1. Number Portability N.P. Singh Professor (IT) MDI, Gurgaon -122007

2. Number portability (NP) NP refers to the ability of end-users to retain their telephone number when they change 1. their network operator/service provider 2. their location 3. or their service.

3. Positives There are many technical advantages if number portability is implemented. – The customers will have the convenience option to move from their existing operators to other favoured service providers while retaining their telephone numbers. – There will be inflow of subscribers from landline customers to mobile phone, as number portability may remove a potential barrier to wireless substitution. – The sector is driven by consumer acquisition, and this technology will change the focus to consumer retention. – It would increase competition and may reduce prices of the services being offered and the quality of services too would improve. – Mostly beneficial would be those who are traveling professionals and businessmen.

4. Negatives As the customers are more likely to change their service operators too often, there will be loss of bandwidth which is a big issue. They will also shift their operators during every promotional plan in which some service or the other is given for free for some time period. There will also be loss of tariff transparency as identification of a number with a service provider would be difficult. SMS which has been the catalyst for the impressive growth may create a problem in the porting of messages. Also non-porting costs such as promotions and advertising, customer services and value-added services will be required to keep up with enhanced competition. It would require huge investments by operators which could lead to an increase in the cost of services which can affect tele-density

5. Classification of number portability services There are three number portability services : Operator portability Location portability Service portability

6. Operator portability service It refers to the ability of an end user to retain the same telephone number when changing from one operator to another. It is also referred to as ‘service provider number portability’.

7. Operator portability service It is further divided into: geographic number portability for all fixed public telephone network and integrated services digital network (ISDN) subscribers at a specific location ; Non-geographic number portability or NGNP for fixed numbers at any location ; and mobile number portability or MNP.

8. Indian Classification-TRAI Operator portability can be implemented for geographic, non-geographic, or mobile numbers contained in the National Numbering Plan. Geographic numbers for fixed lines convey the subscriber’s location, and convey the location of the customer. A non-geographic number does not imply the location of the customer Mobile Numbers are reserved for subscribers of mobile services.

9. Indian Classification-TRAI Fixed Number Portability (FNP) – FNP is the portability of fixed geographic numbers. MNP – MNP is the portability of mobile telephone numbers INP – Intelligent Number Portability is the portability of the non-geographic intelligent number (IN)

10. Comparison of NP Types ItemGeographic PSTN Individual Numbers (FNP) Non-Geographic (INP) Mobile (MNP) Cost of the Portability HighMedium Availability to the customer Limited by roll out of the private operators Limited by roll out of private operators Unlimited RequiresNew entrant to roll out fixed lines New Entrant to have wide coverage (Ready Now) Requirement & its timing Presence of new entrant operator significantly Coverage of network of the competitors comparable to incumbent As soon as Possible

11. Location portability It refers to the ability of an end-user to retain the same telephone number when changing from one physical location to another without necessarily changing their operator.

12. Service portability It refers to the ability of an end-user to retain the same telephone number when changing from one type of service to another without necessarily changing their operator. (e.g., from old telephone service to ISDN)

13. Terms Donor network: The initial network where the number was located before ever being ported. Originating network: The network where the calling party is connected. Recipient network: The network where a number is located after being ported. Database: The store of ported numbers with their relevant routing numbers. Routing number: A specific number that is derived and used by the network to route the call towards a ported number.

14. Processing a call to a ported number Two stages are involved : 1. Interception stage It is the recognition that the call is toward a ported number. It can be performed at : - donor switch (local exchange where the subscriber line was initially attached before being ported), - transit switch, - originating switch (the switch from which the calling party’s call originates). 2. Routing stage The call is re-routed from the intercepting switch to the new terminating switch.

15. Solution These include roaming, operational support system modifications, call charging arrangements, routing arrangements in the National Numbering Plan, interconnection between networks, support of number portability within and across mobile technologies, the timeframes involved in the introduction of solutions, the cost-effectiveness of different solutions, handling of voicemail, data and fax numbers, and routing of SMS traffic in the case of MNP.

