In today’s telecom world, individuals and organizations own their telephone numbers and choose the telecom service provider they wish to provide calling services for their phone numbers. The process of switching service providers and moving telephone numbers from one service provider to another is called Local Number Porting, also known as LNP or simply as “Porting“.

You may request to switch telecom service providers at any time, however, before doing so, you should be aware of the following: 

  • Review your contract with your current telecom service provider. Your contract may contain early termination fees and/or outstanding balances that you might be obligated to pay.
  • Do not terminate service with your existing telecom service provider until you have started the porting process with your new service provider. Frequently, issuing a disconnect order will prevent porting to another service provider. Rely on guidance from your new telecom service provider on when it’s ok to request termination with your current telecom service provider. 

Porting is initiated and managed by the new or winning service provider. The current or losing service provider’s responsibilities are providing information and approving or rejecting requests to port.

The porting process typically occurs as follows:

  1. The end user obtains a customer service report (CSR) from the current/losing telecom service provider. This CSR will contain all of the pertinent information such as account name, account name, account number, PIN code, service address, and a list of phone numbers served. In some cases, a copy of a phone bill may suffice, but the CSR is best.
  2. The end user completes a letter of agency (LOA) form with the new/winning telecom service provider. The new/winning telecom service provider will provide this form and may fill it out with the necessary information to make it ready for signature. All information must precisely match the info provided on the CSR. Missing information, an unauthorized signer, or a typographical error of a single character will typically result in immediate rejection of the port request.
  3. The new/winning telecom service provider will submit a local service request (LSR) to the current/losing telecom service provider. The current/losing telecom service provider will review the information provided, validate it, and approve or reject the request. It’s important to note that this validation and approval process is typically automated, so any small error can cause rejection without any human action.
  4. After approval, the current/losing telecom service provider will provide firm order confirmation (FOC) to the new/winning telecom service provider.
  5. On the day of the port, also known as the FOC date, the new/winning telecom service provider will take over service on the associated phone numbers. This will cause an update to propagate out to all phone telecom service providers so that calls are routed to the new/winning telecom service provider’s network instead of the previous/losing telecom service provider’s. It is important to note that the previous/losing telecom service provider should completely remove the associated phone numbers from their network to prevent other subscribers on the previous/losing telecom service provider’s network from being incorrectly routed.

If you wish to port phone numbers TO Phoneware:

  1. Contact Phoneware sales and obtain a proposal for services, or notify our customer service department that you wish to port in a phone number so that they may create a service order.
  2. Request a CSR from your current telecom service provider and send it to orders@phoneware.us via email. If you are unable to obtain a CSR, a bill copy may suffice.
  3. Complete a letter of agency form. Here are links to Phoneware self-serve local and toll-free LOA forms: https://phoneware.us/self-serve-loa-form-local and https://phoneware.us/self-serve-loa-form-toll-free.

If you wish to port phone numbers AWAY FROM Phoneware:

  1. An authorized contact on your Phoneware account should send a request for a CSR to support@phoneware.us. If this is requested by an unauthorized party, it will be denied.
  2. Phoneware will send the CSR to the requestor.
  3. Initiate the porting process with your new telecom service provider.  They will utilize the CSR and create an LOA form for you to sign which will be used to initiate a request to port your telephone numbers away from Phoneware. It is the new/winning telecom service provider’s responsibility to request the port out on your behalf. If the new/winning telecom service provider needs to submit their request manually, they should send their request to lnp@phoneware.us.
  4. Ask your new telecom service provider to notify you when they have received FOC and when to issue a request to disconnect Phoneware services.
  5. Send an email to support@phoneware.us requesting the termination of Phoneware services. Be sure to include the phone numbers that you wish to disconnect with Phoneware.

If you have additional questions regarding porting, please contact Phoneware support via email support@phoneware.us or via phone call to 602-445-7777, option 1.