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2. Ensuring a positive and
efficient customer porting
experience – The key factors!
James Wild
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
15 November 2012
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 1

3. Kuwakaribisha Nyuma
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 2

4. Objectives L aurasia
Communications Consultants
- Evaluating the different implementation approaches to making
number portability a reality
- Determining the organisational and governance structures for a
workable number portability arrangement
- Building and achieving consensus on MNP service pricing
- Examining the cost implications of setting-up and managing the
portability approach
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 3

5. NP spreading across Africa L aurasia
Communications Consultants
MNP
Launched
Being MNP
2006
Assesse Launched
d 2008
MNP to be
launched MNP to be
2013 Being launched
Assesse 2013
d
Being
Assesse
Being Being
d
Assesse Assesse
d d Being MNP
Assesse Launched
d 2011
Being
MNP Assesse
Launched MNP to be d
2011 Launched
2013 Being
Assesse Being
d Assesse
d
Being
Assesse
Being d
Assesse
Being d
Assesse
d
MNP Launched
2006
FNP launched
2010
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 4

6. Why introduce NP? L aurasia
Communications Consultants
• Catalyse further competition
• Reduce market pricing
• Increase consumer choice
• Improve customer and network service and quality
• Drive innovation
• Drive efficiency
• Encourage new entrants
• Existing market competition?
• Established interconnection between operators ?
• Sufficient service penetration?
• No conflicting initiatives? SIM Registration etc
• NP a consumer right?
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 5

7. Lets talk CUSTOMER L aurasia
Communications Consultants
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 6

8. NP – What the Customer
L aurasia
Wants? Communications Consultants
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 7

9. NP – Best Practices L aurasia
Communications Consultants
MNP driven & owned by the Regulator
Recipient Led – Requires face to face engagement with the customer – Not via web or call centre
Centralised Number Portability Clearing House – Ideally Licenced by Regulator – Multi-Party Contract
Direct Routing - ACQ
Quick – porting completed within hours not days
Simple porting process - automated – real-time porting - 4 stage
Minimal exchange of customer data during the porting process – ideally MSISDN and Donor Operator only!
Centralised customer engagement - validation & communication
Minimal rejection/ failure rates – limited rejection reasons
Real-time updating of MNO Local routing Databases – Make Before Break to minimise service disruption
Cheap or preferably FREE to the consumer
Winback prohibited
Debt not a reason for rejecting porting requests – Pre-Pay subscribers lose credit balance on porting
Off-Net Tariff Notification – NO!
Regulations or legal framework to enforce Operator compliance through punitive financial penalties
Automated Return to Block Operator process via NPC
TEST…. TEST…. TEST….. The customer should not be the Guinea Pig for NP
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 8

10. L aurasia
Communications Consultants
Evaluating the different implementation
approaches to making Number
Portability a reality
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 9

11. NP – The Journey? L aurasia
Communications Consultants
Consultation Development Implementation Launch
6 months – 2 years 3 – 9 months Mobile – 6-15 months 1-3 months
Fixed – 9-18 months
• Led by Regulator • Defined NP • All
• Complete benefit milestones • Inter-Operator Working • Complete final
assessment • NPC vendor selection Group readiness testing
• Define NP Approach/ • Define NP • Develop & implement NP • Progress NP
• Consult with requirements & changes : promotional
Stakeholders business rules etc • Routing activities
• Implement licence/ • Establish stakeholder • Provisioning • Complete
regulatory changes commitment and • Porting Admin operational
support • Retail process handover
• Establish NP Pre- • Regulatory
requisites • Complete testing
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 10

12. Cross Stakeholder NP
Journey L aurasia
Communications Consultants
NP Vendor NP Implementation
Appointed Plan
NP
NP Process
NP Routing & Functional
Approach &
Requirements
Testing
Schedule
NP Routing
& Porting
Platforms Routing &
Live Porting End-2-
Testing End
NP Business
Rules Testing
NP Commercial NP Launch
& Consumer NP Public
Frameworks
Awareness
Campaign
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 11

13. NP Stakeholders? L aurasia
Communications Consultants
- Regulator
- Government
- Communication Ministries
- LEA
- Data Protection
- Licenced Operators
- Incumbent
- New Entrant/ Challengers
- Other Providers
- National/ Local - Fixed
- International Gateway
- Value Added Service Providers
- Foreign Parties?
- Media
- Oh … Yes.. CONSUMERS
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 12

