Portability may allow subscriber loophole

By Damaria Senne, ITWeb senior journalist

Johannesburg, 06 Oct 2005

While mobile network operators have welcomed the number portability regulations, Vodacom has raised concerns that subscribers may use portability to avoid paying outstanding phone bills.

The regulations say the donor network cannot reject an application from a post-pay account if the subscriber still owes money on the account. Neither may it delay porting until the debt is collected unless the account has already been suspended.

This clause is of concern to Vodacom. According to Mthobi Tyamzashe, Vodacom SA`s corporate affairs director: "Vodacom is concerned by the apparent failure by the regulations to respect the contractual terms and conditions in terms of which services are provided."

He says failure to provide that porting may only occur after the subscriber has settled his or her outstanding debt will lead to abuse by subscribers, thereby substantially increasing the risk of bad debt.

As a possible safeguard measure against subscribers using the opportunity to port as a way to avoid paying their phone bills, a subscriber who has recently ported to another network provider will not be able to move to a third network within a two-month period.

'Significant milestone`

Mike Falconer, Cell C`s regulations support manager, says the regulations provide for simple and easy implementation. This will make it easy for consumers to move to another network, he says.

MTN South Africa MD Maanda Manyatshe says the company believes the regulations will ultimately benefit all mobile consumers. "We congratulate the minister of communications for achieving this significant milestone, which will have a positive impact on SA`s cellular industry," he says.

The three operators have already set up an industry forum that has begun to look at possible scenarios for implementing mobile number portability on a cost-effective and efficient basis, says Tyamzashe.

The networks say there is generally widespread acceptance of the regulations because all stakeholders were consulted in the drafting of the document. The Independent Communication Authority of SA consulted broadly on the development of the framework regulations and promoted the establishment of an industry task group to develop the functional specifications.

Some of the issues the specifications cover include the process of porting, the responsibilities of the donor and recipient network, as well as conditions to reject a porting request. For example, it is the recipient network`s responsibility to handle a porting application from subscribers. It is also the recipient network`s responsibility to inform the subscriber that his/her credit and unused airtime will not be portable from one account to another, and that third-party services offered by the donor network to add value for customers will not work on the recipient network.