Number portability – how to do it

The porting process will be handled by a company that has been set up (and is jointly owned and commercially managed) by the three operators – Cell C, MTN and Vodacom – who in turn will outsource the work to a technology provider. The company will also manage the central reference database for all ported numbers.

Delays aside, though, the processes for moving consumers’ numbers to different networks have been finalised. Moneyweb outlines them below.

The prepaid process

If you are a prepaid customer, the process is relatively easy, says Falconer. “The first step will be to go to a retail outlet and acquire a new SIM card (starter pack) belonging to the network you’d like to move to (the recipient network) and then request the port. There is no signature or paperwork required. A message is then sent via the central clearing house to the recipient network, and you will receive an answer within an hour.”

According to the regulations laid down by industry watchdog Icasa, there are only ten reasons why an operator could reject a port request. If a number is not active, or if it is already subject to a porting process, for example, the request will be denied.

If the application is approved, the next step is for the consumer to decide when he or she would like the switch to take place. “Consumers will have 30 days from the day which the application is approved to make the switch,” says Falconer. “You have to stipulate when you want the change to take place, and the earliest that can happen is the same day that the application was approved.”

The new network will then let the customer know when to pick up the new SIM card, which must be inserted into the phone.

Number porting will take place between 22:30 and 23:30 on the day the consumer opts for (except for Sundays and public holidays).

The postpaid process

Although contract subscribers wanting to change networks may port their numbers they will still be obliged to honour their contracts with their existing provider, explains Falconer. “How that works will depend on each service provider. If you choose to terminate the contract, there’s likely to be a fee involved. Of course, you could carry on paying and run two contracts if you choose, much like in the current scenario.”

When you apply for a contract at another service provider, part of the paperwork will include a consent form in which you request to port your number and stipulate the date you would like to port. “Other than that the process is very similar to the prepaid process and effectively it’s the same process you’d normally go through when applying for a contract,” says Falconer.

How much?

As to the cost of number porting, this has yet to be decided, says Falconer. “We are still negotiating this and thus can’t give an exact figure. However, there are no regulations governing this, but the cost would obviously need to be low for consumers to want to do it.”

A study commissioned by MTN into how much people are willing to pay to port their number revealed that anything over 40% of monthly average revenue per user (Arpu) was seen to inhibit porting. For MTN, monthly Arpu in South Africa (for pre-and post-paid, known as blended Arpu) was R167 for the nine months to end-December, while for Vodacom, it was R144 for the same period. On Tuesday, Cell C reported a monthly blended Arpu of R147 for 2005.