14. The Right Approach to
L aurasia
Implementation? Communications Consultants
- Ownership? Orderly & Efficient
- Leadership?
- Legal? Regulatory Mandate?
- Realistic Timeframes?
- Effective Governance?
- Clearly Defined Functional
Requirements?
OR
- Clear Targets & Milestones?
- Commitment?
- Openness & Honesty?
Chaotic & Divisive
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 13

15. Delivering NP – Role L aurasia
of the Regulator? Communications Consultants
What are the possible roles Regulators can adopt ?
• Leader – Actively Directing ?
• Passive Participant?
• Observer?
Responsibility to safeguard consumers and ensure NP supports development of
competition – Regulators are the KEY stakeholders in delivering NP
NP is complex and has numerous levers which can radically impact consumer demand
Very few NP programmes are delivered on time – Realism is key in setting & maintaining
public and industry expectations
Leaving NP to operators is likely to result in delays, more delays and sub-optimal NP
delivery – Successful NP programmes are driven by Regulators
Regulators should set clear & detailed NP requirements, engagement frameworks and
milestones – monitor, probe and drive!
Take account of differing interests and tactics of the various stakeholders
Benchmark against other similar jurisdictions and take advice from experts
NP is only implemented once – critical to get IT right first time
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 14

16. L aurasia
Communications Consultants
Determining the organisational and
governance structures for a workable
Number Portability arrangement
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 15

17. Simple & Clear NP Programme
L aurasia
Framework is Vital Communications Consultants
Senior management commitment from Regulator and
Operators is key – overseeing & agreeing key issues via a
Steering Group
Simple Working Group structure is most effective – depends on
programme complexity & number of stakeholders
• Single senior & experienced attendees from each operator
• Seconded full-time for the MNP programme
• Bringing in functional experts/ sub teams AS REQUIRED
• Avoid multiple/ parallel Working Groups – lead to delays, conflict and confusion!
• Clear operating rules and voting procedures
Regulator/ Consultant acting as central facilitator to drive,
facilitate, mediate & advise ensures progress & momentum are
maintained
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 16

18. NP Implementation
Programme Structure
L aurasia
Communications Consultants
Steering Group
NPC
NPWG Advisors
Vendor
Legal/Regulatory / Commercial Technology/ Business Process
Other OLOs/ VAS
Vendors
Stakeholders providers
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 17

19. Effective Cross Stakeholder
L aurasia
Collaboration is Key Communications Consultants
Clearly defined work streams with roles/ scope
Key milestones & deliverables defined and agreed early
Strong programme management framework
Regular reporting & progress tracking
Issue control discipline
Provide effective problem & dispute escalation avenues
Expect the unexpected & don’t blame, be honest & open
Get It Right First Time
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 18

20. Driving Public NP Awareness &
Understanding is Critical for L aurasia
Communications Consultants
ALL
Successful communication &
education approaches are:
- Operator Led,
- Working to strict messaging &
co-ordination guidelines set
by Regulator,
- Regulator providing co-
ordinated and supporting Communicate & Educate
media & public campaigns • Structured & co-
- Multi-media – leveraging ordinated
• Simply – building on
traditional & social media
simple NP facts
• Repeating key
messages
• Regularly
• Consistently &
Accurately
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 19

21. Managing NP does NOT stop
L aurasia
after launch Communications Consultants
Operational Working Group – different team? – handover is key
• Review Porting Vendor Performance
• Review NP demand & Operator Performance
• Identify & address operating and process issues
• Consider improvements and scope evolution
Dealing with Consumer Complaints & Queries – Set-up Consumer Helpdesk or
refer to Operators?
Monitoring Stakeholder Performance & Behaviours
• Mediating & resolving issues and escalations
• Investigating NP issues and driving resolution
• Punishing inappropriate behaviours and performance non-compliance
Promoting NP to the public & media to drive awareness & demand – Regulator
or Industry?
Evolving/ expanding NP
• New market sectors & technologies & services
• Refining and improving the NP efficiency and experience in line with best practice
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 20

22. L aurasia
Communications Consultants
Building and achieving consensus on NP
service pricing
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 21

23. NP Charging Options L aurasia
Communications Consultants
Consumer
P
Donor
? Porting Vendor
P Recipient
?
Regulator
?
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 22

