Wireless Carriers Back Shorter Porting Intervals
Independent wireless carriers told the FCC the Commission should overrule LEC objections and order changes recommended by the N. American Numbering Council (NANC) that would reduce the intermodal porting interval to 53 hours from 96. LECs have argued that the changes aren’t justified by the interest in intermodal porting and are premature, but wireless carriers said a shortened interval will lead to more customers “cutting the cord” and to greater competition.
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“Customers would benefit from a shorter intermodal porting interval,” Sprint argued in reply comments: “While some LECs oppose a shorter porting interval, Sprint maintains that it will benefit costumers and lead to fewer cancelled intermodal ports--and at little cost to consumers.” Sprint also questioned charges that a shorter interval would mean more inadvertent ports: “Among other things, wireless carriers have been using an accelerated porting interval with far fewer validation fields than LECs without encountering a major problem with inadvertent ports.”
Sprint also said early results of about 750,000 intermodal ports the first year should be viewed as reasons to make the process function more smoothly. “Sprint believes that having three-fourths of one million customers ‘cut the cord’ in the first year is a remarkable achievement -- especially when one considers the delays that LEC porting customers often encountered.” Sprint also asked the FCC to reject a move by some rural LECs that they be exempted from new requirements.
LEC objections are based on “tired” arguments of high costs and lack of pubic interest in intermodal ports, Nextel insisted. “Many of the LEC commenters claim that there is ‘no market’ for intermodal ports. This argument, however, ignores the fact that hundreds of thousands of consumers have chosen to port numbers between wireline and wireless providers, in spite of the numerous impediments to intermodal porting imposed by a number of LECs,” the carrier said. Nextel added that the cost of carrying out the NANC recommendations would be “nominal” and won’t represent a “burden for any wireline carriers or their customers.”
T-Mobile joined the other 2 independent wireless carriers in calling on the FCC to mandate the changes requested by NANC. T-Mobile said the 8-10 days it takes to switch from a wireline carrier to a wireless carrier compares to one day for a wireless to wireless port. “The comments in this proceeding demonstrate that unnecessary delays and inconveniences associated with the current intermodal porting process are frustrating consumer efforts to retain their numbers while switching between wireline and wireless carriers,” T-Mobile said. Cingular hasn’t filed a reply.
Verizon Wireless said reducing the interval is only a partial answer. The carrier said other steps, particularly improving the report process by streamlining validation of local service requests to port, is also necessary. “The 4 business-day interval for simple ports often does not accurately reflect the customer experience because it does not begin to toll until after a LEC receives an error-free local service request,” Verizon Wireless said. “By simplifying the ordering and validation procedures, the industry can reduce port completion times and improve the customer experience.”
In its comments, USTA said LECs continue to believe an adequate case has yet to be made for changing the porting rules. USTA said shortening the interval would be “substantially burdensome, uneconomic, and anticompetitive” for LECs.