16.07.2018

ANCOM proposes in a draft decision launched for public consultation that geographical fixed telephone numbers could also be used outside the geographical area in which they were allocated. "In order to fully reap the benefits of new technologies, telephony providers will be able to offer their own subscribers new innovative services, such as porting a fixed number from one county to another," said Sorin Grindeanu, President of ANCOM. This regulation will not lead to changing telephone numbers or to the setup of another numbering category.

Scope of application

The removal of geographical significance will apply to 9-digit geographical numbers allocated for the provision of fixed telephony services. In the case of these numbers, the geographical area code number (prefix) will no longer necessarily correspond to the geographical area where the terminal is located. For example, a fixed telephony number 21xxxxxxx (called by dialling the national prefix "0" followed by the 9 digits) now installed in Bucharest, will become portable to any county.

Implementation 

With a view to enabling the use of geographical numbers in areas other than the initial ones, each operator must implement pre-operational measures such as: technical changes to equipment, review of interconnection architectures, etc. Their complexity and scale vary widely from one operator to another, depending on the technologies used. Therefore, ANCOM proposes that the provisions of the draft decision under public consultation enter into force on 1 July 2019, so that all the providers who will decide to give their users the possibility to use geographical numbers outside a given area could have sufficient time to prepare this measure.

Public consultation

The draft decision on the use of geographic numbering resources outside the respective area is available – in Romanian – on ANCOM’s website, here. The interested persons are invited to submit their comments and suggestions, by 16.08.2018, at the ANCOM headquarters (2 Delea Noua Street, Bucharest 3), directly to the ANCOM Registry Office or by means of the ANCOM regional divisions. Comments may also be sent by fax to +40 372 845 402 or by e-mail to consultare@ancom.org.ro.