Tanzania has announced the official introduction of mobile number portability (MNP), enabling consumers to retain their phone number if they switch service provider. The Telecommunications Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) said the move is expected to increase competition between the country’s mobile operators, thereby leading to lower prices and improved quality of service. TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database states that MNP has been on the regulator’s agenda since 2011, but its introduction has been delayed numerous times to give network operators more time to upgrade their infrastructure to allow for the change.
Meanwhile, Daily News reports that state-owned national telecoms operator Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited (TTCL) is set to receive a TZS600 billion (USD262.9 million) loan from the Chinese government to help fund the deployment of telecoms networks and services in rural areas. ‘I believe that once the massive investment is completed, TTCL [will] deliver high quality communication services using modern technologies to the general public,’ the country’s Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan was quoted as saying. Earlier this year, TTCL said it was seeking USD300 million to implement the first phase of its strategy to cover all regions with affordable and reliable telecoms services, including 4G LTE, by the end of this year.