Rich Adamson wrote:
Just an FYI... not all cell numbers are portable.
Do you have any more information on this? I read somewhere that
sometimes you can port a number to a VoIP provider but not be able to
port it back to the PSTN because not all PSTN providers will take
numbers from VoIP providers. Is this what you are talking about?
No. Some cell providers do not have the capability to selectively let
a telephone number move to another carrier/telco/itsp. They may have
technical plans to allow/support it, but the hardware/software necessary
to allow/support is not yet in place. Same is true with some smaller
telcos.
I'd also have to "guess" that come cell providers have probably taken a
stand that says they aren't going to do it, regardless of what the
regulatory folks do/say.
So, the issue with number portability really starts with the company that
currently provides the cell number to you. (Sometimes they don't like
to volunter that info for obvious reasons.) If your number is portable,
then it "should" remain portable regardless of where you move it to, and
you should be able to move it as many times as you'd like.
If you move your number to the "xyz" itsp and don't like their service,
then pick another company and ask "them" to move the number for you. For
them to move it, however, requires an acknowledgement from the previous
company in most cases. In some (rather rare) cases, the previous company
will sometimes drag their feet or refuse to acknowledge the transfer. There
are regulatory escalation processes to address that problem, but usually
it takes a considerable amount of time to get it done.
I'd like to add, not only considerable time, but if you are dealing with
a company whose approach to stopping churn is "aggressive," then you may
find yourself caught in a perpetual loop of problems trying to port the
number.
For instance, I spent the better part of a year trying to port a Qwest
8XX DID number. The new carrier would email me to say, "The transfer
has been refused *again*," and then Qwest's folks would say, "Oh, you
had a call from someone on that number, so the balance is non-zero."
Finally I called them and paid the account 100% on the spot with a
credit card, and then immediately called and told the new carrier to try
the port.
Guess what? "You happened to pay the account on the exact minute a new
billing period started, so by the time you got hold of the new carrier
there was a balance again."
That was where I gave up, let them have the number, and am now fighting
them about that "final balance" with the state PUC. They have sent the
balance to a collection agency and of course if they file against my
credit record it will then be my word against theirs in that domain.
They are rude as can be once they realize you are going to give up and
quit paying them, and they also seem to know which state regulatory
agencies (like mine) are staffed with incompetents who won't do anything
even if you do file a report.
Overall, huge PIA, and I'll never give Qwest a dime of my money again as
long as I live.
B.
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