Citizens Request Mobile Numbers Remain Constant When Switching Operators, Komdigi Responds

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - A petition for a judicial review at the Constitutional Court (MK) regarding legal certainty to allow users to maintain their telephone numbers when moving between cellular operators is currently under scrutiny. The Minister of Communication and Digital, Meutya Hafid, has spoken out regarding the matter.

“Regarding matters related to telecommunications services that have been challenged in the MK, we are certainly monitoring them closely. Komdigi, as has been done previously, is prepared to comply, implement, and if necessary, create new regulations to fulfil the results of the MK’s decision,” Meutty stated in Jakarta on Monday (14/09/2026).

Nevertheless, she stated that her department will wait for the ongoing legal process at the MK. “But since it is still in progress, we will wait,” she added.

Previously, a petitioner named Bisyron Wahyudi filed a judicial review against Article 14, Article 17, Article 23 paragraph (1) and (2), Article 25, and Article 10 of Law Number 36 of 1999 concerning Telecommunications, as amended by Law Number 6 of 2023 (the Job Creation Law), to the Constitutional Court.

These regulations are deemed to provide no certainty for users to retain their mobile numbers when changing cellular operators. The articles are considered to have failed to guarantee the existence of regulations for Mobile Number Portability (MNP).

Bisyron explained that this lack of certainty creates high switching costs for consumers. Because a number must be changed, users are burdened with a series of inconveniences, ranging from updating account data and re-contacting relations to changing business materials, updating One-Time Password (OTP) codes, and facing the risk of losing access to essential services.

Currently, mobile numbers function as digital identifiers. The growth of the digital economy has made mobile numbers an element of authentication and account recovery directly linked to various vital services, spanning the financial, trade, communication, and public service sectors.

With this function, losing a mobile number now carries much greater consequences compared to the era when mobile numbers served merely as ordinary telecommunications tools.