Nigeria Begins Mobile Number Portability March 26

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said it will flag off the much awaited Mobile Number Portability (MNP) service from March 26 to afford the telecom consumers the ability to choose or fire his or GSM service provider and still retain his or her number.

Tony Ojobo, director of Public Affairs of the commission, stated this during Channels Television’s flagship programme, Sunrise Daily, Friday.

“There will be a launch by the end of this month, we are going to flag it off. So we are looking at the 26th of March or there about”.

Ojobo said the  said service providers who try to woo consumers that have submitted request forms to another service provider will be dealt with by the commission.

The ability to choose or fire your GSM service provider is one whose time has come in Nigeria, and will only deepen competition among operators and improve service quality, so i think its a good one.
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The service however will not be available to consumers who haven’t registered their SIM cards.

Touted as the next big thing, proponents of mobile number portability said it will drive competition in the industry.

For instance, if an operator fails to provide good quality of service, a telecoms subscriber has the freedom to switch to another network.

It will definitely encourage all telecoms operators to provide services at an optimal level. Industry watchers are optimistic that the scheme would not only foster competition in the industry, but also throw up fresh opportunities for value added service providers.