The much-anticipated mobile-number portability service appears to have gotten off to a lukewarm start after the nation's three major telecom players intentionally played down the new service to safeguard their turf.
The new service, launched last month, allows mobile users to switch operators by paying NT$240 (US$7.15) for the transfer without changing their numbers. But most people have chosen to stick to the same company as no incentives, such as price reductions, have been offered by operators.
"The nation's three major mobile operators have reached consensus to play down the new service by keeping their charges at the original rates," said Yen Ming-shan (
The three big names have a total of 20 million mobile subscribers, while smaller rival Asia Pacific Broadband Wireless Communications Inc (
Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), Taiwan's biggest phone company, cut its voice rates by 70 percent to NT$0.03 per second only for users subscribing to the so-called F2 package, which allows its subscribers to call a set of 10 Chunghwa mobile numbers and six landline numbers at lower rates.
The rate is the same as the one Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (
The third-largest player, Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大), said it would not wage a price war to expand its customer base and did not expect the number-portability service to erode its bottom line.
"Without the previously anticipated price competition to sweeten the deal, the game is over," Yen said.
But there are always people interested in trying something new. Among the limited numbers of applicants for the new service, only a handful succeeded in changing their operators after overcoming numerous pitfalls.
"I was told that I can't switch operators because I have a contract with my current operator. The company seems to try to spite me, though I don't want to think that way," said a businesswoman surnamed Kao, who works in the services sector.
Kao said she only accepted the discounts the operator offers for heavy users, but did not sign any contracts.
Kao represents one of some 45,000 mobile users who failed to change their operators after the service came into effect.
Some 86,000 people filed for the number-portability service and less than half of the applicants, or around 35,000, were successful, according to the latest statistics released by the nation's telecom regulator.
In other words, less than 0.05 percent of local mobile users tried to change their carriers in anticipation of better service quality or lower rates.
"The public's response fell short of our expectations," said Hsiao chi-hung (蕭祈宏), an official at the public relations department of the Directorate General of Telecommunications.
The regulator has expected some 10,000 applications a day to switch operators, compared to some 2,000 now, according to Hsiao.
The result is also a far cry from that forecast by a survey conducted by Business Today (今周刊), a Chinese-language weekly, prior to the launch of the number-portability service.
The survey found that around 4 million, or 20 percent, of Taiwan's 200 million cellphone users were thinking of switching their service providers once the service had been implemented.
The regulator blamed the lukewarm response on the public's unfamiliarity with procedures in the initial phase and disputes over contract terms with operators.
Hsiao said they received some 10 calls a day requesting them to settle disputes. Companies who are found to have intentionally hindered users from switching operators will be fined up to NT$3 million, Hsio said.
But the market consensus is that the number-portability service would not shake up Taiwan's telecom market like it did in Hong Kong four years ago.
Daniel Hsiao (
The number-portability service would not trigger a massive operator transfer, though telecom latecomers are aggressively targeting users by offering premium handsets and cheaper rates, Hsiao said.
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