MobileNumberPortability technology to be implemented in Kazakhstan by 2015
ASTANA. May 15. KAZINFORM In the next two years it is planned to introduce in Kazakhstan the technology of MobileNumberPortability (MNP), which allows to switch to another mobile operator without changing the number, Kazakh Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Saken Sarsenov said in an exclusive interview for Primeminister.kz.
"Now we are developing a plan for the transition. In two years, we plan to gradually implement this technology. Why do so many people not want to change one operator to another? Because it is necessary to change the phone number they are accustomed to. And MNP will allow customers to switch to another mobile operator while preserving their phone numbers, including the prefixes 701, 777 and so on. By 2015, we plan to introduce the technology across Kazakhstan," Sarsenov noted.
According to the Deputy Minister, it is planned to launch MNP on a pilot basis in Astana in mid-2014.
MNP technology or "portability" of phone numbers will create conditions for competition between operators. "The big operators do not want to lose their customers and will be thinking about their rates," Sarsenov added.