Plans
have been concluded to assemble Nigeria's leading lights and
stakeholders in the telecommunications sector in Lagos for a one day
forum on the implementation of the proposed Mobile Number Portability
(MNP) by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) this year.
The event which is the
first in the Nigerian ICT Agenda Summit Series is a breakfast session
tagged Number Portability – opportunities and pitfalls, and is from the
stables of frontline communications managers and publishers, Private
Media Mart Limited in partnership with Princelink Communications. This
event, billed to hold on the 26th of September at Golden Gate Ikoyi
Lagos, is meant to review the development of the telecoms sector since
liberalisation and the role number portability will play in fashioning
the way forward for the sector.
According to the organizers, the event will seek to answer pertinent questions to clear the air on number portability and the way and manner the policy will affect both the operators and subscribers. Some of the areas to discuss by eminent personalities include setting realistic agenda for the operation of number portability scheme in Nigeria. To achieve this, the Managing Partner of Private Media Mart limited (publishers of TechBrandReview newsletter), Ejiofor Agada stated that the NCC and other notable telecoms stakeholders such as telcos, database management companies, the media and members of the public would participate and present reports of their positions while pointing the way forward for number portability.
By the last quarter of this year, Nigeria would join many other countries of the world to launch the Mobile Number Portability, making it possible for a Nigerian subscriber to migrate from one network apparently having poor services to another which he feels is better, without losing his original phone number.
However, experience has shown that new offerings like this hardly experience general acceptance, not because they are not good, but because very salient facts of the offerings are not thoroughly ironed out between the implementers and the final consumers. Much information about the new offerings is always hidden to the consumers, fuelling suspicion, hesitation and in most cases outright rejection.
With this hindsight, PMM and Princelink Communications as organizers of this one-day forum, will use the avenue to discuss and trash out grey areas on the implementation of Mobile Number Portability in Nigeria.
In the words of Mr Agada, “This event is also meant to analyse and review the porting standard that will be employed in implementing MNP in Nigeria; whether it is the Recipient or Donor led- models”. “The one day event will also task implementers on what call routing method the Nigerian operation will take, considering that there are All Call Query and Indirect Routing methods, also with peculiar effects” he said.
Subscribers and stakeholders would also be able to query the implementers on how long it will take to port a mobile number in Nigeria, as well as what ICT infrastructure, products and platforms would be relevant in the MNP” he added.
Agada also said that the event will afford the regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, and other stakeholders involved in the implementation, the opportunity to educate the public on the very vast areas of this service, pointing out that it was unfortunate that the regulator has so far not adequately carried stakeholders along in fashioning modalities for MNP.
The event Coordinator, Mr Prince Osuagwu, who is an award-wining veteran ICT media professional, said that the event would provide a turnaround in the way people are consulted before major policies are implemented. “The reason people seem to criticise or kick against every policy, particularly in the ICT sector is that they are not taken into account, ab initio. We are trying to create a paradigm shift with this forum. Subscribers would be permitted to ask questions, operators would be allowed to say how convenient MNP can be to them and the regulator would be tasked to educate all on its plans”.
According to the organizers, the event will seek to answer pertinent questions to clear the air on number portability and the way and manner the policy will affect both the operators and subscribers. Some of the areas to discuss by eminent personalities include setting realistic agenda for the operation of number portability scheme in Nigeria. To achieve this, the Managing Partner of Private Media Mart limited (publishers of TechBrandReview newsletter), Ejiofor Agada stated that the NCC and other notable telecoms stakeholders such as telcos, database management companies, the media and members of the public would participate and present reports of their positions while pointing the way forward for number portability.
By the last quarter of this year, Nigeria would join many other countries of the world to launch the Mobile Number Portability, making it possible for a Nigerian subscriber to migrate from one network apparently having poor services to another which he feels is better, without losing his original phone number.
However, experience has shown that new offerings like this hardly experience general acceptance, not because they are not good, but because very salient facts of the offerings are not thoroughly ironed out between the implementers and the final consumers. Much information about the new offerings is always hidden to the consumers, fuelling suspicion, hesitation and in most cases outright rejection.
With this hindsight, PMM and Princelink Communications as organizers of this one-day forum, will use the avenue to discuss and trash out grey areas on the implementation of Mobile Number Portability in Nigeria.
In the words of Mr Agada, “This event is also meant to analyse and review the porting standard that will be employed in implementing MNP in Nigeria; whether it is the Recipient or Donor led- models”. “The one day event will also task implementers on what call routing method the Nigerian operation will take, considering that there are All Call Query and Indirect Routing methods, also with peculiar effects” he said.
Subscribers and stakeholders would also be able to query the implementers on how long it will take to port a mobile number in Nigeria, as well as what ICT infrastructure, products and platforms would be relevant in the MNP” he added.
Agada also said that the event will afford the regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, and other stakeholders involved in the implementation, the opportunity to educate the public on the very vast areas of this service, pointing out that it was unfortunate that the regulator has so far not adequately carried stakeholders along in fashioning modalities for MNP.
The event Coordinator, Mr Prince Osuagwu, who is an award-wining veteran ICT media professional, said that the event would provide a turnaround in the way people are consulted before major policies are implemented. “The reason people seem to criticise or kick against every policy, particularly in the ICT sector is that they are not taken into account, ab initio. We are trying to create a paradigm shift with this forum. Subscribers would be permitted to ask questions, operators would be allowed to say how convenient MNP can be to them and the regulator would be tasked to educate all on its plans”.
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