Number Portability Company

What Number Portability Company does

Number Portability Company (Pty) Ltd is the ICASA-mandated sole administrator of number portability services in South Africa, formed jointly by MTN, Vodacom, and Cell C in 2001 and incorporated in 2005 (Reg. No. 2005/040348/07) to fulfill the 2001 Amendments to the Telecommunications Act. Since April 20, 2010, ownership has been shared among Cell C, MTN, Liquid Telecom (formerly Neotel, renamed June 26, 2017), Telkom, and Vodacom. The company operates exclusively in South Africa, with its headquarters in Centurion, Gauteng.

NPC's core technology is the Central Reference Database (CRDB), an administrative database linked to operators via a network interface that tracks every porting request from initiation through to the distribution of updated routing data. The product portfolio comprises three core services: Mobile Number Portability (MNP, launched November 10, 2006), Geographic Number Portability (GNP, launched April 26, 2010), and Non-Geographic Number Portability (NNP, effective March 7, 2022). Supporting infrastructure includes an SFTP download facility for Wireless Application Service Providers (WASPs) and ECNS licensees, and a public-facing number porting verification portal.

The business model is built on per-completed-port transaction fees across the three service lines, supplemented by subscription-style SFTP fees for access to daily porting data. A R10 per-port fee reduction was implemented in January 2014 alongside a discretionary monthly volume rebate program. NPC serves MNOs, geographic number operators, WASPs, and ECNS licensees under a regulatory mandate that effectively creates a domestic monopoly on standardized porting infrastructure. Through June 2026, the company has processed 14,757,252 mobile and 4,663,949 geographic number ports, with average monthly volumes of approximately 19,316 and 30,483 respectively.

Name

Number Portability Company

Legal name

Number Portability Company (Pty) Ltd

Website

https://number-portability.co.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Number Portability Company is the ICASA-mandated sole administrator of number portability services in South Africa, jointly owned by the five major telecom operators (Cell C, MTN, Liquid Telecom, Telkom, Vodacom), operating a Central Reference Database for mobile, geographic, and non-geographic number porting.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Telecommunications Number Portability Services

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518210)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHDAEALAE

Configuration Management Database (CMDB) Platforms

Hardware, Technology & Telecom/Enterprise Platforms & Databases/Enterprise Service Management (ITSM/ESM) Platforms

SECONDARYBPAEAJAK

Configuration Management & CMDB Services

Business & Public Services/IT & Digital Services (Managed Services, Systems Integration)/IT Service Management (ITSM) & Service Desk

Keywords

• Number portability services
• Telecom routing database
• Mobile number porting
• Geographic number porting
• Central reference database

Headquarters

HQ city

Midrand

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Porting Fees: NPC charges fees per completed port. In January 2014, a porting fee reduction was implemented, reducing costs by R10 per port. Volume-based rebates are offered when porting volumes continue at current levels.
2. SFTP Facility Fees: Fees charged to interested parties (WASPs, ECNS licensees) for Secure File Transfer Protocol download facilities. Fee structure provided upon contact and execution of non-disclosure agreement.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Number Portability Company (NPC) administers the Central Reference Database (CRDB), an administrative database linked to telecom operators via a network interface that tracks all porting processes from initial request through to providing new routing data. NPC delivers Mobile Number Portability (MNP), Geographic Number Portability (GNP), and Non-Geographic Number Portability (NNP) services to South African operators and qualified service providers, enabled by ICASA regulation.

