Japan: the "mobile number portability" little used despite its simplicity
The telephone operators Japanese feared an exodus of their subscribers ..
But more than one year after the entry into force of the "mobile number portability," which allows you to change operator while retaining its number, the lines of market share have hardly budged. Compared to other countries, the procedure in Japan is a prodigious simplicity.

The user who wants to switch to the competition need only visit a distributor multi-operators, such as consumer electronics hypermarkets Bic Camera, where an attendant will take care of everything: the number transfer, termination of previous contract, new subscription. The "good porting," document issued by the current operator to authorize the conservation of the number, is issued instantly and the change is effective immediately.

In France, the same process takes seven days minimum. In less than an hour, a customer can migrate NTTDoCoMo at KDDI and Softbank, or vice-versa, and stressed the store with a phone very high-end 3G and a half (3.5 G) in his pocket, and rutilant ready for use. In addition, delighted to have lifted a client to a rival, the operator often covers the newcomer welcome gift: terminal at a reduced price, nearly two months free data exchange volume unlimited, and so on.

Before the introduction of this system in October 2006, the inevitable abandonment of phone number in case of breach of contract was seen as the main obstacle to the mobility of customers. Industry experts and market research firms expected to about one-tenth of subscribers, finally feeling free to leave with their number, their Plate operator. Gambling lost: after one year, only 3% of more than 100 million customers have used their new right.

As a result, the rate of churn Japanese operators, which is engaged in a war without mercy, remains at extremely low levels (less than 2%), more than ten times lower than those suffered by many foreign players in the sector. According to several surveys, the loyalty of their Japanese provider of mobile services due to the fact that most customers are satisfied with the benefits.

In addition, for many loyal customers for many years to the same operator (sometimes more than 15 years), the migration would result in the loss of mountains of loyalty points accumulated and associated reductions, as well as by the loss of their sacrosanct e-mail address linked to their mobile subscription. As for the few disgruntled that the door flapping their service, they do not necessarily portability because the procedure is paid (2,100 yen, or 13 euros), and also because they overestimate the difficulty of the operation, according to the multi-vending operators.

Yet, in practice, those who cross the step, "are surprised by the simplicity of the modalities of implementation," said a dealer from Bic Camera. "Customers who divorce their operators have often been seduced by an offer attractive to a competitor," says a study conducted among subscribers of the three major operators (NTT DoCoMo, KDDI and Softbank) Brand Sokyu, an institute Research brands. "Close to finally see their bills increase because he has not grasped the complexity of the offers and options," however, the investigators add.