The Federal Communications Commission's staff is recommending that local phone companies be required to let customers switch their home or business numbers to wireless phones starting Nov. 24.
The FCC already has ruled that as of Nov. 24, cell phone carriers must let consumers take their cell phone numbers with them if they switch carriers.
The only caveat on home number "portability" is that the wired phone you want to switch must be in the wireless carrier's local calling area, typically true with the big providers. In other words, you can't take the number to a cell provider across the country.
Most of the agency's five commissioners are leaning toward the proposal, which is the last unresolved piece of a broad plan to let consumers shop for better phone deals without having to get a new number if they switch. About 5.8 million people have cut off wired home phone service to go wireless-only, says the Yankee Group research firm.
Another researcher, Gartner, estimates that would double if customers could take their numbers with them.
"This will make it a lot easier to just go to a wireless phone," says Kim Kuo of the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association.
Local phone companies have resisted the move. Three of the four regional Bells — SBC (SBC), BellSouth (BLS) and Qwest (Q)— have argued they should have to transfer numbers only if their customer's phone and the new wireless provider's call-routing equipment are in the same local area. That would significantly limit the number of consumers eligible. The Bells' objection is that they don't have an equal chance to lure wireless customers to switch numbers to traditional phones because mobile company local calling areas are much larger than the Bells' areas. Unless the customer's home phone and the wireless company's equipment are in the same area, a cell phone customer who switched a number to a wired phone could face toll charges to call next door.
"We think that's incredibly unfair," says Gary Lytle of Qwest.
Initially, the FCC staff recommended that required home-to-cell number transfers be limited to instances where the number and wireless equipment are in the same local calling area. A separate proceeding, which could take up to a year, would then resolve the Bells' cell-to-home issue.
But many FCC officials now concede there is little demand to switch numbers from wireless to regular phones. And they say the billing issue can be resolved while number transfers from traditional to wireless phones begin.
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