16. Two solution Off-switch Solutions – Off-switch solutions transfer the knowledge of porting information into one or more external databases that all network switches can access for query. Interception is performed at the originating switch or at some transit switch. This type of solution allows for the efficient routing of the call towards the recipient switch. – The originating switch (or some transit switch) can intercept a call to a ported number by querying the database that contains the list of all ported numbers plus routing information associated with each ported number.

17. Two possibilities All-Call-Query method: The originating network first checks the location of the dialed number in the central database and then routes the call directly to the recipient network.

18. Second Query-on-Release: The originating network first checks the status of dialed number with the donor network. The donor network returns a message to the originating network identifying if the number has been ported or not. The originating network then queries the central database to obtain the information regarding the recipient network and routes the call directly to the recipient network.

19. On-switch Solutions In the case of on-switch solutions, the donor network manages the routing information for a ported number. Thus, the donor switch performs the interception, either routing the call itself, or providing routing information to the originating network that then routes the call to the recipient network. Consequently, this involves the use of internal databases.

20. Two possibilities Onward routing (call forwarding): Here, the originating network connects to the donor network. If the dialed number has been ported, the donor network itself routes the call to the recipient network.

21. Second Call Drop Back: Here the donor network checks if the number is ported and if it is, releases the call back to the originating network together with information identifying the correct recipient network. The originating network then routes the call to the recipient network.

22. All Call Query Method NP DB Donor Network Originating Network Recipient network 1 2 3

23. Query On Release NP DB Donor Network Originating Network Recipient network 5 1 2 3 4

24. Call Drop Back Scheme NP DB Donor Network Originating Network Recipient network 5 1 4 2 3

25. Onward Routing Scheme NP DB Donor Network Originating Network Recipient network 1 2 3 4

26. Implementing Number portability Technical solutions depends on : The time scales required ; The characteristics of the existing network (level of digitalisation, existence of Intelligent Network (IN) platforms, network architecture etc) ; The interconnection structure (number of POIs and level of interconnection, number of transit areas etc); and The scale of implementation of NP (very small number of lines concerned, or generalised use of this service) and the number of operators involved.

27. Number Portability in India

28. Telcordia’s joint venture company MNP Interconnection Telecom Solutions India Pvt Ltd (MITS) has been selected to manage India’s Mobile Number Portability solutions in South and East of India. Telcordia’s Syniverse Technologies for the North and the West.

29. Telcordia It is a NASDAQ listed entity, and on Feb 23rd 2009, it received the go-ahead from India’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for foreign investment. Telcordia was allowed to pick up upto 74% foreign investment in the mobile number portability, and allowed a foreign investment of Rs. 45 Crores

30. Syniverse Technologies It has won the mandate for the North and West regions, including two fairly saturated and key markets - Delhi and Mumbai. It is a company that provides technology interoperability, network services and number portability to mobile operators, wireline carriers, emerging telecom market entrants and enterprise customers. The company is headquartered in USA, with offices in major cities throughout the Americas and in The Netherlands, London, Luxembourg, Rome, Beijing and Hong Kong.

31. Fees: There is a one time, non-refundable, entry fee of Rs. 1 crore for the license, and the licence fee is one percent of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) of the licensee Company. There is no license fee for first two years.

32. Roll Out Process: The country has been segmented into two zones consisting of 11 Licensed Service Areas each with 2 Metro service areas in each zone. A maximum of two companies will manage MNP for a period of 5 years, each with a separate zone of operation. Initially MNP will be implemented in all Metro and category ‘A’ service areas within 6 month of award of the License. MNP regime will be rolled out in the country by end of summer 2010.

33. No Service Period: The window period for disconnection and activation by operators has been kept at one hour each, so the maximum downtime for the subscriber will be two hours.

34. How Long Will It Take? The porting process will take a maximum time period of 4 days in all licensed service areas except in the case of J&K, Assam and North East where the maximum time allowed is 12 days. Weekends are excluded from this time frame.

