4,000 Subscribers Switched Operators 48hrs after Launch of Number Porting

20 May 2013

By Emma Okonji

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has revealed that over 4,000 subscribers from the four GSM operators migrated with their lines to  other operators, within 48 hours after the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) was launched on April 22.

Director, Public Affairs at NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, gave the information at the weekend in Lagos, during the World Telecom and Information Society Day (WTISD) celebration organised by eWorld Magazine.

He said the quick response to the MNP service launch by subscribers was a pointer to the fact that Nigerians were actually waiting and eager to experience the service because of the many benefits associated with MNP.

The information released by NCC, was the preliminary report it got from Interconnect Clearing House of Nigeria (ICHN), the company with the hosting rights to manage exchange of traffic for MNP service in Nigeria.

“MNP brings a lot of opportunities for the subscriber and the operator and we are beginning to see these opportunities manifest. Operators are not willing to lose customers who are ready to port to another network at the slightest disservice that they receive from their service providers, and they are doing everything possible to retain customers on their networks, through the rendering of competitive and satisfactory services, as well as the introduction of value added services that will benefit their subscribers.” Ojobo said.

Narrating the experience of a subscriber who confided in him while he was travelling from Abuja to Lagos recently, Ojobo said the subscriber explained to him that he had been having challenges with his service provider for over one week and that he called the customer care line severally without any response.

The next thing the customer did, he added,  was to send a text message to the same customer care line, threatening to switch to another network if the challenges were not resolved.

Within five minutes that the text was sent, the customer received a call from the customer care, asking what the challenges were and that they were ready to resolve them,  he said. 

“That is the beauty of MNP, which has put so much power in the hands of the subscribers,” Ojobo said.
According to him, the 4, 000 subscribers that ported within 48 hours after the launch of MNP, was a preliminary report of what happened within two days that the service was launched, adding that more subscribers had since then been porting their numbers and enjoying the services.

He explained that since people port every day, the number kept increasing by the day.  
Ojobo called on Nigerians to embrace the initiative and make the best use out of it.
Highlight of the WTISD celebration was on how Nigerians could improve on road safety, using technology tools.

In his keynote address, Corps Marshal and Chief Executive, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Mr. Osita Chidoka, who was represented by an Assistant Corps Marshal (Operation) in the Lagos State Command, Mr. John Uduagha, thanked the organisers of the event for bringing the issue of road safety to all Nigerians.

He said the commission had been at the forefront of creating awareness on safety tips for Nigerians, adding that with the advent of technology, road accidents has greatly reduced.