The mobile number portability, currently offered in all EU 27 member countries, is considered an EU standard, protecting consumers’ rights and interests
TIRANA, July 5 – With more than one year from the expiry of the legal deadline, the mobile number portability, a service enabling mobile phone users to retain their numbers when switching from one mobile operator to another, has not been offered yet in Albania. The concern is raised by Transparency International Albania, and the Citizens’ Advocacy Office (CAO), two watchdogs which have sent an open letter to Electronic and Postal Communications Authority (AKEP) asking detailed information on when the service will be made available.
“We regretfully remind you that two years after the law has entered into force and one year after the expiry of the legal deadline for the implementation of the mobile number portability, the Albanian citizens are being denied not only the service, but also the information on when the service will be made available,” said the two NGOs in a statement.
The implementation of this service in other countries has considerably lowered tariffs because of increased competition among mobile operators. Its application in Albania is expected to have the same effects, especially with the licensing of the fourth mobile operator expected to partially launch operations this month.
In its open letter, Transparency International demands that AKEP should immediately implement the provisions of law 1918, through increased public transparency providing detailed information on measures it has taken to offer the service.
The law approved in May 2008 foresees that mobile operators should give the opportunity to their subscribers to port their number when choosing another company.
Article 137 of the law foresees even fines from 4 to 7 percent of the annual income for operators not offering the number portability service to their customers.
The law, which obliges AKEP to guarantee the service under a special regulation determining its application and deadlines, is considered an EU standard, protecting consumers’ rights and interests. The service is currently offered in all EU 27 member countries but not yet in Albania, a potential EU candidate country awaiting the opinion of the European Commission on its readiness to comply with the EU membership criteria.
The consumer protection is also foreseen in article 76 of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) Albania has signed with the European Union, in force since April 2009.
While consumers in all 27 Member States currently have the right to change their (fixed and mobile) phone operator while keeping their number, at the moment not everyone can expect it to happen in one day, and some face a wait of two weeks, reducing the impact of this important right on competition and consumer choice. On average across the EU, it takes 4.1 days for a mobile number and 6.5 days for a fixed number to be ported.
Irish or Maltese mobile users can do this within one day only, according to European Commission recent report.
