Airtel, 9mobile win big as 21,385 subscribers port

Mobile number porting activities across the four GSM networks of MTN, Globacom, Airtel, and 9mobile rose in August as 21,385 subscribers moved from one network to another. Compared with the previous month when the number of incoming porting stood at 19,468, porting activities in August increased by 9.8 per cent.

According to the latest industry statistics released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Airtel which is the second-largest operator by subscriber number benefitted the most from subscribers porting in August as 9,927 subscribers moved to the network from other operators. 9mobile emerged as the second-largest beneficiary of the movement as 5,593 subscribers ported to its network. MTN, which controls the largest share of the market also recorded 5,188 incoming portings during the month, while Globacom attracted 677 customers from other networks.

In terms of outgoing porting, Globacom lost more than it gained as 6,818 customers ported out of the network. Airtel also lost 5,277 subscribers to other networks, while 9mobile recorded 4,507 outgoing porting. MTN recorded the least outgoing subscribers as 4,469 ported out of its network in the period under review.

The monthly figure of porting activities, which reached a peak of 22,539 in July 2015, had been on a steady decline for about three years as mobile users showed less interest in porting. The Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) had attributed that to improvement in service quality. According to them, the subscribers were showing less interest in porting because they were satisfied with their service providers.

However, with the increase in porting activities from last year, industry analysts said the telecoms operators might have faltered in meeting their service quality key performance indicators (KPIs), thus forcing the subscribers to port in search of better alternatives. A look at the NCC data revealed that the highest volume of porting activities was recorded in June this year when 23,059 subscribers moved in search of better quality service.