Three months after the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) introduced the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) scheme, subscribers in the country insist they do not want the scheme.
Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune on the MNP scheme, a major stakeholder in the telecommunications sector, who preferred not to be identified or quoted, described the scheme as a “total waste of time,” while insisting that the scheme would not work.
Similarly, Stephen Ademola, a subscriber, said he was “totally against the scheme from the outset,” while adding that “ no one is porting because the networks are all the same.”
He said he had four SIM cards and, therefore, if one failed to work, he would immediately switch to another.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS), in a letter issued to the Association of Licensed.
Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), requested for compensation for all subscribers in Nigeria, who, it said, had suffered poor quality service from the service providers in the last 12 years.
President of NATCOMS, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, in the letter, insisted that Nigerians should be fully rewarded and compensated for the huge number of years they had coped with poor services by various service providers.
Ogunbanjo, therefore, suggested that each subscriber be given a sum of N5,000 free airtime by their respective operators “after 12 years of groaning inpains as a result of poor quality service of the telecommunications operating companies.”
According to him, some of the network problems which Nigerians have been battling with for years include, drop calls, fluctuating calls, call disconnection from service providers, payment for un-sent SMS, subtle deduction of subscribers’ airtime and, It will be recalled that part of the guidelines issued by the NCC when MNP was launched on the 22nd April 2013, was that a subscriber would be only allowed to re-port his line after using the new network for 90 days. But this, according to information gathered, has been a bone of contention among subscribers and the regulatory body.
The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah had at the launch, said the portability scheme would help subscribers to be at liberty to “fire or hire” any operator by switching from one service provider to another without having to buy a new SIM card.
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NCC the idea of porting is a very good idea. For it to work, it must be made very very easy for usuers to port from there phones conveniently without having to go to the respective telecommunication companies for registration. Trust Nigerian's, No one will want to liv there confort zone to register for porting. Modern phones has that module for porting already. The telecommunicatn company's should be made to open/enable there lines for porting.
ReplyDeleteFrom my own observation lots of nigerians want to port their line but the inconviniencies of going to respective network office for porting is one issue another one is large number of people waiting in line to speak with the network customer care representative and sometimes the patience to wait on queue might not be there, I will suggest that porting should be made more easier either through network short code or made available on our various phones
ReplyDeleteI live overseas but I took time to register my number when I visited the country. Thereafter if I want to change network I tell the new provider my number. The only probelm I find is my leftover credit is stolen by the network after when I get back to my base overseas. I don't think that is fair or legal. Well where the lawmakers get free credits from these Telco, it goes without saying the poor citizens like myself should pay for their freebies. Allah dey.
ReplyDeleteIt is not true that subscribers have rejected mobile number portability. The only issue is that, like previous commenters have already said, the porting process needs to be made easier. For me, it should be possible to re-port after 14 days and not 90 days as currently obtains. Mobile number portability is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteI ported from Glo to Airtel but the process was too cunbersome. It took about 10 days. NCC should pls fine tune the process.
ReplyDeleteNumber portability is very much welcomed. Thank you!
ReplyDelete