Substantial reduction of number porting fee as of 1 March 2016

The costs for changing one's mobile service provider while keeping one's phone number will be substantially reduced as of 1 March. An ordinance issued by the regulatory authority reduces the costs for porting a mobile phone number from EUR 19 to EU 10. "This is an important step in removing financial barriers for changing one's mobile service provider", Mr Johannes Gungl, CEO of RTR's Telecommunications and Postal Services Division, said.

Business customers also benefit from new regulation

Business customers frequently port large volumes of phone numbers. The new ordinance introduces a price cap, which will result in considerable cost savings for bulk portings. The porting fee can now be levied for no more than 80 connections; no fees may be charged for any connections in excess of this number.

Number porting process to be simplified

In addition, the process of obtaining a number porting information will be simplified. Obtaining a number porting information is a prerequisite for the number porting process; it serves to inform customers about the costs payable to the operator until the expiration of the contract. To date, the legal situation imposed restrictions on sending the number porting information via email. As of 1 March 2016, these restrictions will be lifted. 

Notice period for terminations to be reduced to one month as of 26 February

It will also become easier for consumers to terminate their contracts for fixed-line or mobile telecommunications. “The Telecommunications Act now rules that the notice period be limited to one month,” Mr Gungl said ,”This is valid only for new contracts signed on 26 February or later.” For business customers,  notice periods may still be longer.
Comprehensive information on number porting and further information on consumer protection are available on the regulatory authority’s website at https://www.rtr.at/en/tk/Konsumenten_Service