Number Porting drama: Saka don port oh

Number porting is in the air and one good thing I have to say about this new system is that it allows subscribers freedom to taste different networks in order to see which of them bests suits him.

Why did Saka port from Etisalat to MTN? Was is because he got more money? Were there more benefits from MTN? Is it just to test the other side and see which one brings better service?

Well number porting is really about freedom giving you the ability to choose your network without having to lose your number of contacts who may still call your old number. It allows you to stick with your old number but still choose a different network.

Number porting is a good service that helps to keep GSM companies in check especially when they are offering bad services which most of the time don't come with any compensation for the subscriber. We've heard of past payments of fines and fees by gsm companies to the NCC but the money never really gets to the subscribers who should be the main benefactors of the compensation. Well, that's another story for another day.

Why did Saka have to dump his first love and choose a new bride? What about loyalty? Well, in African tradition, men are allowed to marry more wives or even send their former wives away and I guess Saka is just showing how African he is.

Saka has become popular with the Etisalat brand and you could remember him in the video promoting Etislat's N1bn free credit and that was in late 2012: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ1jWs_38-k.

Now, Saka is already on TV again in April and supporting the competitive number porting system on behalf od MTN and he does this with a music video which you can even see on YouTube.

I guess it's probably because his contract with Etisalat may have expired and he is simply choosing a new network where his presence would be better rewarded.

For Saka to have ported to MTN as a celebrity implies that his fans too may follow him wherever he is going and that's not a good news for Etibaba. I guess that's what we call celebrity poaching or rather ambassador poaching.

Perhaps, Etisalat is looking at a bigger picture and trying to get their own new celebrity ambassadors who may even carry more weight than Saka. I guess they should go for Genevieve Nnaji or P Square.

Number porting at the end of the day may result in massive migration of subscribers to particular networks while the weak ones may suffer a big loss.