I think we'd be lucky if it was 2006. I think the bigger impact will be for people who want to ditch their landline phones and go all wireless. Also, people may be in long-term contacts but I'm sure there's a large amount whose contracts are about to expire and will be eager to make the jump. Most definitely, this proactive move by the carriers is a realization of the inevitable but at the same time a strategic move to take control of the process rather than let the CRTC -- and the public -- determine the schedule. Now they can drag their feet having commited to deploying WNP sometime in the unknown future. I'm sure the happiest camper is Virgin Mobile, who is trying to lure away customers from the other guys and from landlines.

The truth is they could have WNP before the end of the year if they wanted. They don't need to hire an independent consultant to study the issue -- it's equivalent to the government holding a royal inquiry to get the media off its back. They can learn from the U.S. system and from the existing LNP system in place today for switching numbers between ILECs and CLECs. They could even hire the company that did the U.S. system to oversee tomorrow the quick implementation of the Canadian system.

Peter Barnes' talk of this being a massive and complex undertaking is a bit too dramatic to match the reality. The oligopolists are calling the shots. And keep in mind that the CWTA press release talks about making the government happy, not customers.
Tyler