MNP: Frequently Asked Questions

As MNP kicks off today in Nigeria and subscribers can now port to other networks, here are some Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

1 What is “Mobile Number Portability”?
Mobile Number Portability is a service that enables you to keep
your mobile phone number when changing from one mobile
service provider to another. So, if you switch between service
providers, you do not have to go through the trouble of informing
all your friends, family, colleagues and other contacts because your
number stays the same.

2 Who can use the system?
Mobile Number Portability is available to both “Pre‐Paid” (Pay As
You Go) and “Post‐Paid” mobile customers in Nigeria.

3 Who can provide this service?
Mobile Number Portability will initially be available among the
GSM mobile operators: MTN, GLOBACOM, ETISALAT, and AIRTEL.

4 When will porting become available on the CDMA and Fixed
line Networks?
NCC has adopted a phased approach to the launch of Mobile
Number Portability service in Nigeria. The process to port to
CDMA networks will begin as soon as the GSM porting process is
completed and launched.

5 What type of phone number can be ported?
Any mobile number on the GSM network can be ported
irrespective of the type of service it is been used for (e.g. voice,
data, GPS tracking etc).

6 Where do I have to go to port my number?
Customers should go to the customer care office, retail shop or
outlet of their chosen new service provider and meet with the
authorized sales person to request to port their number.
(Porting can only be undertaken by visiting the customer care
office, retail shop or authorised dealer of your chosen new service
provider and is not available by telephone, online or other
electronic means). Please do not terminate your service with your
existing service provider before initiating porting with the new
service provider.

7 What time of day will the porting service be available by the
operator?
The porting service will be available when your new service
operator's store/ outlet/ sales point is open to customers.

8 What do I have to do to port?
You will be required to complete a Port Request Form. You will
also be asked to send a text message with the word “PORT” to a
short code “3232”. Assistance will be made available if required.

9 How do I confirm that it is my number?
To move your number to a new mobile operator, you need to bring
the following into the new operator's stores.
Proof of identity – Either an identity card, passport or driving
licence or an officially validated photographic identity document;
The working mobile number you wish to port.

10 What if I do not have an ID card?
If you are unable to present any ID card, a webcam will be used to
take your photograph.

11 How much will it cost me to port my number?
There are no charges for you to port your number.

12 Can I change my mind during the porting process?
You can change your mind anytime before you send the
confirmation SMS. Once the confirmation SMS has been sent, you
can no longer cancel your port request and the porting process
must progress to completion.

13 How will I be advised of the status/ progress of my porting
request?
You will be informed of the progress of your porting request by
text messages

14 What happens if my porting request is rejected or fails to
complete?
You should contact your new service provider to resolve the
problem

15 I'm a pre‐paid customer and I have some credit left ‐ can I
take this with me?
“Pre‐paid” customers won't be able to take outstanding credit with
them, and should use it up before they switch service providers.

16 What happens to SMS that I send or receive whilst porting?
Messages which have been sent to the customer prior to porting,
but not delivered, may be lost

17 Will I be able to take my voicemails, SMS and service settings
to my new operator?
You will lose your old voicemail, SMS, MMS and ancillary services,
and will need to set these up again with your new service provider.
Mobile Number Portability

18 Will the cost of my calls to my friends and family change
after I have ported?
After porting, you may be charged differently when calling friends
and family that are not on the same network as you. Also, your
friends and family may be charged differently (if they remain on
the old network or if the tariff arrangement with the new operator
is different from that of the donor) when calling the customer after
porting.

19 When can I port to another operator?
You can port at any time. However, you will be restricted from
porting your number to a third operator or back to your original
operator within 90 days of a previous port.

20 Do I have a limit to the number of porting that I can do with
one number in a particular year?
No. You can port your number as many times as you like in a given
year. However, there is a 90 days restriction before your next port.

21 If I port to a new network, and get a new SIM Card, after 90
days, will I follow same procedure to return to my previous
provider?
Yes. Any time you wish to port your number, you will have to go to
the customer care office, retail shop or authorised dealer of your
chosen new service provider to request to port your number. You
will also need to be issued a new SIM Card.

22 Will I use my previous SIM Card or will I be required to get
another SIM Card from my previous operator thereby rendering
my earlier SIM from this operator useless this time?
You will need to be issued a new SIM card every time you wish to
port your number to a new service provider as your previous SIM
card will not work with your new service provider.

