CTIA warned FCC Chmn. Powell it would seek a writ of mandamus fro...

for implementing wireless LNP in the top 100 Metropolitan Statistical Areas. CTIA had urged the Commission to provide answers on implementation issues by Sept. 1. “Recent statements by the chief of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau [John Muleta] unfortunately suggest that the Commission may not address the critical issues raised in the petitions until after September 1, 2003,” CTIA Vp-Gen. Counsel Michael Altschul wrote to Powell Mon. CTIA has 2 petitions before the FCC: (1) A request for a formal declaration on whether historic wireline rate center boundaries can be used by carriers to limit customers’ ability to take their number along when switching carriers. (2) A request for a declaration on whether carriers can delay a customer’s ability to port a phone number by several days and can impose “unwieldy and unnecessary negotiation processes for the purpose of testing and agreeing to the terms and conditions of number portability.” CTIA stressed the FCC must answer questions on carrier responsibilities in time to meet “operational realities.” Altschul wrote: “Until the Commission resolves the implementation issues addressed in CTIA’s petitions, it will be impossible for carriers -- or for the Commission -- to communicate with consumers about their rights and opportunities with respect to LNP.” Unless the FCC releases “definitive requirements” on LNP implementation for wireless and wireline carriers by Sept. 1, CTIA said it would be “left with no choice but to seek a writ of mandamus.” It said courts had ruled that agencies must issue decisions in reasonable time frames: “Considering the number of years these issues have been pending before the Commission, coupled with the extensive cost and the potential for great consumer confusion associated with LNP, it is readily apparent that further delay would exceed any reasonable deference owed the agency under the Communications Act and the Administrative Procedure Act.” Also pending before the FCC is a petition by Alltel, AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless, Nextel and Sprint on a July 3 letter from Wireless Bureau Chief Muleta on LNP implementation issues. The carriers took issue with how the letter treated nonporting conditions when a carrier let a customer take a number to another provider. Verizon Wireless, which opposed the petition, has argued a carrier shouldn’t be able to refuse to port a number if a customer owed an early termination fee or had an outstanding balance. Muleta has said the bureau would answer remaining LNP questions well in advance of the Nov. 24 deadline. He said Tues. through a spokeswoman: “Wireless carriers have had over 6 years to prepare for the Commission’s upcoming local number portability deadline. We intend to address CTIA’s remaining concerns well in advance of November 24. We are working to ensure there is a smooth and efficient process in place for consumers. In the meantime, wireless carriers need to be working toward that date.”