Power and change
mobile number portability is finally here! Indian consumers have been
promised so much and given so little over the years (especially in
M terms of telecom and broadband service regulations) that it’s a little
difficult to digest how easy the process seems to be. Ever since the
topic of portability first came up, sporadic, half-hearted discussions about which
service providers stand to win and lose have sprung up time and again, with
people wistfully imagining a world in which this promise might come true. Now
that it has, conversations have taken on a dramatically different tone. It’s the
hottest topic everywhere.
We’ve all lost touch with people at some point in our lives because of
inaccurate contact information. It isn’t possible to avoid changing phone
numbers and email addresses all the time. For most people though, a mobile
phone sticks with them no matter where they live or who they work for.
No one needs to be reminded that India is the largest growing and most
exciting mobile phone market in the world. Even with seven or eight service
providers in each major city, there’s no dearth of customers. Older players could
stand to lose customers who have only stuck on because of the headache of
changing numbers. Newer players who can’t keep up with customer service
might lose customers to the more established brands.
Apart from those who will switch only because they are miffed about being
on hold with customer service for too long, there are plenty who genuinely need
to change providers but have too much at stake to risk being unreachable. The
list includes people who have moved to new neighborhoods only to discover
there’s no phone reception in their new homes; people who have arbitrarily been
switched from one billing plan to another and can’t fight back; people who’d like
to take advantage of better pricing for roaming or data usage… As the simple
rules of economics play out, the service providers who truly earn and deserve
their customers’ repeat business will profit the most.
Suddenly, we can exercise our rights! Stick it to the uncaring corporations!
Switch without any penalties and watch as the tyrannical service providers
who have taken us for granted all these years tremble in fear! Or, more
reasonably, those of us who don’t have any long-standing need to make a
move can lie back and enjoy the benefits. Customer rewards clubs will
almost certainly start popping up, with extraordinary benefits for those who
stay loyal to a provider for years together. We can look forward to discounts,
coupons, free value-added services, enhanced customer support, and any
number of tricks, much like frequent flier clubs or credit card reward point
schemes. New customers won’t be the only ones wooed with free gifts
and special schemes.
It’s a superb step towards consumer empowerment. It’s win-win all
the way.
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