Mobile Number Portability in Nigeria: How Does It Works?

 

Earlier this month, the Director of Public Affairs of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), announced March 26 as the launch date of the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in Nigeria during Channels Television’s flagship programme, Sunrise Daily.

I was in Lagos, last month for MNP training and right on this blog, I have decided to share with you all you need to know about the Nigeria Mobile Number Portability process.


So, What is Mobile Number Portability?

MNP will enable a subscriber move from his service provider (donor) to another (recipient) without losing the number he/she already uses (eg change from MTN to Glo Mobile without losing his/her MTN number).

When you request to change your service provider, the recipient provider will issue you a new sim card but you will still retain your phone number. This simply means a subscriber can keep his/her phone number when changing from one service provider to another despite the change in the SIM card of the subscriber.

For you to understand the processes involved in MNP, you have to familiarize yourself with the terms below:

==> Port In: joining a new service provider

==> Port Out: leaving a service provider

==> Subscriber : The customer that owns the number to be ported

==> Recipient: The service provider that a subscriber is changing to

==> Donor: The service provider a subscriber is changing from.

Example

If subscriber A wants to leave MTN for Glo Mobile, it means subscriber A is porting out of MTN and porting in to Glo. MTN in this example is the donor, while Glo Mobile is the recipient.

Below is a short video where the Director of Public Affairs of the NCC talked about MNP in Nigeria:




So, How Do I Change My Network Without Losing My Number?

If you want to change your service provider, you will have to visit a recipient operator via one of its points of sale such as office, friendship centre, high street store, corporate sales team, or authorised dealer.  For example, if you want to change from MTN to Glo, you will have to visit a Gloworld outlet or a Glozone shop to request for MNP.

When you get to the office of the recipient, you will be issued MNP request form to fill. You must have a valid proof of identity with visible photograph, your SIM must be ACTIVE, you must be able to provide the serial number of your SIM card and you must have registered the active SIM card.

A new SIM of the recipient provider will be issued to you and the SIM will be registered at the office. You will be informed to text "PORT" to 3232. If you fail to send the text, the request will not be honoured.

The recipient provider will forward your request to NPC (Number Portability Clearing House ) where validation will be carried out. If validated OK, the SIM will be activated and you will be informed.

Once your new SIM is activated, any airtime you have left on your old SIM will be wiped off and calls you make thereafter will be billed according to the default tariff plan of your new service provider BUT your phone number will still remain the same.

NOTE: You can only change from one network to another ONCE in 90 days.

I hope this helps.

If you have questions or contributions, please relay them via comments.

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