Stories by Olabisi Olaleye
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On April 22, Mobile Number Portability (MNP), will be three years old after its epic launch in Lagos that ushered in the most creative lyrics: ‘I don port o’. OLABISI OLALEYE in this write-up x-rays the gainers and losers of porting as well as the impact on Nigerians.
Three years down the line, mobile number portability (MNP), tried to change the face of telecommunications via subscribers migration to other networks and allowing telecom operators to be at alert. However, to whom much is given, much is expected. In spite of the documented gainers and losers in MNP, Nigerians still believe that there is still more to do in the area of quality of service (QoS), and uninterrupted data.
While applauding the telecoms regulator for its steadfastness, Nigerian subscribers appeal for better service delivery, while saying that they may still port to other newer networks since they are yet to be satisfied with the current services handed down by telecoms operators.
MNP enables mobile telephone users to retain their mobile telephone numbers when changing from one mobile network operator to another.
However, the reality on ground negates that of the data recently released by the telecoms umpire, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), on its website.
According to industry critics, the idea of porting is to increase efficiency and competition but most of these operators still do business as usual with quality of service (Qos), still struggling to be better and many telcos are striving to meet up with key performance indicator (KPI).
Already, the industry statistics for February 2015 to January 2016 revealed that subscribers who ported out of MTN Nigeria and Airtel are higher given the data as 8,430 (January 2016),10,739 (Dec, 2015), 10,073 (Nov 2015), 11,414(Oct, 2015) and 3,409 (May 2013) as against Airtel Nigeria 4,396 (Jan), 3,188(Dec), 3,086 (Nov), 3,056 (Oct) and 1,190 (May 2013), respectively.
Although subscribers who ported out of Globacom and Etisalat Nigeria are not many going by NCC’s statistics. Etisalat recorded 976 (Jan),1,739(Dec 2015),1,431(Nov),1,241(Oct) and 768 (May), while the Second National Carrier, Globacom also recorded 1, 065 (Jan), 2,092 (Dec), 2,377(Nov),1,703 (Oct) and 1,646 (May 2015), respectively.
The beauty of MNP is to bring new dimension to the competition in the industry. And in a gregarious way, all network operators will have to work harder to earn the trust of subscribers, because they will now have choices.
A subscriber, Opeyemi Mafe says, “MNP will definitely give consumers varieties of choice but the major issue is for them to improve their infrastructure and improve services, so that subscribers don’t have to be moving from network to network.”
Meanwhile, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Eugene Juwah assured that MNP will lead to tariff decrease and that the commission will ensure that the tariffs platforms on all networks is transparent.
Also commenting, NCC Director of Public Affairs, Tony Ojobo, said number porting had deepened competition so far and given subscribers a choice to switch networks without losing their unique numbers, which he cited as one of the gains of the commercial roll out of GSM.
Ojobo said in 2013 that within the first month after the April launch of number porting, among an overall number of subscribers that switched service providers in the telecoms market, MTN topped the losers table when it recorded a 49 per cent switch to other networks.
However today, MTN may not have gained much incoming subscribers with 450(Jan, 2016), 436 (Dec 2015), 735(Nov), 1,068 (Oct), and 711(May 2013) as against Etisalat 6,329(Jan), 12,384(Dec), 12,346(Nov), 11,231(Oct), and 3,149 for the month of May in 2013.
While Airtel has 5,280(Jan), 2,885(Dec), 3,445(Nov), 3,074 (Oct) and 2,095 (May), as against Globacom of 2,589(Jan), 2,037 (Dec), 1,735 (Nov), 979(Oct) and 1,209(May).
Some subscribers who spoke to Daily Sun said that Etisalat seems to have improved on its network unlike others but though needs to improve on its data, which fluctuates in some areas.
Ronnie Ibinabo noted that there is no network that is absolutely perfect but the ability to manage the surge and keep up with challenges determines the best network.
“For now, NCC’s statistics says Etisalat network is best considering the incoming subscribers through porting. But it doesn’t keep up that trend, it may still lose to newer networks like Smile and Ntel”.
For Aniete Udom, he disclosed that no network is perfect but being able to manage their subscribers will boost efficiency, saying, “They all need to change and stop sending arbitral messages and unnecessary deductions.NCC has given it to Etisalat,we are still watching. Other subscribers are willing to port to other newer networks as long as they can be given better services”.
Smile set to utilise unified licence via voice
Although, Smile Communications Nigeria Limited is known for data but the company has joined the leagues of other telecoms operators and has introduced two 4G LTE innovations to its customers: SmileVoice and SmileUnlimited.
Smile is the first operator in West Africa to offer its customers Voice over LTE services, giving them access to the fast growing Global standard for voice and video calling.
According to the company during a media briefing, SmileVoice comes in two options; using a world-first downloadable free mobile App that affords customers with a Smartphone Android and Apple iPhone device the ability to make Super Clear voice calls over Smile’s 4G LTE network, or through the use of VoLTE-enabled handsets plus a Smile SIM card, while Smile Unlimited offers customers 30 days of unlimited access to a superfast 4G LTE mobile broadband service.
Managing Director, Smile Nigeria, Mr Michiel Buitelaar reiterated that the company had its first Voice over LTE calls in Nigeria during beta-testing in October 2015 and the feedback from existing customers since its soft-launch early February has been extremely positive.
“Thousands of our customers now make national and international voice calls using their data bundles. Any unlimited offering is subject to a fair usage policy (FUP). Smile’s FUP is very generous when compared with other local offers and ensures that connectivity is maintained throughout the 30-day period. Not only is Smile’s pricing more affordable than that of competitor narrowband offerings, but Smile’s superior experience of true broadband makes Smile Unlimited a fitting application of Smile’s value proposition of speed, quality, reliability and simplicity.
“The free Smile Voice App is a world-first, enabling customers that don’t have VoLTE-capable handsets to make reliable Voice over LTE calls when connected to Smile’s mobile broadband network. “In the Nigerian market, Android is the leading handset and together with the free SmileVoice App, we are ensuring that all our registered customers have a way to experience high-quality voice calls from their mobiles”.
On the current interconnect debt, Chief Marketing Officer of the company, Alero Ladipo said that she was aware that debt is huge, while acknowledging that Nigeria is 98 per cent prepaid and that most companies do not pay the interconnect fees when these fees have been deducted from subscribers. She, however, maintained that transparency is the standard of Smile and won’t be found in such situation.
Also speaking, Chairman Smile Communications Nigeria, Dr Ernest Nnaemeka Azudialu-Obiejesi harped that Smile is committed to improving the quality of voice and data services in Nigeria. With Smile Voice our customers can call anyone locally and in the world just like on any other mobile.”