Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Nextel, will release customers from their contracts if they call about Port and other Mandated charges within the 1st 30 days of service.

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 00:50:25 -0400

in business

Nextel, will release customers from their contracts if they call about Port and
other Mandated charges within the 1st 30 days of service.

Wireless providers collect millions in portability fees
By JERRI STROUD Post-Dispatch
updated: 10/20/2003 10:27 PM

Wireless phone companies have collected $629 million in fees since January 2002
for
installing number-portability technology, according to a study by the Center for
Public
Integrity, a nonprofit group in Washington that studies ethics-related issues.

The fees aren't illegal, but they rankle consumers who can't yet take their
numbers with them
when they change wireless providers. That's about to change; the Federal
Communications
Commission's deadline for number portability is Nov. 24.

The fees, often lumped with charges for enhanced 911 service and telephone-number
pooling, ranged from nothing to $1.75 a month at 10 companies surveyed by the
center. The
study included all the companies that provide service here, but some declined to
give the
information.

Bob Williams, a staff member with the group in Washington, said it found "no rhyme
or
reason" for how the fees or the cost estimates for installing the technology were
determined.
The Ford Foundation paid for the study.

The fees are the result of a government requirement that will cost the industry
billions of
dollars to update software, set up new systems and to hire and train employees,
said Travis
Larson, a spokesman for the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, a
trade
group. Individual companies estimated their costs at $10 million to $177 million.
The group
estimates there are about 151.1 million wireless customers in the United States.

"The good news is, wireless consumers who would like to switch carriers will now
be able
to take their numbers with them when they go," Larson said. "The bad news is,
every
wireless consumer, whether they change carriers or not, will have to pay for this
expensive
government mandate."

The fees are supposed to reflect actual costs of providing the service, said
Seamus Glynn,
associate director of the Citizens Utility Board of Illinois.

However, the wireless companies began collecting the fees long before the service
was
available - and at a time when many carriers were fighting the FCC's order.

"We are really concerned that carriers will see this as an opportunity to tack a
line item on
the bill and overcollect," Glynn said. "The ability of the FCC to aggressively
monitor these
charges is doubtful."

Larry Neukirch of north St. Louis County says he doesn't think he should have to
pay for
portability because he doesn't plan to change providers.

"It's kind of ridiculous to pay for something that you may not even use," said
Neukirch, who
has a cell phone mainly for security.

Neukirch said that Sprint PCS took the $1.10 charge off his bill when he called to
complain
about it. But he must call every month if he doesn't want to pay the fee. A Sprint

spokeswoman said the company has no policy allowing the fee to be waived.

Nextel, which charges $1.55 a month for number portability and other mandated
services,
will release customers from their contracts if they call about the charge within
the first 30
days of service, said John Duty, a spokesman. But without a contract, they have to
go to
another carrier.

Verizon Wireless doesn't charge for number portability now, but it may begin
charging after
Nov. 24. At that point, the fee will be no more than a dime to 15 cents a month, a
spokesman
said.

AT&T Wireless charges $1.75 a month in fees to cover government-ordered services
like
number portability and enhanced 911 service, said Rochelle Cohen, a spokeswoman.
The
fee applies to new customers, anyone who switches contracts and those whose
contracts
have expired.

In April, Cingular Wireless began charging monthly fees to recover costs of
government-ordered services, including number portability, said Annette Teter, a
spokeswoman. The fee is 61 cents in Missouri and 60 cents in Illinois.

Wireless companies' monthly fees for number portability*
AT&T Wireless
$1.75*
Cingular Wireless (Missouri)
$0.61*
Cingular Wireless (Illinois)
$0.60*
Nextel
$1.55*
Sprint PCS
$1.10
T-Mobile
0
US Cellular
$0.55*
Verizon Wireless
0

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/Business/Technology/0D58BDA0F9D5B34F86256DC60012B771?OpenDocument&Headline=Wireless+providers+collect+millions+in+portability+fees

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