Mobile Portability Number (MNP)

MNP program officially launched yesterday by Minister of Telecommunication, Water and Energy.

People has to know that MNP or Mobile Number Portability is a system that allows you to switch your mobile phone carrier without changing your current phone number.

Here 2 comments from Telco players in Malaysia which are DiGi and UMobile. I'll try to get other 2 Telcos to comment later.

DiGi’s CEO, Johan Dennelind

"MNP puts Malaysia at par with developed nations in terms of our telecommunications offering. This is an industry milestone that sets to raise the bar on mobile user experience," he said.

Johan added, Liberating consumers with the freedom to choose the best value they deserve, DiGi is in a sweet spot where we have, and will continue to be, at the forefront in delivering value to customers, with the introduction of industry’s first such as One Low Flat Rate to all network across prepaid, postpaid and business segments.

Customers can expect the unexpected from DiGi in the coming days. DiGi will make it easy for customers to enjoy greater savings, better connection with friends and family, latest innovation, best rewards and to top it off, an excellent customer experience. The race has begun. We are excited at the opportunity to shake up the market again.

Based on my interview with him this morning, he is confident to keep DiGi's customer to stay with them and stressed his positively thinking for DiGi's valuable plans will attract others to switch to DiGi.

Upon that matter, newcomer in Telco industry, U Mobile announced its nationwide Mobile Number Portability (“MNP”) promotional offerings that enable mobile phone users to easily switch to U Mobile’s exciting rate plans and enjoy great benefits at no extra cost.

Commenting on the nationwide rollout of the MNP service, Oh-Kwang Jin, U Mobile Chief Executive Officer said, “We are excited with the rollout of the MNP service, as mobile services users across Malaysia will now be able to enjoy true freedom of choice and benefit more from the services available in the market. We are confident that our fresh and innovative offerings will be attractive to mobile phone users who want to ‘call the shots’ in getting more value from the services they subscribe to.”

“One example is an offering that we will introduce soon, where U Mobile subscribers will get to make calls and send SMSes at a very attractive rate,” Oh added.

Under U Mobile’s MNP Promotion, both prepaid and postpaid subscribers of other mobile service providers can switch to U Mobile’s rate plans with no processing fee , as well as enjoy RM10 credited to their new account .

U Mobile will also give a free U Mobile 018 Prepaid Starter Pack with RM10 top-up credit to pre-paid and post-paid subscribers who are unsuccessful in their applications to switch to U Mobile.

In addition, prepaid subscribers who switch to the U Mobile 018 Prepaid Plan will receive 10 SMS free-of-charge for every RM10 of usage , up to a maximum of 110 SMSes per top-up, until December 31, 2008.

The U Mobile 018 Prepaid plan is a hassle-free plan that lets mobile phone users pay for only what they use. Subscribers enjoy per second billing for video calls and voice calls.

To further provide great saving, U Mobile will soon launch a new offering that will enable all subscribers to make more calls and send more SMSes without having to worry about incurring expensive phone bills. In addition, U Mobile will also introduce soon a new phone bundling plan for subscribers to own handsets at affordable prices .

“U Mobile’s MNP Promotion makes it easy for mobile phone users to switch to any of our service plans, at no extra cost, and enjoy the many benefits we are offering as a dynamic service provider that continuously listens to its customers and is committed to meeting their needs,” said Oh.

Mobile phone users who want to find out more about the U Mobile MNP Promotion and switch to U Mobile’s service plans can do so at any of U Mobile’s service centres and appointed dealers nationwide. U Mobile’s MNP Promotion is open to all prepaid subscribers nationwide, and postpaid subscribers with a 3G handset in the Klang Valley .

Users can find out more about U Mobile’s service centres and appointed dealers at U Mobile’s website, www.u.com.my , or call the U Mobile Contact Centre at 018 388 131.