Take a number.(have you heard?)(cell-phone numbers)

I get lousy coverage from my cell-phone service. So, I plan to switch carriers. But I'm waiting until Nov. 24 to make the change. You see, I want to keep my cell-phone number, and the Federal Communications Commission has set that as the date by which carriers must ensure that customers in the 100 largest metro areas can "port" their phone numbers when they change companies. The FCC says that this time, after three delays in seven years, it will stick to its deadline; the number-portability rule will go into effect at last.

At Consumers Union, we know how important this issue is to you. We also know that the cell-phone industry has repeatedly delayed the rule and that the FCC has not made clear what penalties carriers would incur for noncompliance. So we asked the six major cellular carriers what they intend to do and how much it will cost customers.

Representatives at all six said they'll be ready by the deadline, even though AT&T and Cingular are still dragging their feet in the courts. Indeed, several carriers have already charged millions of dollars to their customers to cover the cost of the necessary network upgrades.

Here is what you and I are likely to be hit with if the deadline holds.

Since March, AT&T has charged some customers $1.75 a month to pay for several government mandates, including portability. It plans to reduce or drop the fee once it collects enough to cover those costs. Cingular said it's been charging all customers about 28 cents a month to recover "costs it incurred through 2002" to meet the new ...