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 NEWS  News  media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  TTY  202  /  418-  2555  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp.  fcc.  gov  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974). 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT:  July  16,  2002  Meribeth  McCarrick  at  (202)  418-  0654 
 FCC  EXTENDS  WIRELESS  LOCAL  NUMBER  PORTABILITY  DEADLINE  BY  1  YEAR  TO  NOVEMBER  24,  2003 
 Number  Pooling  Deadline  Remains  November  24,  2002 
 Washington,  D.  C.  –  The  Federal  Communication  Commission  (FCC)  has  adopted  a  Memorandum  Opinion  and  Order  (MO&  O)  denying  in  part  Verizon  Wireless’s  (Verizon)  petition  from 
 the  Commission’s  wireless  local  number  portability  (LNP)  rules.  The  Commission  denied  Verizon’s  request  for  permanent  forbearance  stating  that  wireless  LNP  will  be  necessary  to  preserve  consumer 
 choice  and  enhance  competition  among  Commercial  Mobile  Radio  Service  (CMRS)  carriers  and  between  the  wireless  and  wireline  industries.  The  FCC  found,  however,  that  extending  the  LNP  deadline  for  a 
 period  of  one  year  until  November  24,  2003,  will  allow  adequate  time  to  resolve  all  outstanding  LNP  implementation  issues,  including  training  personnel  an  other  non-  technical  tasks,  and  public  safety 
 coordination.  It  will  also  reduce  the  burdens  otherwise  associated  with  the  simultaneous  implementation  of  number  portability  and  thousands-  block  number  porting.  The  extension  also  will  allow  wireless 
 carriers  to  guard  against  any  potential  network  disruptions  that  might  result  from  simultaneous  implementation  of  thousands-  block  number  pooling  and  porting.  The  Commission  emphasized  that  the 
 number  pooling  deadline  for  CMRS  carriers  will  remain  November  24,  2002. 
 In  the  adopted  MO&  O,  the  Commission  noted  that  providing  a  transition  between  number  pooling  and  number  portability  will  help  ensure  the  FCC’s  critical  numbering  optimization  goals  are  met 
 before  the  obligation  to  implement  LNP  becomes  due.  The  Commission  also  found  that  the  competitive  reasons  that  lead  the  Commission  to  require  wireless  LNP  remain  valid  today  and  that  there  are  sufficient 
 competitive  and  consumer  benefits  in  terms  of  innovative  service  offerings,  higher  quality  services,  and  lower  prices  to  justify  the  cost  of  implementing  LNP  in  the  near  future.  Finally,  the  Commission 
 considered  and  rejected  arguments  for  a  delay  of  more  than  one  year,  and  stated  that  carriers  will  be  expected  to  comply  with  this  new  schedule  absent  extraordinary  circumstances 


 Background  on  Number  Portability: 
 Under  the  Commission’s  prior  decisions,  wireless  carriers  in  the  largest  100  Metropolitan  Statistical  Areas  (MSAs)  were  required  to  support  service  provider  LNP,  in  the  areas  in  which  another 
 carrier  has  made  a  specific  request  for  the  provision  of  LNP,  by  November  24,  2002.  LNP  will  enable  wireless  customers  to  “port”  their  telephone  number  in  the  event  they  switch  from  one  wireless  carrier  to 
 another,  or  from  a  wireline  to  a  wireless  carrier.  On  July  26,  2001,  Verizon  filed  a  petition  asking  for  permanent  forbearance  from  the  Commission’s  wireless  LNP  rules.  Today  the  Commission  extended  the 
 deadline  for  wireless  carriers  to  provide  LNP  by  1  year  to  November  24,  2003. 
 Background  on  Number  Pooling: 
 In  its  First  Report  and  Order  on  numbering  resource  optimization,  the  FCC  adopted  several  administrative  and  technical  measures  to  allow  it  to  closely  monitor  the  use  of  numbering  resources 
 within  the  North  American  Number  Plan.  The  Commission  also  adopted  a  system  for  allocating  numbers 
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 in  blocks  of  1,  000  rather  than  10,000  (thousands-  block  number  pooling).  The  Commission  determined  that  all  carriers,  including  wireless  carriers,  would  be  required  to  participate  in  thousands-  block  number 
 pooling  once  they  became  LNP-  capable.  The  pooling  deadline  is  November  24,  2002  (in  area  codes  where  wireline  carriers  are  providing  pooling),  for  wireless  carriers  operating  in  the  largest  100 
 Metropolitan  Statistical  Areas  (MSAs). 
 Action  by  the  Commission  July  16,  2002,  by  Memorandum  Opinion  and  Order  (FCC  02-  215).  Chairman  Powell  and  Commissioner  Copps  with  Commissioners  Abernathy  and  Martin  approving  in  part  and 
 dissenting  in  part,  Commissioners  Abernathy,  Copps  and  Martin  issuing  separate  statements. 
 FCC  Contact:  Jennifer  Salhus  at  (202)  418-  2823  or  e-  mail  at  jsalhus@  fcc.  gov 
 WT  Docket:  01-  184  CC  Docket:  95-  116 
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