What is Digg?36 Comments
- sancho320, on 10/11/2007, -2/+21Now this John Appleseed guy is gonna have problems, cuz I got his social security number!
- Takuro, on 10/11/2007, -5/+21Apple and AT&T... talk about strange bedfellows. One is extremely efficient in the iPhone's launch, the other fails to provide even half the service for the exact same product.
1) AT&T is the reason 3rd party apps won't be made out of fear of VOIP services.
2) AT&T limited iPhone purchases to one per customer, and some stores lied and said accessories were a mandatory part of a bundle
3) AT&T now managed to somehow fail at using iTunes's amazing automation abilities, which have been used to sell millions of MP3s.
It's just so funny to see the bitterly ironic difference in business practices. - wickedphantom, on 10/11/2007, -3/+11Umm..didn't they pass some kind of law recently that says phone companies are REQUIRED to let you keep your number when you switch carriers?
- jxself, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9"Unless you are moving across geographic areas, their local number portability (LNP) rules apply."
That's exactly why this person is having problems porting their number: They've moved to another region (in their example, from Cupertino to Los Angeles.) They're not supposed to be able to keep their number in that case.
The author's statements that other carriers have alllowed the porting to happen doesn't mean it's supposed to be done. They're just not following the rules.
In the example given, by entering an address in Cupertino, the author is misrepresenting their PPU (Primary Place of Use or Place of Primary Use; depending on who you ask.) Misrepresenting your PPU is unethical (and possibly illegal as well, depending on the specifics of the circumstances.)
If you've moved to another city (such as a change from Cupertino to Los Angeles, or some such other move), you're supposed to get a new phone number. Local Number Portability (or LNP for short) wasn't intended to let people move around wherever they wanted to & keep their same phone number for life. Rather, LNP was intended to let people stay in the same market and switch carriers. If you move to another market, you're supposed to get a new phone number (local to the place you've moved to) just like always. (That's why it's called local number portability.)
For people who are getting the message that their number can't be ported, AT&T is actually handling the issue correctly. (I am sure I'll be dugg down for saying this, even though it is true.) - waxoff, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7123-45-6789? That must have been some serious luck getting that SSN.
- LifeSaverS, on 10/11/2007, -3/+10very useful for many who were experiencing problems. dugg. thanks a lot!
- aacidusX, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5This workaround will apply to many, but not all. In some cases it will be a different type of problem running in the background during WLNP when it tries to confirm certain criteria from the person's account, sure it has gotten less restrictive, but these occurences happen all the time. Could range from different account name, different social, company owned line/ business account, and so on...
- scotty1024, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5I'm pretty sure part of the reason most AT&T stores sold out of iPhones also had to do with AT&T employees and eBay...
At Apple stores it would have helped if Apple had announced "card only, no cash" and explained that you have to have a credit card to activate the phone so you have to have one to buy it.
Wait times would have been reduced as all the ebayers would have left. They only pay cash and hold up the line by wanting a receipt for every single phone purchased. This would have also helped with the two per person rule. Several of the ebayers in line with me brought their 5 year old children to stand for hours in line so they could get two more phones per child. - mattryan50, on 10/11/2007, -2/+6I have an Indiana cell number but now live in San Francisco -- I had already predicted problems porting my old number to the iPhone so last week I changed the billing address of my credit card and my old cell phone provider back to Indiana. Ported my number over last night with no problems. I think I'm gonna move back to San Francisco this week......
- youareretarded, on 10/11/2007, -5/+8Damn att for following FCC regulations!!!
- astoriadesign, on 10/11/2007, -3/+6Man, I hate when iTunes tells me that I can't do things
- MiDri, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4When I got my iphone at the AT&T store (was on the 29th at 6:00) they tried to sign me up for the 60$ plan + 20$ data plan and then they had the gaul to tell me that the docking station was not included and the SIM was non removable. I had planned on opening an account there (credit check and what not) but at this point I was pretty sure they were going to ask for 300$ as they always do with new customers (from what I hear) so I just tried to hold in my laughter as I got my phone and walked out -- wonder how many poor saps they got to pick up the extra 20$ in service charges (for ***** you already had) and another 40$ in accessories that were in the box!
- JohnGalt01, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3The number port is for all 10 digits.
- aacidusX, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5doesnt have to be in the same area code, what matters is the region. anyway, it's called WLNP (wireles local number portability) hence the "LOCAL" in it.
