A price war is expected to erupt in the local telecom sector in the coming months with the implementation of the mobile number portability service as the major industry players aim to prevent subscribers from switching to another network, industry experts said.
“Ultimately, Filipino consumers stand to gain from the MNP Act implementation. Beginning September 30, 2021, subscribers now have a choice to partner with a telecommunications provider they feel offers the best connectivity and customer experience possible,” said Edgardo Cabarios, deputy commissioner of the National Telecommunications Commission in a webinar titled “Breaking Free From Limitations Together: Successfully Navigating the Mobile Number Portability Act.”
“Meanwhile, these service providers can focus their strategies on coming up with the best plans, bundles and promos to gain customer loyalty based on current needs,” he said.
Cabarios said the agency is looking at whether there is a need to introduce MNP in the landline service.
Richard Mathew Dimagiba, vice president and head for postpaid marketing at Smart Communications Inc. said the implementation of the MNP Act ushered in exciting times for both the consumers and the different service providers.
“This will push all of us to present more innovative, personalized services, and customer experience touchpoints that will elevate our engagements with new and current subscribers,” he said.
Ermin Hamzic, product sales expert at Infobip, said this could be achieved if mobile service providers are agile enough when engaging with their customers.
“They now have the opportunity to be immersive when it comes to customer engagement and be hyper-aware of their evolving demands. This includes being highly responsive to all customer feedback, through whichever communications channel or platform that may be,” he said.
Hazic said he was expecting a “more competitive pricing” among Philippine telcos with the implementation of MNP service.