Cell phone number portability is here - Haaretz

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Sat., December 01, 2007 Kislev 21, 5768

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Cell phone number portability is here

By Barr Hayoun

Tags: Business

You can switch your cell phone to a different cell provider. You can also switch from one fixed line provider (Bezeq, 072 Golden Lines or 077 HOT) to another. What you cannot do is to move your cellular number to a fixed line number, and vice versa.

Nor can you keep the area code on your fixed line if move out of the area: If you move from Tel Aviv to Haifa, say, you will have to change from 03 to 04, at the very least. Bezeq subscribers cannot take their number to HOT or Golden Lines unless they stay within the same area code. The technology exists but the Communications Ministry decided not to allow this, to preclude confusion, as the public is accustomed to area codes being associated with areas.

Until now, the dialing prefix told us the service provider of the person we were calling. That was a clue to the cost of the phone call, since calls are cheaper within the same network.

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From Sunday, the number is no longer a guarantee that you are in (or out) of network. However, a new feature will alert you with a voice message when you are calling a different network, before the connection is made.

If your cell phone plan has uniform pricing for all networks you can disable the warning message, unless you're a Pelephone user.

Interconnect fees do not apply to fixed lines, so there is no need to know the provider of the party you are calling.

When it comes to SMS messaging, there's a bug in the system. Since no voice alert is possible, there is no warning. Cell providers often charge more for out-of-network texting, and you won't know when you are doing that unless you ask the recipient in advance.

First, call the company you want to join during their reception hours. The company will check with your current provider to verify that you are the owner of the number that you want to move. The new provider may ask you for proof, in the form of a bill or contract.

Your new provider will connect you after instructing the old provider to disconnect you. It will then advise all the other providers to route calls to your number should be routed through it.

The Communications Ministry says that the entire switching process, from the moment the new provider has verified your eligibility, should take no more than three hours. Don't expect that sort of efficiency, though. Switching fixed-line providers usually requires a technician to install new infrastructure, for instance.

Switching between Orange and Cellcom will require you to bring your phone to the service center of your old provider, which will replace the SIM card in your device with one from your new provider. That costs: Cellcom charges NIS 74, while Orange charges NIS 90. You'll also have to pay back any discount you got when buying your phone. This can be between NIS 29 and NIS 37 shekels for every month remaining on the purchase agreement for the device.

SIM stands for Subscriber Identity Module. It stores the data used to identify a GSM subscriber. You change mobile phones by extracting the SIM card from the old phone and inserting it into the new one.

Unless you are switching between Orange and Cellcom, where only the SIM card needs to be changed, the answer is yes, because the companies operate over different types of networks. You can use the same phone with Orange and Cellcom because both use GSM technology, but Pelephone uses CDMA, while the MIRS company uses iDEN.

Under the new law, you pay nothing for the act of changing provider while keeping your number, but costs will crop up. For instance, there's that issue of the discount you received when you bought your phone, as mentioned above. The lowest cost will be users who have no commitment to their provider and won't have to compensate it for the loss of their custom, and who are switching between Orange and Cellcom. In that case, the only cost is the NIS 74 or NIS 90 charge for the new SIM card.

But any other combination of switching providers will involve buying a new phone, or in the case of land lines, installing or connecting new infrastructure. The cost in that case can range from NIS 99 to NIS 228, and again, don't forget money you may owe the old provider for discounts, or fines for breaking contract. A Consumer Council survey found that 53 percent of cellular customers are tied by contract to their provider, so in most cases, breaking contract will incur a fine. These can reach into the thousands of shekels.

Now that subscribers can keep their phone number when changing providers, Bezeq is widely expected to lose customers to HOT and Golden Lines, which offer cheaper rates. HOT and Golden Lines are offering 2,000 free minutes a month on fixed line phones; the monthly fee is NIS 59 a month. Bezeq's basic package costs NIS 50 a month plus the cost of calls, which range from 4.70 agorot to 11.50 agorot per minute.

The situation among the cellular pack is more complicated. In recent weeks the cellular companies have been falling over themselves to offer new service packages, in order to tempt new customers and to keep their existing ones in the post-reform era.

Shira Birenbaum is the CEO of Hetzi Heshbon, an Israel Phoenix roup company that specializes in reducing costs for private and businesses. She predicts a tidal wave of people changing providers, but doubts that they will save money as a result.

The advertising blitz ahead of the introduction of number portability has made the neighbor's grass appear greener, Birnbaum warns, but she believes people who change their providers will be sorely disappointed.

"First of all they'll discover the cost of switching, the fines and various payments, which can reach thousands of shekels," Birenbaum says. Also, there are hundreds of combinations of plans and special deals that the various cellular companies are offering, and customers have difficulty telling which is best, she adds.

Her best advice: However irritated you may be with your provider, don't rush into anything. First, check your obligations to your provider and find out how much breaking up will cost you. Next, see if the company you want to join offers a package that suits your usage patterns.

If you can't be bothered to do all that yourself, there are two companies that can help. Both Pelezol and Hetzi Heshbon can check whether your current calling plan is the best one for you and advise you on selecting a different one, possibly at a different company. For the service, Hetzi Heshbon charges 40 percent of the savings you reap in the first year, and 30 percent of the savings the next year. Pelezol charges a one-time payment of NIS 49.

But before careening off to a new supplier, call your present one and threaten to jump ship. They may wish you bon voyage, but their customer retention department may kick in and offer you better terms than you have now.

What if you've decided to switch, but your present provider is being obstructive? Well, the Communications Ministry says the provider must play nice, because it's your new provider that is carrying out your switch. If you do experience problems, contact the ministry at www.moc.gov.il.

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