35. Reasons for change

36. Who is more likely to Switch Providers?

37. Pricing: Porting, Dipping Per Port Transaction charge - A processing charge paid by recipient operator (the operator to which the subscriber shifts her loyalty) to Mobile Number Portability Service Provider

38. Pricing: Porting, Dipping Dipping charge - charge paid by the service provider who uses the query response system of the MNP service provider for obtaining location routing number (LRN) for correct routing of the called number. According to the Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India (AUSPI), the key drivers for dipping are total number of calls, missed calls and SMS.AUSPI They want an upper limit for the dipping charge to be specified, to avoid unjustified charges being levied by MNP operators who have a monopoly for five years in their zone. RCOM recommends a dipping charge of Rs. 0.01-0.015, which AUSPI recommends Rs. 0.02.

39. Pricing: Porting, Dipping Porting charge - charge payable by the subscriber for porting his number to the recipient operator. Brazil, which has a high prepaid ratio like India has a porting rate of 6% in the first 9 months of the MNP implementation. RCOM suggests that a successful case of Hong Kong needs to be looked at, where there’s a porting charge of just HK$ 1.29 (around Rs. 8) being levied. RCOM recommends a porting charge of Rs. 20

40. Why 19?

41. Operators Have To Decide Dipping Charge Within A Month While TRAI has avoided fixing the dipping charge, the amount to be paid by operators and ILD providers to the MNP service providers, it has given them 30 days to arrive at a mutual agreement on the amount. If they do not, it will decide the price.

42. On Donation For Donors: Some operators had demanded that a charge be instituted to reimburse donor operators (the ones losing the subscriber to another) for their administrative costs due to MNP and loss of revenue from subscribers. TRAI has cut aside these requests and determined that there would be no compensation on this count. It ”does not require the Donor Operator to carryout any significant work,” TRAI has stated.

43. Upgradation: Those offering basic services such as ILDs (who do not benefit from MNP but have to spend to upgrade their equipment to offer compliance with it) also demanded compensation for the new investments they will have to make. But TRAI has emphatically pointed out that, according to Clause 17.7 of Basic Licence, Clause 17.6 of ILD Lincence and Clause 2.6 of UAS Licence, licensees have to install equipment that is compatible with others’ equipment or services.

44. Proposed Architecture of MNP Cost Effectiveness Scalable & Modular Architecture High Performance Reliability- Disaster recovery options at separate Geographic Location (City) Support open standards Security of Centralized database

45. Switching cost measurements Measuring consumers’ switching costs has been the issue for competition policy research for a few decades. Direct and indirect methodologies are implemented in order to assess the switching costs. The direct method uses consumer and market information, then employs a statistical model. T he indirect method uses only price or service fee and market share. However, the direct method is more complicated, needs large sample sizes and obtains data by questionnaire – so it is hard to see the switching cost measurement with the direct method

46. Number Portability in Finland

47. Number porting in Finland –Case In Finland, a centralised number portability database known as the Master System is used for number porting in the mobile and fixed-line networks. To date, a total of 3.1 million mobile phone numbers have been ported using the Master System. In Finland there are about 5.2 million mobile phone numbers in use. No fewer than 2.1 million mobile subscribers changed operators at least once during 2003–2005. The main reasons for the popularity of number porting in Finland are: – the simplicity of the process – the fact that it does not cost anything to the end customer – the favourable commercial terms for number porting in the operator business – and the fact that the market is highly competitive.

48. Background Information Number portability in the mobile communications networks is provided in accordance with the Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and the Council on universal service and users' rights relating to electronic communications networks and services (Universal Service Directive). The Directive obligates all member states of the European Union to implement number portability by the end of the national transition period ending on 25 July 2003. The requirements included in the Universal Service Directive concerning the portability of telephone numbers are included in the Finnish Telecommunications Market Act (393/2003; Para 51 § and 52 §). Under the said act, the Finnish Telecommunications Authority has issued the Decree 46C/2005 including the fixed line numbers portability on the portability of telephone numbers.

