The Washington Post reported yesterday that mobile phone companies, in particular Verizon, are fighting number portability, which will allow US cell phone subscribers to keep their number when switching providers.
Europeans have had this for a long time, and were were supposed to get it on this side of "the pond" over a year ago, but it's been pushed back once already due to industry lobbying. Obviously, it would radically change the US cell phone industry, removing the last major barrier to switching providers (aside from onerus one-year contracts some folks have.) Cell phone companies already lose up to 30% of subscribers each year (their "churn rate"). This would probably also mean the end of those "free phone for subscribing" promotions we see now, perhaps in favor of lower actual rates.
There will probably also be industry consolidation, with number portability accelerating process. Industry watchers estimate that the 6 or so major cell phone providers will drop to 3 in the next year or two, bringing their cost structures more in line with providers in other countries. That's fine with me... I'm tired of every other ad on television featuring the Sprint guy or Catherine Zeta Jones.
One detail in this story I wasn't previously aware of: the rule would allow you to take a land-line phone number and have it pointed to a cellular phone.
Actually, number portability isn't in effect in most countries in Europe yet. Finland has been exceptionally slow on carrying out number portability (especially given its usual role as EU's technological darling) and will start offering it from the end of July this year.
So, while it's closer here than in the US, we've been waiting for it since 2000, when the directive was passed.
An amusing aside: In Finland each mobile operator has an unique "area code," so callers always know when they're calling a number of a different operator (which is more expensive). Now, with number portability, the operator's are starting a free service which you can call to find out what operator the number belongs to.
Somehow I have a hard time imagining that before making a call, I would first check what operator the number belongs to -- just to find out if I'll be paying six cents more per minute.
The story on Finnish number portability:
http://www.nordicwirelesswatch.com/wireless/story.html?story_id=2813