Bulgaria's Globul Takes on Watchdog over Portability Fine

Globul says it has put in lots of efforts over the last month to reach an agreement over the portability procedures. File photo

Bulgaria's second-biggest mobile operator has harshly criticized the decision of the communications regulator to impose fines for a delay in implementing the number portability service.

The Communications Regulation Commission has fined operators for their failure to agree on the procedures for mobile and fixed numbers portability without offering an option for solving the problem, says a statement released to the media a day after the regulatory body slapped a BGN 5 000 fine to all twenty operators for hampering the service.

The telecom points out that the company has put in lots of efforts over the last month to reach an agreement for the procedures, but this has not yielded a definitive result.

“The lack of agreement can not be cited as a reason for sanctioning operators,” the statement says, adding that the regulatory body is obliged to intervene objectively in such cases.

The statement comes days after Bulgaria's first and biggest operator Mtel and the country's third-biggest operator Vivacom signed an agreement to implement the wireless number portability service at one-stop-shop. 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.

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.

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