49. Contd… According the Decree Number portability are implemented in the fixed-wire telephone network within company numbers such as 010, 020, 029 and 03 during 2005 - 2006 According to the decree, telecommunications companies are jointly obligated to ensure that a “Master System” is created for the purpose of enabling number portability. Under the new Telecommunications Market Act, number portability applies both to fixed-wire and mobile telecommunications networks. However, portability between these two types of networks is not required. The operator relinquishing the number may not charge the customer for porting the number but, in contrast, the operator receiving the number may require a porting charge from the end-customer. Additionally, the relinquishing operator may require a one-off lump sum equivalent to the cost incurred from the receiving operator.

50. Mobile Number Portings per quarter

51. Numpac Numpac coordinates number porting serving as an intermediary. Numpac is a company established for management and administration purposes. It seeks only a moderate return on investment. Numpac's business concept is to offer telecom operators, at affordable rates, services that are intended for inter-operator activities and based on the statutory obligations imposed on the operators, and that benefit the telecom operators. All the mobile and fixed telephony operators in Finland are Numpac's customers. Numpac... Accenture Operators Commercial Agreement Commercial Agreement

52. Numpac Numpac is owned by three operators: – TeliaSonera Finland – Elisa – Finnet Numpac's organisation is extremely flat with only one employee, the managing director. For the construction and maintenance of the Master System, Numpac signed a commercial agreement with Accenture Finland Corporation

53. Numpac number portability services At present, Numpac offers operators mobile and fixed number porting services as well as primary network selection services. Additionally, Numpac provides a free information service for ported numbers intended for end customers required under the number porting regulation. By means of this information service, the consumer can identify the operator responsible for any mobile or fixed-line number. This information helps customers find out about the rates charged for calls to specific numbers. For the construction and maintenance of the MASTER System, Numpac signed a commercial agreement with Accenture Oy.

54. Mobile Number Portability Customer case unit of the donor operator Customer case unit of the receiving operator Contract I prefer to keep my old number 0A0-1234567 Store Number port order is entered to Master system via operator’s customer care system and process. Master system Number port order is received Port order is confirmed Porting is confirmed New subscription is connected Old subscription is disconnected New routing information is distributed to all network operators Min 5 work days Max 3 work daysMax 10 min Customer replaces the old SIM card with a new one. Customer receives a “Welcome” short message and start using the new subscription. Customer receives a short message about the confirmed date and time of the transfer Customer receives a new SIM-card via mail or in a store SIM Master system Master system

55. Background Information Description of the process for porting of the end-user's mobile phone number. The party ordering a new subscription signs a subscription agreement with the mobile operator confirming that the current number will be transferred from the existing mobile communications operator to the new operator. The subscriber selects the desired supplementary services from the new operator because services are not transferred from one operator to another in the process, only the actual phone number. The subscriber receives a new SIM card from the new operator after making and signing the subscription agreement.

56. Contd.. The telecommunications company receiving the number checks with the company relinquishing the number that the number involved is portable and confirms this after having been informed of the date of transfer. The customer’s old connection will remain active up until the new connection is activated. Once the new connection has been activated, the subscriber starts using it by replacing the old SIM card with the new SIM card provided by the new operator. The Master System exchanges information related to number porting between the telecommunications companies involved, stores the ported numbers and provides information on numbers that have been ported.

57. Implementation of number porting in Finland using the Master System A government decree stipulated that mobile phone number portability had to be implemented by 25 July 2003 using the Master System (Universal Service Directive). Subsequently, the operators launched a joint project in February 2003 and it was completed on schedule. An external project manager was recruited to oversee the project. A Cooperation between the operators has gone smoothly. In the spring of 2005 Numpac implemented a similar number porting project for the fixed-line networks.

