11.07.2018

"Given that the users are complaining that the Authority refuses their porting requests, I would like to point out that ANCOM is solely responsible for the management of the IT system that supports the porting processes. Only telephony operators involved in the process can refuse a porting request” said Sorin Grindeanu, ANCOM President. The operators can reject the porting request if it is not correctly filled in, the subscriber identification data is not correct or does not correspond to the number whose porting is requested or the donor operator no longer provides the telephone service via that number.

The porting processes

Before accepting a porting request from the user, the acceptor operator must verify whether the applicant is also the service supply contract holder or his/her legal representative and if the number/ numbers for which porting is requested is/ are subject of the concluded contract. For these verifications, the acceptor operator needs the subscriber code (in the case of porting subscription-based numbers, available on the invoice) or the SIM card number (in case of prepaid card portability).

Upon verification and after accepting the user’s request (signed and dated), the acceptor operator fills in an electronic application, which he sends to the donor operator through the IT system managed by ANCOM. The donor operator can accept or refuse the porting request depending on the content of the request and the information in its own systems. The acceptor operator shall agree with the subscriber the time interval in which a number can be ported. As well, the acceptor operator must inform the subscriber that the porting interval (the time interval within a day in which the number can be ported) will be determined after the donor operator validates the porting request.

Rejecting the porting request

The acceptor operator may reject porting if it does not provide the network type requested by the user (for example, prepaid service).

The donor operator may refuse the porting in the following cases:

• the request is inaccurately filled in;
  
• the subscriber identification data are incorrect or do not correspond to the number mentioned in the porting request;
  
• the number is found in one of the numbering resource categories exempted from number portability;
  
• the donor operator does not provide services by means of the respective number (i.e. by means of the termination of the contract following a request from the user prior to submitting the porting request);
  
• the number for which porting is requested was not used for calls in the donor operator's network;
  
• the SIM card is declared lost or stolen.

The following reasons may not ground the refusal of a portability request:

• debts accrued by the respective subscriber as to the donor provider;
• a minimum duration provided in the agreement;
• suspension of service provision through that number.

 Good to know

• ANCOM manages and permanently monitors the central data base (BDC), an IT system that manages the administrative processes associated with number portability (the providers exchange information during the porting processes).
• ANCOM provides support to operators for the proper deployment of porting processes, but can not reject or approve porting requests.
•  Users wishing to port the number should not request termination of the contract with the donor operator. The porting request is, implicitly, also an application for termination of the contract with the donor operator.
• ANCOM may impose sanctions if providers fail to meet the settlement term on the porting process, according to Decision no. 3444/2007, as well as in case of unjustified refusal of the porting request. 

About what, how and where one can complain

Should you encounter difficulties during the porting process, you may submit a complaint to the acceptor operator (which is responsible for porting the respective number), but also to ANCOM, following the steps detailed here.

Further information on the porting process is available at www.portabilitate.ro.