Report No. WT 99-1 WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACTION February 8, 1999
                                
  FCC GRANTS FORBEARANCE OF LOCAL NUMBER PORTABILITY FOR WIRELESS CARRIERS
              (WT Docket No. 98-229 and CC Docket No. 95-116)

     The Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") has granted a request for forbearance
from local number portability (LNP), extending the deadline for broadband commercial mobile
radio service (CMRS) carriers to implement service provider LNP until November 24, 2002.  In
an order adopted today, the Commission granted a petition for forbearance filed by the Cellular
Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA), which sought forbearance from LNP
requirements for CMRS carriers until the completion of the five-year buildout period for
broadband PCS carriers.  

     Under the Commission's prior LNP decisions, broadband CMRS carriers (cellular,
broadband PCS, and some SMR providers) were required to implement LNP in the top 100
Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), and to support nationwide roaming, by March 31, 2000. 
Implementation of LNP would enable wireless customers to "port" their telephone numbers in the
event that they switch from one wireless carrier to another, or from a wireline to a wireless
carrier.  
 
     In its order, the Commission found that extending the deadline was consistent with the
statutory standard for granting forbearance under Section 10 of the Communications Act.  The
Commission noted the wireless industry requires additional time to implement LNP in part
because, unlike wireline carriers (who are already required to provide LNP in the top 100 MSAs),
wireless carriers face certain unique technical issues regarding implementation of LNP in their
networks and in supporting roaming by customers with ported numbers.  The Commission also
stated that extending the deadline until November 2002 was consistent with the public interest for
competitive reasons because it will give CMRS carriers greater flexibility in that time-frame to
complete network buildout, technical upgrades, and other improvements that are likely to have a
more immediate impact on enhancing service to the public and promoting competition in the
telecommunications marketplace. 

     The Commission emphasized that its decision does not relieve CMRS carriers of their
underlying obligation to implement LNP.  As wireless service rates continue their downward trend
and the use of wireless service increases, there is a greater likelihood that customers will view
their wireless phones as a potential substitute for their wireline phones, making LNP more
important to consumers.
     



     Because LNP provides a platform for certain number conservation techniques, including
number pooling, the Commission also stressed the importance of efficient utilization of 
numbering resources.  The Commission stated that the decision to grant forbearance in this
instance is not intended to limit Commission ability to require, through a rulemaking proceeding
on number utilization, CMRS participation in pooling at an earlier date, if doing so were deemed
necessary to address specific number exhaust problems.  The Commission stated that, as an initial
step, it intends to initiate a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the next few months that will
propose both LNP and non-LNP based numbering optimization techniques applicable to all
telecommunications carriers, and that it will move forward with additional proceedings on other
number conservation methods possibly including one or more pooling methods.

     Action by the Commission, February 8, 1999, by Memorandum Opinion and Order (FCC
99-19).  Chairman Kennard, Commissioners Ness, Furchtgott-Roth, Powell, and Tristani.
.
                             -FCC-

     News Media contact:  Meribeth McCarrick at 202-418-0654
     Wireless Telecommunications Bureau contacts:  David Furth at (202) 418-0632 or 
     Jeanine Poltronieri (202) 418-0600