Subject: [NEXTEL-1] AT&T Wireless Leads in Phone Switch Complaints- Nextel Gets Hit Too.

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2003 22:14:50 -0500

AT&T Wireless Leads in Phone Switch Complaints

December 10, 2003
Reuters
By Sinead Carew

NEW YORK (Reuters) - AT&T Wireless Services Inc. has had the most complaints in
the cell phone industry from customers trying to switch their cell phone numbers
to and from its service, the Federal Communications Commission said on Tuesday.
In fact, more than half of 600 complaints it got by Monday from customers having
problems switching their service under new rules that let them take their phone
number to a new provider concerned AT&T Wireless, the regulator said.

The complaints were made in the first weeks under the new "number portability"
regulations, which was a change that was hailed as an important boost for
customer choice. But AT&T Wireless, in particular, made people angry when their
numbers weren't switched.

The company has acknowledged that it was having difficulties, blaming it on a
software glitch. On Tuesday, the No. 3 U.S. wireless carrier said it was now
matching its rivals' speed in switching customers.
The FCC had singled out the No. 3 U.S. wireless provider last week by asking it
to explain why it was slow to switch its customers' numbers to other service
providers.

AT&T Wireless said that as of Saturday it was able to respond to requests by
rivals to move a customers number within 30 minutes.

'DID HAVE PROBLEMS'
"Earlier on, we did have performance problems," AT&T Wireless President of
Mobility Services Michael Keith told Reuters. "If you stumble for a moment your
competitors shine a light on you ... We did stumble but we have recovered."
Keith also noted that about 30 percent of number switches are delayed by
consumers giving inaccurate information to rivals who ask to switch a customer's
number to their service.

The company still tells people it could take three to five days to transfer
their number to another service but Keith said AT&T has been able to transfer
numbers in a single day or within the two and a half hour industry goal in some
cases.
"It is still a rough customer experience," said Keith who added that its rivals
all have their own unique problems.
Jonathan Tinter, AT&T Wireless' executive in charge of porting pointed out that
his company was not always at fault.
For example, he said AT&T played its part in switching 4,500 customers to a
particular carrier over several days, but that the rival had so far managed to
connect only 200 of these customers. Tinter said he could not explain the delay.

The FCC said on Tuesday it got 332 complaints about AT&T Wireless while 129
consumers complained about the largest U.S. provider Verizon Wireless .
Cingular Wireless, the second biggest provider jointly owned by BellSouth Corp.
and SBC Communications Inc., was next with 98 complaints. Sprint PCS had 94
complaints.

Nextel Communications Inc. had 46 complaints and Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile USA
had 44 customers complain to the regulator, it said.

AT&T Wireless said it plans to send the regulator a letter on Wednesday
outlining how it has cleared up problems.
AT&T Wireless stock closed down 22 cents at $7.01 on the New York Stock
Exchange.

http://www.americasnetwork.com/americasnetwork/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=78785

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