Kadiri Ouro-Agoro, the legal and consumer protection director of Togo’s Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Posts (ARCEP), has said that the launch of mobile number portability (MNP) will take place before the end of the year, adding that ‘technical arrangements’ were being put in place to ensure a quick and uninterrupted transition.
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, ARCEP launched a public consultation on plans to introduce MNP in the country in October 2021 as part of preparations to increase competition in the mobile market. In a statement at the time the regulator confirmed: ‘Portability will offer consumers the possibility of changing operator, while keeping their number with their original operator, in the event of dissatisfaction with the quality of service or to benefit from better offers and prices available from the competitor. In this sense, it constitutes a real lever of competition to boost the market.’
The regulator issued an Invitation to Tender (AAO) for ‘the acquisition of a portability solution for mobile communications services’ in July 2022 (AOO No. 002/ARCEP/PRMP/2022). In confirming it has the budget to finance the scheme, ARCEP solicited bids from companies wishing to set up its MNP regime. More recently, In April 2023 ARCEP selected Dutch solution provider Porting XS to implement MNP in the western African nation. The decision was made public at an event in Lome on 7 April and, according to the schedule agreed with Togolese mobile duo Togocom and Moov Togo, MNP should go live in Togo by the fourth quarter of 2023. Kadiri Ouro-Agoro has now reiterated that ARCEP is on track to keep with its deadline.