- karn, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I ran into this problem switching from sprint to verizon. I ended up having to temporarily change my physical address with my credit card company to an old address in order to get verizon to allow me to keep my old number. They based it on your billing address, and verified with the CC company that it was correct. That ***** was a hassle, took me a good day or two from dealing with the database updates.
- Tmacman, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I couldn't port my old cell phone number. My old provider has service where there is no service from AT&T. I no longer live there, but when I put this old address in the field like the article suggests, I got an error message from AT&T saying it had no service in the area. If I put another address in there, it said it couldn't verify the address. So I had to activate the iPhone with a new number. It would have been easier for me to keep my old number, oh well. At least I got it working in a couple of hours. And it's a great phone.
- fishbert, on 10/11/2007, -4/+6The workaround... file a complaint with the FCC.
Unless you are moving across geographic areas, their local number portability (LNP) rules apply.
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/numbport.html - bloodredxxx, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3this is great! very helpful...
http://webfindr.com/cat/technology/ - PDAIsAOk, on 10/11/2007, -2/+4Wish I would have known this from the start. Im now 30 hours and 45 minutes into the activation process. Still waiting for iTunes to give me another try at activating my phone with a transferred number.
- JudgeMonkey, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I haven't seen the movie but let's see. He basically said good guys win, bad guys don't..... yea.... real spoiler.
- status2000, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I tried the solution posted on appleinsider and it didn't work. What was weird is that my area code is within the zip code I currently live in. My trick, and I imagine this will work for anyone, was to use 00000 as the zip in the initial screen. I did that then put in the correct zip and info in subsequent screens. Worked like a charm.
- djspacebunny, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2The reason why you can't port numbers between carrier A and carrier B is because of these things called ratecenters. They basically define the geographic location of the area you're in to better pinpoint WHERE you are. It's a little more hairy will cell phones, as they don't assign numbers that belong in the ratecenter you live in. I have a number in a completely different area code, however my cell provider is porting over a different state's number to my family share plan.
If you have a land line service i.e. verizon, cavalier, comcast, etc. they will require that the phone number you are porting belongs in the ratecenter as they use more traditional 911 services. Simply put, if the ratecenters dont match, they you're screwed. You should NOT have an issue with cell providers with ratecenters... like I said, they don't follow those rules, but it seems like ATT is trying to. - jxself, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Not if you no longer live in the same area that the phone number was issued for.
- xerus, on 10/11/2007, -2/+2Not according to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHg5SJYRHA0
- waxoff, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1But therein lies the rub. It doesn't need to be more expensive. There is no earthly reason why a cellular number needs to be tied to a geographic location if he is anywhere within the AT&T network. It's only expensive for AT&T when he roams to "associated" carriers and therefore a clueless attempt to be crafty.
- rsams, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0You can also just choose no port and get a new phone number and then port later by calling the att port number
- wickedphantom, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Ahhhh. Got it. I missed that somewhere in reading this article.
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1Thankth, i guess i will do the same with mine.
Very useful info - gruntIed, on 10/11/2007, -2/+0Would have been better if he'd explained why cellular companies try to avoid transferring numbers used primarily outside their issuing area codes: It's very expensive for the home carrier. ATT gets stuck paying cash back to any other cell company that winds up funnelling your call back to the ATT network. Not that I'm crying over ATT's problems, having been a long time customer who fled screaming after the merger, but my guess is they're not so much clueless as crafty on this issue...
- colindunn, on 10/11/2007, -5/+3AT&T has yet again shown their complete inability to provide customer service, yet Apple chooses to affiliate with them. Mind boggling.
- filmbandit, on 10/11/2007, -10/+7buried for growing sickness of any digg related to iphone
- waxoff, on 10/11/2007, -6/+2Dugg up for the "poor sap" comment alone. Otherwise great info.
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -4/+0If that is true and you've spoiled the whole film for me then you sir are a ***** *****!
- CryingWolf, on 10/11/2007, -6/+1Only if the number is in the same location i.e. Area Code. You can't expect them to cross area codes. You could end up with two of the same numbers in the same area code. BAD
- HappyScrappy, on 10/11/2007, -10/+4This is an interesting technique.
But if you do this and then ever have any kind of beef between you and AT&T, they'll drop you so fast when they notice you put a fake address in when applying for service! And you can't even expect help from the FCC either since you're violating their regulations too!
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