Even as the government gears up to launch pan-India number portability, the major telecom companies of the country have sought a ‘detailed cost-benefit’ analysis before the nationwide implementation.
The telecom majors such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular believe the nationwide MNP service might not be commerically viable, considering the inflated implementation costs that is likely to surpass demand, and would add to the cost pressure to already an intense competitive market. The companies fear that move could ultimately add to the mounting debt that has adversely affected profits in the sector.
“Inter-service area MNP volumes would be a mere fraction of the intra service area requests and demand will be a fraction of 1% of the subscriber base,” says Vodafone India’s senior vice-president for regulatory affairs Sundeep Kathuria while responding to the telecom regulator’s pre-consultation paper on the nationwide MNP.
Vodafone official says the pan-India portability would need ‘substantial upfront and ongoing costs’ whereas it will benefit a fraction of subscribers. There should be a detailed cost benefit analysis to weigh up the demand for location portability against cost of implementation,” Kathuria adds.
The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) says analysing the costs will help the companies determine their future actions, and should be part of the ongoing consultation process. According to the COAI, the telecom regulator should come up with a detailed analysis on the impact of pan-India MNP on the current telecom services and tariffs.
“The cost exercise for implementation of National MNP and FNP (national portability for fixed line) would require to be extensively carried out. The benefits of this implementation would accrue to far fewer subscribers than even intra circle MNP seekers. Therefore, it should be the collective endeavour of all stakeholders to keep such costs low,” says the country’s largest telecom company Bharti Airtel.
The pan-India portability is one of the key elements of the National Telecom Policy 2012. The system will allow users to port their numbers outside their native cirlces. Currently, the number portability is only available within a circle.
The government is also planning to abolish roaming charges, a move strongly opposed by the telecom operators. According to an estimate, the abolishing roaming charges could cause a loss of about Rs. 13,500 crore in revenue to the operators.
Source: Economic Times