Local Number Portability - For Consumers and Dealers

It started on November 24th, 2003, Local Number Portability (LNP) and Wireless Local Number Portability (WLNP) are now available in the 100 largest metropolitan areas nationwide. Local number portability allows you to keep your phone number when you change carriers. You can also convert your home landline phone number to a wireless phone number. Wireless carriers have been planning and working diligently for months to be ready for this momentuous event and to make the transitions and porting smooth.

To help customers understand and prepare for the local number porting, American Wireless is providing and gathering information aimed at helping to make the process easier for both consumers and the dealer stores that sell wireless and who must process the paperwork on the customer's behalf.

For more consumer-based information on WLNP, visit www.easyporting.com

Want to move your number to a new carrier?
Use our LNP conversion form. Fill it out and send it to the American Wireless dealer of your choice to reserve your number or simplify the process. Click here for the LNP Conversion Request Form.

CEA Presents an LNP overview

10 Myths of Wireless Local Number Portability

Does Your Customer Want to Port Their Wireless Number to a New Carrier? 

Make sure your customer understands that:

•  If they are under contract with their current carrier, they may be required to pay an early termination fee to switch.

•  Wireless carriers are aiming for a 2.5-hour porting process.

However, during the early stages of LNP...:
... it may take considerably longer (possibly several days) to get complete service on their new carrier's system.

•  If a customer changes their carrier, they will likely have to change phones too.

•  Until the transfer is complete, they will NOT be able to receive calls on their new phone (old phone will still work).

•  Their phone number may not be portable. Check with the new carrier to find out.

•  They can upgrade their phone and keep their number, without changing carriers.

•  They may be able to get a better plan by staying with their current wireless carrier.

•  If they wait until after the holiday rush, the porting process may be smoother.

If your customer still wants to port:

Step 1: Ask if the customer is on a current contract. If so, inform them that an early termination fee may appear on their final bill.

Step 2: Find the plan and carrier that best meets their needs.

Step 3: Request a copy of the customer's current bill and explain why. (Small discrepancies between the information on their current billing statement and what you send to the new carrier, may cause the transfer to fail.)

Step 4: Send their application for wireless service to the new carrier and follow the proper procedures.

Step 5: Let the customer know that they can continue using their old phone, or make outbound calls on their new phone, until the transfer is complete. They will likely receive a call or text message on their new phone when the transfer is complete.

Be advised that:

The porting experience will vary greatly depending on the participation or non-participation of both carriers involved, the wireless number being ported and the geographic area in which the number was created. Even if all procedures are followed correctly, the number may not initially be ported successfully, and may require human assistance.

Why might porting be unsuccessful:

•  The number is not a portable number:

• The customer is attempting to port a number outside of its designated local area.
• The customer's area code and local area are not in the top 100 markets designated for portability.
• The information provided by the customer does not match the information on file with the old carrier.
• There has been a data entry error.

Alternatives to porting

•  Switch services AND phone numbers (new phone, new service, new number, as in the past).

•  Upgrade your phone on your existing service (get a new phone without the hassle of changing carriers)

•  Wait until after the holiday season to switch (the transition may be smoother and faster)

Five Tips for Retailers

•  To help reduce chargeback risk, be sure to find out the customer's actual needs so that you can recommend the option that is best for them (i.e., switching carriers and numbers, upgrading, porting their number, or waiting). 

•  Work with your wireless carrier to identify which process - phone or Internet - is the most efficient for porting your customer's phone numbers. This might mean an investment in broadband access and more Internet-connected terminals.

•  Remember, pager and wireline phone numbers are not yet eligible for porting.

•  Having access to the customer's current wireless phone statement will be the key to your number porting success.

•  It is going to be busy - make every customer feel important. It's a buyer's market!

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