Only 5% of postpaid subscribers can switch networks and keep their numbers from November 16.
Network operators will test number portability with about 6 million postpaid subscribers to assess the impact before implementing it en masse.
At the press conference on the plan to provide the mobile number portability service held on November 13, a representative of the Telecommunications Department said that from November 16, major carriers including Viettel, MobiFone, and VinaPhone will deploy it for postpaid subscribers. From January 1, 2019, in addition to these three carriers, Vietnamobile will simultaneously provide this service to prepaid and postpaid subscribers.
The Telecommunications Department said that network operators will test the service with only 5% of postpaid subscribers (equivalent to 6 million SIMs) to assess the service's impact on the market and take measures to eliminate negative impacts (if any) before deploying it widely.
"Mobile businesses are providing services to over 120 million subscribers, so they must take certain steps to avoid negative impacts on the operation of the entire telecommunications network," said a representative of the Telecommunications Department.
When converting, subscribers will have to pay a fee. Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Pham Hong Hai said that through many meetings, the orientation fee for businesses will not exceed 60,000 VND per conversion. However, according to Mr. Hai, businesses will issue their own rates and instructions on the process.
At the meeting, representatives of network operators said that the one-time network switching fee that users must pay is equivalent to the monthly postpaid subscription fee, expected to not exceed 60,000 VND.
A representative of the Telecommunications Department said that the number retention transfer transaction is carried out within 2 days for individual subscribers and 3 days for organizations, from the time the subscriber arrives at the transaction point of the network to complete the procedure. The maximum service interruption during the transfer process is one hour. However, the Department's leader also emphasized that in reality, the interruption only lasts for a few seconds.
Once a subscriber switches to a new carrier, they can only switch to another carrier after 90 days.
Issues regarding procedures and regulations, according to the leader of the Telecommunications Department, will be applied according to Circular 35/2017 issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications. This document stipulates that businesses have the right to refuse to transfer networks with subscribers whose service registration information is incorrect, who have complaints or disputes about service use, or who violate contracts with the transferring business...
Mobile number portability is a service that allows mobile subscribers to switch carriers while still keeping their phone number (including network code and subscriber number). The portability service was first launched in 1997 in Singapore and is now available in more than 110 countries worldwide and has become a popular trend in the developing mobile telecommunications market. In Southeast Asia, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia have implemented it, and Vietnam is the fourth country to implement the service.
According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, the implementation of mobile number portability will bring many benefits to the telecommunications market, telecommunications businesses, mobile subscribers and meet the management goals of state management agencies.