UNDERSTANDING MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY

Mobile Number Portability or MNP simply put, is a process expected to allow a network subscriber the access to switch from one network to another if he/she is dissatisfied with the service his current network is offering without having to change his phone number- that is his identity.

With the same number therefore, a different network service can also be accessed if a subscriber is moving to a particular area where their original telecoms service provider does not have presence or sufficient service.

MNP is said to be a tool to promote competition among subscribers; it allows dissatisfied subscribers port their mobile numbers from one network to another, while retaining their original identity (mobile numbers). It is also viewed as the required antidote to poor service quality that had been a burdened on the Nigerian subscribers over the last one year.

Stakeholders believe that the service will deepen the competition in the market which will in turn drive network stability, as well as aid the growth of the sector. This is because operators will compete for subscriber’s loyalty, by coming up with all kinds of incentives that will lure subscribers to them, and make them (subscribers) stay or join the network.

It can be said that Mobile Number portability has been a huge success around the world, because it helps to level the playing field by giving all operators more opportunities to grow their subscriber bases and revenues.

As part of the advantages of MNP - James Wild, a United Kingdom base consultant with KPMG said that such innovation will give the 94 million subscribers in Nigeria the much needed “flexibility and freedom.” According to Wild, as mobile services become more critical to our lives, “mobile number portability will encourage service providers to work harder for the customers, add more value and bring innovation and new services as well.”

He said the technology will enable customers move out of “shackles where they will no longer be captives” to the network operators. The ultimate goal of MNP as he puts it is to enable subscribers move their unique number identity, which he described as a critical identity, to their choice network where they feel better served, without facing the risk of losing their initial mobile number.

Although contrary to some stakeholder’s opinion that the planned introduction of mobile number portability will not make any impact on quality of service (QoS), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has again expressed high hopes that it will create the right level of competition, which is needed to deepen network operator’s commitment to its subscribers. With the foregoing, what would you as the subscriber say, will MNP be the ultimate panacea to the instability in the telecom sector?