Many phone customers cut the cord

NEW YORK — To cut the cord, or not to cut? That is the question a growing number of people are asking themselves now that they're free to switch their home phone number to a cell phone.

Through the first two weeks of February, about 60,000 had decided to make the all-wireless leap since new federal rules took effect Nov. 24, according to confidential figures gathered by The Associated Press.

While the early tally casts some doubt on the most optimistic projections that millions might cut the cord within a year, there are signs demand is on the rise.

That said, thousands of the wireline-to-wireless switches that have been already requested have yet to be filled due to glitches in the process, and many customers have even been left without any phone service for several days.

At one major wireless carrier, about a third of the new customers looking to move a home number to a cell phone tired of waiting and canceled their orders "out of frustration," a source at the company said, speaking on condition that the provider not be identified.

Due to the delays, cellular companies are cautioning their would-be converts to all-wireless that the process could take weeks, if not months. Rules set by the Federal Communications Commission require the companies to complete the process within four days.

Still, at a recent industry meeting, many cell phone companies indicated wireline-to-wireless orders are on the rise, said Elizabeth Frohse, an industry consultant for Cap Gemini Ernst & Young. They didn't disclose specific figures. The tally of 60,000 requests was calculated with data supplied by wireless company sources for the sole purpose of compiling an industry-wide figure.

Now that more orders are being processed successfully, "There's word of mouth. People are saying 'Hey, this works. You really can take your home phone to your cell phone,' " said Frohse, noting that the FCC publicly suggested that consumers hold off until the industry could work out the expected glitches.

Before the new rules took effect, an estimated 3 percent of the nation's cell phone subscribers, about 4.5 million people, said they had no wired phone service, according to an October survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

One obvious appeal for those early adopters has been the simplicity of steering all calls to a single phone number that follows them everywhere.

But even with the new freedom to move a landline number to a cell as added incentive, there can be substantial drawbacks to going all wireless, starting with poor indoor reception.

In addition, while moving a home number to a cell phone may be appealing for a first-time wireless subscriber, it's not so clear how many of the nation's 155 million mobile phone users are anxious to replace a wireless number to which they've grown attached.

Abandoning a home phone may work for young adults, mostly singles in their 20s and 30s who are its sole users. But families and others who live together can find it hard to share a single cell phone that needs to be used as both a home number and a mobile number. One option is to sign up for a wireless family plan that gives each family member a cell phone with a different number, but such plans can get expensive.