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December 14, 2008
Around 4% of Mobile Lines in Latin America will be Ported in the 2008-2013 Period
Regulators Will Be Forced to Increase Resources to Halt Un-competitive Practices
Aggressive customer retention tactics by mobile operators will require regulatory authorities to increase their budgets to be able to combat unfair trading practices. Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico will be the markets most affected, as they account for 85% of the region's portability.
Buenos Aires - December 9, 2008 - Signals Telecom Consulting, the leading telecommunications research and consulting firm for markets in Latin America and the Caribbean, announces the publication of its report on "Mobile Number Portability in Latin America." This report analyzes the impact of MNP in various markets in Europe and the United States to determine the potential impact of MNP in Latin American markets, in terms of the number of porting customers and approximate costs.
"Together with the arrival of MNP we are also seeing increased operator aggressiveness in their efforts to retain existing customers. Actions such as compulsory contract extension and the failure to advise users of new contract clauses will force the region's regulators to increase the budget they assign to the prevention of uncompetitive market practices," indicated Carlos Blanco, Market Research Director for Signals Telecom Consulting and author of the report.
"Success of MNP in the region will be determined by cost to the user, the time it takes to port a number, and the technical solution adopted for its implementation. Even so, total numbers for mobile portability will remain low, unless it is combined with other complementary policies such as the introduction of virtual mobile operators, mandatory unblocking of subsidized terminals, control over penalty charges for early contract termination and policies for their automatic renewal," Blanco concluded.
