Fcc Rule Rings In Wireless Changes

Cell-phone customers soon will be able to keep their phone numbers when they switch carriers, an appellate court ruled, affirming a new Federal Communications Commission rule.

The FCC rule is scheduled to go into effect Nov. 24, unless it is delayed or killed through court or congressional action.

Wireless carriers have known “number portability” is coming for some time and have been preparing to implement it. The rule already is in effect for landline telephone companies.

But while number portability may be a boon for consumers, many wireless carriers don’t like it. The prevailing view is that consumers will switch cell-phone carriers more often to take advantage of promotions.

“It’s our contention that number portability was introduced to facilitate competition, and we feel the wireless industry is already competitive,” said David Mellin, regional spokesman for Sprint PCS, Sprint Corp.’s wireless unit.

“And probably more importantly, we believe the cost of implementing takes investment dollars away from improvements customers have told us they want: better coverage, more towers, customer service enhancements, and new products and features,” Mellin added. He said Sprint PCS already has spent tens of millions of dollars to upgrade its system to implement the new rule.

Travis Larson, spokesman for the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, the Washington-based industry trade group, also maintained the rule isn’t needed because the wireless industry already is “hyper-competitive.”

Larson said that more than 80 percent of consumers today can choose among at least five wireless providers and that prices have declined 80 percent in the past eight years. He said that one-third of all wireless consumers already switch carriers every year.

But with the rule appearing to be inevitable after the court’s ruling Friday, the association is most likely to seek a delay, arguing that the FCC has yet to issue the final rules that address how number portability should be implemented.

Not all wireless carriers oppose the rule.

“We support it, and we’re on track to implement it,” said Qwest Wireless spokeswoman Rebecca Tennille.