There are many variables in the number porting process when porting phone numbers from one carrier to another. The more typical port orders can go from accepted to completed in up to two to four weeks. This is for regular orders with fewer than 15 numbers per order. Orders over 50 numbers are considered “project ports” and typically can take up to four to six weeks to complete.
Sometimes we can work with a losing service provider (LSP) to get orders completed sooner and sometimes it takes longer. Much depends on whether the information we’re given is complete and correct right off the bat. Orders typically move faster if there are not a lot of complications with the order. For example, if we get incorrect numbers, the LSP is uncooperative or unresponsive, or the information submitted is incorrect, it can lead to delays. Delays can lead to rejections.
We do our best whenever we receive a rejection to review the client documentation closely and see if there is anything that we can use in the client documentation to try and correct the information that caused the rejection in the first place. We try and minimize our client’s impact so that the porting process is a better experience for them.
Rejections can happen on a regular basis, but often we can resolve them quickly and move the porting process forward with little to no additional effort from our customers as our team of experts does its magic behind the scenes. The largest portion of rejections are due to misinformation on the port-order documentation.
Initiating a Port Order
The creation of a port order starts the process of porting the numbers from one carrier to another. The port order is where you enter the numbers, account details, and any supporting documentation for the numbers that you’re trying to port. It’s very important to double check this information and make sure it’s all correct and ready to be submitted.
Pending Status
When the port order is submitted by the customer it goes into ‘pending’ status. The Flowroute porting team generally starts processing the orders on the day they are submitted. The porting team takes the information that has been submitted and initiates the contact with the LSP. Each LSP has their preferred way of being contacted – sometimes through an online portal or through email. If there is a portal, the submission process is automated, but if not, we will send emails directly to their reporting departments and work directly with a person which is a manual process.
Accepted
The first message we will get back from the LSP is that the number that the information we’ve submitted to them is correct and that they have accepted the order. We will let our clients know that their order has been accepted. If the numbers in an order a client has submitted happen to be on multiple carriers or in multiple regions, our system will break the order into different sections. The client will see all of the submitted sections under the group ID of their order.
Completed
Flowroute lets you opt-in to email updates on the status of your port orders. When you create a port order you are able to select to receive email updates for the order. Anytime a note is added to your port order by our porting team or the status changes on an order, you will get an email update. When the LSP completes the order, you will see that in the status of your account or get an email alert if you have signed up for alerts.
The Flowroute Porting Team
We try to take all client wishes into account when porting numbers. Some things are out of our control but when a client requests a specific date that they want the number to move on we will do our best to meet that date. Nine times out of 10 we are able to meet the request and if we cannot meet the request this is mostly due to the LSP.
Once a client starts the porting process by submitting a port order request, we take care of it from beginning to end. We communicate on our customer’s behalf and request the number once it has been accepted by the LSP. We will also activate the numbers and bring them over to our network. Our client just has to make sure that everything is set up properly for that to go smoothly, including the routing setup via our customer portal or our Telecom APIs and the customer’s on-premise equipment.
