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CNN Sunday Morning
Interview With Chris Murray
Aired November 23, 2003 - 08:16 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Cell phone companies bracing for a very big day tomorrow. Is it the first day you can switch to another company without changing your phone number. And you can even transfer your landline number to a cell phone.
Joining us from Washington to tell us about all this, is Chris Murray of the Consumers Union. Good morning to you, Chris.
CHRIS MURRAY, CONSUMERS UNION: Good morning. Thanks for having me.
SAVIDGE: Sure. I would think this is a monumental shift in the cellular industry. Is it?
MURRAY: I think that's exactly right. It's already said to sort have disrupted the competitive equilibrium that's out there. And the consumers are seeing all kinds of great offers already.
Companies are saying, if you'll lock in before Monday, I'll give you $30 or $60 off of your cell phone bill. Some other companies are offering to move their peak hours back to 7:00. They had moved the end of peak hours from 7:00, and then to 8:00, and then to 9:00. And some companies are saying, look, we'll move those back to 7:00, if you'll come to us. So we're seeing lots of great offers for consumers.
SAVIDGE: Do you think it would be wise if a consumer wants to make this switch to do it right away?
MURRAY: Well, if you do it right away, the first thing that you want to do is set up service with the new company. You don't need to actually terminate your service right away. You can get service with a new cell phone carrier and then transfer your number after that. So that you don't want to be left without cell phone service in the event that there are some wrinkles.
SAVIDGE: But I was asking, do you think there will be a lot of confusion problems within the industry trying to get this implemented?
MURRAY: It is difficult to see that right now. Tomorrow is the big day. But I would at least perhaps wait till the second day to go ahead and sign up for a new service.
SAVIDGE: OK. One of the other things that people are doing is just going totally wireless now, and cutting the cord, as we say, losing the traditional phone. Is that a good idea? And I'm also wondering about reliability, because the original phone system was set up with a tremendous amount of redundancy. And I don't believe the cellular system has to follow the same type rules.
MURRAY: Well, that's exactly right. A wireless phone is not designed to be an exact substitute for a landline phone. And it never really will be.
So if you need that 100 percent rely reliability, always on, then maybe cutting the cord isn't for you. But I've seen a lot of younger consumers are willing to go ahead and cut the cord and just have a cell phone.
You want to be sure that you're thinking about perhaps 911 reliability. If you call on your landline phone, emergency services providers will know exactly where you are when you call. And that's not the case with your wireless phone. So that's an important thing consumers should think of.
SAVIDGE: It is a good point, yes. Chris Murray, it's going to be a busy day at the phone companies tomorrow. Thanks very much for joining us and helping us iron it out.
MURRAY: I appreciate you having me, thanks.
SAVIDGE: Sure.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 23, 2003 - 08:16 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Cell phone companies bracing for a very big day tomorrow. Is it the first day you can switch to another company without changing your phone number. And you can even transfer your landline number to a cell phone.
Joining us from Washington to tell us about all this, is Chris Murray of the Consumers Union. Good morning to you, Chris.
CHRIS MURRAY, CONSUMERS UNION: Good morning. Thanks for having me.
SAVIDGE: Sure. I would think this is a monumental shift in the cellular industry. Is it?
MURRAY: I think that's exactly right. It's already said to sort have disrupted the competitive equilibrium that's out there. And the consumers are seeing all kinds of great offers already.
Companies are saying, if you'll lock in before Monday, I'll give you $30 or $60 off of your cell phone bill. Some other companies are offering to move their peak hours back to 7:00. They had moved the end of peak hours from 7:00, and then to 8:00, and then to 9:00. And some companies are saying, look, we'll move those back to 7:00, if you'll come to us. So we're seeing lots of great offers for consumers.
SAVIDGE: Do you think it would be wise if a consumer wants to make this switch to do it right away?
MURRAY: Well, if you do it right away, the first thing that you want to do is set up service with the new company. You don't need to actually terminate your service right away. You can get service with a new cell phone carrier and then transfer your number after that. So that you don't want to be left without cell phone service in the event that there are some wrinkles.
SAVIDGE: But I was asking, do you think there will be a lot of confusion problems within the industry trying to get this implemented?
MURRAY: It is difficult to see that right now. Tomorrow is the big day. But I would at least perhaps wait till the second day to go ahead and sign up for a new service.
SAVIDGE: OK. One of the other things that people are doing is just going totally wireless now, and cutting the cord, as we say, losing the traditional phone. Is that a good idea? And I'm also wondering about reliability, because the original phone system was set up with a tremendous amount of redundancy. And I don't believe the cellular system has to follow the same type rules.
MURRAY: Well, that's exactly right. A wireless phone is not designed to be an exact substitute for a landline phone. And it never really will be.
So if you need that 100 percent rely reliability, always on, then maybe cutting the cord isn't for you. But I've seen a lot of younger consumers are willing to go ahead and cut the cord and just have a cell phone.
You want to be sure that you're thinking about perhaps 911 reliability. If you call on your landline phone, emergency services providers will know exactly where you are when you call. And that's not the case with your wireless phone. So that's an important thing consumers should think of.
SAVIDGE: It is a good point, yes. Chris Murray, it's going to be a busy day at the phone companies tomorrow. Thanks very much for joining us and helping us iron it out.
MURRAY: I appreciate you having me, thanks.
SAVIDGE: Sure.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
