Pressure turned up on CRTC to quicken pace of addressing WNP

The Canadian government has turned up the heat on the country’s telecommunications regulator to move quicker in addressing wireless number portability (WNP), an issue the CRTC put to bed more than five years ago, but recently decided to reopen. The federal government announced in its February 23 budget that it "intends to ask the CRTC to move expeditiously to implement wireless number portability." Many have keyed in on the word "implement," but implementing wireless number portability still requires the CRTC to conduct a public proceeding, Lawson Hunter, executive VP at BCE Inc., tells Report on Wireless. He suggests the government is simply telling the commission to raise WNP up on its priority list. This sentiment was echoed by George Cope, president and CEO of Telus Mobility at a RBC Capital Markets conference in Banff last month. He said there still has to be a process and the government is just telling the CRTC to move quicker. Appetite in the wireless community for implementing WNP isn’t at a high level, as the big three national players have all indicated they will support its implementation if there is consumer demand. "There’s some demand. I would say that our sense is that it’s not overwhelming demand, but I think our posture is going to be largely driven by that issue," Hunter tells RoW. But if consumers are saying this is what they want, then we’re going to support it." There are also costing issues associated with WNP introduction that need to be considered, Hunter says. "I mean do consumers really want this as an option, and we’ll have to test that a bit at whatever proceeding unfolds because there are as you know cost implications of doing this and it can’t be unilateral…it’s got to be an industry-wide approach," he states. Bell isn’t the only wireless operator highlighting the cost issues. Telus Mobility told RoW last year that there is a trade off with respect to WNP implementation and that could come in the form of higher handset prices. "Part of the reality is cell phones are heavily subsidized in Canada and that takes into account that we have low churn rates. We can look at clients to come to a particular carrier, get a number, keep that number and just stay for a long time. So there’s a tradeoff…you may have to look at the idea that phone subsidies may be reduced or go away if that impetus is taken away," he said last year. Cope reiterated that aspect of the wireless number portability debate at the RBC Capital Markets conference. He noted during the wireless carrier panel session that if consumers see WNP as having value then that perceived value will have to be worked into the price. "It’s something that the consumer views as having value so we’ll make sure we take that into account when we introduce that sort of product into the market place," he said. Despite the big three’s seeming disinterest in implementing WNP, Virgin Mobile Canada stirred the pot by coming out in favour of wireless number portability. In an interview with Report on Wireless, Virgin Canada president Andrew Black said WNP is important for consumers, will help spur competition and wireless penetration in Canada. Consumers are the beneficiaries of wireless number portability where it is available, he says, noting such places as Europe and the United States. "It helps to accelerate growth in the industry because it’s more consumer friendly." Support for WNP among Canadians is high, according to recent data from Solutions Group Research. It indicates that nearly 80% of Canadian wireless users support the introduction of WNP. Those under the age of 49 are most likely to support WNP measuring in at 84%, while 67% of those above the age of 50 support its implementation. While support for WNP is high among Canadian wireless users, there is also a substantial number of Canadians who believe a lack of WNP affects their decision to switch providers. Decima Research polled 2,000 Canadians in June 2004 on this issue, and the research revealed that 30% of cell phone users believe a lack of WNP is a big factor in preventing them from switching to another cell phone company (RoW, July 15/04). The research also revealed that approximately 25% of Canadian cell phone users would be more likely to switch to another provider if WNP were available to them. There used to be greater levels of support for WNP implementation in Canada than there is now. Microcell Telecommunications Inc., a long-time proponent of wireless number portability, was acquired by Rogers Wireless Inc. last year (RoW, Nov. 19/04). Microcell was a heavy supporter of WNP implementation, but the company’s last attempt to get it implemented was shot down by the commission in 1999 (RoW, Sept. 20/99). Many fear that the introduction of WNP will cause churn rates to skyrocket. But the experience south of the border doesn’t bear out those fears. Following the introduction of WNP in the United States in November 2003 as mandated by the Federal Communications Commission, there were marginal increases in churn, but it never reached the heights predicted by opponents of the feature.

Pressure turned up on CRTC to quicken pace of addressing WNP

News | 03/08/2005 5:00 am EST

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