Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra)
Chris Twum
22 October 2009
The National Communications Authority (NCA) and Vodafone Ghana have expressed divergent views over the implementation of a new telecommunication technology dubbed Mobile Number Portability (MNP).
The MNP technology allows subscribers of various network operators the opportunity to control their choice of keeping their numbers, while changing from one network operator to another.
The NCA has described its implementation as very cumbersome, and could cause a strain on the country's finances, adding that it would take a long time for the execution of porting, frequency of porting and cost of porting to customers.
Contrary to this assertion, a telecommunications expert, Mr. Mortimer, Executive Head of Technical Regulation Vodacom South Africa, says Mobile Number Portability (MNP) technology is viable and capable of injecting massive competition, and offers customer satisfaction among operators existing in the Ghanaian telecommunication industry.
Mr. Mortimer made this observation during a workshop organised by Vodafone Ghana for media practitioners, on the importance of the MNP to the development of an emerging telecommunication industry.
This is part of a series of seminars by Vodafone on telecommunications, aimed at empowering stakeholders in the media with up-to-date information, and tools to support their reportage on telecom issues.
The seminar is intended to generate debate in the media, on the need for the MNP technology in the Ghanaian telecommunications industry.
Mr. Hope further explained that the MNP was not costly as the NCA had alleged, but that it would only be cumbersome, depending on what regulatory environment the NCA put in place.
He argued that the MNP technology actually seeks to reduce the maximum percentage of tariffs subscribers.
"I don't know which jurisdiction the NCA has been learning from, but in all the jurisdictions we have studied, porting time is a matter of minutes and days," he said.
Mr. Hope said the MNP was good on the subscriber, because "you can move to a network you consider as better than the one you are on now with your original phone number, and wouldn't have to change your business cards," he said.
He added that the global trend was that customers wishing to port their number, contacted the network they wish to move to, and that network then initiates the porting process to ensure that the customer was free from influences of the other network.
On the part of the Head of Corporate Communications of Vodafone Ghana, Major Albert B. Don-Chebe (rtd), the MNP technology was the future for the telecommunications industry in the country.
"It is the up and coming players such as Kasapa, Tigo, Glo and Vodafone in the industry, who are willing for the introduction of the MNP," Don-Chebe added.
Mr. Eric Valentine, Head of Technical Systems at Vodafone Ghana, said the MNP would only benefit the GSM operators in Ghana, and not the only CDMA player, Kasapa.
Four of six mobile operators, Kasapa Telecom, Zain, Glo Mobile, and now Vodafone have openly declared their support for it, while MTN refers journalists to the NCA for comments on the MNP.
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