What is the Data Act and why is it important?
The Data Act is a new, comprehensive legal framework from the European Union and its goal is to make data more accessible for European companies and consumers, increase fairness in the data market, and promote innovation and competition.
Today, switching service providers and transferring data can often be complex, slow, and expensive. Clear rules are often missing on how a customer can retrieve their data or move it to another service provider. This may mean that companies and public sector institutions remain dependent on a single service provider (known as vendor lock), face high data export fees, suffer from poor interoperability, and risk losing some of their data or application functionality.
The Act establishes uniform guidelines and rights for conducting the data processing service switching process. Starting from 12 September 2025, companies and consumers will have the right to access their data easily, securely, and free of charge, and transfer it to another service provider if they wish. Service providers must ensure data availability in at least a commonly used, machine-readable format and support smooth transitions without significant loss of functionality.
As Telia has already allowed customers to retrieve their data upon contract termination, this will not constitute a major change for Telia customers.
Data processing service switching refers to transferring your data from the current service provider to another service provider or to an on-premises ICT infrastructure.
The need to switch typically arises due to changing business needs, such as adopting new solutions, improving security or optimising costs, or when the existing service no longer meets expectations, such as in terms of functionality, support or flexibility.
Exportable data includes all data generated during the use of the data processing service that can be transferred to the customer or a third party designated by the customer.
Customers have the right to switch service providers or transfer their data to a local ICT infrastructure. The transition period can be extended once if necessary to meet the customer’s objectives.
Telia guarantees the customer fair and non-discriminatory access to customer data and continues to provide the service during the switching process in accordance with the contract. Telia also guarantees the security of the data during transfer.
Additional observations and recommendations for customers
Switching service providers is natural but requires a well-considered decision
We understand that there are times when a service provider switch is necessary – whether for technical, business or strategic reasons. However, it is important to note that by submitting a switching request, the customer commits to terminating Telia’s service. We recommend carefully evaluating whether the new solution meets all requirements before making a decision.
Telia aims to provide flexible solutions and customer-friendly service termination
If your business needs have changed, we encourage you to explore the possibility of signing a new, more suitable contract. Telia is committed to offering flexible and customer-friendly solutions that support your business development. Please contact your account manager or send an email to arikliendid@telia.ee to find the best option.
After the service ends, responsibility is transferred to the customer or the new service provider.
Once the Telia data processing service is terminated, Telia is no longer responsible for data retention or service functionality. From that point forward, the customer or the new service provider is responsible for data management and security. We recommend planning ahead to ensure data continuity and security after Telia service termination.
If the application is not withdrawn, the service will end at the end of the transition period in accordance with the process described below.
If the customer does not withdraw the switching request, service will terminate according to the established timeline: two (2) months’ notice + 30-day switching period + 30 days for data retrieval. After that, data will be deleted and the contract will be terminated.
Service contract remains valid until data is deleted.
The Telia service contract is considered terminated once the switching process is completed and all data has been deleted. As long as data remains in Telia’s systems, the service contract is valid and the customer is obliged to pay for the service.
Estonian law applies to the ICT infrastructure used for data processing within the framework of the service provided to the customer.
Telia will implement appropriate technical, organisational, and contractual measures to prevent unlawful access by government authorities at the international level to non-personal data stored in the European Union or the transfer of such data.
Security is an integral part of ensuring the quality of our services, whether in our network, IT systems, buildings or equipment rooms. We base our security measures on the Telia Group Security Policy (PDF) (EST).
We attach great importance to security and are continuously improving our information security management system.
Our daily activities are based on the internationally recognised ISO 27001 standard and other best practices in security relevant to our field of activity (ISO 27001 certificate in English (PDF)).
Telia Estonia’s joint information security, risk management, and IT systems management processes are also covered by the Telia Company’s ISO 27001 certificate, which can be found on the Telia Company website.
6.1. Advance notice
The customer must notify Telia of the intention to switch the service provider at least two (2) months in advance. To this end, a formal request must be submitted to Telia for switching the data processing service and transferring the data. If technical limitations require an alternative transition period, Telia will notify the customer within 14 business days.
