The company offices for Kaua‘i’s cellphone carriers were suprisingly quiet yesterday, especially since it was the first day that residents had the chance to change over their phone numbers. The country’s largest 100 cities were allowed to change over six
The company offices for Kaua‘i’s cellphone carriers were suprisingly quiet yesterday, especially since it was the first day that residents had the chance to change over their phone numbers.
The country’s largest 100 cities were allowed to change over six months ago, but yesterday seemed like such a non-event here, that no one seemed to particularly notice.
“We’ve only had about four so far,” said Lee Suniga, manager of the Verizon store at Kukui Grove Shopping Center.
And Verizon Wireless at the Kukui Grove had a similarly tepid responses at their location.
“People aren’t rushing because they probably want to avoid early termination charges,” Suniga said.
Those charges could be anywhere of $175 or more, so someone would have to be pretty unhappy with their cell-phone provider to change numbers under those circumstances.
Instead, most are waiting out their present contracts. No matter how many decide to change over their present cell numbers to their new carriers, or even their home phone numbers to their cell phone, having had six months worth of change over practice should make it all effortless, say company experts.
Since November, more than 3 million customers have taken advantage of local number portability, according to the Federal Communications Commission. But the change also generated hundreds of complaints nationwide about long delays in getting numbers transferred.
Yet word at Verizon’s operations at Kaua‘i so far is that everything’s moving along with a hitch.
“Just bring your old cell phone bill and we can get it going in as little as an hour,” Suniga said.
Verizon supplies about 10,000 of Kaua‘i’s 20,000 cell users, she said.
“Verizon Wireless has taken action to ensure quick and easy barrier-free porting for customers on several fronts, including installing the necessary technology infrastructure to enable porting, working with other service providers to make it easy and quick for customers to port,” said Mark Yamauchi,
In other words, “No matter where a customer lives Lihu‘e, Waimea, or anywhere on the island — or who they have wireless service from, they can change wireless service providers while keeping their phone numbers. We’re working to make things as convenient as possible for our customers,” Yamauichi said.
Verizon Wireless is the country’s largest wireless company, with 39 million customers. The company won’t release numbers, but has said it gained more customers from local number portability than it lost.
Verizon has some suggestions for those who want to change wireless companies:
- Establish an alternate contact number — at home, at work or with a friend or family member — in case the process takes longer than expected.
- Review your existing wireless contract for early termination fees and other requirements.
- Don’t cancel your existing wireless service. To transfer a phone number, it must be active.
- Write down all information stored in your phone, in case the data won’t transfer.
- Bring in your existing wireless contract and latest bill.
- Don’t ask someone else to switch the account for you. Only the authorized account holder can do so.
Business Editor Phil Hayworth can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) and phayworth@pulitzer.net
