Nigerian GSM and other telephone subscribers will be able to migrate from one network to another and still retain their telephone numbers, after a successful test run of the number portability project, which will commence next month, BusinessDay has learnt.
A consortium of three firms, appointed as operator of the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) scheme, is already finalising supervision at their back end office, and integrating with the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) data centre, where all the SIM cards are captured.
Tony Ojobo, director public affairs, NCC, confirmed the new date for the MNP commencement yesterday in an exclusive interview with BusinessDay.
Test running of the scheme, according to him, would commence in December, when all the fine-tuning of the proceeses is expected to be concluded.
“From December of this year, we are going to commence experimenting, which means that we will begin to fine-tune all of the processes, so that when we take off, we don’t have hitches. So we are dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s- checking the connection between networks, and the MNP operator, and also the connection between the MNP and the data centre, where you have all the data of the subscribers captured. The testing is going to take about a month. Then by the first quarter of 2013, the MNP regime will take off. So that is where we are, as at today,” Ojobo told BusinessDay.
MNP enables mobile telephone users to retain their numbers when changing from one mobile network operator to another. MNP is implemented in different ways across the globe. The two providers in an MNP transaction are called the ‘Recipient’ (new provider) and the ‘Donor’(old provider).
We have captured all the SIMs. What is also being finalised of course, is the cleaning, scrubbing of data to identify some of the data that may have been mismatched. This is going to take place sometime between the ending of November and December.
Ojobo, in an exclusive interview with BusinessDay, described the proposed MNP as a “power of choice” that will further deepen competition and eliminate the shoddy services that are being witnessed from the providers currently.
“The excitement we have about this is that there is competition in the market already, but we believe that MNP will further deepen the competition. As it is today, the brand loyalty is sort of supericial or forced, because the customers are forced to stick to the networks, even when they do not like them, because of the fear of losing their contacts”. He however explained that with the MNP, the customer has the power of choice.
“How the MNP works, is that in the event that a customer feels dissatisfied with his service provider, he can indicate that he wants to port his number to another network, and within a specified number of days, that is supposed to happen. Then, when he ports to another network, he has 90 days before he can finally move to another network”.
He explained that the Commission was in the know that the network providers are preparing for the imminent fierce competition, and will begin to woo their customers with all kinds of strategies, just to retain them on their networks.
“The implication is that if you are a network provider and you begin to lose customers to another network and that information is in the public domain, what happens is that it is an organisation that possibly has its’ shares quoted in the stock exchange, it can actually affect the price of their shares, to tell you how serious it is,” he further stressed.
Wale Goodluck, corporate services executive, MTN Nigeria, told Business Day: “We are aware that the scheme will go live in the first quarter of 2013. In view of this, we are prepared and looking forward to the commencement of the scheme. As I speak, all systems are ready to go. I think mobile number portability will empower the subscriber. It will drive value along customer relations, innovative product offerings. It can only be good for Nigeria’s telecoms industry.”
Osondu Nwokoro, director, regulatory and government affairs, Airtel Nigeria, told Business Day: “Airtel is ready for the scheme. The regulator has already set up a group to ensure compliance and readiness for the scheme. It is indeed a welcome development in the telecoms industry. It will drive competition in the industry because if an operator fails to provide good quality of service, a telecoms subscriber has the freedom to switch to another network. It will definitely spur all operators to provide services at an optimal level.
Source: Business Day
March 09, 2013, 06:03:03 PM