Regulatory loophole leaves 30% of customers unable to get Pepephone ADSL
A regulatory loophole is stopping Pepephone from providing ADSL to 30% of customers in Spain: non-standard addresses are blocking number portability.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Regulatory loophole leaves 30% of customers unable to get Pepephone ADSL
Switching ADSL to Pepephone has become an administrative lottery. An email from the operator confirmed this week what many had already suspected: if your address doesn't fit the standard required by Spain's telecommunications regulator (CMT), the sign-up is blocked. And it's not an isolated case. According to a calculation circulating among those affected, up to 30% of Jazztel, Orange or Ono customers cannot process the service because their door, stairwell or apartment number doesn't appear in the form's dropdown menu. The paradox is that Pepephone, the operator with the polka dots, has earned a fruta for honesty precisely by warning customers when it can't deliver. Others don't even reply.
The administrative loophole that leaves 30% of households out in the cold
The problem isn't coverage or infrastructure. It's paperwork. The portability system requires the user's address to match a predefined format managed by Telefónica as administrator of the infrastructure. If you live in a building with more than four stairwells, at a door number above 30, or at an address the official catalogue doesn't recognise, the form kicks you out. Pepephone cannot process the sign-up even if the customer has a line and a router ready to go.
Some blame the CMT for failing to update a standard dating back to the monopoly era. Others point directly at Telefónica, which acts as both judge and jury: it controls access to the local loops and decides which addresses are valid. The result is that the free telecoms market, the one sold as a panacea after liberalisation, remains out of reach for nearly a third of potential customers. Spanish-style free market, those affected joke.
Pepephone warns, Telefónica stays silent: the difference between a company and a monopoly
The email that sparked the outrage was clear: "We cannot activate your ADSL because your address doesn't meet the requirements." No beating around the bush, no excuses. The polka-dot operator has earned its customers' respect precisely for that: it treats users as people, not as numbers. Against that, the silence of the giants. Anyone who has tried to cancel Movistar, Vodafone or Orange knows the ordeal of missed calls and phantom promotions.
The paradox is that Pepephone, without being the cheapest, has become the refuge of those fleeing poor service. Its ADSL, VAT included, comes to around 27 euros a month. Vodafone offers fibre or ADSL plus mobile with 100 minutes and 1 GB for 35 euros. The price difference is real, but the calculation isn't just financial. The absence of lock-in contracts and customer service in Spanish weigh more than the savings.
Workarounds to dodge the block: cancelling the line or VoIP telephony
The most common workaround is to cancel the current ADSL, port only the line to Movistar without a contract, and then sign up with Pepephone. The cost: 75 euros for Telefónica's reconnection fee instead of the 35 euros for standard portability. Another option is VoIP telephony with OVH, which for 1.20 euros a month (VAT included) offers calls to national landlines and to 40 countries. It requires a SIP-compatible router, but the TP-Link TL-WR841N and TL-WR740N can be found for under 20 euros.
The debate also brings up the problem of non-geographic numbers. Although the CMT classifies them as valid landlines, some companies charge them at mobile rates. Anyone with a 745 number could end up overpaying without knowing it.
Switching to Pepephone still depends on a form that doesn't reflect the reality of thousands of buildings. Until the CMT and Telefónica update the standard, 30% of households will remain locked out. The prediction, with reservations: if pressure from those affected doesn't force a regulatory change, the polka-dot operator will lose customers not because of poor coverage, but because of a badly designed dropdown menu.
Switching ADSL to Pepephone has become an administrative lottery. An email from the operator confirmed this week what many had already suspected: if your address doesn't fit the standard required by Spain's telecommunications regulator (CMT), the sign-up is blocked. And it's not an isolated case. According to a calculation circulating among those affected, up to 30% of Jazztel, Orange or Ono customers cannot process the service because their door, stairwell or apartment number doesn't appear in the form's dropdown menu. The paradox is that Pepephone, the operator with the polka dots, has earned a fruta for honesty precisely by warning customers when it can't deliver. Others don't even reply.
The administrative loophole that leaves 30% of households out in the cold
The problem isn't coverage or infrastructure. It's paperwork. The portability system requires the user's address to match a predefined format managed by Telefónica as administrator of the infrastructure. If you live in a building with more than four stairwells, at a door number above 30, or at an address the official catalogue doesn't recognise, the form kicks you out. Pepephone cannot process the sign-up even if the customer has a line and a router ready to go.
Some blame the CMT for failing to update a standard dating back to the monopoly era. Others point directly at Telefónica, which acts as both judge and jury: it controls access to the local loops and decides which addresses are valid. The result is that the free telecoms market, the one sold as a panacea after liberalisation, remains out of reach for nearly a third of potential customers. Spanish-style free market, those affected joke.
Pepephone warns, Telefónica stays silent: the difference between a company and a monopoly
The email that sparked the outrage was clear: "We cannot activate your ADSL because your address doesn't meet the requirements." No beating around the bush, no excuses. The polka-dot operator has earned its customers' respect precisely for that: it treats users as people, not as numbers. Against that, the silence of the giants. Anyone who has tried to cancel Movistar, Vodafone or Orange knows the ordeal of missed calls and phantom promotions.
The paradox is that Pepephone, without being the cheapest, has become the refuge of those fleeing poor service. Its ADSL, VAT included, comes to around 27 euros a month. Vodafone offers fibre or ADSL plus mobile with 100 minutes and 1 GB for 35 euros. The price difference is real, but the calculation isn't just financial. The absence of lock-in contracts and customer service in Spanish weigh more than the savings.
Workarounds to dodge the block: cancelling the line or VoIP telephony
The most common workaround is to cancel the current ADSL, port only the line to Movistar without a contract, and then sign up with Pepephone. The cost: 75 euros for Telefónica's reconnection fee instead of the 35 euros for standard portability. Another option is VoIP telephony with OVH, which for 1.20 euros a month (VAT included) offers calls to national landlines and to 40 countries. It requires a SIP-compatible router, but the TP-Link TL-WR841N and TL-WR740N can be found for under 20 euros.
The debate also brings up the problem of non-geographic numbers. Although the CMT classifies them as valid landlines, some companies charge them at mobile rates. Anyone with a 745 number could end up overpaying without knowing it.
Switching to Pepephone still depends on a form that doesn't reflect the reality of thousands of buildings. Until the CMT and Telefónica update the standard, 30% of households will remain locked out. The prediction, with reservations: if pressure from those affected doesn't force a regulatory change, the polka-dot operator will lose customers not because of poor coverage, but because of a badly designed dropdown menu.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (41 replies).
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