16.01.2023

In 2022 the growing trend in porting telephone numbers continued, and again we witnessed the highest number of porting processes, since the launch of the portability service, in 2008. Thus, 1,336,982 phone numbers switched operators, while keeping their users. 94% of all the ported numbers i.e., 1,255,962 are mobile numbers. Records were also reached in terms of the average number of porting processes, which amounted to 111,415 per month. Most of them (over 140 thousand porting processes) were carried out in November and December 2022.

                                         

35 fixed and mobile telephony providers were involved in the porting processes carried out in 2022. 84% of last year’s porting processes were carried out by residential users and 16% by business users.

Since the introduction of the portability service in Romania, in October 2008, over 9.7 million numbers were transferred between networks. 8.7 million of these are mobile numbers(89%) and 1 million are fixed telephony numbers.

Mobile telephony

1,255,962 mobile numbers were ported in 2022.  RCS & RDS is the provider that received the most mobile numbers by porting i.e., 754,833, followed by Vodafone with 191,822 numbers received and Orange with 149,361. Telekom Romania Mobile Communications received 129,732 numbers, and Orange Romania Communications 30,190.

 

 

Of all the mobile numbers ported in 2022, 56% (703,810) were subscription-based numbers.

Fixed numbers

In 2022, the porting of fixed telephony numbers was also on a rising trend, significanty increasing (by over 30%). Thus, 81,020 fixed telephony numbers were ported. Most users chose to switch to the following providers: RCS & RDS (26,259 numbers), GTS Telecom (15,345), Vodafone (12,516), Orange (10,744) and BT Global Europe (4,542).

 

 

14,401 of the total fixed telephony numbers ported last year were location-independent numbers, green numbers, and premium rate numbers.

During 2022, ANCOM received 320 petitions regarding the porting of telephone numbers, the users raising issues related to the cancellation of the porting processes, in the context where the providers these users intended to give up presented new offers to them, as well as to the late completion of the porting process.

Useful information

• ANCOM has created the website  www.portabilitate.ro for information purposes. Here, the users can find out the network of any phone number used in Romania, even if it has been ported. The site provides details on the steps to be followed in order to port a telephone number, answers to frequently asked questions in the realm of number portability, as well as tips for avoiding possible problems that may occur during the porting process. Such tips are provided based on the actual issues reported to the Authority by the users.
• Users who want to port their telephone number are advised to check the contract they have with the current operator. If the minimum contract period has not expired, they will most likely be in a position to pay penalties for the early termination of the contract, in particular if a terminal has also been purchased with the communications services.
• ANCOM provides support to operators for the proper carrying out of the porting processes, but it cannot approve, refuse or cancel the porting requests (all these being carried out by the providers, upon the users’ the request and in compliance with the legislation in force).

• Mobile telephony users can check the signal quality in the network of the provider to which they want to port their number, in their areas of interest, by accessing the map aisemnal.ro, which presents the results of the measurements carried out by the Authority during 2019 - 2022 and is made available to the public for such information purposes.