FCC ANSWERS SOME LNP QUESTIONS POSED BY WIRELESS INDUSTRY
The FCC has clarified several local number portability (LNP) questions the wireless industry said had to be resolved before the Nov. 24 deadline for LNP compliance. Wireless carriers may not impose barriers to porting, such as for delinquent payments, and customers should be able to port their numbers immediately, Wireless Bureaus Chief John Muleta told CTIA and Verizon Wireless in a July 3 letter. CTIA said the FCC’s action was “very constructive” and Verizon Wireless characterized it as a “grand slam for wireless customers.”
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In the letter, which was a reply to a May 20 Verizon Wireless letter and CTIA’s May 13 petition for declaratory ruling (CD May 13 p2), Muleta said carriers wouldn’t be held liable for 911 call-backs that get lost during the porting period. Muleta addressed the “mixed service” period during which a customer porting a number between wireless and wireline service may not have the correct call-back number for a 911 call. However, carriers should inform consumers about this potential problem. “I strongly encourage carriers to instruct consumers at the point of sale about the limited emergency services that will be available to them during the porting process,” the letter said.
Muleta also agreed with Verizon Wireless that there must not be a porting delay beyond “customer validation requirements.” “The Commission’s rules require carriers to port a number when they receive a valid request and carriers may not refuse to port while attempting to collect fees or settle an account, or for other reasons unrelated to validating a customer’s identity,” Muleta said. The letter said Verizon Wireless sought a “level playing field” where porting rules for carriers were consistent.
While there are still other issues to be addressed, Muleta emphasized that these are limited in scope and shouldn’t result in a delay in the LNP deadline. One issue yet to be resolved is how to address a wireline customer who ports to a wireless carrier without a rate center presence in the customer’s wireline rate center. Muleta said other issues will be addressed by the FCC before the Nov. 24 deadline. Said CTIA Gen. Counsel Michael Altschul: “Today’s action by the FCC is very constructive -- it removes two bricks from the wall of unresolved issues that will prevent number portability from happening on schedule. Unfortunately, it leaves the rest of the brick wall standing, and critical questions remain to be answered between now and smooth implementation,”