nas MNP: what Nigeriacanlear fom nda BiztechAltica Business, Telecom, Techndogy&IT News Arca Select Language ¥ Powered by Google Translate ICIS ST [Search Here Q BIZTECH AFRICA The voice of Afiica's ICT sector 4th January 2013 19:22 Driving operational efficiency a Sage and improving customer service. * GOVERNMENT © TELECOM: * MOBILES © MOBILE © Value Added Services MPUTING SOFTWARE ° SOFTWARE © APP DEVELOPMENT INTERNET INNOVATIONS ‘SECURITY DEVELOPMENT fins MNP what Nigeria can learn from BUSINESS By BiatechA fica - June 6, 2012, 424 p.m. Image: Sathya Karthik . By BiztechAfrica maubiocratiea eemacelmnn abet-iaria-an lala $250 anrans MNP: what Nigeria can ear from India| BiztechAtrica Business, Telecom, Technology & IT News Africa By Sathya Karthik R, CEO of ABIBA Systems Mobile Number Portability was expected to be a game changer in India but it did not take off as expected. The success of MNP is still a matter of debate in India. But one important outcome of MNP, the ‘Accelerator Effect’, is presented in this article. Nigeria, soon stepping into the MNP era, may have few lessons to learn. ‘The Indian Telecommunications industry is the fastest growing market in the world and is second largest in terms of subscriber base. The telecommunication sector continued to register significant success during the years and has emerged as one of the key sectors responsible for India’s resurgent economic growth. Nigeria shares a similar story like India. The eset Indian telecom industry picked up growth afier the sector was liberalized. The same is the Subscriber Data (2001 - 2011) case with Nigeria. Since liberalization ofthe | "| market in 2003, the Nigerian telecom industry | jrsnme has experienced high growth rates, feled by | ansasoo new entrants and the hunch of mobile value= | seasese added and broadband services. sommeee Like India, Nigeria is one oftthe biggest and | "se seman fastest growing telecom markets in Atfica, attracting huge amounts of foreign investment, 0 2008 300404 005 mee nea? Bn HERD 2016 2011 and is yet standing at relatively low levels of Nigeria ~ Subscriber Data (as on June 2011) tnarket penetration, Source: Nigerian Communication Commission Nigeria's telecommumications market is set to expand by 5.9 per cent in dollar terms between 2011 and 2016 according to a detailed industry study carried out by Pyramid Research, London, United Kingdom. The sector is reported to have contributed 8.2% to Nigeria’s GDP - the third-biggest contributor, behind agriculture and trade. Both Indian and Nigerian operators are faced with these common challenges: High acquisition cost Low entry barrier for the subscriber Tough competition leading to price wars High chur rates Decreasing ARPU \wonciztechafrce.confartcalmno-hab-nigeria-car-learminday3125) antvas MNP: what Nigecacan earn Yom In| Biztechca Business, Telecom Tectnaogy IT News ia © Multi SIM usage Mobile Number portability Ecealae Mee! Aircel MTN Globacom Nigeria ~ Subscriber Data (as on June 2011) Source: Nigerian Communication Commission ‘A new era is expected to dawn on the Nigerian Telecom industry in the second half of 2012 with the lunch of Mobile Number Portability (MNP). The subscriber, through MNP, can change his/her service provider while still retaining his/her mobile telephone number, This gives subscribers flexbilty in the quality, price and variety of telecommumications services they choose to purchase. MNP thus promotes competition between telecommumications service providers and this will foster lower telephone prices and improved quality of service, Looking back, mobile subscribers in Singapore were one of the first in the world to enjoy mobile number portability through this Call-Forwarding solution when it was hunched in 1997. Following Singapore, countries like Hong Kong, UK and Holland made this facility available to subscribers in 1999 and now over 54 countries around the world have implemented mobile number portability. The global experience shows that the postpaid segment (ie. high ARPU customers) is more receptive of porting-in to a better service provider compared to other segments, MNPin India MNP was introduced in India in Jamuary 2011. Service providers spent lot of money and effort on MNP campaigns. It was featured in silver screen glitterati and discussed at length on various business and news TV chamnels. However, industry bodies and service providers fet that MNP would not be a game changer in India owing to factors like multiple SIM usage and competitive tariff ecosystem. Ako the postpaid to prepaid gap would affect the outcome Market surveys showed that a number of mobile users in India were unhappy with their existing operator and were willing to switch to another service provider if.allowed to retain their number. But in sheer mumerical terms, the response to MNP turned out to be ess significant than what was expected, Hence MNP lost the buzz surrounding it, post launch. ‘At the time of hunch of MNP, the mobile subscriber base in India was more than 850 milion. Every month, about 12 million new subscribers were getting added across networks. In comparison to this, MNP additions paled in terms of contribution (o regular net additions. However, the experience had not been uniform across operators, Against the common belief that new entrants ‘would gain the most, real gainers were established players such as Airtel, Idea and Vodafone. But, why? In the sections below, we analyze how this happened. \wniztechafrce.confertclamro-uhiae-niaeria-car-learn-indal3125/ an