Decision No. 1/19 of the Board of the Public Utilities Commission

Adopted 3 December 2015

Regulations Regarding the Provision of Number Portability Service

Issued pursuant to
Section 57, Paragraph two
of the Electronic Communications Law
and Section 25, Paragraph one
of the law On Regulators of Public Utilities

I. General Provisions

1. Regulations regarding the provision of number portability service (hereinafter - the Regulation) prescribe the procedures by which an electronic communications merchant providing voice telephony services shall provide the number portability service.

2. The following terms are used in the Regulation:

2.1. donor network operator - an electronic communications merchant the end-user of which has submitted the end-user application for the change of the electronic communications merchant by retaining the number transferred for the use of the end-user;

2.2. end-user application - a written application of the end-user regarding the number portability service;

2.3. routing - provision of call direction or sending of a text message and multimedia message to the ported number;

2.4. ported number - the number transferred for the use of the end-user which is retained for the end-user upon changing the electronic communications merchant;

2.5. recipient network operator - an electronic communications merchant the electronic communications services of which the end-user wishes to use after retaining the number transferred for the use of the end-user;

2.6. originating network operator - an electronic communications merchant from the public electronic communications network of which the end-user is making a call or sending a text message and multimedia message to the ported number.

[1 December 2016]

3. An electronic communications merchant shall port the number transferred for the use of the end-user as follows:

3.1. number of a public fixed telephone network - from one public fixed electronic communications network to another public fixed electronic communications network;

3.2. number of a public mobile telephone network - from one public mobile electronic communications network to another public mobile electronic communications network;

3.3. number which is not specified in Sub-paragraphs 3.1 and 3.2 of this Regulation - from one public electronic communications network to another public electronic communications network.

[1 December 2016]

4. The recipient network operator shall reach a written agreement with other operators on routing changes and other conditions, providing the number portability service, including also on the payment of the annual State fee for the rights to use the numbering.

[1 December 2016]

5. The donor network operator has an obligation to provide the number portability service. The donor network operator shall ensure the right of the end-user to receive the number portability service within the time period for the provision of the number portability service (porting and activation of the number) without restrictions (number of ported numbers, frequency of use of the number portability service) regardless of the commitments of the end-user to the donor network operator (time periods of commitments, related connections, conditions of the contract of the electronic communications service). The donor network operator shall ensure continuous electronic communications services to the end-user until the moment of activation of the number transferred for the use of the end-user.

6. During provision of the number portability service, the recipient network operator and the donor network operator shall carry out porting of the number transferred for the use of the end-user and afterwards activation of the number.

II. Receipt of the Number Portability Service

7. The end-user shall submit the end-user application to the recipient network operator.

8. The number transferred to the use of the end-user and the following shall be indicated in the end-user application:

8.1. if the end-user is a subscriber - the given name, surname, and personal identity number or the name and registration number of the legal person, as well as the name of the donor network operator;

8.2. in other cases - the serial number of the subscriber identification module (SIM) card and the name of the donor network operator.

9. After receipt of an end-user application, the recipient network operator has an obligation to verify the information referred to in Sub-paragraph 8.1 of this Regulation, but in the case referred to in Sub-paragraph 8.2 of this Regulation - to request to present the subscriber identification module (SIM) card of the relevant subscriber. The recipient network operator has the right to request and verify also other information allowing to evaluate the right of the end-user to submit the end-user application and to receive the number portability service.

10. The recipient network operator shall enter into a contract with the end-user on the porting of the number, providing for a time period for the porting of the number, the amount of compensation for not conforming to it, and other provisions which are necessary for the provision of the number portability service (hereinafter - the Contract).

11. The recipient network operator shall activate the public fixed telephone network number transferred for the use of the end-user in the public fixed electronic communications network within one working day from the moment of entering into effect of the Contract, taking into account the technical possibilities of the recipient network operator to provide the number portability service.

12. The recipient network operator shall activate the public mobile telephone network number transferred for the use of the end-user in the public mobile electronic communications network within one working day from the moment of entering into effect of the Contract.

13. The recipient network operator shall activate the number specified in Sub-paragraph 3.3 transferred for the use of the end-user in the public electronic communications network within one working day from the moment of entering into effect of the Contract.

