WASHINGTON-Western Wireless Corp. went on the defensive Aug. 5, filing suit in federal court in Nebraska against the Nebraska Public Service Commission and several rural local exchange carriers, objecting to a NPSC waiver granted to the RLECs removing their responsibilities to implement intermodal porting.
“The NPSC has chosen not to implement the pro-competitive mandates of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, thereby depriving rural consumers the right to switch carriers but retain their same telephone number. Notwithstanding the fact that at least one rural telephone company in Nebraska, all non-rural telephone companies in Nebraska, and numerous other rural and non-rural telephone companies throughout the U.S. have implemented LNP, the Nebraska state commission somehow concludes that it is not technically feasible for the rural telephone companies to implement local number portability,” said Gene DeJordy, Western Wireless vice president of regulatory affairs. “We look forward to the day when customers of rural telephone companies can take advantage of intermodal number portability so that they can freely choose service providers.”
While the FCC instituted wireline LNP years ago, carriers were not required to upgrade their switches until competition appeared in their service area. For many rural carriers, that competition did not come so they were unprepared for wireless LNP. Rural carriers that served wireless carriers whose coverage areas overlapped areas that implemented porting in November were given an extension by the FCC until May, but all carriers and all markets were to begin porting May 24 unless state regulators gave rural wireline carriers waivers.
The NPSC July 21 granted a waiver of intermodal porting until January 2006.
Western said in its suit that Blair Telephone Co. has implemented LNP.
NPSC Commissioner Anne Boyle, a consistent critic of the wireless industry, did not return calls seeking comment.
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The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association and the Organization for the Promotion of Small Telephone Companies filed suit in December, claiming the FCC did not conduct a required regulatory flexibility analysis when it said that intermodal porting could occur even if a wireless carrier did not have a switch located in a rate center or an interconnection agreement was not in place.
Oral argument in the case is scheduled for Nov. 18.
Wireline carriers have complained that it is not fair to make them port outside a rate center-a geographic distinction used to determine the amount to charge for completing a call. Currently wireline carriers do not port outside rate centers because it is considered geographic porting.
The confusion occurred when the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association pointed out that if the FCC did not allow out-of-rate-center porting, only one in eight customers would be eligible to cut the cord.
Some analysts believe intermodal porting could have a negative impact on rural wireline carriers.