6.2. Transition period
In general, the switching process is executed within 30 days after the end of the notice period. This period may be extended if the customer has requested an extension or if Telia has communicated an alternative timeline due to technical reasons. During this period, Telia ensures continuity of the existing service.
6.3. Data retrieval and deletion
After the transition period ends, the customer has 30 days to retrieve their data. Telia ensures that after this time, all customer-generated or customer-related data will be fully deleted. If the service is fully transitioned, the contract terminates; however, in case of a partial transition, the contract will be updated accordingly. The contract terminates upon data deletion.
The steps below are informative. Full conditions can be found in clause 9 of the Rules of IT Services (enters into force on 12.09.2025).
Advance notice two (2) months
1Please submit your request two (2) months in advance to your account manager or arikliendid@telia.ee.
Telia will evaluate the technical complexity and required time within 14 business days.
Transition period 30 days or up to seven (7) months
2We enable you to switch to another service provider or transfer your data to a local ICT infrastructure.
Customers may extend the period once for the same duration.
Retrieval – optional within 30 days
3Data can be retrieved within 30 days.
Service termination
4After deletion of data, the contract terminates. The customer will be sent a corresponding notification.
Data created during the use of the service (e.g. files, configurations, logs).
Formats: ZIP, PST, OVA, VHD, GZIP, text files, etc.
Transfer methods: administrative interface, FTP, sFTP, HTTPS, S3 protocol.
Service-specific differences are described in the web register of services. Certain data may be omitted for technical or contractual reasons.
| IT-services | Data to be retrieved and formats | Data retrieval methods for customers | Data transfer method | Data that cannot be transferred | Known restrictions and limitations | Possibility of equivalent service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Website hosting |
|
| – | Service configurations | – | – |
| Telia T1 cloud |
| – |
|
| – | – |
| Telia T2 cloud | As agreed, in Virtual Machine Hyper-V format. | – |
| system configurations | – | – |
| Telia T1 cloud (customer managed) |
| From the central administration of the service in OVA format. |
|
| – | – |
| Telia Object Storage |
|
|
| Logs | – | Object Storage service with S3 protocol support. |
| Telia cloud space | Saved files |
| – | Internet links for sharing files, with access rights and expiration dates. | – | – |
| Object Storage service archive |
|
| – | Logs | – | Object Storage service with S3 protocol support. |
| X-Road security server | X-Road security server query logs compressed in ZIP format. | – |
| Certificates issued for the security server service. | – | – |
| Bronzehosting |
|
| – | – | – | – |
| Cloud backup Netbackup | The latest full backup at the agreed frequency in Cohesity NetBackup backup format. | S3 service compatible with Cohesity NetBackup. | Backup to LTO tape for an additional fee. | – | Backup frequency specified in the contract: weekly, monthly or yearly. | – |
| Cloud backup Veeam | The latest full backup at the agreed frequency in VBK format. | – | Encrypted and authenticated data transfer to the customer’s data storage (HTTPS, sFTP); | – | The customer must ensure the Veeam service during the transfer process. During the transfer period, the backup service is guaranteed for 30 days. | – |
| DevOps management service | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Microsoft Azure cloud service |
| Retrieving files via the administrative interface; | – |
|
| Hyper-V platform (native VHD usage). |
| Microsoft Azure managed cloud service | Virtual machine disks in VHD format (fixed size). | The data can be downloaded by the customer from a previously agreed Azure storage space. |
|
| – | – |
| Microsoft Azure cloud service | The data can be retrieved using tools provided by the Azure platform, such as SQL database export (dump) or container copying. | Exporting and retrieving data via the cloud environment administrative interface. | – | – | – | – |
| AWS cloud service |
|
| The customer exports the data independently and receives it in an environment of their choice that is accessible from AWS. |
| The software used for conversion may be subject to a fee and may not be supported by the official manufacturer. |
|
| AWS managed cloud service |
| Disk snapshot with the administrative interface. | access to data from the environment provided by Telia (using the S3 protocol). |
| – | – |