{"id":548653,"date":"2006-05-02T12:42:17","date_gmt":"2006-05-02T12:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8888\/wordpress\/technology\/548653-number-portability-how-to-do-it.html"},"modified":"2006-05-02T12:42:17","modified_gmt":"2006-05-02T12:42:17","slug":"number-portability-how-to-do-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/technology\/548653-number-portability-how-to-do-it.html","title":{"rendered":"Number portability \u2013 how to do it"},"content":{"rendered":"

The proposed date for implementation has been moved from June to September because the tender process for the technology provider that will be managing the nitty-gritty of porting numbers \u201ctook longer than we thought\u201d, explains Mike Falconer, who is in charge of carrier relations at majority Saudi-owned Cell C.<\/p>\n

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 \u2013 Cell C, MTN and Vodacom \u2013 who in turn will outsource the work to a technology provider. The company will also manage the central reference database for all ported numbers. <\/p>\n

Delays aside, though, the processes for moving consumers\u2019 numbers to different networks have been finalised. Moneyweb<\/i> outlines them below. <\/p>\n

The prepaid process<\/i> <\/b><\/p>\n

If you are a prepaid customer, the process is relatively easy, says Falconer. \u201cThe first step will be to go to a retail outlet and acquire a new SIM card (starter pack) belonging to the network you\u2019d 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

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. \u201cConsumers will have 30 days from the day which the application is approved to make the switch,\u201d says Falconer. \u201cYou 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new network will then let the customer know when to pick up the new SIM card, which must be inserted into the phone. <\/p>\n

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

The postpaid process<\/b> <\/i><\/p>\n

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. \u201cHow that works will depend on each service provider. If you choose to terminate the contract, there\u2019s 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.\u201d <\/p>\n

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. \u201cOther than that the process is very similar to the prepaid process and effectively it\u2019s the same process you\u2019d normally go through when applying for a contract,\u201d says Falconer. <\/p>\n

How much? <\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

As to the cost of number porting, this has yet to be decided, says Falconer. \u201cWe are still negotiating this and thus can\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

\u201c\u201cIf we don\u2019t do this properly, number portability won\u2019t work. Ultimately, it\u2019s got to be cheap, easy and readily available for it to work,\u201d says Falconer. <\/font><\/p>\n

Discuss this article<\/font><\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

Source:\u00a0 <\/font>http:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za<\/font> <\/a><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite all the delays, number portability \u2013 the ability to keep your mobile phone number yet change networks \u2013 will become a reality sooner or later, with the latest proposed kick-off date being September according to Cell C. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_threads_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-548653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548653"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548653\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}