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 NEWS  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).  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  TTY:  1-  888-  835-  5322 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT:  October  7,  2003  Chelsea  Fallon  at  (202)  418-  7991 
 FCC  ISSUES  GUIDANCE  ON  IMPLEMENTATION  OF  WIRELESS-  TO-  WIRELESS  LOCAL  NUMBER  PORTABILITY 
 Washington,  D.  C.  –  Today,  the  Federal  Communications  Commission  (FCC)  released  an  Order  offering  guidance  to  the  industry  on  the  implementation  of  wireless  local  number  portability  (WLNP). 
 WLNP  enables  a  consumer  to  change  wireless  service  providers  within  a  given  location  and  keep  the  same  phone  number.  Wireless  carriers  are  required  to  make  WLNP  available  to  consumers  in  the  top  100 
 Metropolitan  Statistical  Areas  (MSAs)  starting  November  24,  2003.  Today’s  Order  solely  addresses  issues  related  to  the  implementation  of  wireless-  to-  wireless  porting;  the  FCC  plans  to  address  pending 
 issues  related  to  wireline-  to-  wireless  number  portability  at  a  later  date. 
 Today’s  Order  responds  to  a  Petition  for  Declaratory  Ruling  filed  by  the  Cellular  Telecommunications  &  Internet  Association  (CTIA)  on  May  13,  2003,  as  well  as  issues  raised  by  wireless 
 carriers  in  response  to  a  July  3,  2003  letter  on  WLNP  implementation  from  the  Chief  of  the  Wireless  Telecommunications  Bureau  to  CTIA  and  Verizon  Wireless. 


 The  Order  addresses  and  clarifies  the  following  WLNP  implementation  issues: 
 First,  the  FCC  held  that  wireless  customers  who  port  their  numbers  should  have  the  same  flexibility  to  switch  carriers  that  non-  porting  customers  have  currently,  even  if  they  have  not  settled  their 
 account  with  the  old  carrier.  Thus,  while  wireless  carriers  may  include  and  enforce  credit  requirements,  early  termination  fees,  and  similar  contractual  provisions  in  their  customer  agreements,  carriers  may  not 
 refuse  to  port  numbers  upon  receipt  of  a  valid  request  from  the  customer’s  new  carrier. 
 Second,  the  FCC  held  that  wireless-  to-  wireless  porting  does  not  require  the  wireless  carrier  receiving  the  number  to  be  directly  interconnected  with  the  wireless  carrier  that  gives  up  the  number  or  to 
 have  numbering  resources  in  the  rate  center  associated  with  the  ported  number.  Although  wireless  carriers  may  voluntarily  negotiate  interconnection  agreements  with  one  another,  such  agreements  are  not 
 required  for  wireless-  to-  wireless  porting.  In  cases  where  wireless  carriers  cannot  reach  an  agreement  on  the  terms  and  conditions  of  porting,  they  must  port  numbers  upon  receipt  of  a  valid  request,  with  no 
 conditions. 
 Third,  the  FCC  encouraged  wireless  carriers  to  complete  simple  ports  within  the  industry-established  porting  interval  of  two  and  a  half  hours  from  the  time  the  customer  requests  service  from  the 
 new  carrier.  Although  the  Commission  did  not  propose  to  adopt  the  industry  standard  as  a  mandatory  rule,  it  found  no  evidence  that  the  standard  was  technically  infeasible,  and  stated  that  it  would  reexamine 
 the  issue  if  it  received  numerous  consumer  complaints  about  the  length  of  the  wireless  porting  process. 
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 Action  by  the  Commission,  October  3,  2003,  by  Memorandum  Opinion  and  Order  (FCC  03-  237).  Chairman  Powell,  Commissioners  Abernathy,  Copps,  Martin,  and  Adelstein  with  Commissioner 
 Abernathy  issuing  a  statement. 
 FCC  Contact:  Jennifer  Salhus,  (202)  418-  2823,  email:  Jennifer.  Salhus@  fcc.  gov. 
 CC  Docket  No.  95-  116 
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