MNP in Ghana: About 150 mobile subscribers port on day one – Bob Palitz

Ghana’s Mobile Number Portability (MNP) took off July 7, 2011 to an interesting start and by the close of the first day, about 150 mobile subscribers are said to have ported and are already receiving phone calls on their old numbers on the new networks.

Mr. Bob Palitz, the MNP Consultant to the National Communications Authority (NCA), told ghanabusinessnews.com on the phone Friday July 8, 2011 that, while he could not give the exact figure, “let me say about 150 subscribers have ported their numbers and they are already receiving phone calls on these old numbers on the new networks,” adding, “and less than 20 subscribers are awaiting porting.”

He indicated that porting is a complex process, and there were some problems, but as they come up, “the technicians knock them down,” he said.

He said as time goes on the NCA would be able to provide specific numbers of subscribers who are porting.

Ghana’s Parliament adopted the report of the Committee on Subsidiary Legislation on the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) Regulations 2011, Legislative Instrument (LI) 1994, eventually giving the process legal backing.

The process allows a mobile subscriber who for any reason chooses to change from an existing provider to a competitor to do so and still keep his or her favourite mobile number including the code.

Initially, MNP was scheduled to have started on July 1, 2011, but was postponed to July 7, because July 1 was a public holiday.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi