The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) is yet to make up its mind on whether phone companies should take up Mobile Number Portability (MNP).
Number Portability enables mobile telephone users to retain their mobile telephone numbers when changing from one mobile network operator to another.
The question comes against the backdrop of the recent takeover of Warid Telecom by Airtel and customers’ concerns about holding onto their numbers.
“It is unfortunate that some people could be aggrieved with the merger, but as far as porting is concerned, we’re still consulting,” Patrick Mwesigwa, the Director Technology and Licensing at UCC said recently.
UCC is still carrying out consultations to see whether number portability is viable in the Ugandan market, He added.
If Uganda had instituted the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) initiative, then people could have been cushioned from such uncertainty, Warid customers would have had a choice either to link to the Airtel network or switch to other networks.
I don’t know why UCC has not enforced the Number Portability issue. People would have used their very Sim Cards to switch to other networks of their choice,” Says James Katsigazi an engineer working with one of the telecom companies
Mobile Number Portability, since its invention has been implemented in South Africa, Egypt, Kenya and Nigeria.
Credit: EA Business Week