23 Would I be required to pay for the New SIM Card?
You will be issued a new SIM card by your new service provider,
which may be free or charged, depending on the service provider.

24 Can I approach the new operator and decide to register my
SIM Card with them for the purpose of porting?
Your SIM Card must be registered with your current operator
before visiting your new service provider.

25 Can my current operator try to persuade me to stay whilst I
am porting?
No. Your current operator is not allowed to contact you during the
porting process to try and persuade you to stay with them. Any
such contact by your current operator must be reported to your
new service provider or the NCC.

26 If my previous operator calls or disturbs me as a way of
inviting me back to its network within a period of 90 days of
porting, to whom should I report?
You can report this to your new service provider or to the NCC.

27 How long does porting take?
Your port will be completed within 48 hours.

28 I'm a post‐paid customer ‐ can I port if my initial contract has
not expired or I haven't paid my bills?
Yes. “Post‐paid” customers will be able to port their numbers.
However, once the porting process is complete, post‐paid customers
are required to settle their outstanding bills to their previous service
provider including any early termination fees. The old service
provider is permitted to use any legal measures to recover any
outstanding charges from you.

29 Will my old operator stop billing me when I port?
“Post‐paid” customers will receive a final bill for usage up to the
time their number is ported to the new operator.

30 How can MNP be said to be free when a network operator may
decide to charge for the new SIM card?
The service of porting from one network operator to another is free.
However, since a new SIM card is required to port, network
operators may choose to either sell the new SIM card or issue it for
free to the subscriber.

31 Do I need to preserve my old SIM card in case I want to return
to my previous network operator after 90 days?
Your old SIM card will be rendered unusable as soon as porting to
the new network operator is completed. If you wish to port back to
your old network operator, a new SIM card will be issued to you.

32 If I initiate the porting process that cannot be reversed at the
point of sending the text, when do I lose service from my previous
network operator?
As soon as porting is completed, you will be notified by SMS that
porting is completed, and you will be requested to change your old
SIM card with the new one given to you by your new network
operator. You may lose service from your old service network
operator within an hour from being notified by SMS of completion of
your port request. It is therefore advisable that you insert your new
SIM as soon as you are notified of port completion.

33 In the event that I lose my previous service from the point of
porting, would I be unable to make or receive calls until the porting
is accomplished in 48 hours?
You will have service from your old network operator until you are
notified that porting is completed. You will be required to put in
your new SIM to continue to make or receive calls. If for any reason
the SMS message was undelivered and you lose service, you should
insert your new SIM card from your new service network operator as
you may already be active on the new network operator.

App of the Week: My Data Manager, Onavo Extend and Onavo Count

Its no news that Smartphones are 'data hungry' devices and this insatiable appetite is even getting larger with the variety of apps being rolled out.
This week I would like to introduce a three apps that are very useful in monitoring as well as managing your data usage on Android and Apple IOS powered devices.

My Data Manager from Mobidia (Android and IOS)

This allows you to monitor your data usage on an application basis (over Mobile, WiFi and Roaming) as well as give data usages in hourly, daily, monthly and also Data plan views. Another nice feature about this app is that it tries to predict your monthly data usage and advises if the subscriber data plan will be sufficient.
Here are some snapshots on my Android device.

 

Here are some snapshots on an Apple device.

 Onavo Extend and Count (Android and IOS)

This app is really "da BOMB". Onavo Extend (Android) sets up a cache of commonly accessed content there by saving data. It also compresses the data sent toward the internet also saving more data. You now see why its the BOMB.  Some of the features are

• Alerts and warnings: Receive status notifications about apps that are hogging your data, when approaching your data cap, or when traveling (data roaming). Onavo Count for Android will even predict when you will reach your monthly cap. 
• Data hog blocking: Restrict specific apps to WiFi, or block your 3G data altogether once you exceed your data cap to avoid any additional costs.
•  Advice. Get tailored tips on best value data plans from your carrier or other carriers, based on your actual usage.
• Crowdsourcing. Join the Onavo Android Community to tap into the collective wisdom of Android users everywhere.
• Simple setup. Get going in seconds: Set your monthly cap, bill cycle and cost - and you’re good to go! 

Here are some of the snapshots on my Android device after 1 day of minimal data usage.

  

These apps are available on Google Play and Apple Store.

N.B, The Onavo Extend (Android) is affects data hungry applications and activities such as tethering

Any questions or clarifications regarding the use of these apps are welcome.

