No going back on mobile number portability, says govt

By The Citizen

The Federal Government has said there is going back on the proposed mobile number portability (MNP). It said it would not stop the proposal despite the lingering poor telecoms services. Speaking in Lagos, the Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson, said the MNP would lead to efficiency in the sector, adding that it would foster competition.

'We are going ahead with Mobile Number Portability, because it is going to give subscribers lots of choice and freedom. MNP will bring new dimension to the competition in the industry. All network operators will have to work harder to earn the trust of subscribers, because they will now have choices,' she said.

According to her, the MNP would not stop the quality of service problem because it is a national issue, adding that the government was working to get some things in place to make the operating environment more business-friendly.

'However, MNP does not stop the quality of service issues. This is because we have a nationwide issue around service improvement. What we are doing presently is working on so many things that will ensure that telecoms services improved tremendously. We are working to ensure that network operators are able to roll-out infrastructures without hitches including bottlenecks of multiple taxation and regulations; right of ways challenges; kicking against vandalism of ICT infrastructure among others,' she said.

She said the ministry is working with other stakeholders to surmount the problems facing the sector. 'We are working on this with the state authorities, agencies of government, the ministry, NCC and the telecoms operators to ensure that we have improved services in 2013.

'MNP will definitely give consumer varieties of choice. However, it is the best of bad situation kind of thing, but the major issue is for us to improve on our infrastructure and improve services, so that we don't have to be moving from network to network,' she said.