775,108 phone numbers were ported in the first half of 2023. 96% of these, i.e. 745,595, are mobile telephony numbers and 29,513 are fixed telephony numbers. According to the data available, most numbers were ported by residential users (87% of numbers ported in the first half of the year).
Since 2008, when the number portability service was launched, more than 10 million telephone numbers have moved to a different operator while keeping their user, of which 9.4 million are mobile numbers.
Mobile telephony
745,595 mobile numbers went to different operator in the first six months of 2023. Most users opted for RCS & RDS (464,189 numbers were ported to this network), while Vodafone received 135,022 numbers by porting, Orange received 79,990 numbers, Telekom Romania Mobile Communications received 53,633, and Orange Romania Communications 12,758.
Ported mobile telephone numbers
Out of the 745,595 mobile numbers ported during this period, 58% (432,843) are subscription-based numbers.
Fixed telephony
In the first half of 2023, 29,513 fixed telephone numbers were ported, i.e. 4% of all the numbers ported during this period. Most of the ported fixed telephone numbers went to three operators, as follows: RCS & RDS – 13,095, Orange – 8,188, Vodafone – 2,550.
Ported fixed telephone numbers
Among the 29,513 fixed numbers ported in the first half of 2023, 27,784 are geographic numbers and 1,729 are location-independent numbers. 32% of all fixed geographic telephone numbers were ported in Bucharest and Ilfov (8,917 numbers), 5% in Timis (1,425 numbers), 3% in Bacău (784) – respectively in Neamț (727) -, and 2% in Cluj (634 numbers).
User complaints
In the first half of this year, the Authority registered 244 complaints regarding the portability service. Most of the complaints concern the cancellation of the porting process and the timely completion of the process.
Useful info
- ANCOM has made available www.portabilitate.ro, a website where 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 follow in order to port a telephone number, answers to questions that frequently arise in the case of porting numbers, but also tips to avoid possible problems that may occur during the porting process. The advice is based on actual situations reported to the Authority by users.
- Users who wish to port their phone 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 early termination of the contract, especially if a terminal has also been purchased with the communication services.
- ANCOM provides support to operators for the proper conduct of porting processes, but cannot approve, refuse or cancel porting requests (all of which are carried out by providers, at users' request and in compliance with the legislation in force).
- Mobile telephony users prospecting the signal quality of network of the provider to which they intend to port their number, in their areas of interest, can go to aisemnal.ro map. Therefor, ANCOM makes publicly available this map relying on the results of the measurements conducted by the Authority in 2019 and 2022.
