NCC flags off mobile number portability

It is official now that telecom subscribers on the four GSM networks in Nigeria can change their numbers every 90 days.
This followed the flag off of the mobile number portability scheme on Monday by the National Communications Commission.
At a ceremony featuring the telecom firms, members of the National Assembly, NCC officials as well as the referee Interconnect Clearinghouse Nigeria Limited, the NCC said all was now in place to make the MNP scheme work in Nigeria.
Two days ahead of the formal launch, leading telecoms service provider, Airtel Networks, extended its welcome to subscribers by affirming the existence of network capacity to take in additional subscribers.
Airtel, at a media briefing at the Lagos Sheraton Hotel, affirmed that its investment of $1.5 billion over a 30 month period was spent mainly on upgrading and optimising its network as well as preparing for more subscribers.
The CEO Airtel Nigeria, Segun Ogunsanya, said the Airtel network has the capacity for double its current subscription number of 25 million.
Ogunsanya cited the latest NCC audit of telcos that showed Airtel outperforming all other operators on criteria set by NCC.