Number Porting: Everything You Need to Know
Terminology
| Term | Description |
| Range Holder (RH) | The original network operator that OFCOM issued the number to |
| Communication Provider (CP) | This is a network operator that has the ability to manage numbers at the network level in addition to issuing their own OFCOM numbers |
| Losing Communication Provider (LCP) | This is the network operator that will be losing control of a number routed to them by the RH or will be onward routing one of their own numbers to another CP |
| Gaining Communication Provider (GCP) | This is the network operator that will be gaining control of the number by having it routed to them by the RH |
| Pre Order Validation (POV) | This is the process of seeking porting details from the current LCP so a subsequent port request may succeed |
| Customer Letter of Authority (CloA) | This is an industry recognised form that must be completed accurately to authorise the LCP surrender control of the number to the GCP |
Number Portability provides a method that enables a customer of one Communications Provider (CP) to become a customer of another CP whilst retaining the same telephone number. The act of porting is something which occurs at a network level and most major networks will take responsibility for the process on behalf of their supply chain in most circumstances. A number must be in service i.e. active in order to port.
Number porting is an imperfect science and complexities are partly due to the historic transition of numbers from physical land lines to SIP termination. The costs, are associated with the original build of the number/s. In many cases, this relates back to when all numbers were provided by BT Openreach’s PSTN network. At this time BT Openreach would have been both the Range Holder (RH) and the Communications Provider (CP) for the numbers. These days it’s more complicated.
Geographic Porting In
| Type | Price |
| Single Line with Single Number | £15.00 |
| Multi Line with Single Number | £30.00 |
| Multi Line with Block of 1-10 DDIs | £80.00 |
| Multi Line with Block of > 10 DDIs | £150.00 |
Non-Geographic Porting In
| Type | Price |
| Single NGN Port Order | £15.00 |
| Bulk NGN Port Order – block of up to 10 | £80.00 |
| Bulk NGN Port Order – block of 11 or more | £150.00 |
Porting Out
| Type | Price |
| Cost Per Number Exported | £15.00 |
The current CP may provide telephony services for numbers that have already been ported away from BT Openreach, along with numbers that have been ported away from another CP in addition to new numbers that they may have issued themselves. Once numbers have been ported away from BT Openreach, the only way to know what the original build of these numbers was, or the associated post codes, is to speak with the current CP. People often incorrectly assume that the company invoicing them for their telephony services is the CP, when more often than not they are a Reseller of the CP. Another common mistake is to assume that the customer’s current address will match the post codes associated with the numbers because these records often don’t get updated when a customer moves premises.
To successfully port a number, a request must be made to the correct Losing Communications Provider (LCP) by the Gaining Communications Provider (GCP), along with the correct post code associated with the number. If the LCP is incorrect or the post codes don’t match the LCP’s records, the port will be rejected and incur a cost. Therefore, it is vital that this information is correct. Assumed details can often be costly and will incur delay.
Rejection/Cancellation/Change Charges
| Type | Price |
| Order rejection | £15.00 |
| Porting Date Changed by Partner | £30.00 |
| Cancellation of Porting Order by Partner | £15.00 |
| Order timed out | £15.00 |
The above just summarises a few of the problems when porting numbers. There are many more subtle issues that can result in a rejected port request. Therefore, it is important that everyone understands the importance of seeking and providing accurate information, or accepts that unnecessary costs will be borne.
Some preliminary checks can be completed to see if a straight forward port can be submitted. To do this we need a list of numbers, along with their post codes. If these preliminary checks don’t render any useful information, a Pre Order Validation (POV) can be submitted to the current LCP so they can advise on the correct details of the numbers with respect to line type and address. However, this is dependent upon the LCP details and their customers details being correct.
If a number port is straight forward it can typically be completed within 5-10 working days. A POV has an SLA of 5 days to complete, so further delays the subsequent number port that still needs to be completed.