Verizon Wireless Chief Executive Officer Delivers Call to Action to
Allow Wireless Customers to Keep Their Numbers

Nation's Largest Wireless Service Provider Details Its Plan

NEW YORK and BEDMINSTER, N.J.-- In a keynote presentation today at
The Yankee Group's Wireless Leadership Summit in New York, Denny Strigl,
president and chief executive officer of Verizon Wireless, said his
company would adopt easy procedures to allow customers to keep their
wireless phone numbers when changing wireless service providers.
November 24, 2003 is the start date for the wireless local number
portability (WLNP) compliance set by the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC).
In order to boost customer satisfaction with the wireless industry,
Strigl stressed the industry must unite to make it easy and convenient
for customers to keep their wireless numbers if they choose to switch
wireless service providers. Strigl also laid out a plan that the
nation's largest wireless
service provider will follow to make switching seamless for customers,
and urged other service providers to adopt the Verizon Wireless plan
immediately.
"We can start by this industry taking a leadership role in creating
a universal process for all carriers. Otherwise, it won't benefit all
customers equally," said Strigl. "If LNP is something our customers
want, it is critical that the process for them is easy, automatic and
quick at the customer's request -- both for customers bringing a phone
number to us, and yes, for customers leaving us with their phone number.
There must be no barriers to easily switching service providers."
While detailing the Verizon Wireless plan, Strigl said that Verizon
Wireless will not charge additional fees to its customers who want to
take their numbers with them, nor will the company charge its customers
a "pre-portability fee" to pay for infrastructure required to make the
system
operational.
"We will not recover costs in advance of LNP taking effect. The
substantial costs we have incurred so far in planning for and
implementing LNP processes have been included in as our general cost of
doing business," said Strigl. "We will not charge any 'special fees'
for customers who want to take
their numbers with them. We will, after November, evaluate what our
ongoing LNP costs actually are and how we will recoup our costs. And, I
don't believe our costs will be much more than 10 to 15-cents
per-customer, per-month going
forward."
In essence, the Verizon Wireless plan is a commitment by Verizon
Wireless to treat its customers who want to switch providers exactly the
same as its other customers.
"Our plan at Verizon Wireless is to treat porting customers the same
way we treat any customer today. No change. Whether they are joining
us with a number, or leaving us with their number after November 24. No
change from today," said Strigl. "We intend to activate customers
coming from other carriers in the same time frame we use today. No
standing around the store for hours, or waiting days for your new phone
to work."
Customers who break existing contracts with Verizon Wireless will be
liable for any early termination fees, but the early termination fee
will appear on their final bills -- which they will receive after moving
to another service provider.
"I encourage all service providers to adopt our straightforward plan
for consumer-friendly porting, and for the FCC to give its stamp of
approval immediately," said Strigl. "It is imperative that all
processes be identical,
operationally tested and fully functional before November 24. Each
service provider has the obligation to ensure it is ready to go and in
compliance by that date."
Under number portability, the public must be educated about what
number portability really means. For example, the public should be
aware that initially, only those customers in the top 100 Metropolitan
Statistical Areas will be able to keep their numbers, and that wireless
customers can only keep their phone numbers if they stay in the same
geographic location -- not when moving from region to region, such as
from Boston to Atlanta.
"As an industry leader, I'm concerned that we meet not only the
letter -- but the spirit -- of the LNP requirement ... and get this
right for the consumer -- or risk justifiable backlash from current and
potential customers," said Strigl.
The company has been actively preparing for the November 24 start
date for number portability. Just last week, Verizon Wireless began
accepting applications for employment at its new state-of-the-art
customer call center
in Murfreesboro, Tenn., which will become the company's hub for number
portability transactions. The company announced plans to hire 450 new
employees over the next three months, with training starting in August
and the call center beginning operations in October.


--
Verizon customer/ formerly Cingular user/ formerly Sprint PCS user

[posted via phonescoop.com - free web access to the alt.cellular groups]