Cellphone companies fighting number portability

[Dave Baker]

Excerpt: "Mobile phone companies are making a last stand to block a regulation that would allow subscribers to keep their telephone numbers when they switch wireless carriers."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...4-2003Apr8.html

[Dave Baker]

Cellphone companies lose:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...phone_numbers_3

[Guest saber]

I believe it was Verizon who recently said they will not appeal the cell phone number portability rules.

Others though will continue to appeal.

Kind of dumb of these corporations since number portability introduces more competition to let the better provider win more customers.

[E as in ERISA]

I thought that the issue was the high cost of the technology that would permit the number switching. (Right now I assume that they are each just allocated certain numbers. If they have to allow switches, then they need better tracking.).

[Guest saber]

I don't believe that allowing number portability will increase cost by that much for the wireless phone companies. They may want us to buy that as an argument against portability, but I don't think it would be that costly.

Certainly they would have to work with each other a little more better to transfer those numbers.

[E as in ERISA]

Whatever the cost, I hope that they only charge it to those who change phones every year....

What next? Credit card companies have to allow portability of account numbers -- so that people who have set up to have all their bills paid automatically by credit card (so they get all the airline miles that they can!) don't have to change numbers every time they see a better rate and change cards?

[Guest rmeigs]

"What next? Credit card companies have to allow portability of account numbers..."

No even close to a good comparison. Cell phone are becoming the primary phone for many people, including small businesses. By not allowing portability of phone numbers, these small business people are forced to remain with one carrier or go to the expense of a phone number change and the confusion this brings with clients -- and possible loss of business.

A better comparison would be forcing you to change your phone number every time you want to change your long-distance carrier. We certainly would not stand for that.

As far as I’m concerned, not allowing a change is purely a strategy to reduce competition.

[E as in ERISA]

My point is...why do we need to regulate everything that businesses do...just because someone is inconvenienced when they find that their initial decision is no longer the best decision. Why not let the market dictate that result?

[david rigby]

Amen!

[Guest rmeigs]

Great point Katherine and I agree that the market should "dictate the result," but it can only do so when there is a level playing field. Limitations on the ability of persons or businesses to freely change vendors restricts the markets ability to function as the arbitrator of who wins and who loses because a decision to change can't be freely made.

The cost to small business in changing phone numbers every time they must change service providers is a powerful limitation on them, hence the market can’t function.

Oh well, on to more important issues.