The Technology section is published with the support of Favbet Tech
During the last year and the entire period of MNP validity (the service started working in 2019 year) lifecell confidently holds the lead in the number of numbers transferred from the networks of other operators, according to NKEK statistics.
The number portability service with its full preservation, including the code to another mobile operator (MNP – Mobile Number Potrability) has been operating in Ukraine for the fifth year. During the entire period of its provision (from May 1, 2019 to February 1, 2024), 402,972 numbers were transferred to different networks. In absolute numbers, Kyivstar lost the most, but if we take into account the scale of each operator, then most often subscribers are fleeing Vodafone Ukraine.
According to NKEK statistics, the demand for the service is growing steadily every year – only 2022 stands out from the general trend, which is associated with the full-scale invasion of Russia.
Since the launch of the MNP service, lifecell has remained the absolute leader in the number of numbers transferred to its network. Thus, during the entire period of operation of the service, more than 261 thousand subscribers of other operators switched to lifecell – almost 65% of all “defectors”. In the first month of 2024 alone, there were 17,985 applications for changing operators, of which 13,963 were for subscribers transferring to lifecell. Most often, MNP subscribers who switch to lifecell choose the “Vilniy Life”, “Smart Life” and the regional “Potuzhny” tariffs.
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As for lifecell’s leadership in the number of ported numbers, the key to success was the operator’s numerous initiatives to simplify everything as much as possible (it was the first to introduce the ability to transfer without visiting stores and the transition to eSIM while maintaining the number, and had an even greater impact constant discounts and promotions – in fact, in the new tariffs for business, the operator offers “defectors” half the monthly fee on an ongoing basis, and as part of the “SuperFreeze” promotion (will be valid until March 31, 2024), MNP subscribers can lock in the reduced cost until the end years.
Recently, lifecell filed a lawsuit against Vodafone over the “Number Saving” service – the plaintiff believes that the service contradicts the requirements of current legislation, and Vodafone abuses it and does not release subscribers who want to change the operator using MNP. In this context, the statistics on the total number of applications for MNP number portability are quite interesting.
How many total subscribers do the “big three” mobile operators have (Kyivstar, Vodafone and lifecell)? Here are the data as of October 1, 2023 (the operators have not yet had time to report on the results of 2023):
○ Kyivstar — 24 million subscribers;
○ Vodafone Ukraine — 15.2 million subscribers;
○ lifecell — 9.1 million subscribers.
Given the data above, just over 400 thousand numbers transferred over a period of 5 years is not particularly impressive. Actually, this is quite expected – from the very beginning there were not so many people who wanted to change the operator. But this does not mean that the MNP service is useless (on the contrary, such an option never hurts). But this does not mean that the MNP service is useless (on the contrary, such an option never hurts).
The Technology section is published with the support of Favbet Tech
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