5 ms·

I just had a similar experience. I cancelled my landline phone service, and was told that I cannot port the number anywhere, or even forward it to another numbe

I just had a similar experience. I cancelled my landline phone service, and was told that I cannot port the number anywhere, or even forward it to another number. The only way I can retain access to it is to retain my phone service with Western New Mexico Telephone. I thought there were phone number portability laws. Do they exist? Are they full of loopholes? Are they being flouted?

astura 4y ago
> I thought there were phone number portability laws. For wireless carriers, yes. I'm not familiar with any for landlines. Edit: https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/porting-keeping-your-phone-number-when-you-change-providers https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/porting-keeping-your-ph... Looks like small providers don't have to do any porting, plus as a sibling comment pointed out, you can't port a number after you cancel service.
- ghaff 4y ago
  At least historically, the area code and exchange was determined by your physical location. So if you moved to a different exchange you couldn’t keep your number. In fact I had a case where I switched from Verizon without moving. But Comcast’s switching gear was in a different exchange so they had to change my number. This was a while back. There may be more flexibility today.
  - astura 4y ago
    Yeah, I figured this out as a kid. I could tell which neighborhood people lived or a business was located solely based on phone number.
Spare_account 4y ago
https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/porting-keeping-your-phone-number-when-you-change-providers https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/porting-keeping-your-ph... The rules appear to apply to "wireline" as well as "wireless" providers. I don't know if the FCC uses the term "wireline" to refer to something unexpected, but my best guess is that your experience breached the FCC rules. There is a complaint link on that FCC page.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- wtallis 4y ago
  The actual rules are at https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-52/subpart-C https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B... In particular, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-52/subpart-C/section-52.34 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B... has what seems to me like pretty strong language: > 47 CFR 52.34(c) Telecommunications carriers must facilitate an end-user customer's valid number portability request either to or from an interconnected VoIP or VRS or IP Relay provider. “Facilitate” is defined as the telecommunication carrier's affirmative legal obligation to take all steps necessary to initiate or allow a port-in or port-out itself, subject to a valid port request, without unreasonable delay or unreasonable procedures that have the effect of delaying or denying porting of the NANP-based telephone number.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
dec0dedab0de 4y ago
You can't port it if the number is cancelled. You have to sign up for the new provider and have them take the number. Every provider can just take any number they want. I used to work at a small Telco/CLEC and occasionally I would have to fill in on the phone switch to do things like this. It was very nerve wracking. Kind of like editing BGP, knowing that a typo could effect a ton of people. So just don't tell your current provider, the new one should be able to handle it.
toast0 4y ago
Wireline porting requirements are limited; the original carrier only has to port to carriers in tge same wire center (also known as central office). If there's no other carriers, you can't port. If your wireline carrier hasn't been (re)absorbed into ATT, Verizon, or Frontier, it might be small enough that there's no competitive carriers in their central offices.
smolder 4y ago
I think maybe you need to initiate the port to a new carrier and then cancel existing service? Otherwise they may just release the number to the available pool as soon as you cancel, and then the answer really would be that they can't port it anywhere, since they don't control it.

astura 4y ago

> I thought there were phone number portability laws. For wireless carriers, yes. I'm not familiar with any for landlines. Edit: https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/porting-keeping-your-phone-number-when-you-change-providers https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/porting-keeping-your-ph... Looks like small providers don't have to do any porting, plus as a sibling comment pointed out, you can't port a number after you cancel service.

ghaff 4y ago
At least historically, the area code and exchange was determined by your physical location. So if you moved to a different exchange you couldn’t keep your number. In fact I had a case where I switched from Verizon without moving. But Comcast’s switching gear was in a different exchange so they had to change my number. This was a while back. There may be more flexibility today.
- astura 4y ago
  Yeah, I figured this out as a kid. I could tell which neighborhood people lived or a business was located solely based on phone number.

Spare_account 4y ago

https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/porting-keeping-your-phone-number-when-you-change-providers https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/porting-keeping-your-ph... The rules appear to apply to "wireline" as well as "wireless" providers. I don't know if the FCC uses the term "wireline" to refer to something unexpected, but my best guess is that your experience breached the FCC rules. There is a complaint link on that FCC page.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
wtallis 4y ago
The actual rules are at https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-52/subpart-C https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B... In particular, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-52/subpart-C/section-52.34 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B... has what seems to me like pretty strong language: > 47 CFR 52.34(c) Telecommunications carriers must facilitate an end-user customer's valid number portability request either to or from an interconnected VoIP or VRS or IP Relay provider. “Facilitate” is defined as the telecommunication carrier's affirmative legal obligation to take all steps necessary to initiate or allow a port-in or port-out itself, subject to a valid port request, without unreasonable delay or unreasonable procedures that have the effect of delaying or denying porting of the NANP-based telephone number.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

dec0dedab0de 4y ago

You can't port it if the number is cancelled. You have to sign up for the new provider and have them take the number. Every provider can just take any number they want. I used to work at a small Telco/CLEC and occasionally I would have to fill in on the phone switch to do things like this. It was very nerve wracking. Kind of like editing BGP, knowing that a typo could effect a ton of people. So just don't tell your current provider, the new one should be able to handle it.

toast0 4y ago

Wireline porting requirements are limited; the original carrier only has to port to carriers in tge same wire center (also known as central office). If there's no other carriers, you can't port. If your wireline carrier hasn't been (re)absorbed into ATT, Verizon, or Frontier, it might be small enough that there's no competitive carriers in their central offices.

smolder 4y ago

I think maybe you need to initiate the port to a new carrier and then cancel existing service? Otherwise they may just release the number to the available pool as soon as you cancel, and then the answer really would be that they can't port it anywhere, since they don't control it.