58. Portable Mobile Numbers Only phone numbers can be ported. Possible answering, data or fax numbers, that the customer might have, are not ported. Prepaid numbers can be ported only if the customer has a contract about it with the operator. In practise there are no such contracts in Finland at the moment. This means that prepaid numbers cannot be ported. Other possible services added to the subscription like short codes for answering and similar services, etc. are not ported. In most cases the customers should inform the service provider that their numbers will be ported in case they prefer to continue using the additional services. Calls, text and MSS messages must be routed directly to the right network using “direct routing”.

59. Master System Operator C Master system distributes the lastest routing information to mobile network operators. Master system Operator B Operator A Routing data Routing data Routing data The routing data that the operator has received from the Master system enables the operator to route the call to the right operator and network directly. Example: A call from Operator C to a number 0A0-1234567 ported from Operator A to Operator B. Call route

60. Master-system connections The large mobile phone operators have M2M-connection to the Master system. The connection is a direct machine-to-machine connection linked directly between the customer’s own customer service systems and Master system. Same connection is also used to send real-time call routing information to network operators. Small and medium size mobile operators have Web- connection to Master system. Customer’s customer service center people use a Web-browser to input and manage porting information to Master system. Network operators receive call routing information in real-time via M2M-connection customers’ connections. Other customers needing information about to which operator a certain number belongs to, get it via Reference Data file that the customer can fetch through a secure connection. All connections are VPN-connections to maintain high security. Master system Large operators’ customer service with direct M2M connection from own systems to Master Small operators’ customer service with Web access to Master Information about ported numbers via Reference Data file VPN

61. Master-system application architecture Operator systems sending messages to the Master-system Master system browser based user interface Systems of Reference data customers Operator systems receiving messages from the Master-system

62. Master system server architecture The master system is a clustered system including two physically separated identical server clusters. The system is fully duplicated in order to guarantee high availability. Replication between the physically separated clusters guarantees system operation also in severe error situations.

63. Number porting prices in Finland The point of departure in pricing was that price-setting must be conducive to competition. The pricing system has remained unchanged since 2003. The latest price adjustments were made in the spring of 2005. The regulators have accepted that the operators may cooperate in pricing. Numpac offers three types of interfaces to the Master System: – Machine to machine – Web A – Web B All interface types are priced differently. Master System VPN Web interface Web A Web B M2M interface

64. Numpac's number porting price list The price consists of four components: – annual charge – monthly charge – number porting charge – helpdesk charge Operators need separate interfaces for porting mobile and fixed numbers. Numpac determines the number porting charge every month. The porting charge is based on the actual costs incurred by Numpac. In 2005 the porting charge was less than one euro. Operators are entitled to charge a donor charge from the receiving operator.

65. Example: All the fees associated to a number ported from Operator A to Operator B Number porting fees NUMPAC’s customers pay NUMPAC fixed yearly and monthly fees. The receiving operator pays in addition a fee per ported number. The receiving operator pays also to the donor operator an administrative fee per ported number to cover costs associated in closing the subscription. This operator specific fee is about 10 euros per ported number. NUMPAC Operator BOperator A Yearly fee Monthly fee Yearly fee Monthly fee Fee per ported number Administrative fee The donor operator does not pay any per number porting fees to NUMPAC or the receiving operator.

66. Reasons for the high popularity of number porting in Finland Competition-related factors: – From the beginning of 2004 to the summer of 2005, competition in the Finnish mobile subscription market was extremely intense. – Price was highlighted in market communications. – Number porting has had a considerable impact on the competitive position of companies. – Price comparison between the operators has been easy for the consumer.

67. Reasons for the high popularity of number porting in Finland The commercial terms for number porting favour number porting – Handset subsidies for 2G are forbidden in Finland. Permitted for 3G subscriptions from 1 April 2006. – No fixed-term agreements were made with consumers before 2005. Fixed- term agreements were only used with corporate customers. – Terminating a customer relationship and making a new subscription agreement are easy. No charge for number porting is made to the end customer. – In Finland, the number of postpaid subscriptions is very high compared to prepaid subscriptions.

