Bulgaria Phone Operators Slapped Fines over Number Portability

The agreements allow customers to change their operator with just one visit at the office of the company to which they want to subscribe. Photo by BGNES

The Bulgarian communications regulator has imposed fines on phone operators for a delay in implementing the number portability service.

The regulatory body, the Communications Regulation Commission, slapped BGN 5 000 for each of the unsigned agreements, which aim to ease the portability of fixed and mobile numbers by introducing a one-stop-shop service.

Bulgaria's first and biggest mobile operator Mtel, which signed earlier in the month an agreement to implement the wireless number portability service at one-stop-shop, urged last week its rivals to follow suit.

The agreements have not yet been signed by Globul and the alternative telecoms.

Mtel and the country's third-biggest operator Vivacom signed an agreement to implement the wireless number portability service at one-stop-shop a few days ago. The two operators have also an agreement for fixed numbers portability.

Under the agreement the clients will be allowed to switch to another operator with just one visit at the office of the company to which they want to subscribe.

The service is scheduled to come into force on August 6.

The news comes days after the Bulgarian communications regulator threatened mobile operators with sanctions for refusing to implement the service.

The regulatory body, the Communications Regulation Commission, said there is a sharp increase in complaints received from clients of the three mobile operators in the country – Mtel, Globul and Vivacom.

According to insiders the fight for subscribers became particularly acrimonious after the Communications Regulation Commission announced plans to launch "one-stop-shop" portability service.

Since the introduction of the service at the beginning of 2009 by the end of the year no more than 0,5% of the mobile operators clients, 55 830 subscribers, have availed themselves of it, data of the regulatory body shows.

Bulgaria had to implement the service as soon as it joined the EU on January 1, 2007 but just ten days later the biggest mobile operator Mtel refused to join the agreement already signed by the other two wireless carriers.

The saga went on for the entire year, with the telecoms regulator intervening in August to speed up proceedings, but to no avail, giving the European Commission reason to start infringement procedures against Bulgaria.

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