- Office of Electronic Communications

Amendment of regulations on number portability

Simplifying the procedure of changing and porting the number thanks to the possibility of submitting the application in electronic and documentary form, as well as limiting situations in which subscribers are not aware of the consequences of porting the number and terminating the contract before the end of its duration - these are the most important changes introduced by the regulation on the conditions of exercising rights in public telecommunications networks that comes into force on 1 March 2019.

The amendment of the regulations allows the applications for:

•          changing the assigned number,
•          porting the number to a new location,
•          porting the number to a new services provider,

to be submitted in writing, electronically and in a documentary form. At the same time, notifications in the processes of changing and porting the number will be delivered to the subscriber on a durable medium, in a form corresponding to the form of submitting the application. The subscriber may request the information on the porting be provided in writing or by electronic means.  

Number portability when changing the service provider

If the subscriber submits the application in a documentary form, the new provider must record and deliver to the subscriber the content of the application on a durable medium. This will ensure that the customer can verify the application and the number porting procedure for any complaints.

The catalogue of elements that must be included in the application for number porting has also been changed. New applications need to include:

• statement on the awareness of the financial consequences resulting from the termination of the contract with the existing provider before the end of the duration of the promotional period,
• power of attorney to carry out activities related to the porting of the number, in particular to terminate the contract on behalf of the subscriber with the existing provider. 

It is not possible to port the number in a two-step procedure, without the power of attorney, where the subscriber terminates the contract with the existing provider by himself.

In order to limit the number of cases when the number is ported against the subscriber's will, the existing service provider must inform the subscriber that the number porting process has been initiated. The information that the number will be ported shall include the names of the existing and the new provider and shall be shared no later than within 24 hours from its receipt by the existing provider, in the form of an SMS or - in the case of fixed networks - via a phone call.

If the subscriber wants to resign from porting the number, she/he may submit a statement of resignation to the existing or the new service provider. This statement shall be submitted no later than 2 days before the planned porting of the number.