Porting FAQ

• Porting, also known as transferring is the physical move of a phone number from one carrier/phone service provider to another phone service provider’s network.
• Forwarding is when calls from one phone are redirected to another.
• You can forward your calls from your mainline number to a number on your new phone service with UNIVERGE BLUE™. See your current phone service provider for information on how to forward calls. If your port date is weeks away, you can forward your calls to your new phone system.

• Porting your number means that you can take advantage of a new phone system and lower phone line costs without having to tell your customers to call a new phone number.

• Yes. You will need to contact your current service provider to arrange for them to forward your current local phone number to new numbers you have setup with our services. This is typically called Call Forwarding.
• If you wish to have your current provider forward your number, request them to do this before you submit your paperwork to port your numbers to our services; some providers will only allow you to have one active order on your account at any one time.
• Also note that your current provider may charge you for call forwarding services.

Note: Please do not request the cancellation of your services or phone number(s) with your current provider until AFTER all numbers you wish to port to us have successfully ported. Once you have received our confirmation of port completion, contact your old service provider to cancel any services/numbers you no longer need; they may not do this automatically.

• Generally, yes. Successfully porting depends on how well the information you provide us to port matches what is on file with your current carrier, whether you have any contract terms with your current provider that may restrict porting, and our network carrier coverage.
• For local numbers, your salesperson can use our prequal tool to determine if your existing local phone number(s) is portable. We have coverage for 95% of the US population and much of Canada, so this generally is not an issue.
• All North American toll-free numbers are portable provided you are the account owner. 

• Start by filling in the necessary paperwork. The telecommunications regulatory authorities require you as the current account owner of your numbers to complete a Letter of Authorization (LOA) in which you are giving us the authority to port your number(s) to our network for you. Different forms are required for local and toll-free porting. For toll-free port orders, we require a pen-and-ink signed LOA along with a bill copy current to within 30 days.
  • These forms are available here:
    • Local number Letter of Authorization
    • Toll-free number Letter of Authorization
  • If you are the end-user owner of the numbers and submitting your port order directly to us, you can skip this step on local port orders and proceed directly to our online LOA Wizard available in our control panel.
  • Otherwise, using your most recent bill copy for the numbers as reference, fill in the appropriate Letter of Authorization indicating all Local or Toll-Free numbers you wish to port from your current account. Use a different LOA for each account from which you are porting, and for each number type. Remember to sign and date it! Provide these documents to your account owner/administrator whom will be submitting your order to us.
• Submit your port order through our online LOA Wizard. The LOA Wizard is available for administrators from our Control Panel. For Cloud PBX 2.0 port orders, read the How To Use Number Porting LOA Wizard. For UNIVERGE BLUE™ CONNECT port orders, read the Using The Number Porting Wizard With UNIVERGE BLUE™ CONNECT article.
  • On local orders, we recommend including your pen and ink LOA and most recent bill copy as attachments particularly if you are submitting on behalf of the end-user.
  • For toll-free orders, both a pen and ink LOA and the most recent bill copy are required attachments
  • Our online LOA Wizard also lets you specify whom you would like contacted by email from our Footprints case management system on status changes for your port order.  Please make sure to include all relevant email addresses for each order.
• Once your port order has been submitted, our porting team will review your paperwork and submit your order to our carriers. Provided the information you submitted matches what they have on file, they will accept the order and a date will be scheduled for local porting; toll-free porting follows a different process and happens on a soonest available basis once the order is accepted.
• We will keep you posted on each status change by email from our Footprints case management system. We also suggest periodically checking our end user porting status viewer, available to account administrators in Control Panel.

Q: What is BTN or Bill-to-number? Where can I find it?

• Bill-to-number(BTN) is a 10-digit phone number that is often a part of your account number with the current service provider or may be also referred as a main number when you contact them. If you do not know your BTN or you are unable to locate it on your bill, contact your current service provider to determine the correct BTN before submitting your port order. 

