Tele2 must stop incorrect use of mobile phone numbers

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets has forced Dutch telecom company Tele2 to ensure that it stops using mobile numbers for other purposes than mobile calls. ACM has established that mobile numbers issued to Tele2 are sometimes used for text messages between equipment at fixed locations and mobile phones. Numbers other than the regular numbers for mobile phones (06-numbers in the Netherlands) are available for these purposes.

The mobile numbers issued by ACM are meant for mobile telephony. Sending text messages between equipment at fixed locations and mobile phones does not fall thereunder. For this kind of text-message services, 097-numbers are available. These 097-numbers are longer than 06-numbers and are also called Machine-To-Machine (M2M) numbers.

Henk Don, Member of the Board of ACM, says: ‘With this order subject to periodic penalty payments, ACM has drawn the line when it comes to what mobile numbers can be used for. If these numbers are increasingly used for other types of services, it could lead to chaos. With an eye to user-friendliness and recognizability, the 06-numbers must remain available for mobile telephony.’