If you want to be one of them, bring a book. You can switch over the phone, but carriers recommend swapping in person, which they say can help eliminate errors and misunderstandings. The coming holidays already cause shopper congestion in cell-phone stores. Add to that a posse of disgruntled ship jumpers, and the experience might be positively DMV-like.
Right now, only customers in the 100 largest U.S. metro areas can switch. If youre town is smaller than Fort Wayne, IN, you must wait until May. Make sure youre free of your carriers contract. If youve modified a plan or purchased a phone during the last 12 months, youre probably under contract. Breaking it, even a month from its end, could cost you $150. Call your current provider to find out; dont expect your prospective carrier to know — or care — about your contract.
Generally, theres limited compatibility between networks, so youll probably need a new phone. The only major exception to this is with GSM carriers AT&T Wireless, Cingular and T-Mobile; most GSM phones are carrier agnostic, although using your old phone may mean missing some of the new carriers services.
When youre ready, go to the new carrier. Dont cancel your existing service, because that happens automatically during the number port, and canceling early could cost you your number. The new carrier will verify your information with your old provider. To speed this up, bring your old bill and keep your personal data (nickname, mailing address) consistent. Once it clears, the actual transfer can take anywhere from 2 to 24 hours or, if youre moving your landline number to a mobile, up to four days.
Porting can be tricky. In the U.S., a company called NeuStar moves your number from one part of its phone-number database to another, and then broadcasts that list to over 400 landline and wireless carriers nationwide, so that, say, someone calling you from a Montana payphone will reach you on the first try. Most of the process is automatic, but the chance for human error is high. Its not going be pretty in the first couple of days, says one carriers spokesperson.