Seven weeks into the commencement of Mobile Number Portability (MNP) scheme, United Arab Emirates’ mobile operator, Etisalat, on Tuesday said it is taking a huge lead in race of subscriber acquisition with almost 50 percent of ported numbers coming its way.
This revelation was made after collating the successfully ported numbers at the end of the sixth week of the launch of the scheme, showing that Etisalat had almost 50 percent of ported numbers so far. With the scheme, holders of Nigeria’s 114 million mobile lines can switch networks while retaining their phone numbers.
The company did not, however, release actual figure of ported numbers. Wael Ammar, chief commercial officer at Etisalat Nigeria, in a statement on Tuesday, said, “I can tell you that Etisalat Nigeria has gained almost 50 percent of the total figure of ported numbers so far. This is a clear indication that the Nigerian consumers have made their choice based on current realities on ground. We set out early in our business to ensure that we developed products and services that suit the lifestyle of all our target customers.
“We have also ensured that we have a reliable network to accommodate existing and new customers and these efforts have been recognised by the NCC and other stakeholders in the telecoms industry”, he stated.
Ammar cited the last quality of service indicators for mobile operators released by the NCC shortly before the launch of MNP as a clear indication that Etisalat was ready for business. The report shows that Etisalat met all the KPI targets as signed in the Memorandum of Understanding for Drop Call Rate (DCR), Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR), Traffic Channel Congestion (TCHcong) and Stand Alone Dedicated Control Channel (SDCCHcong).
Etisalat has in the past received different awards from the industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). Some of the awards include an award for Excellent Service and Effective Collaboration with the Consumer Affairs Bureau as well as the network with the best quality of service. The company was also rated the best telecommunications service provider for good Quality of Service (QoS) by the Nigerian Telecommunications Company (NCC) based on the Quality of Service Key Performance Indicator audit report.
