VietNamNet Bridge - D. Tuan from Hai Ba Trung district in Hanoi went to a post office recently to have his subscription switched from MobiFone to Viettel. After paying the fee of VND50,000, Tuan was told that he would be able to use the simcard provided by Viettel. 


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Mobile network operators have begun providing MNP service



Tuan later received a call from MobiFone. He was asked why he left the network. Tuan cited some reasons, and MobiFone’s officer reassured him that the problems would be settled very soon.

“I said the wave is weak, and the officer told me to give him my address, so that MobiFone would set up more BTS (base transceiver station) near my house, which will help solve the problem,” Tuan said.

“When I said the service fee is unsatisfactory, they (MobiFone) offered me a service package with big preferences provided I would continue using it for two more years,” he said.

The Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) held a meeting with mobile network operators, asking them to be transparent about information on their websites.

But Tuan refused the service. After three days, Tuan was informed that his registration for MNP (mobile number portability) service was rejected by the national network switching center. When Tuan called MobiFone to ask about the rejection, he was told that the information he had provided to the two network operators was different. 

The problem was that his identity card was granted in Hanoi, and it was recorded by MobiFone as ‘HN’. However, Viettel recorded his identity card as ‘HN0’.

In order to correct the information and turn ‘HN0’ into ‘HN’, Tuan once again had to see MobiFone officers for procedures.

“It took a lot of time and it was not simple as advertised by network operators,” he said.

Zing.vn quoted an anonymous mobile network operator as saying that only half of clients succeed with MNP service.

“Clients make different mistakes. They declare different addresses or misspell the names of cities and provinces,” she explained.

Bich Lien, 42, from Hoan Kiem district in Hanoi, confirmed that she was bothered with a series of calls from telcos which persuaded her not to leave. Lien also said that she was offered a service package with many preferences. However, she refused.

“Why didn’t the mobile network operator offer the preferential package before I decided to leave?” she said, adding that if she had not been informed about the departure, she would not have had the opportunity to enjoy preferences.

The Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) held a meeting with mobile network operators, asking them to be transparent about information on their websites.


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Hoang Hiep