Vietnam’s incumbent cellcos testing MNP

Vietnam’s three largest mobile operators have started testing mobile number portability ahead of its planned implementation in the nation by the end of the year.

Viettel, VinaPhone and MobiFone are conducting preparations for the introduction of MNP as part of a communications ministry edict to introduce the capability.

The ministry approved the MNP project in 2013, and the plan calls for its introduction this year in order to benefit consumers and stimulate competitiveness in the mobile market.

A mobile switching center has now been established to facilitate number porting and Vietnam’s Authority of Telecommunications plans to introduce a detailed implementation plan early next month.

According to ministerial guidelines, only mobile subscribers with numbers activated for at least 90 days will be able to port their numbers to other networks.

Vietnam has around 126.5 million mobile customers, so the MNP facilities that are introduced may need to be able to manage large volumes of switching requests.