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by Tyler Hamilton
The Toronto Star
Apr 22, 2005
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Canada's wireless carriers have agreed
to move forward on creating a number portability system that would let
people keep their phone numbers when switching service providers.
The commitment comes less than two months after Industry Canada, through
statements in the federal budget, urged the telecom regulator to "move
expeditiously" on the issue.
The industry said yesterday it will soon hire an independent consultant
to develop a project plan for completion by Sept. 1. There are no details
on when consumers can expect the service or how much it might cost.
Iain Grant, managing director of telecom consultancy The Seaboard Group,
said wireless carriers saw the writing on the wall and decided to be
proactive. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
had said it would study the issue as part of its 2005 work plan. "When
the government has given you both a wink and a nudge, you're well advised
to take that hint," he said.
Peter Barnes, president and chief executive officer of the Canadian
Wireless Telecommunications Association, said the goal is to move "as
quickly as we can." The proposed system will not only let people
keep their phone numbers when switching wireless carriers, but also
when moving from landline service to wireless service and vice versa.
"We certainly saw the budget as everybody else did, and thought
it was important to support the government's view on this," said
Barnes.
Industry Minister David Emerson said in a statement that his department
would work with industry to make sure the service is implemented in
a "timely fashion."
"This is an important step forward for consumers," he said.
Wireless number portability became mandatory in both the United States
and the European Union in 2003, and was offered in Hong Kong and Singapore
during the late 1990s.
The Canadian industry has long resisted the trend, claiming there was
low consumer demand and warning that its cost would lead to higher handset
prices and service fees.
In a government-funded draft paper released in February, the Public
Interest Advocacy Centre argued that the country's wireless carriers
— Rogers Wireless, Telus Mobility and the Bell family of mobile
phone companies — risked settling into a "comfortable oligopoly"
unless the government mandated wireless number portability.
The paper argued that changing numbers is inconvenient, disruptive and,
in the case of businesses, potentially costly, leading many to feel
captive to their mobile phone carrier.
Eight out of 10 wireless subscribers in Canada believe they should be
able to keep their number when changing service providers, according
to a recent survey by Solutions Research Group, a Toronto-based technology
research firm.
"It's pretty hard as a carrier, as an industry, to say this doesn't
make sense for customers," said Nadir Mohamed, CEO of Rogers Wireless,
in a recent interview.
George Cope, CEO of Telus Mobility, said it will take time to study,
design and implement a system, hinting that consumers will need to manage
their expectations. "The U.S. took four years. It's not going to
take four years in Canada," he said. "But it's not something
we can pull off the shelf tomorrow and just do.
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