Is your telephone quantity the cornerstone of your buyer connection? Think about shedding it throughout a transfer or supplier change. VoIP quantity porting saves the day.

VoIP quantity porting saves the day, whether or not it’s essential to port a cellular quantity, a toll-free quantity, or a daily telephone quantity to your new VoIP telephone service helps you retain your corporation quantity — the one your purchasers know and belief.

This complete information equips you for a easy transition to VoIP, masking:

• VoIP quantity porting and its advantages.
• Necessities for a profitable port.
• Roadblocks to anticipate and keep away from. (and extra)

Whether or not you’re switching VoIP suppliers or relocating, this information empowers you to make the change seamless for your corporation and clients.

What Is VoIP Quantity Porting?

VoIP quantity porting permits you to retain your present telephone quantity when switching to a brand new VoIP service supplier. This fashion, you’ll be able to maintain your acquainted telephone quantity even when switching to a brand new service.

The Federal Communications Fee (FCC) requires that phone numbers be moveable between suppliers, so long as you stay inside the identical geographic space, also called a price heart.

The speed heart determines the telephone quantity and space code assigned to you.

So long as you keep inside these geographic limits, your new VoIP supplier ought to be capable to port your present quantity to their service. This implies you received’t need to undergo the effort of updating your contact info on enterprise playing cards, web sites, and together with your clients.

You get a VoIP telephone quantity (a digital quantity) if you join a VoIP service from a telecom supplier. The VoIP supplier will assign you a brand new telephone quantity that routes calls over the web as a substitute of conventional telephone traces.

Nevertheless, with quantity portability, you will have the choice to switch or “port” an present telephone quantity that you have already got from a earlier supplier (VoIP or conventional landline) to your new VoIP service. This lets you maintain utilizing a well-known quantity which will already be identified to clients, buddies, household, and so on.

Quantity portability is a major benefit for small companies trying to decrease their communication prices by switching to a extra inexpensive VoIP supplier. It eliminates the disruption and inconvenience of fixing telephone numbers, making certain a seamless transition.

The porting course of needs to be easy, whether or not you’re transferring from a standard plain previous phone service (POTS) or one other VoIP supplier. Nevertheless, in case your present supplier refuses to port your quantity, the FCC recommends contacting your native public utilities fee as a final resort.

Why Port Your VoIP Quantity

Porting your present telephone quantity unlocks a number of advantages when switching VoIP providers:

• Enterprise continuity: Hold your present quantity, avoiding the effort of notifying everybody in your contacts of a change. This can be a lifesaver for companies that depend on established telephone numbers on advertising supplies, web sites, and extra. No want for expensive reprints or web site updates.
• Much less missed calls: With out porting, you threat a interval of missed calls as individuals strive your previous quantity. Porting ensures a easy transition and uninterrupted service on your callers.
• Higher on-line presence: Your telephone quantity is probably going embedded in on-line listings, web site contact data, and e-mail signatures. Porting retains your on-line id constant and avoids the necessity for updates throughout varied platforms.
• Sooner setup: Porting permits your new supplier to activate your service shortly, utilizing your acquainted quantity. That is a lot sooner than ready for a brand new telephone quantity to be assigned.
• Improved customer support: Prospects are accustomed to your present quantity and usually tend to name it. Porting your quantity permits a easy transition to the brand new service with out interrupting buyer communication.
• Elevated flexibility: VoIP providers supply options like name forwarding and voicemail to any system, permitting you to work remotely or handle calls on the go. Porting your quantity maintains this flexibility with out requiring clients to replace their contact info.
• Price financial savings: You keep away from termination charges out of your present service. Additionally, saving on the price of printing new enterprise playing cards, stationery, and advertising supplies with a brand new quantity can add up. Porting your quantity retains your present branding constant and saves cash.

The advantages of porting your quantity are vital. You’ll expertise a easy transition, all whereas getting arrange shortly together with your new VoIP supplier. For each people and companies, porting your quantity makes switching suppliers a hassle-free expertise.

How Does VoIP Quantity Porting Work?

There are some things you need to know earlier than beginning the VoIP porting course of. Right here’s how VoIP porting usually works:

1) Contact your new VoIP supplier about porting numbers

When signing up with a brand new VoIP supplier like Nextiva, inform them that it’s essential to port your present telephone quantity(s) over. This may increasingly have to be specified within the contract and will contain an extra porting charge from some suppliers.

Simply to be clear — there’s no cost to port your quantity to Nextiva. 

2) Keep your present telephone service

Don’t cancel your present telephone service till after the port is accomplished. This avoids any interruption in service throughout the porting course of. If a fast transition is required, ask your new VoIP supplier for momentary numbers to ahead calls whereas the port is pending.

3) Present account particulars for a Letter of Company (LOA)

Your present/previous supplier requires a Letter of Company (LOA) authorization to confirm and approve the quantity port request. You’ll want to supply correct account info like account numbers, PINs, tax IDs, and so on. Have current billing statements prepared.

4) Adjust to porting necessities

There are typical porting necessities just like the numbers being energetic, no pending orders on the traces, accounting for any excellent balances, service frozen for a while, and so on. The brand new and previous suppliers coordinate the technical elements.

5) Port processing timeline

The porting course of timeline can range however usually takes 5-7 enterprise days for easy ports as soon as all necessities are met. Extra advanced ports with a number of numbers or toll-free numbers may take 4-6 weeks.

6) Port completion

As soon as the port is accomplished efficiently, the telephone numbers are actually energetic on the brand new VoIP service. You possibly can cancel the previous service after testing the ported numbers.

Correct planning, sustaining your present service till completion, and offering correct account knowledge guarantee a easy VoIP quantity porting course of with minimal disruption.



Necessities and Issues for Porting

Listed below are some key factors to contemplate earlier than porting your VoIP quantity:

• Eligibility: Not all telephone numbers are eligible for porting. For instance, some pay as you go telephone numbers may need restrictions. Examine together with your present supplier for any limitations.
• Account standing: Your account with the present service needs to be in good standing and don’t have any excellent balances, and you need to present particulars just like the billing handle and account quantity for a Letter of Authorization (LOA).
• Info gathering: Collect all vital account particulars and billing statements beforehand to expedite the method.
• Porting charges: Some suppliers may cost a porting charge for releasing your telephone quantity, whereas others like Nextiva don’t cost something further to port numbers with them as your new service. Examine about potential porting charges.
• Downtime: Be ready for a quick service interruption throughout the quantity switch. Inform your contacts about potential momentary unavailability.

When you’ve signed the contract, you’ll want to supply your new vendor with a listing of data to allow them to start the telephone quantity porting course of.

• An inventory of all of your telephone numbers: It contains all extensions which may be in use.
• Letter of Authorization or LOA: Permits your new vendor to behave in your behalf with the previous vendor. It supplies necessary details about who could make choices on the quantity(s) in query.
• Outdated vendor and account quantity: The 2 distributors will talk with one another to finish the method.
• Copy of present telephone invoice: Have the mandatory info in a straightforward format for the brand new supplier and supply extra proof of telephone quantity possession.

Challenges With VoIP Quantity Porting 

Whereas porting telephone numbers needs to be a simple course of, typically hiccups can happen. It’s possible you’ll face two foremost varieties of points when porting numbers.

1) Your quantity isn’t moveable

These are vital issues that inhibit you from porting your telephone quantity. Whereas the FCC requires numbers to be moveable, there are a number of exceptions that might happen:

• Incomplete price heart – Your new VoIP supplier doesn’t but have protection in your space and may’t port numbers there.
• The quantity is not in service – In case your telephone quantity is not energetic or has been disconnected, portability turns into unimaginable.
• No interconnect settlement – VoIP suppliers should have an interconnection settlement with the phone service that at present holds that telephone quantity.
• Geographic restrictions – Some geographic areas or numbering plans could have restrictions on porting numbers throughout totally different price facilities or service areas.

If you end up in one in all these conditions, sadly, you’ll have to seek out an alternative choice to porting your quantity or choose a brand new one.

2) Different errors which will happen

The second set of issues which will come up are usually fixable, albeit typically time-consuming. These points embody:

• The telephone line is DSL – You probably have a DSL line, until the DSL supplier permits a “dry loop” (a telephone line with out an related dial tone), you could want an extra telephone quantity. All the time test together with your DSL supplier earlier than making an attempt to port a DSL telephone quantity.
• Incorrect contact info – When your identify and handle differ from these on the porting order request, you may need to supply extra proof to show telephone quantity possession. If the service handle is totally different than the handle on the porting request, you may be capable to request a correction.
• Toll-free 800 quantity redirect – If the quantity being ported is being redirected to a toll-free quantity, you could want to permit further time to finish the porting course of.
• The previous phone quantity is already disconnected – You may need to take a number of further steps to get your quantity ported if it’s already been disconnected by the earlier supplier.
• Phone quantity not discovered – Person error can happen when inputting a telephone quantity, ensuing within the quantity not being discovered within the service’s database.
• Account points – Excellent balances, account closures, or different points with the present supplier could have to be resolved earlier than porting can proceed.

The excellent news is that whereas most of those points are inconvenient, the porting course of is mostly not unimaginable with some extra effort. Clear communication together with your new and previous suppliers may also help resolve many of those challenges.

*Digital Subscriber Line. “Dry loop DSL” is a phone line with out an related dial tone.

Selecting a New VoIP Supplier

Shifting your telephone numbers to a brand new system shouldn’t be a headache. Right here’s the best way to choose the proper VoIP telephone system for a easy transition and long-term communication success:

• Options: Determine your communication wants. Does your crew require name recording, video conferencing, or a digital receptionist? Select a supplier that gives the options you employ most.
• Pricing: Evaluate pricing plans that suit your name quantity and crew measurement. Search for clear pricing with no hidden charges. Think about limitless calling or bundled minutes, and discover reductions for annual subscriptions or multi-user accounts.
• Customer support: Make sure the supplier affords dependable and wonderful customer support 24/7 by way of telephone, e-mail, and dwell chat. Analysis their buyer satisfaction scores to gauge their responsiveness.
• Porting providers: Confirm the supplier affords VoIP quantity porting and perceive their course of and timelines. Ask about success charges, potential downtime, and momentary name forwarding choices to reduce disruption.
• Reliability and name high quality: Consider the supplier’s community infrastructure, redundancy measures, and high quality of service (QoS) for constant, high-quality calls. Guarantee they adjust to business requirements and help the codecs you want.
• Scalability: Think about your future development. Select a supplier that scales seamlessly as your crew expands, name quantity will increase, otherwise you combine with new enterprise instruments.
• Cell and desktop apps: In case your crew works remotely, ensure your new VoIP supplier affords cellular and desktop apps for uninterrupted communication from any system through voice calls or SMS.
• Integration capabilities: Does the VoIP system combine together with your present CRM, helpdesk, or crew collaboration instruments? Streamline workflows and enhance productiveness with seamless integrations.
• Safety and compliance: The supplier ought to prioritize knowledge safety with strong encryption protocols. Ensure that they adjust to business rules related to your corporation, like HIPAA or GDPR.

Port Your Numbers With Nextiva



VoIP quantity porting is a handy option to keep your present telephone quantity when switching VoIP suppliers. You get seamless buyer communication and keep away from the effort of updating contact info.

Perceive the advantages, processes, and issues concerned when porting your quantity.

Above all select the most effective VoIP supplier on your wants. Nextiva’s VoIP telephone system affords a wealth of latest options, higher performance, and pleasant and useful customer support.

Work with a confirmed VoIP service supplier, like Nextiva, to make sure a streamlined, profitable porting course of.

Expertise the reliability and readability of Nextiva VoIP.


Get your questions answered and see how Nextiva may also help you simply port your numbers.


Contact a Nextiva Specialist


VoIP Quantity Porting FAQs


Why would I wish to port my quantity to VoIP?

There are a number of causes to port your quantity:
– Price financial savings: VoIP providers typically supply cheaper charges in comparison with conventional telephone traces.
– Options: VoIP suppliers usually supply a wider vary of options like voicemail to e-mail, video conferencing, and name forwarding.
– Flexibility: You should utilize your telephone quantity from anyplace with an web connection, making it splendid for distant work or journey.

How lengthy does it take to port a quantity to VoIP?

Porting telephone numbers needs to be a easy course of. Telephone quantity porting takes between 2–4 weeks to finish.

Within the meantime, you need to nonetheless have entry to your telephones and be capable to place inbound and outbound calls. Your new VoIP telephone supplier will talk the following steps and inform you when the quantity will port over.

Porting toll-free (800, 866, 888, and so on.) numbers can take longer. Your service shouldn’t be interrupted throughout this time.

Is it potential to port any kind of telephone quantity?

Most landline and enterprise telephone numbers could be ported to a different VoIP service. Nevertheless, some exceptions may exist, so it’s at all times greatest to test together with your suppliers.

How a lot does VoIP quantity porting value?

Some carriers may cost a charge for releasing your telephone quantity. Others like Nextiva don’t cost you something further to port numbers with them. Examine with each your present supplier and the brand new VoIP service about any potential porting charges.

Can a VoIP quantity be ported to a cellular phone?

If the world code of your VoIP quantity matches the protection space of your cellular phone supplier, then porting is often easy. Nevertheless, in the event that they don’t match (e.g., you will have a VoIP quantity with a California space code however dwell in New York), your cellular phone service may require you to decide on a brand new native quantity. It’s because they could not have the infrastructure to help VoIP numbers outdoors their service space.

Not all cellular phone suppliers supply VoIP quantity porting. Examine together with your particular service to verify their coverage on VoIP quantity portability earlier than you provoke the method. They may have a software on their web site to confirm in case your quantity could be ported.