November 24th, 2003.

A day that millions of wireless customers were able to ditch their current wireless carrier and start anew - without relenquishing their telephone number.

If you've been putting off overhauling your wireless department because you do not want the expense and hassles of changing business cards, stationary, etc. to accommodate all new phone numbers for users, then you'll love the next phase of the Telecom Act of 1996 - Wireless Number Portability or WNP.

A Little History

Wireless Number Portability, simply put, is a circuit-switch feature that provides consumers with the ability to change service providers, location, or service types without changing their telephone numbers.

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 mandated competition in ALL aspects of the telecom industry. First, Congress stated that local phone companies provide consumers with telephone number portability. Now it's the wireless industry's turn. (Soon we will have the pleasure of having "wireline to wireless" number portability but more about that in a minute)

Wireless Number Portability: Its Time Has Come

Currently, the lack of number portability between wireless providers has kept many consumers from changing services and carriers because of inconvenience of changing business cards and other documentation. Change your number and you've got to inform everyone who calls you of the new number also.

A recent survey indicated that 90 percent of business customers would not change service providers if it meant they had to change their telephone numbers. A similar survey indicated that residential customers agreed. Obviously this legislation is a welcome one to consumers.

As of November 24th, you will no longer be held "hostage" by your current carrier knowing that if you leave, YOU will be the one to really pay the price and expense involved with acquiring a new number.

Carriers Will Still Reap Profits

Don't feel bad for the carriers just yet. As with any governmental deregulatory legislation it seems, there will be monthly fees to accommodate WNP. In fact, you may already be paying for legislation that has not taken effect yet!

The government has given carriers the right to charge a small fee that covers the cost of enabling customers to switch without giving up their numbers. Although this fee is usually less than $1 per month, that adds up when multiplied by the millions of subscribers the carrier serves. (And you can add this fee to the other myriad of fees already charged by carriers these days!)

For example, Sprint PCS has about 17.9 million customers who actually began paying an additional .63 cents per month in July - almost 5 months before the legislation is officially to take effect! Sprint deemed this "cost recovery" to the tune of about $11.3 million dollars.

Over the course of a year, Sprint's itsy-bitsy little fee would bring in about $135 million at current subscriber levels. This figure will go higher with the hundreds of thousands of new subscribers being added every quarter.

And Sprint is not the only one getting in on the WNP fees. Nextel has been charging $1.55 per month since October. Since spring, AT&T Wireless has been charging some customers what it calls a "temporary fee" of $1.75. And Cingular has been levying anywhere from .32 cents to $1.25 per month depending on the state.

To be fair, the carriers will be spending millions of dollars to upgrade systems for the new era of wireless number portability. Question is: once the costs have been recovered, will you see this fee eliminated from your bills? Don't bet on it!

Wireline-to-Wireless Expected Next

As wireless-to-wireless number portability becomes reality very soon, wireline-to-wireless will become the last barrier for wireless carriers to overcome. By mid-2004, the FCC has plans to provide wireline-to-wireless capabilities for consumers.
The impact of this kind of legislation could have even more dramatic implications than any that came before it. Imagine having the same number for your desktop phone and your wireless phone!

Many technical, product and regulatory issues will have to be worked out before this can be fully implemented. Plan on even more fees to cover the cost of this legislation too!

Wireless Audits More Important
Now Than Ever Before

The advent of Wireless Number Portability legislation should inspire you to be ready for a change in your wireless service provider if you feel the need for better service, rate plans, coverage, etc.

The ability to switch carriers without your phone number changing can be very inviting, but we advise that you proceed with caution before making the changeover entirely.

Whether you switch or not, you will need to conduct thorough audits of your wireless bills more now than ever before. With the advent of this new legislation comes more incidental and confusing fees which could result in higher bills if you don't watch out. For more specifics tips and strategies on making the switch, refer to the left column of this newsletter.

After all is said and done, wireless number portability is a positive step for consumers, both residential and business.

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