There has been clamour by Global System for Mobile communications subscribers in the country for the regulatory authority in the industry to implement number portability, which is believed to be panacea to the lingering quality of service issues. This report looks at benefit and challenges in implementing the system in Nigeria.

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has severally indicated its intensions to introduce number portability in the telecommunications sector this year as a move to check poor quality of service, anti competitive behavour by operators as well as ensure economic growth through telecommunications service delivery.

Number portability is a circuit-switch telecommunications network feature that enables end users to retain their telephone numbers when changing service providers, service types, and or locations.

Wireless number portability (WNP) when fully implemented nationwide by both wireline and wireless providers, portability will remove one of the most significant deterrents to changing service, providing unprecedented convenience for consumers and encouraging unrestrained competition in the telecommunications industry. Observers believe that, this is the best method to increase the efficiency of the service provider by increasing the competition, thereby ensuring better services in all respects.

From the subscribers’ perspective, this is a deceptively simple and very welcome change, because they can change wireless service providers without worrying about notifying friends, family and business contacts that their wireless number is changing. In addition, being able to ‘port’ a number from one provider to another eliminates the hassle and expenses of changing business cards, stationery, invoices and other materials for businesses.

From the wireless carrier’s perspective the change is anything, but simple. Virtually all of wireless carriers’ systems are affected. Especially any system that relies on mobile identity numbers (MINs) or mobile directory numbers (MDNs) will be affected. Examples of critical systems and processes that would be affected are: billing, customer service, order activation, call delivery, roamer registration and support, short messages service center, directory assistance, caller ID, calling name presentation, switches, maintenance and CSC systems, home location registers (HLRs), and visiting location registers (VLRs).

According to Thomas Mazzone, vice president, Sales and Alliances Telcordia Interconnection Solutions, Number Portability types include, service provider portability; this is the ability for end users to retain the same geographic or non-geographic telephone number as they change from one Operator to another such as toll-free.

Location portability is the ability for end users to retain the same geographic or non-geographic telephone number as they move from one permanent physical location to another, while service portability refers to the ability for end users to retain the
same geographic or non-geographic telephone number as they change from one type of service to another.

Mazzone added that key drivers for number portability are deregulation and introduction of competition globally, enhanced competition among operators, introduction of new bundles of services as well as creation of downward pressure on prices.

He explained that further that the system makes it easier for newer entrants to gain market share and also enhances the concept of personal mobility like personal terminal.

Engr. Ernest Ndukwe, executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said that number portability will empowers subscribers to manage their "personal brand" with freedom to change operators, enables fair competition amongst operators and allow innovation to flourish with greater return on investment.

"It will reward creative marketing, service features, pricing models, and high quality with growth in subscriber numbers, revenue, and ARPU," he added. Overview

Though it was introduced as a tool to promote competition in the heavily monopolized wireline telecommunications industry, number portability became popular with the advent of mobile telephones, since in most countries different mobile operators are provided with different area codes and, without portability, changing one’s operator would require changing one’s number. Some operators, especially incumbent operators with large existing subscriber bases, have argued against portability on the grounds that providing this service incurs considerable overhead, while others argue that it prevents vendor lock-in and allows them to compete fairly on price and service. Due to this conflict of interest, number portability is usually mandated for all operators by telecommunications regulatory authorities. In the US, LNP was mandated by the FCC in 1996 with the First Report and Order on LNP and Number Pooling. The mandate required all carriers in the top 100 MSAs (metropolitan statistical areas) to be "LNP-capable" and port numbers to any carriers sending a BFR (bona fide request). The ability to keep a number while switching providers is thought to be attractive to consumers. It was also a major point made by CLECs (Competitive Local Exchange Carriers) preventing customers from leaving Incumbent Line Exchange Carriers (ILECs), thus hindering competition.

In the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has mandated this in order to increase competition among providers. As of late November 2003, LNP was required for all landline and wireless common carriers, so long as the number is being ported to the same geographical area or telephone exchange. This latest mandate included carriers outside the top 100 MSAs that theretofore enjoyed a rural carrier exemption.

In the United States and Canada, mobile number portability is referred to simply as WNP or WLNP (Wireless LNP). In Japan and Pakistan it is referred to as mobile number portability, (MNP)[1].Wireless Number Portability is available in some parts of Africa, such as South Africa which is the fourth-fastest growing mobile communications market in the world. The country’s three cellular network operators – Vodacom, MTN and Cell C provide telephony to over 39 million subscribers or nearly 80% of the population.

The introduction of number portability as well as the arrival in 2006 of Virgin Mobile, a virtual network service provider that operates in partnership with Cell C, has helped enhance competition. South African mobile companies are making inroads into Africa and the Middle East, with MTN leading with over 20 operations in these emerging markets. Egypt commenced the implementation of number portability on April 7, this year.The Inhibitors

Huge cost is one of the most common barriers in WNP implementation, within any country. Service Providers have been constantly bargaining for time, based on the cost factor, from their respective governments. Referring to the example of the US, where each of the large carriers would need to spend $50–60 million to institute the service and an equivalent sum to maintain it. The FCC on this plea gave wireless carriers in the US a year to resolve implementation issues. The experience of developed countries exhibits that local number portability for fixed wireline was introduced within two to three years of introduction of competition to incumbent state telcos. The cost estimate for the implementation of WNP in developed nations like the US can be very helpful for the other countries, who wish to think on the lines of number portability. To add on increased marketing costs are to be realized as the carriers look to lock up their current base before number portability is implemented, and then aggressively pursue the customers of other carriers thereafter.

Customer retention/increased competition issues: Every subscriber in a race to retain its customer would like to offer its customers best services so as to save them from porting. It’s like a blessing in disguise for the customers, as they would get better service irrespective of the carrier, albeit with the same number.

Infrastructure upgrade; to support WNP, a company has to upgrade both its hardware and software capabilities, which will amount to some cost. Software need to be upgraded to provide proper routing of calls. The carriers need to upgrade their networks to handle portability requests. The provider, which has its portability compatible would be expected to attract maximum customers and will emerge the winner.

Cost Recovery and Bill Reconciliation/Query Processing; when a customer plans to shift, the old service provider (OSP) has to perform a query to identify if there are any billing amounts pending, which they need to recover before the subscriber moves to the new service provider (NSP).

Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (Alton) said that number portability is a common practice all over the world; it is a feature that can be supported by networks. But, he said that the regulatory authority has not done well in its approach to introducing number portability as it has not carried operators along.

This some industry watchers attributed to refusal by operators to be apart of a forum organized by NCC to educated operators on implementation of number portability held last year.

Although some sections of stakeholders have describer the uninteresting attitude of operators especially Global System for mobile communications (GSM) operators to fear of losing subscribers in view of poor quality of service by such operators.

They argued that most Nigerian subscriber don’t want to change their mobile phone which their friends and business associates have known them with, which is responsible for them not willing to move to other service providers even when their network operator’s service delivery is poor.

Adebayo urged for stakeholders’ involvement to determining the commercial, engineering and administrative implication of number portability implementation.

As mobile subscribers in the country are anxiously waiting for the commencement of the implementation of number portability which will ensure an improved quality of service, observers caution that operators be carried along to ensure it smooth implementation for it to achieve the desire result as in other countries.