68. Reasons for the high popularity of number porting in Finland Convenience of the number porting process – For customers, number porting is easy and free of charge. – The standard of knowledge about, and interest in, number porting in the marketplace is high. – The number porting process works smoothly. The availability of the Master System is of the highest standard.

69. Prospects for the future Most likely, number porting will spill over into fixed networks. Over the next few years, new service number ranges will become portable Handset subsidies for 3G subscriptions will be allowed as of 1 April 2006. An increasing percentage of new subscriptions will be for a fixed term. The relaxation of competition will decrease number porting volumes. Numpac will extend its range of services to operators.

70. Administrative cost CountryYear of implementations Original announced costsCosts in Euros BelgiumSep 2002Single port 3,86€ Complex port 23,41€ Average 11,50€ 11,50€ CroatiaOct 20055,30 € (Recipient pays donor operator) 5,30 € CyprusJul 20045,52 CYP9,7 € DenmarkJul 200172 DKK,(tax excluded)9,65 € EstoniaJan 2005Not available- FinlandJul 200310 €App 10 € FranceJun 200315,20 € GermanyNov 200222,50-29,95 €, average 26 €26 € IrelandOct 200520 €

71. Administrative cost CountryYear of implementations Original announced costs Costs in Euros ItalyApr 200210,02 € LithuanianJan 2004No fee- NetherlandsApr 199923,89 € NorwayNov 200110 € PortugalJan 200215 € SpainOct 2000No fee- SwedenSep 200136 SEK3,84 € SwitzerlandMar 200029 CHF18,62 € United KingdomJan 199920 GBP (Estimated,1997 Figure ) 29,04 € India

72. Mobile Number Portability in Oman The Mobile Number Portability (MNP) was introduced on 26th August, 2006. The first switching was from Nawras to Oman Mobile. The service is open to pre-paid and post-paid subscribers. It is mentioned by the executives that value added services, tariff, connectivity with the lines of other countries and roaming agreements with international communication providers plays a major role for switching. Process: Changing operators to Oman Mobile: – (i) For Pre-paid customers: Present copy of ID proof and deposit filled Mobile Number Portability Authorization Form. A new SIM card will be issued and porting will be completed 48 to 72 hours subject to validity checks and final approval.

73. Number Portability in Oman – (ii) Post-paid Customers: Obtain "Statement of All Dues" and pay the due amount within one day to your existing operator. Deposit paid "Statement of All Dues" along with the copy of your ID to any Omantel / Oman Mobile counter and fill out the Mobile Number Portability Customer Authorization Form. Select post-paid/ prepaid service with Oman Mobile by completing the authorization form. A new SIM card will be issued to you and porting will be completed within 48 to 72 hours subject to validity check and final approval.

74. Number Portability in Oman (iii) Business Customer: Obtain a "No Objection" letter for porting to Oman Mobile from existing operator. Ask for due amount to be paid for this purpose and pay within 4 days. Take the "No Objection" letter to any Oman Mobile/ Omantel counter or to Oman Mobile Business Communications Center at Al Khuwair and fill out the Mobile Number Portability Authorization Form. A new SIM card will be issued to you. In all three cases subscriber is to pay RO13/-. Porting is possible only for active number.

75. MNP implementations by country CountryOperatorsPenetrationCompetitio n AwarenessPorting time (days)% Porting Honk Kong5125%V HighHigh1.5 (2)14.6% Finland3105%High 510.6% Spain3105%High 67.8% Australia480%High 0.37.5% Ireland3102%High 0.26.5% Sweden4113%High 56.1% Belgium386%MediumHigh24.6% Malta280%LowMedium0.53.6% UK5+111%HighLow72.5% France378%Low 300.6% Germany491%MediumLow60.4% Pakistan6 or 758%HighVery low4-21 (3-4 for pre- paid & 9-10 for post paid) <1%