MTN Nigeria Chief Executive Officer, Brett Goschen, has declared that the telecommunications giant is ready to implement  the Mobile Number Portability (MNP)  in Nigeria in line with the policy of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

Goschen said MTN had been ramping up efforts to make MNP a reality for mobile phone users in Nigeria, who are eager to join the country’s most expansive network. MTN Nigeria is arguably the biggest network operator in Nigeria by subscriber base.

“We have made necessary investment in infrastructure and manpower and we are now finalising the process of making this project a reality. We are confident that when the NCC is ready to blow the whistle for the kick off of this project, we will be ready,” he said.

MNP allows mobile telephone users to switch from one network operator to another without losing their numbers.

Goshen disclosed that the ICT Company has already conducted a series of tests on its systems and infrastructure while more tests will be carried out in the days ahead to ensure that the project takes off without any hitch.

“We are excited that customers, who wish to join the network with the most coverage of Nigeria will now be able to do so without worrying about losing their mobile numbers. As you know, we have made far more investment in our network than any other operator in Nigeria has done, with the result that we are today the clear leader with effective network coverage of more than 85 per cent of Nigeria’s land mass and population.”

“We have nearly 100 percent coverage of most major highways in Nigeria and we are gradually moving towards the final laps of a massive, nationwide network modernisation and swap-out exercise that is bound to give the network unequalled capacity and much improved quality of service. We have no doubt in our minds that mobile phone users on other networks in Nigeria will be eager to port into MTN to avail themselves of these and other benefits they can only find on the MTN network,” he said.

The MNP has been scheduled by the country’s telecom regulator, NCC, to commence at the first quarter of 2013  after it had shifted the date from December 2012 to get the process right.

According to NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Tony Ojobo, telecommunications operators, including MTN Nigeria, Globacom, Airtel and Etisalat have all been given routing numbers in preparation for the commencement by April.