Just came across this:
When portability was enabled for mobile phone numbers on November 24th, 2003 I was ready to eliminate one of my three cellular service providers. I already had a phone that only my closest friends had the number of, my T-Mobile SideKick, because I use it as a data device. My old AT&T Wireless phone had been replaced by a Sprint model that offered 70k USB data connections as well as thousands of minutes of voice for the same money that I was paying to Ma Bell. The problem I had was that thousands of my business cards had this AT&T phone number printed on them. I wanted my contacts to be able to reach out and touch me.
On the first day of what the press had thought would be a “mass exodus” of mobile users I called T-Mobile and began the process of giving them control […]
The entire post can be seen here.