• The amount of time it takes to port a number depends on several factors. Porting of a local telephone number typically takes 2-4 weeks depending on how quickly your current service provider responds and how well the information you provide matches what your current provider has on file for your number(s). 
• Toll free porting typically takes 1-2 weeks.
• There is a bit of overlap time where you will likely need to have both our services and service through your old carrier. During this transition, you may be able to minimize services with your old carrier to cover only the phone numbers you are bringing with you to UNIVERGE BLUE™. You can also start using your new services with UNIVERGE BLUE™ as soon as you have them set up.

• Most likely you can still port your number(s). You may want to check to see if your existing carrier has early termination fees or port-away fees.

• Yes, there is a one-time charge per number - for local numbers it is $3.00 per number, for toll-free it is $10.00 per number.

• Yes. You can do either or both.

• Should we encounter a problem in porting your phone numbers from your old carrier, you will be notified right away. We will provide you with the rejection reasoning we received, which will give you the opportunity of resolving that issue with the carrier and resubmitting with us.

• Each provider will treat numbers that are not requested to port differently. Please contact your current provider to find out their policy if you wish to port only some of your current numbers to us. This is typically called a partial port and they may offer any of the following options:
  1. Keep remaining numbers/services active post port
  2. Include instructions in your port order to disconnect remaining numbers/services post port
  3. Change your port order to include ALL numbers on your account (if this option, you will need to provide a new LOA listing all numbers and your port order will have to start all over again with new minimum interval, if we had already started your order with just some of your numbers).

• No, only active telephone numbers, in good standing, are portable.

• Yes. You can port the local or toll-free number(s) that you own with our services away from UNIVERGE BLUE™. You would coordinate this through your new provider. Please also note that once the port is complete, you will need to contact UNIVERGE BLUE™ to have your current services and number(s) cancelled.

• The port process is generally seamless, however, you should allow up to one hour for the port to complete on the scheduled date and time. Please make sure you have setup all phones and phone numbers in advance to route as you intend through your UNIVERGE BLUE™ services. Calls will then simply start ringing to your new phones and services once the port is completed.

• Yes—for local port orders, if your number port has not yet been scheduled or is more than 3 business days away, otherwise a non-refundable fee may be included. To initiate the cancel, contact UNIVERGE BLUE™ Customer Care or reply directly to our porting team via email to the relevant Footprints porting case. You also need to make sure your current service provider does not complete the cancellation of your number/services in their systems.
• For toll-free orders, if we have already submitted your port order to your current provider, we may not be able to stop your port order. Contact your current provider as well as UNIVERGE BLUE™ Customer Care.

• If your phone number is connected to your DSL connection, you need to take additional steps BEFORE porting your number to us. If you want to keep your DSL connection, check with your current phone service provider to see if they offer naked DSL. If so, they can unbundle your phone number from your DSL service, allowing you to port the number without problem.

• No. It is your responsibility to cancel your previous service after your phone numbers have ported.

• You have DSLservice on a porting number, or a number you wish to port is disconnected, or you did not submit a recent phone bill from your current carrier to UNIVERGE BLUE™.
• Your account has been frozen and does not allow the account to be ported.
• You have special features with your current provider such as a hunt group or distinctive ring.
• You have other active orders on your account with your current provider such as an order to setup Remote Call Transfer, or to change your account information, or to disconnect services or there is already an order to port other numbers from your account.
• The name and address on your account with your current service provider are different than what you submitted to us on your Letter of Authorization (LOA).
• You are porting a wireless number and did not provide all necessary information on your LOA (current wireless account # and PIN are required).
• You have a wireline account that has a PIN for port out (PIN is then required)
• The authorized signer on your LOA does not match what your current service provider has on record.
  • If your port order was rejected by your current provider for one of these reasons, we will generally be able to tell you which reason and offer suggestions for how to resolve the issue. We provide this information in our email on your porting order from our case management system.

• After your number has been ported, it is your responsibility to contact your old provider and request that they disconnect your previous service.