The Justice Ministry first proposed 15-minute mobile number transfers in January, with the rationale being the avoidance of the original provider "gazumping" the new provider by presenting a more appealing counter-offer to the customer before they had left.

Last month, however, it became clear that the 15-minute plan would not be implemented at this point; the amended bill instead allows numbers to be transferred within one working day. The justification given in this case was the widespread nature of fraud schemes and broader security concerns.

Of the three service providers in Estonia, Tele2 is pushing more for the fast transfer speed, while Telia and Elisa are stressing security aspects. Too fast a switch could leave customers vulnerable to scammers, the companies say, who could hijack a person's phone and change providers without the customer being aware. The customer would then lose access to vital services.

On Wednesday, Tele2 sent a letter to the ministry criticizing the changes made to the bill, claiming the changeover period will now not be much faster than the current five working days.

"It is unfortunate to note that, compared with the bill shared at the start of 2026, the current bill represents a step backward in terms of modern, consumer-friendly number portability, and instead of a 15-minute transfer, the process described in the new draft could stretch to nearly half a week," wrote Tele2 board member Taivo Kendla.

As an example, he described a scenario where a customer wants to transfer their number after 5 p.m. on a Friday. As the bill consistently refers to working hours, the transfer process would not get underway until the following Monday morning, meaning the number would only be activated with the new provider at 3 a.m. on Tuesday, as the bill stands.

As a result, the number transfer process could take a total of five days, including weekends and holidays.

Other market players stress security over speed.

Evelin Neerot, head of connectivity services at Telia, told ERR that number portability is a natural part of functioning competition and is already a well-functioning practice in Estonia's telecommunications market today.

"We are not fundamentally opposed to a quicker process, but we believe customers should retain at least a reasonable amount of time to consider their decision. In practice, we have often been seeing situations where, in the case of a very rapid transfer, existing obligations or service-related terms may get overlooked," Neerot said.
Security is also an important consideration, Neerot said, since many people's phone numbers are linked to banking and various digital services.

"Excessive haste may increase the risk of mistakes, confusion, or even abuse, especially in a situation where cyber fraud is getting increasingly sophisticated," Neerot said.
Mailiis Ploomann, head of Elisa's private customer unit, also told ERR that competition in Estonia's telecommunications market is fierce, adding that customers' biggest concern has not been the speed of switching providers, but rather security.

"Fraudsters may use stolen Smart-ID or other authentication credentials to transfer a phone number to another operator and take over a person's messages, calls, and accounts connected to two-factor authentication," Ploomann said, adding that such schemes have already been identified.

The severity of this type of scheme lies in the fact that the victim is left without a vital service and, by the time they realize what has happened, they may no longer be able to contact the relevant institutions for help.

After ERR requested comment, Elisa also sent a letter to the Ministry of Justice. In addition to the points mentioned above, the company highlighted unreasonably fast response times required from service providers and the possibility that customers influenced by aggressive marketing might not have enough time to reconsider.

Minister wants to move ahead with 15-minute changes

Justice Minister Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200) said the Ministry of the Interior has not backed faster number portability as, in its view, it required risk analysis.

"We all agree that no additional windows of opportunity should be created for fraudsters, even though changing operators does not in and of itself give a fraudster any additional PIN or PUK codes. We certainly still intend to move ahead with the 15-minute process," Pakosta told ERR.

While an earlier version of the bill required only the customer's request and confirmation from the current operator to transfer a number, the revised version also requires confirmation from the receiving operator, who would likewise have one working hour to respond.

"This is needed to avoid situations where a person may have fallen victim to fraud and the number transfer is actually being initiated by a scammer. During that time, the receiving operator should also be able to notify its customer that they initiated the transfer. If the customer did not in fact do so, they can halt the process," Pakosta said.

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