Mobile Number Portability cripples

[Fantastic1]

I hope we dont have the similar problem in SA

As we reported, last week Japanese operators finally introduced full mobile number portability with the result that more than 200,000 subscribers changed their mobile service supplier on the first day that the service was available. Hovwever, since then problems have arisen.

Softbank, Japan's third largest mobile carrier (and the one under most pressure and with the most to lose as a result of the introduction of mobile number portability), has announced that "a series of systems crashes over the weekend" have prevented it from releasing churning subscribers to rival networks. Softbank subscribers who would prefer no longer to be Softbank subscribers are extremely angry.
Softbank says it had to freeze its mobile number portability system on Saturday after being overwhelmed by the volume of subscriber requests to move.

The company says it spent part of the weekend doubling number portability capacity on its system but that it crashed the following day despite the changes and upgrading.

“We had many of our customers waiting at our stores for a long time. And we caused great trou-
bles to our competitors,” acknowledged Softbank's president Masayoshi Son, adding, “For this I apologise.”

In an effort to remedy the situation and stop all the bad press, Softbank has assured its swarms of defecting customers that it will do nothing else this coming weekend other than process mobile number portability requests to ensure tthat "all requested transitions are completed. "

Masayoshi Son said, “We will drive safely by reducing the traffic of incoming customers.” That does not augur well for remaining Softbank subscribers wanting to make changes to their calling plans or perform other alterations to their contracts during the approaching weekend.

The Japanese media is going to town on Softbank not least because the company's top brass recently made a very loud and very public promise that they will drive the company to become the country’s dominant mobile operator within 10 years. Given the state of Softbank's infrastructure and that it has been systenatically starved of investment over several years past, many industry observers, analysts and investors doubt that this is possible.

Softbank's plans to compete rely to a huge extent on undercutting the prices and tariffs of its rivals and, in an opening salvo of what could be a prolonged and bitter price war, it recently
announced a 70 per cent reduction in flat-rate monthly tariffs for all new subscribers signing up between last wek and through to January 15, 2007.

Softbank also hopes to combat the huge churn that mobile number portability is causing to the company by slashing costs for calls to subscribers using rival networks to just 40 yen per minute.

Softbank is the weakest of Japan’s Big Three mobile operators with about 15 million subscribers (KDDI has 25 million and DoCoMo 51 million) most of whom the carrier inherited from Vodafone when the UK-headquartered company made its hurried departure from the Japanese scene.

The Vodafone network is old and needs massive investment if it is ever to compete properly with KDDI and DoCoMo. Ex-Vodafone Japan subscribers complain constantly about poor reception and dropped calls and in a recent poll (taken before Portability Day) many indicated that they would take their custom elsewhere as soon as they could and it seems they have been true to their words.
http://www.telecomtv.com/news.asp?cd_id=7381

 

[simple_simon]

acknowledged Softbank's president Masayoshi Son, adding, “For this I apologise.”

http://www.telecomtv.com/news.asp?cd_id=7381

i don't think i have ever heard any south african ceo/minister ever say this when things went wrong.

south africa needs accountability more than anything else. more than more telco operators, more than new mini busses, more than more banking competition...anything else.

because proper accountability will lead to the resolution of many of sa's challenges

 

[mancombseepgood]

I would love it if my mobile was crippled and I had an excuse not to have one and pay the account.

 

[Skip]

So who's putting money on Voda and MTN having similar 'problems' when MNP comes in 10 days?

 

[simple_simon]

So who's putting money on Voda and MTN having similar 'problems' when MNP comes in 10 days?

it depends on how many people want to change over in the beginning

 

[mancombseepgood]

MeMeMe!

 

[telkomsuig]

shame the jap is probably going to commit suicide due to this

 

[RogueTr00per]

shame the jap is probably going to commit suicide due to this

Dude, FYI that's an offensive term for someone of japanese descent.

On a lighter note, yeah it would be cool if some people on the gravy train committed seppuku due to the shame they bring on our nation

 

[rehd]

I anticipate vodacom to loose a large portion of clients... funny how the vodacom network in Japan drops calls and has poor recedption... sounds quiet similiar to VC here... i hope that it at least improves the service and attritude from these companies

 

[rph72]

Mnp

Seems there is a perception that the other mobile operator is better than the one you are currently with. Once you port, you might soon realise that the service you had, wasn't so bad after all, or the one operator sucks just as much as the next one. In the end its just your money they want. What do you do?

 

[RogueTr00per]

Seems there is a perception that the other mobile operator is better than the one you are currently with. Once you port, you might soon realise that the service you had, wasn't so bad after all, or the one operator sucks just as much as the next one. In the end its just your money they want. What do you do?

I can't comment on customer service really. I tend to avoid phoning the call centres like the plague!

When it comes to call quality, it seems to me that it's purely dependant on what area(s) you tend to make calls in. A certain network may have better reception in certain locations but in other locations the reception might be totally crap.

So in other words, it's a bit of a craps shoot!

But I suppose, it would stand to reason that the network with more resources is, generally speaking, going to be able to offer a higher standard of service and call quality?

 

[(DmZ)Wrecky]

How would MNP change anything on the first day. As far as I understand MNP in SA, you will keep your 082 number when you move to the 083 network. Contract customers will probably wait out their contract period. Once they migrate between operators they will be able to keep their number (at a cost?). Mostly the poeple who have not jumped between operators, because they wanted to keep their numbers, will use this.

 

[noxibox]

Once you port, you might soon realise that the service you had, wasn't so bad after all, or the one operator sucks just as much as the next one. In the end its just your money they want. What do you do?

What's to be confused about? You go with whoever offers the cheapest bad service.

 

[The_Unbeliever]

What's to be confused about? You go with whoever offers the cheapest bad service.

Truly spoken!!!!

But in our case it is more expensive bad service!

 

[krycor]

They should be fined for every day their system is down, simply due to them having more than enough time testing already, i mean the system was suppose to be in place long ago..

 

[lilDeath]

Oh, I can definitely see this excuse coming.
"Due to unforeseen circumstances we could not release customers to rival networks due to a third-party failure."
My money is on VC for this. In fact I rely on them to pull such a stunt.

 

[Syndyre]

If they or any other network do they should be fined massively. Simple. And force them to provide free calls to the people they can't release until such time as they can release them.