WASHINGTON-When the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association initially reacted to a clarification letter sent by the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau regarding wireless local number portability, it said it was pleased but more work is needed. Last Friday it told WTB Chief John Muleta exactly what work it expected, and it expressed some displeasure at the issues that were decided.
“This letter underscores the fact that for six years the Federal Communications Commission has failed to provide any guidance on how wireless number portability actually will be implemented-and now with our backs to the wall, it is consumers who will bear the brunt of this reality,” said CTIA President Thomas Wheeler. “I fear the careful choice of the words `well in advance’ is a warning that the FCC probably will not resolve these threshold issues in a manner timely enough to avoid consumer hardship. Let me be perfectly clear: Consumers will discover a portability nightmare as the direct result of the commission’s failure to resolve implementation issues in a timely manner. Even Labor Day may be too late to implement LNP on time.”
One of the implementation issues that the wireless bureau did deal with in its clarification letter is what, if any, out-porting restrictions a carrier may impose. WTB said none. CTIA had a different view saying this could cause widespread fraud in wireless subscriptions.
“When you ordered that a wireless carrier may not require a consumer to live up to his/her contractual obligation, you put the federal government on the side of marketplace malfeasance,” wrote Wheeler. “I cannot walk away from my new car lease just because I see a snappier new model at another dealership. Why should I be encouraged by federal rules to walk away from the commitment I made when I signed a contract for wireless service?”
One financial analyst said the industry is likely to have mixed views of the anti-out-porting rule.
“The industry will certainly view that with mixed feelings since there are detailed scenarios that they felt warranted a delay in porting or accepting a number,” said Albert Lin of American Technology Research July 7. “If a customer owes a ton of money to a carrier, should the customer be able to change carriers and leave the former carrier as a mere creditor with no service resource? Likewise, many carriers do not necessarily want a customer which owes its prior carrier money.”
Muleta said the FCC would resolve the wireless/wireline issue raised by the CTIA before the Nov. 24 WLNP implementation deadline. CTIA has said this issue must be resolved by Labor Day for WLNP to be successfully implemented. The trade association reminded Muleta that Labor Day is only 51 days away.
One of these issues is the amount of time a wireline carrier may take to port a customer to a wireless carrier. “Let’s face it, four days is a disincentive to port. Four business days (i.e., it could be six days if the request is made on a Friday) is also not necessary, as the wireless industry standards demonstrate. (Indeed, the wireline carriers originally justified this lengthy interval because they had to physically reconfigure copper wires-which doesn’t apply in an intermodal port.) It is abusive and disrespectful of the value of a customer’s time for the FCC to walk away from requiring a meaningful porting interval for wireline carriers,” wrote Wheeler.
