More information about phone number portability is starting to come out as we get closer to the day that it becomes law (previously mentioned earlier this week). In another NY Times article about portability, many more details are discussed.

Apparently, most of the cell phone companies (except AT&T) are using one company to handle the transfer of numbers. Since it seems unlikely that rival companies would work together to work this out, one company handling the changes is obviously a big help. Despite this, changing a number between carriers is still not the easiest thing to do. Human error on the part of the consumer or customer service along the way could slow down the process. They also have no idea of what kind of volume to expect once the law takes effect.

There is a handy website that has almost everything you need to know about number portability. It even has a map and list of the top 100 metropolitan areas where the law starts on November 24th (based on the 2000 U.S. Census). The rest of nation gets number portability in six months.

For me, the list of the top 100 metropolitan areas is quite fun to look at (yes, I am aware of the geeky-ness of this). Who knew that, Grand Rapids—Muskegon—Holland, MI (population 1,088,514) was the 60th largest metro area in the country? And Ann Arbor - home of my favorite school? It made the list at 93 (578,736 people). Vallejo, CA and Fort Wayne, IN got lucky. They were not on the top 100 list for 2000, but were for 1990 and the FCC's requirements extended to any city in the top 100 for 1990 as well. I guess they won't have to wait until next May.

- EasyPorting.com
- Gothamist with more coverage on portability

Posted by tien mao in Tech at 12:26 AM