Rwanda to introduce mobile number portability

According to an interview, conducted by Business Times, Rwanda is considering introducing mobile number portability. In the interview, Jean Baptiste Mutabazi, the head of communications regulator Rura, stated that they hired a consultant last year to study the feasibility of the project and what it would cost a subscriber to port.

The consultant submitted the study report to Rura last month, and the regulator is currently discussing it with policy-makers and industry stakeholders. Mutabazi said that Rura now has an idea on how number portability can be implemented, but there was a need to discuss at the policy level the costs involved in the setting up a centralised system.

In the past, the regulator has said it would wait until Rwanda reaches 60 percent mobile penetration to consider implementing number portability. The country passed the milestone in January 2014.

Staff Writer