Playing the long game to lure phone users



When consumers in the UAE gained the ability to retain their mobile phone numbers when switching carriers, a process known as "porting", it was at the behest of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority to encourage competition and improve services rather than something that was initiated by Etisalat or du.

This move was long overdue. By the time number portability was introduced on December 30 last year, consumers here caught up with an option enjoyed by every other GCC nation and most developed countries. Until then, changing mobile-services providers in the UAE had meant changing numbers – with all the inconvenience and disruption that entails – and the end result was a powerful disincentive that encouraged corporate complacency rather than genuine competition.

Since then, more than 60,000 applications have been made, but as The National has reported, only 23,000 of these have been processed. For phone users from other developed nations, who can port their phone numbers within an hour, this must seem baffling. The delays have been attributed to factors ranging from teething problems to the requirement that all outstanding debts to the former carrier have to be settled beforehand. The end result is a delay that acts as a further disincentive to those tempted to switch.

Few companies welcome greater competition because the winners are far more likely to be consumers rather than corporate profitability, but that is to miss the bigger picture – and the evolving nature of modern telecommunications markets. In the future, the default position will be that customers vacillate between carriers, searching for the best deal with the result that they will flip backwards and forwards between the major players.

For carriers to succeed in this environment, they will have no option but to play the long game, keeping themselves nimble and efficient – with prices and services to match – so that although customers might be tempted to leave for a competitor, they can eventually be lured back. Delaying a customer’s ability to switch will make them far less amenable to ever moving back in the future, damaging the company’s brand rather than preserving the customer base.

All this is part of the evolution and improvement in the UAE telecoms sector, from which ultimately customers and corporate efficiency stand to benefit.

'Saand Ki Aankh'

Produced by: Reliance Entertainment with Chalk and Cheese Films
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Prakash Jha, Vineet Singh
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Milestones on the road to union

1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar. 

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1:  Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.

July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.

August 6:  The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.

August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.

September 3: Qatar becomes independent.

November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.

November 29:  At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

November 30: Despite  a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa. 

November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties

December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.

December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.

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