EU Regulators May Cap Costs for Number Portability

A Court of Appeals in Brussels has ruled that EU national regulatory authorities may fix ex ante maximum prices for the transfer of a mobile telephone number from one mobile telephone operator to another. The EU’s Universal Service Directive provides that all subscribers of mobile services who so request must be able to retain their number(s) when changing operator. The national regulatory authorities are to ensure that pricing for interconnection related to the provision of number portability is cost-oriented and that direct charges to subscribers do not act as a disincentive for the use of these facilities.http://europa.eu.int