Mobile telecommunication industry will undergo a major shakeup once the mobile number portability comes into force.

Clients will be able to shift from one mobile service provider to another without changing even one single digit of their mobile number.

Rwanda has three mobile service providers; MTN, TIGO and Airtel.

The new development is expected to make the already existing competition more fierce.

To the clients, this is music to the ears going by the fact that they are glued to one provider for fear of losing their contacts.

A similar development has already taken place in some African countries, including Kenya, South Africa and Egypt.

Mobile number portability (MNP) is a service that allows a user switch over to another mobile service provider while retaining their existing phone number.

With MNP, one can keep their mobile number and also enjoy the best of services without needing to inform all their contacts about their new number.

Mobile number portability has enhanced competition in multi-operator environments. Consumers are able to enjoy the benefits offered by other service providers in the market without the need to change their known telephone numbers.

RURA sets the pace

Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA), the sector regulator, last week invited bids for a firm that will coordinate and manage the system.

RURA will require the company to facilitate mobile number portability within 24 hours after a client has submitted their request.

In fear of losing clients, the telecom operators will most likely enhance their services or come up with incentives to retain their existing clients. More innovations are likely to feature in the industry to improve customer experience and attract clients.

RURA conducted a cost-benefit analysis which informed the decision to kick start the porting process.

"With the existence of three mobile network operators in Rwanda with a penetration rate of more than 77 per cent, RURA believes it is time to introduce mobile number portability (MNP) in Rwanda telecom industry,” Patrick Nyirishema, RURA’s acting director-general, said in the notice.

Local telecom operators are already gearing up for the development noting that it will improve quality of service.

TIGO Rwanda, which, as of December 2015, was the second largest operator with 35 per cent of the market, says it is working closely with the regulator and other industry stakeholders in readiness for the development.

Sunny Ntayombya, the corporate communications and government relations manager at Tigo Rwanda, said mobile number portability will benefit the customers.

"Tigo Rwanda welcomes number portability. This will allow great flexibility and choice for the customer, which can only be a good thing and as Tigo Rwanda, we believe that the customer comes first. We are working closely with RURA and other stakeholders to make phone portability possible,” Ntayombya said.

Michael Adjei, the managing director of Airtel Rwanda, said they were ready for the concept and would implement it as guided by the regulator when it comes to force.

"It will go a long way towards providing an opportunity for choice to all Rwandan subscribers,” Adjei said.

In neighbouring Kenya where portability was introduced in 2011, operators tried to outdo each other in competition including offering perks such as letting customers transfer their prepaid balance from one circle to the other or facilitating the transfer of contacts saved in their SIM cards.

In a brief response yesterday, MTN Rwanda told The New Times that the telecom has had several consultative meetings with RURA regarding MNP implementation and will be ready once the project begins.

"Regarding on how this will impact MTN or our customers, it will only be determined once implementation takes place as we cannot speculate on what we have not yet applied. However, we’ll continue working to ensure that we provide a strong value proposition to our customers,” MTN said.

Statistics from the RURA show that MTN has the largest market share with 47 per cent. Tigo Rwanda comes second with 35 per cent and Airtel 18 per cent.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw