You can usually keep your number
US number portability rules let businesses keep their phone numbers when they switch providers, in most cases, as long as the number stays in the same area. Your new provider submits the request, and your old provider releases the number. You do not have to negotiate it yourself.
What you will need
- A recent bill from your current provider.
- Your account number, and the main billing telephone number on the account.
- The account holder's name and the service address, exactly as your current provider has them.
- A PIN or passcode, if any of the numbers are on a cell phone account.
- A signed letter of authorization, which your new provider will prepare for you to sign.
- A complete list of the numbers you want to move, including any fax, toll-free or direct numbers.
The single most common reason a port is rejected is a mismatch. If the account is in a former business name, or the service address is written differently, the request comes back and the clock starts again. Get a copy of the account details from your current provider before anything is submitted.
Do not cancel your old service first
This is the mistake that loses numbers. If you cancel the old account before the port completes, the provider can release the number and you may not get it back. The port itself moves the numbers away. Once it has completed, cancel whatever else remains on the old account, and check your final bill.
If your old contract has an early termination clause, the port can still go ahead, but the fees in that contract may still apply. Check the terms before you pick a date.
How long it takes
A simple port of a single number can be quick. Business ports with several numbers, several locations or toll-free numbers take longer, commonly one to a few weeks, depending on the carriers involved. Once your old provider accepts the request, it confirms a date, and that is the date to plan around.
Switch-over day
- Have the new system fully set up and tested before the confirmed date: users, call routing, auto attendant and voicemail.
- Until the port completes, calls keep arriving on the old service, so leave it working.
- When the port activates, call the main number and a few direct numbers from a cell phone to confirm they ring on the new system.
- Update the emergency 911 address for each phone and user on the new system.
- Check anything else that used those numbers: fax, alarm panels, door entry systems.
We schedule switch-overs for evenings or weekends so a problem, if there is one, does not land in the middle of your working day. More on how we run a move is on Make the switch, and for businesses in Flint, on business VoIP in Flint.