The Nigerian Communications Commission reported on Wednesday that the number of mobile telephone users in Nigeria crossed the 80 million mark, but added that it had major concerns over the quality of services in the country. It said that it would act swiftly and decisively on operators who fall below set levels for the quality of services, leading a number of observers to say that the regulator would implement a Number Portability scheme that would force operators to raise their delivery standards. “The moves being made and discussed by the NCC are positive and even though companies might not like them, the mobile market has been plagued by poor service for far too long,” said on analyst. Number Portability is, according to the same expert, a service that would give “mobile phone subscribers the ability to retain their current mobile number even if they change operators.” Analyst say this could force the hand of companies who have seen customers become frustrated at the poor level of their service. Eugene Juwa, the executive vice chairman of the NCC, said that to institute such a scheme, however, as the country implements a SIM registration process for all users in the country, would be a “nightmare.” BM
