National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology of the Republic of Moldova

Providers of public mobile and fixed networks and services, jointly with centralized database (CDB) administrator, shall ensure the launch of mobile number portability service on May 1, 2013 and the launch of fixed number portability – on July 31, 2013. These terms were set by the Administrative Board of the National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology (ANRCETI) in its decision (doc. in state language) approving the Action Plan for number portability implementation in R. Moldova.

The document was adopted in view of the implementation of number portability in the Republic of Moldova for the timeframe 2011 - 2013. The plan provides for a series of actions which ANRCETI, jointly with the providers of mobile and fixed networks/services and the CDB administrator will undertake in 2012 - 2013 in order to implement number fixed and mobile portability. 

According to the plan, the CDB administrator and the providers of mobile and fixed networks/services will develop the technical and commercial conditions for number portability implementation, which are planned to be approved by ANRCETI Administrative Board before 25.12.2012. Later, mobile telephony providers will sign due contracts with the CDB administrator and will make the required changes in their networks to enable the launch mobile portability services on 01.05.2013. Fixed telephony providers will do similar works to ensure the launch of this service in their networks on 31.07.2013. Before 25.04.2013, the CDB administrator will have finished the CDB testing for the launch of mobile portability services, and before 25.07.2013 – the CDB for the launch of fixed number portability. 

By the same decision, ANRCETI Administrative Board appointed a Working Group, empowered to monitor and verify the number portability implementation, comprising ANRCETI specialists, representatives of providers and CDB Administrator. The Working Group and ANRCETI will monitor the process and draw up quarterly reports on the progress made in fulfilling the Program for number portability implementation, which will also be published on ANRCETI website. At the end of 2013 The Working Group and ANRCETI will evaluate the results of number portability implementing in the fixed and mobile networks and will draw up the due report, which will be posted on ANRCETI website. 

The draft decision referred to above was discussed and approved in a public meeting of ANRCETI Administrative Board at the end of last week. It was attended by mobile and fixed network operators, as well as representative of the foreign capital company "NP Base" LLC, founded by company "MEDIAFON" UAB – the winner of the Tender for selection of CDB Administrator for number portability implementation.

As a result of the Tender, organized by ANRCETI in the timeframe August 6 – 13, 2012, the Tender Commission nominated the company "MEDIAFON" UAB from Lithuania as the winner. Based on this nomination, ANRCETI Administrative Board issued a decision (doc. in state language) by which this company was designated as Tender winner. Later, after "MEDIAFON" UAB founded company "NP Base" LLC according to the due legal procedure, ANRCETI Administrative Board, by a decision (doc. in state language), appointed this enterprise, controlled by "MEDIAFON" UAB, as CDB administrator for telephone number portability implementation in R. Moldova.

Number portability is a service for telephone users, enabling them to keep their phone numbers when switching to other telephony service providers. This service has been implemented in more than 50 countries of the world, including in 27 EU countries. The number portability implementation in Moldova is a provision of the Law on Electronic Communications and meets the EU standards for this sector.

October 16, 2012