BY CHRIS OKEMENE

The Nigerian Communications Commission  (NCC) is expected to announce a service provider which  will be in charge of administration of the soon to be introduced mobile number portability (MNP) service.

In the bidding conducted by the NCC to appoint the MNP administrator, the NCC called for tenders from  companies who are able to provide the service. Firms from around the globe expressed interest and submitted tenders.

Feelers from the NCC, however, seem to suggest that, after  the  bidding process  which saw two companies  presenting  their proposed service offerings, solutions and terms, only one of the companies (made up of a consortium of one foreign company and one indigenous company) has been shortlisted to provide this service.

Sources revealed  that  in the consortium  are  US-based Telcordia Technologies and local company Interconnect Clearinghouse Nigeria (ICN). The NCC is initiating porting services in order to address challenges faced in service quality and to encourage healthy competition.

Telcordia has been in operation in the United States for quite a while. It is the principal initiator of the whole telecommunications system in the US, and  pioneered many of the telecoms service used in the US today.

Some of these services include caller ID, call waiting, toll-free telephone number service and mobile number portability. It was also appointed the mobile number service provider for South Africa when the service was launched on  October  11, 2006.

In South Africa, the three operators, Vodacom, MTN SA and Cell C, formed an independent company for the implementation and management of the central solution.

After delays, however, the implementation of this solution was awarded to local company Saab Grintek which  teamed up with Telcordia Technologies. This model was what the NCC sought to adopt  by awarding the contract to an indigenous firm teaming up with another foreign firm renowned world over for success and experience in this particular sector.

In a recent interview, the NCC Executive Vice Chairman, Dr. Eugene Juwah, revealed that the telecoms regulator had selected a company from those who bidded for the MNP service although he declined to reveal the identity of the company, claiming that the NCC and the approved operator were still in the process of putting finishing touches to the porting details.

Apart from Telcordia, three other companies considered for the license include Interconnect Clearinghouse Nigeria, Wagatel and Teletec. This was because the NCC stipulated that companies bidding for the license must have performed in other countries and must have alliances with Nigerian companies.

Before the eventual selection, NCC consulted widely with operators in the telecoms industry and stakeholders and also considered only bids that enable subscribers keep their mobile numbers when porting from one network service provider to another. Having successfully completed the SIM registration exercise, the mobile number portability exercise is expected to commence soon and service providers are expected to prepare for it.

The MNP service is expected to be available to only registered mobile phone users as the NCC, after the vigorous advertisement and sensitization it carried out in favor of the SIM registration exercise, has asked the network service providers to disconnect any unregistered SIM as soon as the deadline expires.

Okemene, an  IT analyst, is resident in Benin – City.