WASHINGTON-The chiefs of the FCC’s Enforcement and Wireless Telecommunications Bureaus want to go on field trips to see how well carriers are implementing wireless local number portability.
In letters to four carriers, WTB Chief John Muleta asked the carriers to respond to specific WLNP implementation questions and noted that he and David Solomon, enforcement chief, wanted to come for a visit to check on the status of WLNP implementation.
“Even if carriers have not finalized agreements, it is important that they begin testing with other carriers to ensure porting functionality by the November implementation deadline,” wrote Muleta, noting the Federal Communications Commission intends to answer implementation issues raised by the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association before the Nov. 24 deadline.
The letters represent a stepped-up campaign by the agency to show that it is serious about the Nov. 24 WLNP mandate.
Each carrier was asked to report about a specific market in an attempt to get a representative sampling of implementation efforts. Verizon Wireless was asked to report on Nashville, Tenn.; AT&T Wireless Services Inc. was asked to report on Seattle; Cingular Wireless L.L.C. was asked to report about Atlanta; and Sprint PCS was asked to report about its Kansas City market.
The carriers must respond to the following issues by Sept. 23:
c Identify which carriers you have received a bona fide request to port numbers;
c Indicate when you have or will complete testing with the number portability administration center;
c Indicate what and when customer-service training was completed;
c Indicate when you have or will complete intercarrier testing and with which carriers;
c Indicate what steps have been taken to ensure that roaming partners will continue to support roaming for customers with ported numbers;
c Indicate whether your company has coordinated with wireline carriers to facilitate porting and with which carriers; and
c Indicate when you have or will complete intercarrier testing with the wireline porting partners.
In a related development, an appeals court asked the FCC to respond by Sept. 19 to complaints by AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless and Alltel that the agency has not given sufficient guidance on how to implement WLNP. Carriers have until Sept. 24 to reply.
