Change Cell Carriers, Keep Your Number

Jun. 7–If you want to switch your wireless phone carrier, you have to leave something important behind — your phone number.

That could change later this year.

Federal regulators want consumers in the nation’s largest cities — including Charlotte — to be able to switch carriers without switching numbers starting Nov. 24. The rest of the nation would start in March.

A federal appeals court concurred Friday, giving new momentum to supporters of “number portability” after six years of delays.

The decision is a win for consumers who want to leave a carrier, but hesitate because of the hassle in giving friends, family and business associates a new number.

The wireless industry, contending the costs of portability are an added burden in an already competitive market, had sought to stop the Federal Communications Commission from enacting the change.

“The simple truth is that having to change phone numbers presents a barrier to switching carriers … since consumers cannot compare and choose between various service plans and options as efficiently,” the court said.

The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, the industry’s trade group, is not planning an appeal.

CTIA could turn to Congress or seek another delay from the FCC, but regulators and consumer advocates say they expect number portability to start Thanksgiving week.

Instead of worrying about losing their number, “customers can pick a plan based on price and quality of service,” said Chris Murray, legislative counsel for Consumers Union, parent of Consumer Reports.

Once portability starts, consumers should expect to see changes from carriers, including more unlimited calling plans, improved customer service and more deals on handsets that also take photos, analysts said.

But they also could see higher early-termination fees, double the current $175 average, to keep customers from jumping.

“They want to keep customers the longest possible amount of time,” said Roger Entner, a wireless phone analyst for the Yankee Group, a Boston market research group.

Money spent on portability might mean less money available for network expansion, a top priority for most wireless phone users, CTIA spokeswoman Kimberly Kuo said. Portability will cost $1 billion to start and $500 million a year to maintain, she said.

“That $1 billion taken out could make quality of service better,” Kuo said.

Wireless companies aren’t going to stop improvements or they risk losing subscribers, Murray said. Plus, carriers are allowed to pass on portability costs to customers.

Some carriers, including AT&T Wireless and Alltel, already are passing on portability costs to subscribers. They’re included in monthly charges usually listed under regulatory fees that cover a number of government-mandated initiatives.

Carriers have plenty of reasons to fight hard to keep subscribers.

About 30 percent of customers change wireless carriers annually, and companies offer handsets costing $100 to $200 at great discounts to attract new subscribers, Entner said. Revenue growth last year fell by a third from 2001, while subscriber growth last year dropped almost by half from 2001, according to data collected by the CTIA.

Industry officials say consumers already have plenty of choices — many markets have multiple national competitors. They also say rates are reasonable — the average monthly bill has dropped 30 percent in the past decade to $48.30 last year, according to CTIA data.

“It’s terribly ironic that (number portability) is intended to spur competition when we already have a highly competitive wireless market,” AT&T Wireless spokeswoman Rochelle Cohen said.

And consumers are used to change. People understand that they get a new e-mail address when they switch Web providers or a new street addresses when they move homes, Kuo said. It’s no different with the wireless phones.

But John Muleta, chief of the FCC’s wireless telecommunications bureau, noted that many people, like himself, use an e-mail service that allows them to access their mail anywhere. They want the same from their wireless phone.

“Consumers value flexibility,” he said. “They want to be able to make their own choices.”

KEEPING CELL NUMBERS:

Residents in these seven Carolinas metropolitan areas will be able to keep their wireless-phone numbers starting Nov. 24, barring unexpected delays.

The rest of the nation starts in March: North Carolina Charlotte-Gastonia (includes Rock Hill, S.C.), Greensboro-Winston Salem, Raleigh-Durham South Carolina Greenville-Spartanburg, Charleston, Columbia, Aiken (includes Augusta, Ga.)

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(c) 2003, The Charlotte Observer, N.C. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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