The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has revealed that 30, 493 telecommunications subscribers changed their mobile network providers in 2022. This shows an increase of 171.05 per cent compared to the previous year.
The portal revealed that 19,243 more telecom subscribers changed their service providers in 2022, compared to the 11,250 who ported to other networks in the previous year.
While porting services witnessed growth in 2022, it has yet to hit their pre-SIM-NIN heights.
Speaking to journalists on why subscribers port, the President of the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers, Adeolu Ogunbanjo, said mobile number portability was a crucial service in the industry, irrespective of the frequency of utilisation by subscribers.
“Porting occurs when a subscriber is dissatisfied with a particular network or when you are relocating to another place. A particular network you are using in your former location may not have good signal strength in your new location.”
In December 2020, the NCC mandated telcos to suspend the sales, registration, and activation of new SIM cards as part of its efforts to ramp up SIM-NIN activities.
As of the end of 2020, 187,171 telecom subscribers switched their network providers. However, porting services recorded zero activities in the first six months of 2021.
In the period under review, 9mobile lost the most subscribers with 17,978 subscribers moving away from the network to others, Airtel lost 7,119 subscribers, while Globacom and MTN lost 2,831 and 2,565 subscribers respectively.
Porting launched in April 2013 by the NCC allows subscribers to change their mobile network provider while retaining their number. Subscribers change their network providers because of poor service quality offerings by their original service providers.
There are no restrictions on the number of times a subscriber can port, although there is a 45-day restriction time between each porting.