Federal Communications Commission - Number Portability for VoIP

The Federal Communications Commission just issued a new ruleregarding porting of numbers for use with VoIP services.

What does it mean? You can keep your telephone number when using VoIP services. TelCo carriers have a 48 hour period to "Port" (transfer) the number to your carrier of choice.

The FCC issued a statement saying telephone companies may not obstruct or delay number porting by demanding excess information from the customer's new provider. This focuses on LNP validation for a simple number.

The Four fields required to perform the Port of your number are:

· 10-digit telephone number
· customer account number
· 5-digit zip code
· pass code where required

As reported on newswires, Chairman Kevin Martin stated- "As interconnected VoIP providers have increasingly entered the market, it is important that consumers be able to transfer their number to and from these providers just like transfers between carriers." He said he also supported the actions to streamline the process and time required to switch from wireline to wireless service in order to provide consumers the ability to change providers "without undue burden or delay."

We will keep you posted!