The total number of ported telephone lines by subscribers have hit 18,135 monthly, latest data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has revealed. The report provides details of outgoing and incoming porting lines by subscribers on the networks of the four Global System Communications System (GSM) operators. According to the study, the latest figure is the highest monthly number of ported lines recorded since the introduction of mobile number portability by NCC in April 2013. The MNP services was introduced to provide wider choices for mobile subscribers as they are able to switch from their existing network to another competitor’s network of choice depending on the quality of service they expect to enjoy. In terms of market share, the report shows that Etisalat, which is the last entrant into the Nigerian market, attracted the highest number of ported lines Ironically, MTN, which is the largest telecoms network in the country, is the grid with the least incoming ported lines.
According to the NCC data, of the total 18,135 lines that ported (incoming) in the latest report for May, Etisalat topped the table with 12,252 lines, the highest monthly gains so far by any operator since the NCC launched the MNP scheme in 2013. Next to Etisalat is Airtel, which gained 4,161 incoming ported lines while Globacom came third with 1,065 ported lines and MTN gained 657 lines. Following its launch in April 2013, the number of ported lines in the following month of May stood at 7,013. In June, July, August and September, the number of ported lines rose to 5,802; 6,753, 12,039 and 13,072 respectively. In October, November and December, 2013, the monthly figure also increased to 14,296; 7,830 and 5,850 in that order. The number of subscribers porting their telephone lines also continued to swell in 2014. As at January last year, the number of ported lines were 6,880, 7,080 in February, 13,383 in March, 14,183 in April, 9,365 in May, 10,325 in June and in July, 2014, the figure stood at 11,110.
By August 2014, the total number of monthly ported telephone lines was 13,878, 18,980 in September, 16,697 in October, 13,578 in November and 10,539 in December. By January, this year, the monthly ported lines stood at 14,330, 14,801 in February, 14,718 in March, 15,357 in April and in May, the figure stood at 18,071. Meanwhile, of the outgoing 18,071 ported telephone lines in May, MTN Nigeria recorded the highest number of 9,513 lines. This was followed by Airtel with 3,316 ported lines; Globacom and Etisalat came third and forth in outgoing lines standing at 3,253 and 1,989 respectively. According to analysts, major factor driving the decision of subscribers to port from network to another is the quality of service delivery provided by the receiving network.
It would be recalled that the NCC, had, in 2012, set a strict Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on Quality of Service (QoS) for telecoms operators and has continued to sanction operators for not meeting the QoS parameters. As such, NCC said that the NNP scheme was introduced to also boost competition among telecoms operators on the provision of quality of service while also providing wider choices for the subscribers. According to the Public Affairs Director, NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, MNP is a need-based value-added service for willing subscribers. He said: “MNP is not a compulsory service that people must subscribe to. If a subscriber sees a need for it, he or she may switch from his or her current network to another and if not, he or she remains on its current network. “So, you don’t expect a surge in MNP uptake since it is based on the decision of the subscribers to either port or not to port. Yet, I believe we are having impressive uptake, coming mostly from individuals who have seen a need to migrate. The beauty of porting services is freedom of choices,” Ojobo said.
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