MNP are the three hottest topics. With this in mind, as well as making the usual calls, I tried using our Eurasia Com LinkedIn group to get a sense of who is set to gain from these developments. When asking which operator is set to gain most from the implementation of MNP, I've received a pretty mixed bag of responses. One school of thought seems to be that MNP will work well for third-placed Avea, which is owned by incumbent carrier Turk Telekom, the theory being that they will win market share by competing aggressively on price. Others feel that Turkcell, having made more progress with getting ready to launch 3G services, will gain by finding it easier to nab subscribers from rival networks less able to offer attractive services. I won't pretend to know enough to take a view one way or the other.
In other Eurasia Com-related news, I am pleased to announce our partnership with the organisers of Mobile Monday Istanbul. We are proud to be hosting the April 2009 meeting, which will immediately follow the day two conference sessions at Eurasia Com. Also, I gladly accepted the organisers' kind invitation to attend the January meeting and offer an overview of the Informa Telecoms & Media take on mobile social networking.
12 Oct 2008
Eurasia Com 2009: welcome aboad, our first confirmed speaker
We would not ordinarily be confirming speakers for a March/April conference quite as early as this. With Eurasia Com 2009 scheduled for the last day of March and first day of April, my current focus is on catching up with the latest developments in Turkey, the event's host country and in the numerous former Soviet Republics of the Caspian and Central Asia regions, from where we draw a good number of our delegates. We are digesting all that is going on across these markets as well as asking the region's telco executives what our conference must feature in terms of participants, discussion themes and format in order to worthy of their expenditure on travel and time out of the office.
However, of the people I've spoken to thus far as part of this process, one stands out as an especially helpful and insightful research respondent. Cenk Soyak is the General Manager of MVNO/MVNE Effortel's presence in Turkey. Having earlier got the sense from other Turkish research respondents that the country's mobile sector's three hottest topics were MNP, the long-delayed arrival of 3G services and the business case for MVNOs, I was naturally keen to catch up with someone right at the centre of the discussions around the last of these. Cenk keeps a blog (in Turkish) to track what's going on in Turkey's MVNO space and was kind enough to provide an English language summary of many of the themes covered. As well as offering invaluable guidance on this topic, and on other developments in Turkey, I knew right away that Cenk would be an authoritative and lively conference speaker. I am therefore delighted to announce here that he has agreed to join the panel of speakers we will be building for our Eurasia Com conference.
My Russian-speaking colleague currently conducting research covering CIS markets has also had some really useful conversations, many with CxO-level people within a diverse range of telcos - from MNOs to state-owned incumbent wireline carriers. A number of these respondents have indicated a willingness to join the speaker panel in Istanbul, so I anticipate positive developments soon. If your organisation is serious about doing business with the telcos of this part of the world, I am confident we can save you a lot of time and money by putting you among the group we plan to assemble in Turkey in the Spring.
However, of the people I've spoken to thus far as part of this process, one stands out as an especially helpful and insightful research respondent. Cenk Soyak is the General Manager of MVNO/MVNE Effortel's presence in Turkey. Having earlier got the sense from other Turkish research respondents that the country's mobile sector's three hottest topics were MNP, the long-delayed arrival of 3G services and the business case for MVNOs, I was naturally keen to catch up with someone right at the centre of the discussions around the last of these. Cenk keeps a blog (in Turkish) to track what's going on in Turkey's MVNO space and was kind enough to provide an English language summary of many of the themes covered. As well as offering invaluable guidance on this topic, and on other developments in Turkey, I knew right away that Cenk would be an authoritative and lively conference speaker. I am therefore delighted to announce here that he has agreed to join the panel of speakers we will be building for our Eurasia Com conference.
My Russian-speaking colleague currently conducting research covering CIS markets has also had some really useful conversations, many with CxO-level people within a diverse range of telcos - from MNOs to state-owned incumbent wireline carriers. A number of these respondents have indicated a willingness to join the speaker panel in Istanbul, so I anticipate positive developments soon. If your organisation is serious about doing business with the telcos of this part of the world, I am confident we can save you a lot of time and money by putting you among the group we plan to assemble in Turkey in the Spring.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)