ANCOM adopted the decision that allows for fixed telephone numbers to be used outside the geographical area in which they were allocated. Thus, the users who move from one county to another will be able to keep their fixed telephone number, including where they intend to switch telephony providers. The decision adopted at the meeting of the Consultative Council will not trigger the modification of the telephone numbers or the introduction of a new numbering category.

Scope of application

9-digit numbers allocated for the provision of fixed telephony services will no longer bear geographical significance. In the case of these numbers, the geographic area code (prefix) will no longer necessarily correspond to the geographical area where the terminal is located. For example, a fixed telephone number installed in Bucharest, now of the format 021xxxxxxx (for which the national prefix "0" followed by the 9 digits will be dialled), will be portable in any county without changing the prefix.

This decision will apply to both 9-digit geographical numbers allocated by ANCOM prior to the date of entry into force of the decision and to the numbers that are to be allocated thereafter. The decision will also apply to both 9-digit geographic numbers assigned by ANCOM based on a licence, as well as to those transferred from another provider or received through a porting process.

Implementation

In order to be able to use geographical numbers in areas other than the original ones, each operator must implement preparatory measures, such as technical modifications to equipment or revision of interconnection architectures. Their complexity and scale vary widely from one operator to another, depending on the technologies used, so ANCOM's decision will come into force within 12 months from its publication in the Romanian Official Journal. Thus, the providers who decide to give their users the ability to use geographic numbers outside the respective area will have enough time to implement the necessary measures.

Objectives of the decision

Adopting this decision, ANCOM seeks to ensure that the users can reap the benefits of the new technologies, by removing the restrictions corresponding to geographic numbers that are no longer justified by technical or commercial reasons.

Another objective envisaged by this normative act is to encourage providers of electronic communications services to offer innovative services including by means of geographic numbers. Furthermore, this measure enables using the allocated numbering resources in a more efficient way, as it is no longer necessary to request the allocation of numbers in each geographical area where services are provided.

Access to emergency services

Since the geographical area code is essential in providing the emergency service, by its decision ANCOM establishes that these numbers shall be treated similarly to location-independent numbers. Consequently, the geographic location coordinates of the call should be determined during the conversation with the caller.