RSSFCC: It should only take a day to change your phone number
By Tim Conneally | Published May 14, 2009, 10:49 AM
The Federal Communications Commission will soon give voice communication service providers (wireline, wireless, and VoIP) only a single day to transfer a subscriber's number when they change carriers, instead of the previous four-day requirement.
"Delays in number porting cost consumers money and impede their ability to choose providers based solely on price, quality and service," the commission's statement yesterday said.
Following input from the North American Numbering Council (NANC), an advisory board made up of telcos, cable companies, consumer advocates and industry groups, major service providers will have nine months to comply with the FCC's order. Smaller carriers will be allowed fifteen months before they must implement the 24-hour portability rule.
More than ten years ago, the FCC and NANC imposed the Local Number Portability regulatiion (last update: 12 FCC Rcd 7236, text file available here) which granted users the right to retain their phone number irrespective of the carrier they chose.
If there is a landline or voip involved it always seems to take at least 3 to 4 days, if not a week. I suppose wireless can do it so fast because there's no DSL possible or the notion of leaving the data on your old cell turned on with no voice service. Another one I hope the FCC deals with one day is the unnecessary delay after you port to get dry DSL back on. To tell the truth, I think they just switch the wires around in the box in the building to make the need for an appointment to delay the process as a friend who has Verizon in a different city had the voice just go dead and the net stayed on.
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|wow,
after thousands of hours of meetings, reviews, discussions and debates
the fcc finally states that everyone has a right to a one hour phone number change.
but if one doesn't receive the right of passage and instead gets a change in phone number within 48 hours or 72 hours, how will one be compensated for the lost of that right?
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incidentally, is the fcc doing anything that is meaningful for the american people, like capping the rates of broadband and cable t.v.?
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|I'll believe it when I see it. My port request for Verizon Wireless in 2005 took a few weeks and another request for Virgin Mobile in 2007 took 4 months; yeah that's right, four months, and during that time the number I wanted to port was useless! There may be a law for this, but how do we as consumers enforce the law?
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|It usually does not take too long to "port" your telephone number from one carrier to another. Mine was done within 30 minutes.
What they need to control is the extra fee "tacked" on, the crazy cancellation charges and the incredibly inflated interest rate "penalties" charged!!!!!
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|Fine but what is much more of an issue to protect consumers is contracts. I am still befuddled by this recent experience. I went innocently to ATT and wanted to sign up for service. No free sponsered phone, fine if you charge me 50 'connection' fee - whatever... Just a regular service plan month to month. They do not offer this! The CS explained I must pick a phone and sign up for two years! See ya later...
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