Product overview

Number Portability Company (NPC) is a joint venture owned by South African mobile and fixed-line operators (Cell C, MTN, Liquid Telecom, Telkom, and Vodacom) that administers a portfolio of telecommunications number portability services. Its core platform is the Central Reference Database (CRDB), which provides the administrative backbone for tracking porting requests and distributing routing data to operators. The product portfolio consists of three distinct porting services: Mobile Number Portability (MNP, launched November 2006), Geographic Number Portability (GNP, launched April 2010), and Non-Geographic Number Portability (NNP, effective March 2022). Supporting these, NPC also provides an SFTP download facility for daily porting data dissemination to WASPs and ECNS licensees, and a public-facing web portal for checking the porting status of individual numbers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mobile Number Portability (MNP) A porting service enabling subscribers to retain their mobile phone numbers when switching between mobile network operators, administered through NPC's Central Reference Database. Launched November 10, 2006.
• Geographic Number Portability (GNP) A porting service enabling subscribers to retain their fixed-line or geographic telephone numbers when switching between operators or service providers, administered through the CRDB. Launched April 26, 2010.
• Non-Geographic Number Portability (NNP) A porting service for non-geographic numbers (e.g., toll-free, premium-rate) as defined by Government Gazette GENERAL NOTICE 748 OF 2021, administered through the CRDB. Effective from March 7, 2022.
• Central Reference Database (CRDB) An administrative database administered by NPC, linked to operators via a network interface, that tracks all porting processes from initial porting request through to providing new routing data to operators so necessary network routing can be updated.
• Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) Download Facility An SFTP-based facility offered to Wireless Application Service Providers (WASPs) and ECNS licensees, enabling daily downloads of porting data (mobile, GNP, and NNP numbers) for routing purposes, with full downloads available as required. Access is subject to a non-disclosure agreement.
• Public Number Porting Check Portal A public web portal enabling interested parties to check whether a specific telephone number (MSISDN) has been ported, accessible at https://www.porting.co.za/PublicWebsite/.

Quantifiable outcome

• 14,757,252 mobile numbers successfully ported since November 2006 to June 2026
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Neotel (now Liquid Telecom)minorOthers · 26 June 2017Neotel was officially renamed to Liquid Telecom from June 26, 2017. Any reference to Neotel should be taken as Liquid Telecom.
• Cell C LimitedcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 April 2010Joint owner of NPC since April 20, 2010. One of the major mobile network operators in South Africa. Part of the joint venture mandated to administer number portability services under ICASA regulations. Originally formed NPC in 2005 alongside MTN and Cell C.
• MTN Business Solutions (Pty) LtdcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 April 2010Joint owner of NPC since April 20, 2010. Major mobile network operator in South Africa. Part of the original joint venture (with MTN, Vodacom and Cell C) formed in 2005 to implement number portability mandated by ICASA.
• Vodacom (Pty) LtdcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 April 2010Joint owner of NPC since April 20, 2010. Major mobile network operator in South Africa. Part of the original joint venture formed in 2005 to implement number portability.
• Telkom SA LimitedcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 April 2010Joint owner of NPC since April 20, 2010. Major telecommunications operator in South Africa providing mobile and fixed-line services.
• Liquid Telecom (formerly Neotel)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 April 2010Joint owner of NPC since April 20, 2010 (as Neotel). Renamed to Liquid Telecom from June 26, 2017. Major telecommunications operator in South Africa.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Mavenir: Offers cloud-native number portability and routing solutions targeting Tier 1 and Tier 2 operators, representing a modern, virtualized alternative to legacy CRDB-style architectures.

Broad incumbents

• Huawei: Provides number portability and centralized database solutions as part of its telecom software portfolio, serving operators and regulators across emerging markets including Africa.
• Ericsson: Provides number portability solutions as part of its broader telecom infrastructure portfolio, supplying the underlying platform technology that many national NPAs (including potentially NPC) deploy or compete against.
• Nokia: Offers number portability solutions within its broader network infrastructure and BSS portfolio, serving as both a vendor and competitor-adjacent player in the centralized number administration space.

Others

• Ofcom (UK): UK communications regulator overseeing number portability policy and framework; not an operator but the regulatory counterpart that mandates and supervises national NP administration similar to ICASA's role with NPC.

Direct peers

• Syniverse Technologies: Provides MNP services to mobile operators globally, including acting as the clearinghouse administrator for number portability in India and other markets — a comparable centralized porting administration role.
• iconectiv: Operates the Number Portability Administration Center (NPAC) for the United States and Canada, functioning as the central neutral administrator for number portability in North America — directly comparable to NPC's role in South Africa.
• Communications Alliance (Australia): Administers the Australian Mobile Number Portability system on behalf of Australian operators under ACMA regulation — structurally analogous to NPC's neutral administrator role for South Africa.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/number-portabiliy-company-pty-ltd

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Number Portability Company