KATHMANDU, NOV 17 -The government is planning to give cell phone users the facility of switching to another phone company without having to change their existing number. The Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA), the regulator of the telecom sector, expects to launch the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) system in the next fiscal year allowing mobile users to choose from varied telecom operators and keep using their old number.
“We will study how MNP is doing in international markets, and come up with a guideline for telecom companies to follow,” said Kailash Prasad Neupane, spokesperson of the NTA. He added that the guideline would include the criteria for users to apply for the service.
NTA officials said if the MNP service is implemented, telecom service operators will be forced to improve the quality of their service at cheaper rates to attract new users and retain their existing subscribers.
Originally, the government had planned to introduce the MNP service in 2010 considering the increase in penetration rate, growing competition among major telecom service providers, international trends and the need to expand choices for consumers.
According to Neupane, the MNP service is good for customers, but the system has not been very effective in some markets like India. The service has usually been provided in telecom markets with a high rate of mobile penetration and competition among operators.
It has been found in international markets that cheaper prices, good network coverage, more attractive promotional schemes, better customer service, brand image and bundling schemes are the reasons why customers switch from one phone company to another.
Currently, Ncell and Nepal Telecom are providing mobile services in the local market in a competitive environment. With Smart Telecom planning to expand its mobile service nationwide after getting a unified licence, and United Telecom Limited (UTL) too working to launch GSM mobile service, competition is expected to grow, said the telecom sector regulator.
As of mid-August 2013, telephone services including landlines had reached 81.72 percent of Nepal’s population. Similarly, seven out of every 10 Nepalis had a cell phone.
A study conducted by the NTA in 2011 had concluded that MNP could be introduced once the country’s penetration rate reaches 60 percent by making some changes to the existing telecom rules and introducing a national numbering plan to implement it.
A year later, a study conducted by an NTA committee pointed to the need to carry out a detailed feasibility study using an internationally reputed MNP consultant or MNP service provider. NTA officials said that they had inserted preparing the MNP regulation in their annual plan based on the study’s recommendation. The NTA is set to implement a new national numbering plan from the next fiscal year.
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