CAT, AIS gain from number portability
CAT Telecom and Advanced Info Service (AIS) have emerged as the biggest winners from mobile-phone number portability after the service was launched in December 2010.
The requests from all cellular networks for number transfers as of January 16 had reached 401,053, of which 304,779 were completed.
The service, which was introduced by the forerunner of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), allows subscribers to switch networks and continue using the same mobile-phone number.
Clearinghouse Co was launched by five telecom operators to handle the service.
According to the NBTC, CAT benefited from the highest net gain during the period with 78,000 new subscribers, who had moved to either CAT’s My brand third-generation service or TrueMove’s H brand 3G service operated by Real Move. CAT is providing 3G capacity to Real Move to provide the service.
AIS scored a net 54,000 subscribers from mobile-number transfers.
Suffering net subscriber losses were Total Access Communication (DTAC) with 5,000, Digital Phone Co (DPC) with 12,000 and TrueMove with 110,000. A net loss suggests that the number of acquired subscribers is lower than the number of exiting customers.
Takorn Tantasit, secretary-general of the NBTC, said yesterday that the NBTC could not disclose the net number of acquired customers and exiting customers of each cellular network via number transfers, as the information is confidential. The watchdog can only reveal the net gains and losses.
An NBTC source said the concessions of both DPC and TrueMove would end next year. DPC, which is an AIS subsidiary, and TrueMove, which is in the same True Corp cellular business as Real Move, are believed to have encouraged their subscribers to migrate to AIS and Real Move before their concessions end.
AIS also boasts large network coverage.
It is hard to say whether DTAC customers switched to other networks because DTAC’s network experienced problems three times during the past several weeks, the source added.
The NBTC is expected to complete the report at the end of this month on the number of DTAC customers who left for other networks since its network incurred its first problem on December 21.
