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Softbank stopped accepting new customers Oct. 28 and 29 when its computer system could n't handle the barrage of new applications following the arrival of number portability in Japan , a system that lets people keep the same numbers when they switch carriers . Briesemeister said the industry has thrown up excuse after excuse in calling for repeated delays of " number portability " – the requirement by the FCC that cell phone companies by Nov. 24 allow consumers to take their numbers with them when they switch carriers . " Number portability is the ability of phone service customers to keep their phone numbers when they switch carriers . And he backed allowing consumers to take their phone numbers with them when they switch carriers . The Federal Communications Commission ( FCC ) voted Tuesday to again delay the wireless number portability implementation , which would allow cell phone customers to keep their numbers when they change carriers , by 12 months . Subscribers will soon be able to keep their phone numbers when they switch carriers , which may make some more willing to move . ' " " Last year , the Federal Communications Commission required wireless companies to allow customers to take their phone numbers with them when they switch carriers - a requirement that costs the companies as much as $ 1.60 per person per month , according to a study by researchers at the Progress & Freedom Foundation , a Washington , D.C ., think tank that studies the effects of the ' digital revolution ' on industry markets and public policy . Physicians can face punitive overpayment demands even when they follow carriers ' advice .