MTNN is ready for Number Porting - Goodluck

Wale Goodluck, Corporate Services Executive, MTN Nigeria

Leading Mobile Network Operator (MNO) in the country, MTN Nigeria has reiterated its readiness for the proposed Mobile Number Porting (MNP) due to start this year.

Telecommunications regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has for years now been restrategising on how best to implement MNP in the country and even licensed a porting operator to coordinate the service.

Experts at Wikipedia say that MNP is implemented in different ways across the globe, whereas the International and European standard is for a customer wishing to port his or her number to contact the new network, the recipient, which then sends the number portability request to the current network, described as the ‘Donor’ and also, known as 'Recipient-Led' porting.

An instances of where porting is already in existence include the United Kingdom and India are the only exceptions to implement the Donor-Led system.

“We are ready for number portability,” Wale Goodluck, Corporate Services Executive, MTN Nigeria, declared to Nigeria ICT media at a section in Lagos, including DigitalSENSE Business News, at the weekend.

Additionally, he said, “we are not afraid of Mobile Number Portability.  We are looking forward to it. We are excited about the Mobile Number Portability.“

Goodluck reiterated that Porting is good but experience has shown that after the initial excitement it will die down.

He also said that MTN Nigeria plans to invest more on all fronts including data and voice platforms.

According to him, voice is king and will remain king for a while, even as data is a prince and will have some time to grow.

In line with this, he said that MTN Nigeria targeted to install more base stations so as to improve services to the tune of 5,528 sites.

Presently, he disclosed that MTN has completed modernization and upgrade of 4,615, lamenting that over 500 base stations were destroyed, noting that some of them have been reclaimed, but most were not reclaimable because of the level of destruction by the Boko Haram Terrorist group last year.

MTN, Goodluck said last year earmarked the sum of $1.3 billion, about N205,4 trillion on the Capital Expenditures (CAPEX) and actually spent $1.65bn, that is roll-over from 2011 and 2012.

Additionally, he disclosed that the CAPEX for 2013 is $1.583bn.

Remmy Nweke /DSBNews

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