Regulatory authority RTR drops rates: Mobile number porting over 50 per cent cheaper as of March 2016 RTR ordinance sets porting fee at EUR 10Press release dated 20 November 2015 The RTR ordinance specifying the general terms for porting mobile numbers will be amended as of 20 November 2015 to provide a number of changes benefiting customers who wish to port their numbers.Encouraging competition by reducing change barriers to switching networks“I wish to especially mention the reduction in the porting fee from the current EUR 19 to EUR 10. Assuming an average of 200,000 number porting cases each year, end users in Austria will save roughly EUR 2 million every year thanks to this fee drop,” announced Johannes Gungl, CEO of RTR’s Telecommunications and Postal Services Division. “I expect this step to lower the change barrier to switching networks and encourage consumers to have their numbers ported, and so provide new stimulus for competition in the Austrian mobile telecommunications market,” Gungl observed.The change will also result in significant savings for large-scale business customers. Irrespective of how many numbers fall under a single contract, porting fees will only have to be paid for a maximum of 80 numbers once the amendment becomes effective.Details of porting procedures even more consumer-friendly“It was a great concern of ours to simplify porting procedures even more. For example, as from 1 March 2016, it will always be possible to also receive the number porting information by e-mail. That will facilitate switching to the new providers in the market, who in many cases have only web portals. Up to now, some customers even had to make scan copies of the number porting information to complete porting procedures via web,” Gungl elaborated. Number porting information, which is provided in written form, consists of details of the existing contract with the current provider while providing an overview of the expense entailed in porting the number as planned.Minimal amount of investment required from providers“Another major concern in amending this ordinance was to define the general terms applying to porting procedures. We did this in close collaboration with the providers with the objective of minimizing their required investments. Much of the input offered during the public consultation phase has been taken into consideration,” Gungl stated.The amendment to the Number Porting Ordinance 2012 will be published in the Federal Law Gazette on 20 November and enter into force on 1 March 2016.