The Smartphone Revolution

Last year saw a record of  over 600 million smartphones out of about 1.6 billion phones shipped worldwide in what many see as a "Smartphone Revolution". Smartphones are getting more popular by the minute.

Android was the No. 1 smartphone operating system with 68.4% of the global smartphone market, followed by Apple's IOS and others (like Blackberry OS, Symbiam and Linux) and its increasing the gap.

 Android is up 13%, iOS down 7%, BlackBerry down 81% … and Windows Phone up a massive 52%. Android is now the favourite smartphone operating system. As a result of its affiliation with Android, Samsung has seen its phone sales soar and had 25% of mobile phone shipments in 2012. Other manufacturers of  Android based smartphones such as LG, HTC, Sony and Huawei also experienced growth in sales figures. Apple's IOS is now experiencing the the heat of competition from Android (Samsung) as its lost ground in its key markets in China and US due to the success of the Samsung Galaxy S3.
This battle for more market share will continue through 2013 global smartphone installed base is expected to grow by 33% this year and double in size by 2016. With projections that smartphones will be twice the number of feature phones coupled with its market share of 60%, its no wonder why mobile phone manufacturer have been busy trying to woe customers with ad campaigns geared towards improving sales and market share.

 Nigeria is surely not left out of this revolution, for example, Nigeria is the largest market for Blackberry in Africa as we speak and this speaks volumes of our own Smartphone Revolution.
Countries with major installed smartphone bases include China, United States, Germany, Nigeria, India, Brazil and Russia (Courtesy: StrategyAnalytic). The Nigerian market is the tenth largest in the world in terms of mobile subscribers and I can modestly estimate that 1 in every 8 mobile subscribers uses a smartphone in Nigeria, and this would translate to about two (2) million smartphone users. With the introduction of many low price Android phones into the Nigerian market by Huawei, Samsung and others, these numbers can only go higher.
Smartphones have come to stay and are now part of our everyday life and as more people embrace it in Nigeria, a whole lot of opportunities abound.

What are these opportunities?you might ask, I'll be discussing them in the concluding part of this article next week.

Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in Nigeria...the Game Changer

In a matter of months, Nigeria will join the group of countries that have implemented the Mobile Number Portability (MNP). Nigeria will become the fourth African country after South Africa (2006) Egypt (2008) and Ghana (2011).
One would be tempted to ask  "What really is MNP and how does it benefit the Nigerian subscriber?"

Mobile number portability (MNP) enables mobile telephone users to retain their mobile telephone numbers when changing from one mobile network operator to another. In Nigerian terms, it implies that MNP allows me to use my MTN number on Etisalat network (for example), enjoying all the benefits open to original Etisalat subscribers.
So what's the big deal you're still asking? Imagine you had GSM number that all your friends, family and business associates use to contact you, but you weren't satisfied with the services of the telecom operator. You would be forced to hold onto this line just to ensure you're easily accessible. MNP allows you to migrate your line to any other network f your choice while retaining your number.

Quarterly Market Share for 2012 (Coutesy: NCC)

The table above gives an insight into the market share of the telecoms industry though recent reports confirm that Airtel and Etisalat have significantly increased their market shares at the expense of Glo and MTN. Currently about one(1) in every four(4) subscribers in Nigeria is an MTN subscriber and a lot of these subscribers are inching for better voice and data services.
 Assuming the ideal MNP operations, we will experience an interesting trend in subscriber migration to other networks with better services. Etisalat and Airtel will be the biggest beneficiaries in my opinion as the recent trends show them increasing their market share. I believe MNP will further consolidate this trend. Glo on the other hand have a very good chance to reclaim their market share as well if they are more innovative in their products and services while MTN will also try to keep as much of its subscribers as well to maintain their advantage.
 However, we will also experience a drop in the total number of mobile subscribers, the reason being that asubcriber won't have the need to own more than one or two active phone lines, that's provided initial MNP operations are successful.
 Therefore, it appears MNP is not just a threat to the market leaders, in this case, MTN but to all operators. Well not exactly as there are some factors that might work for or against the operators.

• Subscriber awareness and enlightenment of MNP Subscribers need to have a good understanding of MNP before they can subscribe to the concept.
• Subscriber Behaviour its easier and faster to buy another network's SIM card than to port to that network so subscribers might shy away from MNP.
• Faster Porting time The time to port is currently 2days which is far longer than it takes for a Sim Swap. This will deter intending subscribers if the porting time is not reduced considerably.
• Interoperability between Operators As expected, the porting of subscriber on another network will not be devoid of snags and how this is managed will key in boosting the acceptance of MNP among subscribers.

