Alltel CFO foretells WNP nightmare

Calling wireless number portability requirements “an abomination,” Alltel CFO and senior vice president Jeff Gardner voiced his concerns about the coming regulations in response to questions at the Legg Mason Wood Walker Telecom Conference in New York City today.

“I’m very worried about service levels in the wireless business,” which could suffer once federal regulations require wireless carriers to let customers keep their phone numbers when they switch providers, said Gardner.

Industry lobbyists have successfully forestalled the FCC’s WNP-compliance deadline for years. Most recently, it was pushed back from November 2002 to November 2003. Wireless carriers have complained that the adjustment will cost them $1 billion to implement at a time when their capital budgets are already constrained.

Alltel’s Gardner said he understands customer sentiment on this issue, but believes that some regulators don’t understand the complexity WNP entails, and thinks customers may end up facing more hassles than they bargained for.

In the mind of most customers, said Gardner, the 15 to 20 minutes it takes to set up a new wireless account is too long already. When WNP takes effect, he said, “You’re looking at three hours, maybe three days.

“You can imagine a scenario where a Verizon customer comes into an Alltel store. Alltel calls Verizon and says, ‘I want to port this customer.’ [Verizon] tell us, ‘Hey, this customer owes us $500. You can’t port him until that’s taken care of.’ Meanwhile the customer’s in limbo.”

Gardner said he’s hopeful that carriers can find efficient ways to hand off customers, but said of WNP, “I don’t think there’s anything good about it for the industry.”