Mobile subscribers are not going for MNP, here’s why

KOLKATA: Customers switching telecom service providers while retaining their mobile numbers fell 24% month-on-month in October 2019, indicating that subscribers were less inclined to change telcos as rates and network quality became increasingly similar among the three private players – Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) and Reliance Jio Infocomm.
The reduction in mobile number portability (MNP) is good news for telcos since it means they have to invest less in trying to retain existing customers, said industry executives and analysts.
MNP fell to 4.1 million in October last year from 5.4 million in the previous month, and the MNP churn rate dipped to 0.3% from 0.5% in September, ICICI Securities said in a report based on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai)’s subscriber data for October.
“Cheaper plans are the primary reason for portability. Earlier you could arbitrage costs but now, with a uniformity in prices across telcos, there is no compelling reason to port,” said Rajan Mathews, director general of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which represents all private players.