Mobile phone subscribers will be able to port their numbers to a new mobile operator within three days and free of charge
TIRANA, May 2 – Starting from this week Albanian mobile subscribers can finally have access to the mobile number portability, a service enabling them to retain their numbers when switching from one mobile operator to another. The service was launched on Monday in Tirana in a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Sali Berisha, Innovation and IT Minister Genc Pollo and the director of the Electronic and Postal Communications Authority (AKEP) Pirro Xhixho.
Prime Minister Berisha described the launch of the service as a great achievement for the telecommunication sector and the country’s development. He also called on mobile companies for understanding while AKEP is working to bring tariffs within regional levels. Increased competition and interventions by the Electronic and Postal Communications Authority have considerably lowered mobile tariffs during the past 3 years in Albania, but still remain above the average in the region, says the Authority.
AKEP director said the mobile number portability was a key step to further promote competition in the mobile communication market.
The service will be provided by Tirana-based Infosoft Systems which was announced the winner of an international tender last December.
Innovation and IT minister Genc Pollo said the number portability service will offer more opportunities to mobile users, increased competition for the current four operators and as a result better service and cheaper rates.
Mobile phone subscribers will be able to port their numbers to a new mobile operator within three days and free of charge.
Last year, NGOs expressed their concern over delays in the implementation of this service whose legal deadline expired in May 2009, delaying procedures to start offering number portability by one and a half years.
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 and most regional countries.
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.
According to AKEP, the number of mobile subscribers in 2010 increased by 11 percent to 4.5 million for a population of around 3.5 million, a figure which shows more than 1/3 of subscribers possess at least two SIM cards. Data show Albania’s mobile penetration rate climbed to 140 percent at the end 2010, which is 18 percent higher than the EU average.
AKEP officials say the mobile phone market is now fully liberalized with the launch of fourth mobile operator, Albanian-owned Plus Communication at the end of 2010, and will bring increased competition and further lower tariffs this year also because of some measures by AKEP which is lowering mobile termination tariffs.
Currently four companies, AMC, Vodafone Albania, Eagle Mobile and Plus Communication operate in the Albanian market.
