Cellphone Number Portability -- A Big Lie?

juuri asks: "Having spoken to a few friends it seems like troubles with cell phone portability here in the States is rampant. However today I ran into a new problem, it seems numbers aren't really portable if you move. For example if one has an LA number and moves to a different region (which vary greatly from carrier to carrier) you can not move your number with you if you switch to a new carrier such as Cingular or T-Mobile. Why not? You obviously already have the number and with nationwide roaming plans there is no reason for such distinctions. Even more alarming is that your new regional arm of your carrier may give you much trouble over your previous contract and basically refuse to give you service unless you sign up for a new, local region one. Does anyone know of a cell provider that lets you move your number, regardless of region?" It seems that the latest new thing for cellphones has turned into more of a flop, than a feature. Has anyone else run into this problem? Were you able to keep your number, or were you forced to change it?

But Why change?

[Johnathon_Dough]

When I moved from San Francisco to LA (then back again a year later) I never changed my billing. I already had free roaming and no long distance charges, so I just kept my 415 area code, even though I lived in LA. Aside from the slight annoyance of having to explain that I really lived in LA, it was no problem, ATT just sent my bill to my LA address.

Re:But Why change?

[Lshmael]

Some people don't like their carrier. For example, what if one day you wake up and realize that Cingular offers better service? Since it would cost AT&T money to change your number, it was more cost-effective for them to just let you keep it. If you switch a new carrier, it is cheaper for them to make you change.

Re:But Why change?

[Johnathon_Dough]

but that is slightly different than the posters question. he is moving to a new area code, and wanting to change his service, I do not find it surprising that the local carriers are saying no to him.

If he is interested in keeping his same number, area code included, he could switch to which ever service he wants back in the area that his phone is from.

Re:the deal on porting

[cpeterso]

What about porting of landline phone numbers to cell phones? Is this possible, even between carriers, especially if the carriers like to claim the phone numbers are bound to a geographic region?

Re:But Why change?

[yoyodyne]

Then for anyone in LA to call you makes it long distance for them. Not everyone has free long distance, particularly landlines and businesses.