Kenya Makes Second Attempt at Offer Mobile Number Portability

Published on: 17th November 2008

Kenya's long delayed plans for mobile number portability (MNP) seem to be back on track again after the regulator confirmed that the service would be launched next year. The plans, originally announced in 2004 were put on hold last year after the regulator cited the high costs of implementing the system.

According to a public notice carried in the local press today, Service Provider Number Portability (SPNP) will be implemented in Kenya  between March and September 2009.

"The commission considers [MNP] as a critical feature that would further enhance competition by giving consumers the flexibility to choose their provider in a seamless manner without having to worry about the prospects of losing touch with their business associates, friends and family," read a statement from the regulator, the CCK.

New entrant into the market, Econet Limited is understood to have been pushing for MNP to be launched. Typically in most countries where MNP has been introduced, the smaller players tend to see a short-term jump in subscriber numbers at the expense of a dominant player - in this case, Safaricom.

The regulator has a consultation document which is calling for views before Dec 15th 2008.

The Mobile World subscriber database reports that Safaricom is the market leader with a market share of 86.6% with Celtel coming in at 13.4%. Econet has not launched its network yet - and Telkom Kenya (Orange) has just started a "mobile" type service.

 

Tags: [orange]  [mobile number portability]  [number portability]  [safaricom]  [telkom]  [celtel]  [mnp]  [econet]  [telkom kenya]  [seamless]  [Kenya]