Teleblend → Re: HELP - after 2 months still not ported !!

Cell Phone porting is not the same as landline porting.

Cell Phone carriers thought about this problem when they were first setting up the idea to LNP (port a number). They created an electronic system that all cell phone providers now integrate into. That is why it is so fast for them to port numbers. For them, as long as the information is verified, then automatically your number is removed from their switches and added to the new provider. It's a great system.

With the landline service, everything is very very very manual. When I say "very very very", I really mean manual. Even the large telco's (Verizon, Qwest, Level 3), all do this manually. A person actually physically works requests. They do one by one by one. Then they have to push this off to the tech that has to complete his/her part. Once that is done, that same person then gets the request and responds back to new carrier. Even that response is sent by email over to the originating person so they can manually get their pieces done.

I hope that better explains the process.

Hi,
Thanks for responding, I appreciate your quick and prompt response.

When you are really appreciating the cell phone electronic system, then why not you guys get one, or use that for by renting so be the first landline providers to make the process quick.

Anyway thanks for updating, that was informative.

Thanks,

Not a problem.

We are not a cell phone provider, so we do not have access to those systems. Even if we did have access to that system, the process is still manual on the landline side. The only gain someone would see is a cell phone to cell phone port.

Are you a technical support person too, if so can you please look into my issue where I am having issue for more than a month. My ticket 323273 and 316475.

sri76 ... to give you some insight into the porting process ...

Landline (PSTN) phone companies and Cellular providers control all of the phone numbers they have assigned to their customers ... with no middle man. VoIP providers depend on CLECs to provide phone numbers, ports, and redirection of incoming calls to your VoIP adapters/phones.

Landline (PSTN) phone companies and Cellular providers are under FCC mandate to accomplish uncomplicated ports between one another within 72 hours (or something close to that, as I recall). All PSTN & Cellular providers have quick direct access to each other's porting departments (PSTN & Cellular) ... so a simple phone call followed by faxed documentation gets the port done very quickly. I've ported Verizon PSTN to ATT Cellular within 36 hours through a simple telephone contact with ATT Cellular Porting Dept ... with absolutely no paperwork or faxing required.

Porting to VoIP on the other hand -- from PSTN, Cellular or another VoIP provider -- is a much more problematic situation. Voip providers do not control the phone numbers. They depend on CLECs such as Level 3 Comm, XO, PAETEC, Global Crossing to service phone numbers (either new VoIP numbers or ported numbers). So your request to port in a number from another service (PSTN, Cellular, VoIP) can be a much more convoluted process. The owner of the number (PSTN, Cellular, VoIP company) may delay the port or the losing CLEC may block the process. Usually this is resolved over time by escalation of the porting request by the receiving CLEC ... the new VoIP provider has no say in the porting process. In some cases, the new CLEC does not have a presence in the rate center (area code/exchange) of the number to be ported. This will result in failure to complete the port. In other cases, specifically with an FCC-designated Rural Telephone Carrier, the phone company is not required to release the number you want to port.

Bottom line: You usually cannot blame the VoIP provider for a delayed port ... you can just prod the provider to check with their CLEC to see what the hold-up is.

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Incidentally, TBSupport1 is either the head of customer support at TB or the chief technical support person ... or possibly both ... but he's definitely the "go-to guy".