[1 December 2016]

14. After receipt of an end-user application:

14.1. the recipient network operator shall send to the donor network operator the information regarding the received end-user application and other information according to the mutual agreement of merchants;

14.2. the donor network operator shall provide a confirmation to the recipient network operator on the receipt of the information sent by the recipient network operator;

14.3. the donor network operator shall provide a confirmation to the recipient network operator within 24 hours, except in Saturday, Sunday, or public holidays, from the moment of receipt of the information specified in Sub-paragraph 14.1 of this Regulation on the porting of the number transferred for the use of the end-user or refusal, indicating a justification;

14.4. the recipient network operator shall inform the end-user of the porting of the number;

14.5. the recipient network operator shall activate the number transferred for the use of the end-user:

14.5.1. in the public mobile electronic communications network and the public electronic communications network - during the night from 3.00 o'clock to 5.00 o'clock from Monday to Friday, except for a public holiday;

14.5.2. in the public fixed electronic communications network - at the time mutually coordinated by the recipient network operator and the end-user, without exceeding the interruption of providing the voice telephony service for more than two hours.

15. The end-user may refuse from the provision of the service of number portability in writing until activation of the number transferred for the use of the end-user.

16. If the use of the ported number in the public electronic communications network of the recipient network operator has been discontinued and the recipient network operator has not received an end-user application for the porting of the number to another public electronic communications network, the ported number shall be assigned to such electronic communications merchant not later than six months after discontinuing the use to whom the right to use the numbering for the particular number has been granted or forwarded.

[1 December 2016]

III. Charge for the Number Portability Service

17. The donor network operator is entitled to specify a one-time charge to the recipient network operator for the porting of the number transferred for the use of the end-user according to justified costs of providing the number portability service which are directly related to the provision of the number portability service and which would not arise if the number portability service would not be provided. The donor network operator is entitled to specify a one-time charge for the porting of the number transferred for the use of the end-user in the amount which does not exceed the total sum from the following justified costs:

17.1. costs of processing the information provided by the recipient network operator regarding the end-user application, clarifying the information of verifying the end-user data and routing number, and correcting the mistakes;

17.2. costs of making changes to the switching or routing equipment of the donor network operator, as well as to the accounting and settlement systems, data bases containing information regarding end-users;

17.3. costs of the exchange of payment information between the donor network operator and the recipient network operator;

17.4. costs of registering the porting of the number in the data base which contains information regarding the ported numbers;

17.5. variable costs of the use of the data base which contains information regarding the ported numbers depending on the number of ported numbers.

18. In the cost justification, the donor network operator shall calculate the costs referred to in Sub-paragraphs 17.1-17.4 of this Regulation according to the average time consumption in each item of costs of the average costs of the working hour of the labour force employed in the provision of one number portability service and provision of the number portability service of the donor network operator in the previous calendar year or the average costs in the previous calendar year which arise upon receipt of the service from another merchant for the provision of one number portability service.

19. The donor network operator shall ensure that the specified one-time charge for the porting of the number transferred for the use of the end-user is accessible to the general public and the charge shall be applied equally to all recipient network operators regardless of the type of ported number.

[1 December 2016]

20. The donor network operator shall, upon a request of the Public Utilities Commission (hereinafter - the Regulator), provide to the Regulator a justification for the one-time charge, if the operator has specified such for the porting of the number transferred for the use of the end-user, so that the Regulator could evaluate whether the one-time charge for the porting of the number transferred for the use of the end-user would be approximated to the costs referred to in Paragraph 17 of this Regulation.

21. The donor network operator is entitled to specify a charge for the recipient network operator which does not exceed and which covers the State fee paid for the right to use the numbering for the ported number from the day when the relevant number has been ported to the public electronic communications network of the recipient network operator.

[1 December 2016]

22. The donor network operator shall include the regular costs which are related to the provision of the service of number portability in the costs of the interconnection service for the completion and transit of the connection in its public electronic communications network.

[1 December 2016]

23. The donor network operator is not entitled to request a charge from the end-user for the number portability service.

24. The recipient network operator is entitled to specify a one-time or monthly charge to the end-user for the number portability service.

25. The recipient network operator, upon a request of the Regulator, shall provide to the Regulator a justification for the one-time or monthly charge, if the operator has specified such to the end-user for the number portability service so that the Regulator could evaluate whether the one-time or monthly charge for the number portability service is approximated to the costs.

IV. Closing Provisions

26. Decision No. 1/6 of the Board of the Public Utilities Commission of 16 June 2011, Regulations Regarding the Provision of Number Portability Service (Latvijas Vēstnesis, 2011, No. 97; 2012, No. 167), is repealed.

27. This Regulation shall come into force on 1 January 2016.

Informative Reference to European Union Directives

These regulations contain legal norms arising from the following European Union Directives:

1) Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on universal service and users' rights relating to electronic communications networks and services (Universal Service Directive);

2) Directive 2009/136/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 amending Directive 2002/22/EC on universal service and users' rights relating to electronic communications networks and services, Directive 2002/58/EC concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector and Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws.

Acting Chair, Board Member
of the Public Utilities Commission G. Zeltiņš

Translation © 2018 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre)