ANACOM is going to define the conditions to enable some electronic communications service providers, with a small number of customers or that operate on a relatively small national scale, to use, by agreement, the numbers that this Authority assigned to other providers in the offer of the same service. This measure will boost competition in the offer of electronic communications services, eliminating barriers to the entry of companies in the market. This will also contribute to optimising the use of numbering resources, and at the same time will increase consumer freedom of choice.
The numbering consists of a public resource whose management is entrusted to ANACOM and should not in itself constitute an obstacle to the offer of electronic communications services in a level playing field. Currently, providers can only give the numbers that have been assigned to them directly by ANACOM to their own final customers, thus being solely accountable for compliance with the conditions associated to the allocated numbers. As these allocations are typically done in blocks of 10 000 numbers, this could represent an unnecessary cost to companies that very often need a small amount of numbers. ANACOM is aware that various companies in the market wish to offer electronic communications services and that, being supported, by agreement, by the wholesale networks and services of other companies, also wish to avail themselves of the right of use of numbers held by these companies.
Regardless of the company that is using the numbers, the final customers will have all their legal rights safeguarded, namely the right to the portability of their number if they wish to change provider and access to the emergency services.
The subassignment of numbering resources is already permitted and regulated in various Member State of the European Union.
In order to advance with this measure, ANACOM is now launching the beginning of the regulatory procedure, with a view to the approval of a regulation defining the conditions applicable to the subassignment of numbering resources.
Consult:
- Approval to commence procedure to prepare a regulation on the conditions governing the subassignment of E.164 resources of the NNP https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1493889
