On the territory of the Russian Federation, on absolutely legal grounds (the law "On Communications"), it is possible to switch from one operator to another with the support of the function of saving the phone number. According to statistics, about 3 million subscribers will use the innovative service.
The process of changing a mobile operator takes from three to ten days. The service is paid, its cost is no more than 100 rubles.
The possible number of transitions from one operator to another is not limited, but it has certain territorial restrictions. So, changing the operator is still possible only within one region.
Service activation
In order for the subscriber to be able to use the modern service of changing the operator and saving the phone number, the user needs to:
- write an application of a certain form to conclude a contract with the desired operator;
- fill out an application of the appropriate form in order to terminate the contract with the previous mobile operator;
- to pay off all debt obligations to the previous cellular operator.
The subscriber must pay off the debt within 3-4 days for individuals and within 21 days for legal entities and companies. The payment period is considered to be from the date of the conclusion of the contract, which entails a change in the mobile operator.
If the existing debt is not repaid within the allotted time, the debtor's subscriber number is subject to mandatory blocking.
User account innovation
For accounting purposes, a special database has been created that contains information about subscribers moving from one operator to another. This information consists in the mandatory fixation of two facts:
- subscriber number;
- the name of one and the second operator.
For changing information in the database, a certain fee is withdrawn in the amount established by the government.
Data accounting functions at the expense of the reserve funds of the universal service. Another innovation is that the subscriber's digital number does not identify the cellular operator serving it.
Operators who hinder the process of changing the operator while maintaining the number run the risk of losing their license to operate in this area.
It should be noted that mobile operators are quite skeptical about this service, since they do not receive any visible benefits from it. The service of changing the operator and preserving the number entails an improvement in the quality of mobile communication services, which guarantees an increase in the costs of the subscriber company, and this ensures an increase in the cost of calls, mobile Internet and other services.