24. NP Charging Approaches L aurasia
Communications Consultants
Consumer Porting Charging
• Directly impacts consumer porting rates
• Nil charging encourages porting
• Charging for porting reduces porting take-up – porting charges should be aligned to monthly ARPU
NPC Porting Charging
• Porting vendor commercial models vary – Critical to benchmark with other countries and optimise through
effective tendering
• NPC related porting charges – Charged to Recipient not Donor
Inter-Operator Porting Administration Charging
• Should Donor Operators be allowed to recover reasonable porting administration costs from Recipient/
Beneficiary Operators?
• Only incremental porting exclusive charges should be considered . Charges should be based on the most
efficient operator – inefficiency should not be rewarded
Set-Up Charges – Typically not recoverable & the responsibility of each
stakeholder
• Applies to Operators and Porting Vendor/ NPC
• Recovery my be considered if viewed to be in the best interests of the local consumers and market
23
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2011 –– not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 23

25. NP Vendor Charging Models L aurasia
Communications Consultants
Porting Transaction Based – Low risk to Operators/ High risk to NPC Vendor
• Per Port Basis – Initiated vs Successful?
• Minimum volume commitments?
• Discounted based on volume breaks?
• Ancillary charges – SMS/ messages etc
• Purely transaction based or combined with monthly fixed service charges?
Monthly Service Charge – Lower Risk to NPC Vendor
• Fixed monthly fee irrespective of porting volumes/ demands
• How to allocate across operators?
• Equally?
• Based on demand generation? Increases complexity and processing of cost allocations
Universal Porting “Tax” – Apply cost of porting service across the whole market
• Charging based on number of active subscribers or number blocks issued to operators
• Subscriber based - Can spread the cost of NP across the entire market – penalises consumers who do not port
• Number Ranges allocated – can significantly increase NP costs to the industry and force return of unused numbers
Set-Up Charges – NPC Platform Cost Recovery – Reduces risk to Porting Vendor &
Increases burden on the Operators
• Can be viewed as the Porting Vendor lacking commitment to NP
• Upfront NPC set-up charges can be negotiated to lower porting transaction charges
• Adds accounting complexity when new entrants join the NP party
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 24

26. Recent NP Charging
L aurasia
Approaches in Africa Communications Consultants
Ghana Kenya Nigeria
Set-up • Nil • Nil • Nil
Subscribers • 25 million • 30 million • 100 million
Porting charges • Between $0.80 - $2.50 • Around $2.00 • $1.20
• Monthly Service Fees • Transaction Charges • Transaction Charges
Only Only
Transactional charging models – NPC charges optimised via tender process
& benchmarked globally
NPC & Operator Set-Up cost recovery not allowed
Consumer charging – optional (Kenya/ Ghana) or not allowed (Nigeria) –
Competitive Reality – Porting is FREE
Reallocation of regulatory number charges? Nigeria?
21/05/2011 25
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 25

27. L aurasia
Communications Consultants
Examining the cost implications of
setting-up and managing the portability
approach
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 26

28. Implementing NP – Cost
L aurasia
drivers and considerations Communications Consultants
Number Portability is Expensive – typically between $0.7 million and $15 million per
operator to set-up & launch – cost driven by variety of different operator factors
Supporting NP has broad range of cost drivers and commercial implications
• Set-up costs
• Operating costs
• Inter-Stakeholder Porting Transaction costs
• Promotional Costs
• Customer Acquisition/ Retention Costs
• Product/ Service Market Value/ Pricing Impact
Implementing NP involves significant resourcing – internally & externally – typically
50 & 80 man months
Balancing Automated vs Manual Porting Approaches – CAPEX vs OPEX
Benchmark vendor costs – optimise value & insist on fixed priced deliverables to
avoid cost escalation
Cleary define and monitor costs directly attributable to NP implementation &
incremental NP activity
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 27

29. NP Impacts Every Part of the
L aurasia
Business/ Operations Communications Consultants
Core
Network
Security/ Business
Risk Mgt Systems/ IT
Procurement Marketing
Sales/
Roaming Channels
NP Product
Interconnect Management
Customer
Regulatory Services
Legal Finance
Credit
HR Control
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 28

30. Indicative NP L aurasia
Implementation Costs Communications Consultants
Routing solution - $300k to $5 million
Programme
Channels Management Billing system upgrade - $50k to $2 million
5% 2%
Marketing
Regulatory 10%
3% Interconnect system upgrade - $50k to $250k
Training Core Network
5% 40% Provisioning system automation - $50k to $300k
Programme Management – upto 6 man months
Business Business Systems
Processes 30% Business Process Development – upto 30 man
5%
months
Regulatory support – upto 5 man months
Routing & Porting Testing – upto 10 man
months
NP Training – 1-8 hours per employee
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 29

