What is wireless local number
portability (LNP)?
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Wireless LNP is a wireless consumer's ability
to change service providers within the same local area and still
keep the same phone number.
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Wireless LNP allows consumers to switch from
one wireless carrier to another within the same general metropolitan
area. It does not allow consumers to keep the same phone number
when moving to a new town or city.
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Wireless LNP also allows consumers to move a
phone number from a wireline phone to a wireless phone in some
cases.
Who should consumers contact
if they want to port their number to a new carrier?
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Consumers should contact their prospective new
carrier, who will start the porting process. The new carrier will
first confirm the consumer's identity and then make a porting
request of the old carrier. When consumers go to their new carrier
to port a number, they should bring along a recent bill, which
will have their correct name and address as it appears in the
carrier’s database. This should aid in making the porting process
go smoothly. Once a valid porting request has been made, the old
carrier cannot refuse to port a number.
Are carriers allowed to charge
for number porting, and, if so, how much can the charges be?
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Carriers are allowed to recover their costs
of implementing wireless LNP by charging fees to customers. They
have been allowed to do this in advance of the LNP deadline because
they have been incurring costs for LNP upgrades in preparation
for the deadline.
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Carriers may recover their costs either by including
line-item fees for LNP on their customers' monthly bills or by
raising the monthly rate. Carriers that have been adding line
items to consumer bills to recover LNP costs have typically been
charging from a few cents to a little over a dollar.
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Carriers are also allowed to charge a fee to
customers at the time their number is ported. However, there are
no rules preventing a new carrier from paying an old carrier's
porting costs for the benefit of the new customer. You should
ask the new carrier whether it has a policy of paying or reimbursing
such charges.
Can different carriers
charge different amounts?
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Yes, because different carriers have varying
costs of operating due to numerous economic factors. Although
the FCC does not regulate the amount of such charges, all such
charges must be just and reasonable.
If a consumer has a long-term
contract with a carrier, is that consumer still obligated to pay an
early termination fee even if he/she ports the phone number to a new
carrier?
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Yes. While consumers who wish to switch carriers
may request service from and port numbers to a new carrier at
any time, they are still obligated to pay any early termination
fees they may have under an existing contract, and they are obligated
to pay any outstanding balance owed to the old carrier.
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Consumers interested in switching providers
should review their existing contract to determine what fees or
charges would apply.
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However, once a consumer has requested service
from a new carrier, the old carrier may not delay or refuse to
port a number even if that individual owes money for an outstanding
balance or termination fee.
Can consumers port a wireline
number to a wireless phone?
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Wireline-to-wireless porting is possible in
some cases. Consumers interested in porting a number from a wireline
to a wireless phone should check with the prospective new wireless
carrier to see if wireline to wireless porting is an option for
them.
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If you port a number from a wireline phone to
a wireless phone, your wireline long distance carrier will not
move with you. Your long distance service will generally be provided
by your new wireless carrier.
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Pursuant to a court-ordered stay, most small
wireline carriers currently are not required to port numbers to
wireless carriers until the FCC completes and publishes a study
about the effect of the porting rules on small carriers.
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After the FCC completes and publishes its study
about the effect of the porting rules on small wireline carriers,
these carriers may still have an exemption from the porting requirements
if they have received a state waiver. The law permits state public
utility commissions to grant certain small wireline carriers waivers
from the number portability requirements. Customers who want to
port a wireline number to a wireless phone and are told that they
cannot should contact their state public utility commission to
find out whether their wireline carrier has been granted a waiver.
Click
here for contact information for state commissions.
How long will the porting process
take?
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For a wireless-to-wireless transfer, the porting
process should take approximately two and a half hours from the
time the porting request is made of the old carrier. The FCC has
not mandated a specific time frame for the wireless-to-wireless
porting process. Two and a half hours is the time frame agreed
upon by the wireless industry, and the FCC encourages carriers
to use that time frame.
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A wireline-to-wireless port will probably take
longer to complete, and could take several days. Before porting
between wireline and wireless phones, consumers should ask their
new service provider how long the process will take.
If consumers port a number
to a new wireless carrier, can they still use their current phone?
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For various reasons, wireless handsets are often
incompatible among different wireless service providers. Consumers
will likely need to purchase a new phone, even when they retain
the same phone number. Even when a phone can be reprogrammed to
work on a new network, most carriers may have policies against
doing so.
Will porting my number cause any
problems with E911?
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During the time the number is being ported from
the old carrier to the new carrier, there may be a period of "mixed
service" when E911 service is affected. If customers call 911
during this period, the call should go through. However, the 911
operator may not be able to call consumers back if the call gets
disconnected.
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Before porting either a wireless or a wireline
number, consumers should ask their new service provider how long
the porting process will take and how the porting process will
affect emergency services.
Do the porting requirements
apply to paging carriers?
I’ve heard that some consumers
experienced difficulties while attempting to port their numbers during
the initial rollout of wireless LNP. What should I expect if I try
to port my number now?
Since the rollout of wireless LNP began, the FCC
has been monitoring wireless and wireline carriers’ progress in
implementing number portability. While there were a few technical
bumps in the road during the initial stages of the rollout, carriers
have resolved most of these issues and we expect the remainder of
the implementation process to go smoothly, in most instances.
