The New York Times has a fantastic article on problems facing consumers trying to switch carriers. One reporter’s misadventures in carrier switching despite all the FCC promises.

bq. Since the government decided to force the industry to allow number switching, carriers have spent more than $1 billion to automate the process. Sprint had been adding a $1.10 charge to my bill each month since July to help cover its costs, practically daring me to switch carriers to get a return on my investment. With all of that machinery in place, the Federal Communications Commission assured consumers at its Web site that “your phone number should work within a few hours of your request to change wireless providers.”

Well as we read in this article, wireless carriers were quick to charge for number portability, but not so quick on service.