Wednesday 1 May 2013

MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY: FAQ

MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY : Frequently Asked Questions

1  What is “Mobile Number Portability”? 
Mobile Number Portability is a service that enables you to keep your  mobile  phone  number  when  changing  from  one  mobile service  provider  to  another.  So,  if  you  switch  between  service providers, you do not have to go through the trouble of informing all your friends, family, colleagues and other contacts because your number stays the same.   

2  Who can use the system? 
Mobile Number Portability is available to both “Pre‐Paid” (Pay As You Go) and “Post‐Paid” mobile customers in Nigeria.

3  Who can provide this service? 
Mobile  Number  Portability  will  initially  be  available  among  the GSM mobile operators: MTN, GLOBACOM, ETISALAT, and AIRTEL. 

4  When will porting become available on the CDMA and Fixed line Networks? 
NCC  has  adopted  a  phased  approach  to  the  launch  of  Mobile Number  Portability  service  in  Nigeria.  The  process  to  port  to CDMA networks will begin as soon as the GSM porting process is completed and launched. 


5  What type of phone number can be ported? 
Any  mobile  number  on  the  GSM  network  can  be  ported irrespective of the type of service it is been used for (e.g. voice, data, GPS tracking etc). 

6  Where do I have to go to port my number? 
Customers should go to the customer care office, retail shop or outlet of their chosen new service provider and meet with the authorized sales person to request to port their number. (Porting  can  only  be  undertaken  by  visiting  the  customer  care office, retail shop or authorised dealer of your chosen new service provider  and  is  not  available  by  telephone,  online  or  other 
electronic means). Please do not terminate your service with your existing  service  provider  before  initiating  porting  with  the  new service provider. 

7 What time of day will the porting service be available by the operator? 
The  porting  service  will  be  available  when  your  new  service operator's store/ outlet/ sales point is open to customers 
8  What do I have to do to port? 
You will be required to complete a Port Request Form.   You will also be asked to send a text message with the word “PORT” to a short code “3232”. Assistance will be made available if required.  
9  How do I confirm that it is my number? 
To move your number to a new mobile operator, you need to bring the following into the new operator's stores.  Proof  of  identity  –  Either  an  identity  card,  passport  or  driving 
licence or an officially validated photographic identity document;  The working mobile number you wish to port. 

10  What if I do not have an ID card? 
If you are unable to present any ID card, a webcam will be used to take your photograph. 

 11  How much will it cost me to port my number?  
There are no charges for you to port your number.  


12  Can I change my mind during the porting process? 
You  can  change  your  mind  anytime  before  you  send  the 
confirmation SMS. Once the confirmation SMS has been sent, you 
can no longer cancel your port request and the porting process 
must progress to completion. 
13 How will I be advised of the status/ progress of my porting 
request? 
You will be informed of the progress of your porting request by 
text messages 


14  What happens if my porting request is rejected or fails to complete? 
You  should  contact  your  new  service  provider  to  resolve  the 
problem 

15    I'm a pre‐paid customer and I have some credit left ‐ can I take this with me?   
“Pre‐paid” customers won't be able to take outstanding credit with them, and should use it up before they switch service providers.  


16  What happens to SMS that I send or receive whilst porting?   
Messages which have been sent to the customer prior to porting, but not delivered, may be lost 

17  Will I be able to take my voicemails, SMS and service settings 
to my new operator?  
You will lose your old voicemail, SMS, MMS and ancillary services, and will need to set these up again with your new service provider. 
18    Will the cost of my calls to my friends and family change after I have ported? 
After porting, you may be charged differently when calling friends and family that are not on the same network as you. Also, your friends and family may be charged differently (if they remain on 
the old network or if the tariff arrangement with the new operator is different from that of the donor) when calling the customer after porting.   

19  When can I port to another operator?  
You can port at any time. However, you will be restricted from porting your number to a third operator or back to your original operator within 90 days of a previous port. 

20   Do I have a limit to the number of porting that I can do with one number in a particular year? 
No.  You can port your number as many times as you like in a given year.  However, there is a 90 days restriction before your next port. 
21  If I port to a new network, and get a new SIM Card, after 90 days,  will  I  follow  same  procedure  to  return  to  my  previous 
provider? 
Yes.  Any time you wish to port your number, you will have to go to 
the customer care office, retail shop or authorised dealer of your 
chosen new service provider to request to port your number.  You 
will also need to be issued a new SIM Card. 
27   How long does porting take?  
Your port will be completed within 48 hours.  

28   I'm a post‐paid customer ‐ can I port if my initial contract has not expired or I haven't paid my bills? 
Yes.  “Post‐paid”  customers  will  be  able  to  port  their  numbers. However, once the porting process is complete, post‐paid customers are required to settle their outstanding bills to their previous service provider  including  any  early  termination  fees.  The  old  service provider  is  permitted  to  use  any  legal  measures  to  recover  any outstanding charges from you. 


29  Will my old operator stop billing me when I port?  
“Post‐paid” customers will receive a final bill for usage up to the time their number is ported to the new operator.  


22  Will I use my previous SIM Card or will I be required to get 
another SIM Card from my previous operator thereby rendering my earlier SIM from this operator useless this time? You will need to be issued a new SIM card every time you wish to port your number to a new service provider as your previous SIM card will not work with your new service provider. 

23  Would I be required to pay for the New SIM Card? 
You will be issued a new SIM card by your new service provider, which may be free or charged, depending on the service provider. 24  Can I approach the new operator and decide to register my 
SIM Card with them for the purpose of porting? Your  SIM  Card  must  be  registered  with  your  current  operator before visiting your new service provider.  

25  Can my current operator try to persuade me to stay whilst I am porting?  
No. Your current operator is not allowed to contact you during the porting process to try and persuade you to stay with them. Any such contact by your current operator must be reported to your new service provider or the NCC. 

26  If my previous operator calls or disturbs me as a  way of inviting me back to its network within a period of 90 days of porting, to whom should I report? 
You can report this to your new service provider or to the NCC. 30  How can MNP be said to be free when a network operator may decide to charge for the new SIM card? The service of porting from one network operator to another is free. However,  since  a  new  SIM  card  is  required  to  port,  network operators may choose to either sell the new SIM card or issue it for free to the subscriber.   
  
31   Do I need to preserve my old SIM card in case I want to return to my previous network operator after 90 days? 
Your old SIM card will be rendered unusable as soon as porting to the new network operator is ompleted.  If you wish to port back to your old network operator, a new SIM card will be issued to you. 
32  If I initiate the porting process that cannot be reversed at the point of sending the text, when do I lose service from my previous network operator? 
As soon as porting is completed, you will be notified by SMS that porting is completed, and you will be requested to change your old SIM  card  with  the  new  one  given  to  you  by  your  new  network operator.  You  may  lose  service  from  your  old  service  network operator within an hour from being notified by SMS of completion of your port request.  It is therefore advisable that you insert your new SIM as soon as you are notified of port completion. 


33  In the event that I lose my previous service from the point of porting, would I be unable to make or receive calls until the porting is accomplished in 48 hours? 
You will have service from your old network operator until you are notified that porting is completed. You will be required to put in your new SIM to continue to make or receive calls.  If for any reason the SMS message was undelivered and you lose service, you should insert your new SIM card from your new service network operator as you may already be active on the new network operator. 

Source: NCC

1 comment :

  1. MNP is a great initiative by TRAI and GOI.obile Number Portability is a service that enables you to keep your mobile phone number when changing from one mobile service provider to another.It’s a WIN-WIN situation for the subscribers.

    ReplyDelete

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