MNP is finally here...

I'm sure many of you have seen some if not all of the marketing campaign by Celcos on Mobile Number Portability (MNP). From this month, MNP basically allows you to switch to other cellular operators without loosing your current number with a maximum fee of RM25.

For the celcos, it's definitely a new competitive landscape where they try to entice and win over competitor's customers. It's certainly more challenging for them to ensure customer's loyalty. I'm really interested to see which Celco's are suffering the most from this MNP.

Source: ACNielsen

Many predicts that Maxis will loose most customers by virtue that they hold the biggest market share. Digi might gain as they are clearly the most innovative in their offerings. For the customers, we are definitely the biggest winner as the industry is getting even more competitive.

I, as a customer would like to ask this question though. Why am I still being identified using digits? With MNP, it seems that they want us to be known as 012/013/016/018-xxxxxxx until forever. Don't you feel like you're being bar coded and you have to carry it for the rest of your life? I don't want my operator to know me by the number. They should know me by name.

If you look at the Internet, when you register to an email service, instant messaging or community portal like Facebook, do they give you a prefix number to identify yourself? No. You are being identified by a name given by you. You can be known as Cicakman, Ironman, Max Payne or whatever, just like instant messaging.

With IP network or NGN, we will no longer be known by the number. It will be like the Internet but in a more secured environment. I personally feel the introduction of MNP service is 2-3 years late in Malaysia. Because, with prevailing technology, the IP network promises so much that makes MNP somehow looked trivial.

Perhaps its a case of better late then never. By having MNP, the regulators expects competition to strive. Hence, prices should go down and the citizen will be happy about it. I just hope the operators will start looking at other value added services and not just engaging in price war on minutes and sms.

Price war is good for the customers only in the short run. In the long run, with lower revenue income, it reduces the operator's capability to re-invest in new technology which ultimately reduces the country's global competitiveness.

MNP shouldn't be use to further commodities the industry and this spirit has to be shared by all players. If commoditisation continues, we will devalue the industry far into the future. And this is not good for operators as they are being squeezed by customers, demanding for lower price.

As for me, until an operator can truly identify me as Mafiz Seth, I'm not switching sides. And believe me, it's not far away for this to happen. It's closer than you think. If only the 'Truly Mobile', 'Truly Malaysian' operator awakens....