Mobile Number Portability in the United States vs. Ghana (Public Agenda)

By: Megan Russell (Published 7/11)

Ghana has recently made headlines as the fourth African nation, after South Africa, Egypt and Kenya, to provide the much-anticipated Mobile Number Portability (MNP).

The National Communications Authority (NCA) has decreed that as of Thursday July 7, all five major cellular providers, MTN, Vodafone, Airtel, Zain, and Tigo, are required to comply with customers who wish to switch their cell phone carriers while still keeping their same mobile number. The purpose of this facility was to bolster consumer choice and to nurture effective and healthy competition between providers by allowing customers to switch cell providers without worrying about the inconveniences and fees of changing their numbers.

This service is now available to the millions of cell phone users in Ghana. Though many people do not realize the implications the facility employs, based on a survey conducted by the Public Agenda a majority of the subscribers who are aware of the new service do not think they will be using it. Most state the reason as being happy with their current provider and also the fact that most of their friends are on their same network, making the prices to communicate relatively low.

Though this cellular facility has just emerged in Ghana, it has been available in the United States since 2003. After a decree by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that all wireless subscribers be able to switch their cell phone number between carriers, Wireless Number Porting (WLNP) was created. The service was promoted and reviewed widely by media all over the country, alerting all cell phone users to the new possibility.

Currently, 308.7 million people reside in the United States. Of that number, roughly 302.9 are wireless subscribers. The total wireless penetration is at 96%, meaning almost everyone in the country owns and uses a cellular device on a regular basis.

There are 33 mobile phone companies in the United States. The major providers are AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, T-Mobile, Boost Mobile, Cricket, Virgin Mobile and U.S. Cellular. Competition between these companies is fierce and it is not uncommon for providers to offer incentives for subscribers to renew their contracts with the same carrier.

Because a majority of cellular providers in the US require their customers to sign contracts or yearly agreements to commit to one mobile phone company, rather than pay by minute as it is in Ghana, there is not a lot of wiggle-room when it comes to switching carriers. However, when contracts are up in the US customers are allowed to take their service elsewhere if they so desire. Clients must pay an “early termination fee” of up to $200 USD if they would like to switch cell phone providers in the middle of a contract.

Sung Park, a photographer and professor of photojournalism at the University of Oregon in the United States, switched cell phone providers in 2005. His previous company of five years, Sprint, did not provide coverage where he was relocating to and he was forced to switch to Verizon Wireless. At the time, WLNP (wireless number porting) had been available for two years, and Park took full advantage of the service.

“The convenience of having the same number outweighed any inconveniences of switching,” he explained after noting that it took an entire day for the number to switch. “It would have been very disruptive in my life to have a new number when all of my personal and professional contacts knew the current cell phone that I had.”

The process was relatively simple for Park. He simply went to the store of his new carrier, signed a new contract, called his previous provider to tell them he was switching and would like to port his number, then received a new number for a day while his old number was switched. After 24 hours he was completely set up with his new Verizon Wireless contract and phone using his old Sprint number, free of charge.

Park has since been with Verizon Wireless for six years. “I got the service that I wanted, that was the most important thing for me… it ended up saving me money in the end because the plan was better.”

However, WLNP in the United States has not always gone so smoothly. Many glitches in porting numbers occurred for the first several months the service was available, sometimes taking over a week to transfer numbers.

The process was significantly slowed down by missteps such as mismatching contact records between the old and new carriers and also if the customer owed unpaid bills to their previous cellular provider. A majority of porting transactions made by AT&T specifically failed entirely for no specific reason other than being a brand new technology.

A problem found with the delay in porting was the advantage cellular providers had in using the interval to deter customers from transferring their service all together. Initially, Verizon Wireless used the 4-day transfer period to convince their customers to not switch cell phone providers at all. However, this activity was eventually prevented by later decrees requiring the process to be completed within 24 hours.

However in Ghana, this entire process is just beginning. There may be initial glitches but eventually this service will be just another part of the cellular world.

The NCA has decreed that if one wishes to switch his or her number the first step is to visit a shop for the mobile company he or she wishes to join. A small porting fee may be charged which is not to succeed a per port charge pre-approved by the NCA. Any request for porting a number made by a subscriber is required to be granted within 24 hours of filing the request.

This new cellular advancement may seem insignificant to some, but the possibilities for the world of mobile phones increase with every advancement. Each progression signifies success as a nation and helps Ghana to remain one of the most technologically advanced and connected countries in all of Africa.