Local Number Portability (LNP)

The FCC has mandated that, by November 24th, 2003, wireless carriers must allow you to keep your existing phone number when you change to a different carrier. Some carriers are charging hefty monthly fees claiming that the money is being used to implement LNP. Some are not charging anything extra.

The carriers have been fighting number portability ever since the FCC first announced it late last century, and have succeeded in getting the FCC to agree to several delays, but now it appears as if it is really going to happen.

Three of the major carriers have begun charging hefty monthly fees ($1.25 to $1.75)  to cover the cost of implementing number portability, though in fact the fees are orders of magnitude greater than what are necessary to cover the cost. Only Verizon and T-Mobile have decided not to add a monthly fee, though Verizon has stated that they may decide to impose a 15-25 cent fee beginning in November.

If you are contemplating changing carriers then you may want to wait until November 24th, 2003 so you can keep your current number. When evaluating the cost of various plans from each carrier be sure to include the various fees that the carriers are allowed to tack on (these are not government fees).

Verizon has broken ranks with the other national carriers and now supports LNP. This is not surprising since Verizon consistently has been rated the best carrier in terms of coverage and customer service, and hence has the most to gain by LNP. Kudos to Verizon, not just for breaking ranks, but for not imposing unreasonable monthly charges on its subscribers even though it is legally entitled to do so. I hope that the result of Verizon's actions will result in less churn for them, and more churn for their competitors.