31. Impact of NP on Profitability
L aurasia
& Revenues Communications Consultants
- Potentially reduced or increased subscriber base…
- Net Recipient or Net Donor?
- Reduction in multi-SIM subscribers – targeting the main/ incoming SIM
- Potentially increase traffic – customer demand for voice/ SMS/ data
encouraged by better value driven by competition from 3% to 100%!
- Alignment of On Net/ Off Net tariffs?
- Better value encourages greater use
- Offering increased value to entice customers to stay or port
- Handset Subsidies – Post Pay (Retention) & CDMA/ GSM migration programmes
- Recharge Bonuses
- On-Net & Roaming Promotions
- Refer a Friend/ Competitions
- Increased promotional & marketing costs
- Advertising
- ATL (Above The Line) & BTL (Below The Line) – marketing and outbound sales
activities
- Channel promotional activity
- Press & media education campaigns
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 30

32. NP works in Africa? L aurasia
Communications Consultants
• Access to porting is a right? But launching NP is very expensive
• NP drives increased value into markets
• Opportunities for market share gain or lose
• Stimulates increased traffic & demand
• Differing demand for NP services across Africa
• Market penetration
• Porting cost to consumers
• Porting timeframe and process complexity
• Consumer awareness & operator marketing
• Industry readiness
• Launching NP is a complex and risky activity requiring detailed
engagement across the stakeholders. Launching NP takes time
• Regulator plays a key role in launching NP successfully
• Africa is driving best global practice in efficient NP
• Specific challenges in Africa
• Alignment to SIM registration
• GSM vs CDMA
• Making porting available and easily across the country
• Security vs efficiency
• Don’t re-invent the wheel! – Re-use and adapt
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 31

33. Laurasia Associates
L aurasia
NP Credentials Communications Consultants
- Jamaica - 2012 – Current – LIME, Jamaica - Number Portability Consultancy
- Kazakhstan - 2012 – Current – Ministry of Communications, Kazakhstan/ Ernst &
Young – Mobile Number Portability Consultancy
- Turks & Caicos Islands - 2012 – Current - Turks & Caicos Islands Telecommission,
Turks & Caicos - Number Portability Consultancy
- Bahamas - 2012 – Current - Utilities Regulation & Competition Authority (URCA),
Bahamas - Number Portability Consultancy
- Nigeria - 2010 - Current Nigerian Communications Commission / KPMG - Mobile
Number Portability – Number Portability Consultancy & Programme Management
- Cayman Islands - 2011 - LIME, Cayman Islands - Number Portability Consultancy
- Ghana - 2010 – 2011 - Vodafone – Ghana –Mobile Number Portability Programme
Management
- Gibraltar - 2009 - 2012 GibTelecom – Gibraltar – Number Portability Consultancy
- Kenya - 2010 – 2011 Safaricom – Kenya – Mobile Number Portability Consultancy
- Qatar - 2010 Vodafone – Qatar - Number Portability Consultancy
- Bermuda - 2010 Keytech Group – Bermuda - Number Portability Consultancy
- Isle of Man - 2009 Manx Telecom – Isle of Man – Mobile Number Portability
Programme Management
- Channel Islands - 2008 Airtel Vodafone – Guernsey/ Jersey – Mobile Number
Portability Programme Management and Regulatory Consultancy
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 33

34. Laurasia Associates
L aurasia
Consultancy Services Communications Consultants
- Number Portability :-
- End-2-End Number Portability Development and Implementation Programme Management;
- Specialist Network, Business System, Process, Retail and Regulatory Consultancy;
- Operational and Regulatory Impact Assessment;
- Regulator Engagement; and
- Non Telecommunications Switching and Portability
- Regulatory Consultancy :-
- Spectrum utilization;
- Statutory regulated accounting;
- Licence application;
- Mobile network design, roll-out and launch;
- Mobile Money Regulation
- SIM registration
- E-Gaming regulation & operation
- Wholesale product and commercial framework;
- Termination and transit charging;
- Roaming;
- Interconnection;
- MVNO;
- Mobile site safety and planning: and
- Site sharing
© Laurasia Associates Limited 2012 – not to be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Laurasia Associates limited 34