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23pc UAE mobile subscribers 'to use MNP'

Dubai, January 16, 2014

About 23 per cent of mobile subscribers in the UAE are likely to utilise ‘mobile number portability’ service in the near future, said a survey.

The Syndicated Report by Dubai-based research and consulting firm AMRB, revealed that the propensity to shift service provider is particularly high among expat Arabs, with one-third expressing high likelihood to shift.

However, only about 22 per cent of Asian subscribers expressed a high likelihood to change service provider using MNP, it said.

The survey of 500 mobile users in the UAE, revealed that about 60 per cent of them were aware of MNP, which came into effect recently in the country.

The awareness among Asian subscribers was particularly high at 63 per cent, as compared to about 50 per cent in case of Arabs and Westerners, it said.

It found that about 10 per cent of those aware of the service claimed to have already registered with the competing telco for MNP.

Subscribers who have been on with a particular network for more two years were found to be slightly more likely to utilise MNP to change their service provider.

There was however, no considerable difference between prepaid or postpaid subscribers with regard to reaction to introduction of MNP in UAE.

About 56 per cent of the du subscribers considering change to Etisalat, said the driver was expectation of ‘better network coverage,’ which 47 per cent of Etisalat subscribers wanted to shift to du citing ‘better prices and packages for voice calls.’

The ‘customer service’ was the second key reason for subscribers from du as well as Etisalat, with 46 per cent and 39 per cent of the subscribers respectively claiming to be unsatisfied with the current service provider.

A marginal seven per cent of the surveyed subscribers wanted to shift for the sake of experimenting, the study said.

While the launch of the second telco in the UAE brough in competition to Etisalat, MNP is likely to further invigorate the sector by increasing its level of competition with du.

The study focused on understanding the awareness on MNP and predicted the likely behavior of newly found freedom among mobile users of UAE, a country that boasts of having one of the highest mobile penetration in the world.

Sukhdev Singh, associate VP, said: “The success or failure of MNP will ultimately depend upon the time taken to change from one telco to the other, as well as the switching cost involved. While this may largely be dictated by the TRA, telcos that are able to provide a more efficient process and also better value, are likely to gain more from the introduction of MNP.

“While the UAE telco market is poised for significant churn in the near term, over the longer horizon, introduction of MNP is a positive step that would lead to greater competition between mobile service providers (MSPs), which would ultimately benefit the consumers.” - TradeArabia News Service




Tags: UAE | Mobile | Asian | arab | Expat | Report | MNP |

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