I'll take my cellphone number along, thank you
With the November 24, 2003 deadline approaching for cellphone number portability -- which allows you take your cellphone number along when you switch wireless providers -- cellphone companies are getting into a frenzy of promotional offers to keep their current customers according to this Wall Street Journal story (subscription required):
Now people will be able sign up for a new carrier without worrying about having to print new business cards or alert all their friends. The change is expected to spark an increase in "churn" -- the rate at which customers hop between carriers; currently, about 25% of wireless customers change providers every year.
The impending deadline is already giving customers a powerful bargaining chip. Wireless companies are scrambling to lock their existing customers into new multiyear contracts, offering everything from free color camera phones to hours of extra talk time. The upshot: It's a good time to call your cellphone company and request a better deal. "The offers are getting bigger, and the carriers are getting more proactive," says Adam Guy, a wireless analyst at Yankee Group, a technology research firm.