OTTAWA-Canadian wireless carriers will join their peers to the south when they implement wireless number portability in September 2007.
The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association said a 64-page report, completed by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP earlier this month, examined the hundreds of technical, inter-carrier and regulatory tasks and issues that need to be addressed for telecommunications companies to offer number portability.
CWTA’s WNP Task Force has identified mid-2007 as the timeframe for a pilot trial to begin testing WNP in a limited area. Full WNP, which will enable customers to transfer phone numbers between wireless service providers and between landline and wireless service, is set to be available on a national basis in September 2007.
“Canada will be only the third country in the world to offer complete wireless-to-wireless, wireless-to-wireline and wireline-to-wireless portability,” said Peter Barnes, CWTA president. “The implementation timeline we are announcing today is aggressive given the complexities of introducing WNP, but Canada’s wireless industry is confident in its ability to deliver this new service to Canadians.”
