Press Release: Telecoms: Commission takes legal action against Bulgaria so that consumers can change their fixed phone operator while keeping their number

The Commission opened an infringement procedure against Bulgaria for failing to introduce number portability for fixed-line phones, when phone users change their operator but want to keep their phone number. When it joined the EU in 2007, Bulgaria was allowed to postpone the introduction of number portability until 1 January 2009, a deadline that has now passed without results. As required by the EU telecoms rules, phone users of all other Member States, and, since April 2008, mobile phone users in Bulgaria, can have their numbers ported to other operators. Bulgaria now has two months to reply to the Commission.