SAN ANTONIO-In a letter to Federal Communications Commission chairman Michael Powell, Cingular Wireless L.L.C. parent company SBC Communications Inc. said it is ready to implement wireless local number portability through its entire 13-state service area today regardless if customers live within the top 100 MSAs that are part of the first LNP deadline.
“Technically and operationally,” said John Atterbury, group president of operations at SBC, “we’ve ported nearly 7 million numbers to other wireline companies since 1997. We’ve got the experience, the people, the technology and the network to meet our customers’ needs.”
The letter also noted SBC’s disappointment with the FCC’s decision to move forward with the LNP initiative without competitive parity.
The FCC has told wireline companies that they must also comply with LNP guidelines allowing customers to port their wireline numbers to wireless carriers, though analysts predict only a small percentage of wireline customers will want to make the move.
