UK research firm Analysys says that in most countries that provide wireless number portability, less than 10% of numbers have ever been moved from one carrier to another. As well, most number portability systems charge too much money for users to bother moving a number. And number portability does not necessarily spell long-term customer churn or price erosion among carriers. "One of the biggest barriers to [number portability] is that customers do not realize it is available," says study author Alastair Brydon. Canadian service providers are working on a wireless number portability system expected to launch next month.

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