Gopher Wireless

Switch only if you don't have a long-term contract. Otherwise the penalties --
early termination charges, for example -- will make any change costly. Added
to the cost of a new phone, they could offset any potential benefits. You may
want to wait 'til the day after your current contract ends.

Most cellular providers' early termination fees are $150 to $200. Cellular
One's early termination fee is $20 per month remaining on the contract for
each line of service. So leaving Cellular One with one line a month early
would only cost $20 instead of $150-200.

Do not cancel your account with your current provider. If you cancel you will
not have your number anymore to port to another company.

Do your switching through official carrier stores. The guys at your local
electronics and one-stop phone shops aren't up to speed on number
portability.

If you don't currently have a cell phone with a SIM card, back up your cell-
phone contact-list data on your computer, unless you want to spend an entire
weekend punching phone numbers into your new handset.

Want to keep your current phone? Your current phone may not work with your
new carrier. Ask prospective new carriers if your current phone will work with
their network.

Bring a copy of your latest cell phone bills. It has information including
account number needed to complete the transition of porting your number to
your new carrier.

Expect a delay. Most numbers will be ported within a few hours. But it may
take up to 24 hours to complete the transition to your new phone. This
means that you should carry both your new and old phones with you for a day.

Be aware that when terminating service with a wireless company, you may
be obligated to pay any early termination fees under your existing contract.
Also, when terminating service with any company, you are usually required to
pay any outstanding balance owed. Review your bill or contract to determine
what fees or charges apply. Once you request service from the new
company, however, your old company may not refuse to port your number,
even if you owe money for an outstanding balance or termination fee.

You may request service from a new company at any time.

Telephone companies are allowed to charge a fee to recover their number
porting costs. Companies may or may not choose to charge a fee, and their
fees may vary. If they do charge specific fees, the fees cannot exceed their
porting costs. Local telephone companies that assess the fee generally
charge a fixed monthly fee and may do so for up to five years.

Even if telephone companies decide to charge for porting, they may not
refuse to port a number because a consumer has not paid a porting fee.

Additionally, some companies may choose to pay the old company's costs of
porting for the benefit of their new customers. Ask your new company
whether it has a policy of paying or reimbursing these charges.

For a wireless-to-wireless transfer, your phone number should work within a
few hours of your request to change wireless providers, but may take up to
24 hours.

A wireline-to-wireless transfer may take several business days to complete.
Ask your new wireless company whether you will be able to continue using
your current wireline number during the transfer process.

If you port from a wireline phone to a wireless phone, your wireline long
distance company will not move with you. Your long distance service will
generally be provided by your new wireless company, but you should verify
this with the new wireless company before changing service providers. For
wireline-to-wireless porting, there may be a period of "mixed service," when
you essentially have two telephones with the same number during the
adjustment period.

Note: Pursuant to a court-ordered stay, most small wireline companies currently
are not required to port numbers to wireless companies until the FCC completes
and publishes a study about the effect of the porting rules on small wireline
companies. In addition, certain small wireline companies may have an
exemption from the porting requirements if they have received a state waiver.
Customers who want to port a wireline number to a wireless phone, and are told
that they cannot, should contact their state public utility commission to find out
whether their wireline carrier has been granted a waiver. A directory of state utility
commissions can be found at http://www.naruc.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=15.