MNP means consumers will have the ability to switch service provider while keeping their existing number.

“This tool will introduce greater levels of competition in the UAE telecom space and improve the level of service available for consumers,” Bhanu Chaddha, senior telecom analyst at research firm International Data Corporation, told Gulf News.

He said telecom markets in the GCC region have expanded significantly over the last decade, backed by progressive regulatory environments and conscious efforts by the regulatory authorities to stimulate competition.

IDC believes the launch of MNP to be a step in the right direction, as it could bring benefits to consumers in terms of lower service tariffs and improved quality of service (QoS), and also help regulatory authorities to stimulate value-based competition.

“An essential element in the health of the UAE’s mobile market is the ability of consumers to choose between competing providers. UAE mobile phone users have the right — if they wish — to retain their mobile telephone number and this is precisely the motivation behind the announcement at Gitex Technology Week 2013,” said Mohammad Nasser Al Ganem, TRA Director General, said in a statement

“UAE consumers have a real appetite for mobile devices with the nation currently exhibiting a smartphone penetration rate of 73.8 per cent and an even higher penetration of feature phones with a rate of 181 per cent. Mobile number portability will immediately increase competition in the UAE’s ICT market, expedite the switching process, and do so in a way that directly benefits the consumer,” he added.

The TRA has instructed both UAE licensees, Etisalat and Du, to enable MNP having already made the necessary technical procedural adjustments ahead of time. Upon these instructions, UAE’s licensees will move towards a “recipient-led” process and to do so within two months. Through adopting the new process, mobile number transfer will be handled solely by the new provider eliminating the need for the consumer to contact the previous provider to obtain a PAC code.

“In 2006, Oman became the first country in the region to introduce MNP. Saudi Arabia also implemented MNP around the same time, but the service was initially limited to subscribers of STC and Mobily and followed a number of cumbersome processes that generally resulted in port requests being declined by the donor operator,” Chaddha said.

Bahrain became the next GCC country to introduce MNP, in July 2011, while in Qatar, MNP was launched in February 2013.

In the UAE, he said the launch of MNP has been delayed several times due to technical issues and non-readiness of the operators. TRA of the UAE had planned to launch MNP by end of 2011.

Given the fact that a large majority of subscribers in the GCC countries prefer prepaid payment plans, IDC believes that MNP will only be a limited success in these countries.

“Prepaid subscribers have higher propensity to churn than postpaid customers, and are generally not worried about changing their numbers, which puts a question mark on the need for MNP in GCC countries,” Chaddha said.

Conversely, he said MNP is likely to result in operators becoming more customer focused and offering need-based and micro-segmented tariff plans. One direct benefit could be an improvement in the quality of customer service, which remains a key pain point in the region.