The Impact of Wireless Number Portability

The Impact of Wireless Number Portability Regulations

Maggie Lee

Senior Technical Analyst on Local Number Portability Illuminet

Introduction Number portability is a circuit-switch network feature that provides consumes with the ability to change service providers, locations, or service types without changing their telephone numbers. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 mandated competition in all aspects of the telecommunications industry. With this, Congress directed local phone companies to offer telephone number portability. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) led the charge to ensure implementation of Number Portability (NP). The initial rollout of NP in 1997 affected only wireline carriers, in the top 100 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), with additional rate areas implemented by request only. In addition, the industry and the FCC recognized that wireless subscribers do call ported wireline subscribers and may eventually want to change carriers while retaining the same telephone number. With that in mind, the FCC wrote and considered several additional orders to address wireless portability issues: • The original docket, 95-116, mandated that all cellular, broadband Personal Communications Services (PCSs) and covered Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) providers query appropriate number portability databases1 to deliver calls to ported wireline telephone numbers. The first phase dictated that calls be delivered to the ported telephone number on the wireline side; the second phase required service provider portability be provided by the wireless industry. The FCC’s first reconsideration memorandum clarified that PCSs would have to provide portability in the 100 largest MSAs as well as simultaneously supporting nationwide roaming. The Second Order and Report cited exclusions for wireless. It excluded those carriers not providing service in the market for two-way services and real-time voice services. A decision on geographic portability implementation...