You better shop around

Thanks to new rules to be implemented by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Monday, wireless cell phone customers will be able to switch carriers while retaining their cell phone number. The FCC legislation decrees that carriers will no longer be able to prevent a customer from switching to another carrier for any reason.

Sophomore Mara Stahl believes the new regulations, which grant users portability, are excellent for cellular customers, many of whom are college students.

"[Wireless carriers] have less of a monopoly in certain areas so there will be more competition, not only for rates, but for service as well," Stahl said. "It may give carriers incentive to expand their coverage and create a better service for a better value."

When the new FCC rules are put into effect, those once hesitant to change providers will be able to substitute plans without the hassle of notifying everyone in their phonebook.

The concern of losing her phone number was part of the reason Stahl, like many other students, refused to switch to another provider.

"I've [been with] Verizon since seventh grade," Stahl said. "Not only did I really like Verizon, I didn't want to lose my number -- that was a really big deal."

"If I were not happy, I would switch in a second now," Stahl added. "Before [the new rules], I wouldn't."

Some 39 million people changed wireless services last year, when the luxury of a portable number was nonexistent The ability to switch services but keep the same cell number is expected to entice an additional 30 million people to exercise their newfound cellular liberty within the first year of its implementation, according to CNN.com. Customers interested in an exchange will be allowed to transfer their number by contacting the carrier to which they want to switch and providing their phone number, billing address, account number, and latest bill. Once the new carrier contacts the former one, the transfer is predicted to last only two and a half hours.

Knowing that the new rule is going to make the already tough competition even fiercer, wireless carriers are preparing to up the ante, offering incentives such as free phones, minutes, or even a free month of service to keep current subscribers loyal and lure others in.

Freedom is not necessarily free, however: according to the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, the industry has already spent $1.2 billion in preparation for the transition to portability, a cost which is being subsidized by customers in the form of higher monthly fees.

In addition, the FCC is permitting carriers to charge their customers a transfer fee, although some providers will most likely cover this cost as a way of attracting customers. Nevertheless, there is the factor of early termination fees, which can set consumers back as far as $200, if a contract is broken prior to its expiration date.

For Stahl, a termination fee seems like a good reason not to rush into a carrier switch. "Since breaking contracts costs so much, I would wait until the contract was up unless I was completely dissatisfied," Stahl said. "It depends on whether the long-run benefit is greater than the short-run cost of it."

Providers will be footing a few bills of their own. Since the FCC rules prohibit the denial of a transfer for any reason, customers will be able to leave a carrier regardless of outstanding charges or cancellation fees.

Additionally, the new transfer system will involve technical difficulties. Each of the carriers involved in the swap has contracted a third-party vendor to handle the processing of the request, thus complicating matters even further. Once the trade is executed, the Number Portability Administration, a neutral, government-contracted agency, will receive notification of the transfer.

Assuming that the kinks are smoothed out by Monday still leaves a possibility of human error: the entire process could be doomed from the start by one "typo" when the switch in enacted. Information provided to a store clerk must match up to a customer's billing records precisely; a forgotten middle initial can classify a switch request as "fallout," which needs to be handled by human customer service representatives.

The new FCC rules also raise environmental concerns: if the new carrier does not offer a free phone as part of its bait, consumers should keep in mind that a new handset will be required, since carriers that use the same network technologies still employ different encryptions.

What becomes of a subscriber's useless former handset? If cell phones are disposed of in normal trash collections, toxic substances, found in the circuit board, the liquid crystal display of the screen, and the battery could leak into the ground of landfills. Tufts Recycles is prepared, however.

"We are actually working on a cell phone recycling/take back program right now," Tufts Recycling Coordinator Anja Kollmuss said. "The Tufts community will be able to just put their old cell phones into the battery recycling bins. The ones that still work will be donated; the ones that are broken will be recycled."

"The most hazardous part of a cell phone is probably the battery, [which has] heavy metals," Kollmuss added. "Fortunately, there are good recycling programs in place for these batteries. The heavy metals are extracted from them and reused."