Want to keep your existing number? Depending on which country, that shouldn't be a problem. The exercise of moving your number from one supplier to another is known as porting & here we explain how it works...
Number porting is the process of taking an existing phone number and transferring it to another provider. There are two methods of number porting you'll want to be aware of. The first is local number porting. The second is full mobile number porting. Local number porting deals with number porting that relates to fixed lines. Full mobile number porting relates to the process of changing your mobile number to a different service provider, upgrading your existing service, or moving the number to a different location entirely.
In the past, switching telecom providers meant obtaining a new phone number. This caused companies to stick with vendors longer than they wanted to avoid the hassle of changing phone numbers across the organization.
Number porting essentially gives your company the freedom to upgrade business communication providers without the hassle of having to inform existing customers and clients about the change because the phone number is still the same. On their end, everything continues to function as normal, while your organization gets the benefit of using a communication provider that support your business.
Here is a high-level summary of the port processing steps, as provided by the Number Portability Administration Center (NPAC)
That’s right: the porting process ultimately runs through nine steps from when you first submit your port request, to when the number has successfully transferred over into our system. This may look straightforward, but each step is a potential bottleneck that can delay the porting process.
Most bottlenecks in the porting process are caused in steps four and five. Many losing carriers delay the confirmation process in order to maintain their current customer. It makes sense why these providers would want to hold onto your number – whoever carries the number gets paid for the service.
Thus, if porting documentation isn’t submitted just right, ConXhub porting team can never get past step five in the process. The main factors we’ve found that can go wrong when submitting a port request include:
Incorrect data on the Letter of Authorization or Customer Service Record. The losing carrier will typically scrutinize over your documentation to ensure every last detail is correct. This is mostly for your protection, as it prevents unauthorized porting of your numbers. At the same time, little things such as small typos or outdated business addresses can cause the losing carrier to reject your documents. You will have to fill out and submit new paperwork, causing a major delay as the process starts all over again from the beginning.
Arbitrary carrier rules. Some providers will establish seemingly unnecessary rules that cause huge delays. Sometimes these take place in the form of porting fees (we’ve seen fees as large as £200 – for a single number!), or additional documentation. Other times it will be a ‘required’ period of time to process a port request – as long as 30 days.
‘Leasing’ of phone numbers. Not all call tracking providers ‘sell’ users their phone numbers. Instead they ‘lease’ the phone numbers to you while you’re using them. We’ve found that some of our customers are unaware they have been using leased numbers via a reseller and will attempt to port these numbers into ConXhub. Once the documentation is submitted it is revealed who truly owns the numbers and that they cannot be moved into ConXhub. It is important for consumers to educate themselves on the ownership of their numbers prior to selecting a supplier.
While all of the above may make the porting process seem like a long, complicated process, the good news is it doesn’t have to be. There are certain precautions every customer should take prior to porting their numbers into ConXhub.
We are one of the World's leading communications hubs!
Check out our other Services
Verify YOUR identity on any WEB SITE - receive SMS to your email address!
Forward Calls & Messages direct
to your Mobile Phone
Supercharged communications on your Smartphone