This is an audacious yet laudable move by NCC and the early success or failure of this rests on their ability to effectively manage and work with the operators and third party companies such as Interconnect, Telecordia (Ericsson).

Like it or not, MNP is here to stay and will be a major factor in the face of the telecom market. Though, it won't be an immediate embrace by subscribers as modalities are still being worked out and rigorous testing ongoing at the operator side, it has come to stay and would on the long run serve as a deterrent to operators from offering poor services to their subscribers.

The bottom line is the subscriber should be KING.

Is HSPA+ 42Mbps the forbidden fruit ?

Have you ever wondered why you never get up to half the maximum HSPA+ download speed of 42Mbps?

Well the answers are not far fetched.

As much as telco operators want you to believe that you can get as much as 42 Mbps, its not possible to attain close to this. The following might explain why this is so

•  The 3G/HSDPA USB dongles, modems that are commercially available are limited to maximum download speeds between 3.6Mbps to 10Mbps.
• Most phones as well do not support such high download rates. Suprisingly, until the advent of smartphones did the maximum supported download speed did not exceed 5.76 Mnps
• Most commercial SIMs are not provisioned for such download rates. 
•  It is worth remembering that the speed of 42Mbps is a best effort speed i.e the maximum download speed in an ideal situation which hardly ever exists.
• Lack of adequate resources or capacity to provide such download speed,

*Provisioning is the process by which services are granted to subscribers

 Nonetheless, you can still enjoy your internet experience even with a 3.6 Mbps 3G modem on a high speed data network but have it at the back of your mind that your maximum connection speed  is limited

Airtel to roll out Wi-Fi in 17 African countries...A Nigerian Perspective

Its obviously not news that Airtel Africa plans to launch WiFi in 17 African countries, though no official statement has been made yet by the company.

GigaOM has learned that pan-African operator Airtel is deploying a large-scale carrier Wi-Fi network using Ruckus and Alcatel-Lucent gear. With mainly 2G networks to its name today, Airtel will use Wi-Fi to jump start its mobile data services

WiFi is a popular technology that allows an electronic device to exchange data wirelessly (using radio waves) over a computer network, including high-speed Internet connections.

That being said, the primary reason for this move is to provide access to high speed internet to subscribers on predominantly 2G networks. Let me elaborate further that this means; on a 2G data network, the ideal data speeds for GPRS and EDGE are about 80kbps and 240kbps, however on WiFi, the speed ranges from 1Mbps to 150Mbps ( depending on the range and wireless protocol used). That's at least quadruple the capacity available on a 2G network.

In Nigeria, however, 3G, 3.5G and HSDPA, HSPA+ are available in major Nigerian cities and to my greatest surprise even in my village. (somewhere in Anambra State). HSPA+ is currently the fastest access technology in Nigeria as I write and stands at 42Mbps as advertised by Airtel, Etisalat and Glo, though nobody ever gets that much but that's another story for another day.
The advent of WiFi will allow cheaper non 3G phones to have access to high speed data which is really really cool as this is bound to increase the number of data subscribers on the African continent.

As cool as this sounds, my only grouse with this that Airtel plans to start in Niger as reported. No disrespect intended to Niger Rep. but from a business point of view, it just doesn't add up. Here's why I say so

•  WiFi can serve as an alternative data access method and also serve as provide extra capacity especially in densely populated areas such as Lagos metropolis where almost all networks experience congestion.
• Having worked on projects in both countries, and I can confidently estimate the number of active daily data subscribers in Airtel Niger to be between 11-15k, while in Nigeria, there are over 590k daily data subscribers. 
• The growth in the telecommunication is unparalleled anywhere in the African continent. Nigeria added 5 million new mobile subscriptions in 2012 alone.
• The launch of Mobile Number Portablity (MNP) will give them the advantage, attract new subscribers to their network and in turn increase their data subscriber base.
• Data is very BIG business in Nigeria already. Soon data revenues will rival that of voice.
• Nigerian subscribers are more active online than ever before, with Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Youtube, Whatsapp, BBM being very popular among the young generation.

Need I say more than I have already. Its a good initiative but it will yield much more if it is launched in Nigeria.