Confusion about Number Portability

Posts: 6

Hey guys,

I have decided to jump on the Voip bandwagon. I am currently in Washington DC but will be moving to Virginia next month. I was initially thinking about AT&T's call vantage because, although it may have fewer features than Vonage, I have heard the voice quality seems more reliable. Or at least a review in the NY Times seemed to indicate this. Anyway, the problem is that AT&T only offers a few states' area codes and I'm not about to switch to some NY (or CA) number for 6 months, tell people to use this long distance number and then tell them 6 months down the line again to change to a different, albeit local number.

Vonage seems to be the best Voip service otherwise, at least from the small amount of research I've done. However, I'm wondering whether I can go ahead and order now. Here's the situation. I currently have a 202 (DC) number and DSL on this line. If I go ahead and order it today and then set it up in my DC home, how hard is it to then switch this DC number to Virginia? It seems that there is no issue here since one can take one's number with one to any high-speed connection anywhere in the world. I guess what I am a bit confused about is how our local service will deal with this. Once we move to VA and disconnect our phone service in DC, how will Verizon know not to then give our number away to someone else?? Will our subscribing to Vonage "lock" our number so that it can't be used elsewhere? Also, what about directory listing? If we no longer have service in DC, but continue to have a DC area code, will we cease to be listed in the DC phone directory/411? I don't WANT to be listed, but will I need to pay extra like I would normally?

Thanks!

Posts: 104 · Vonage Forum Senior Joined: Jan 31, 2004 Posts: 104

A whole bunch of questions ... so let's tackle them ...

First, you indicated you have DSL and a 202-number of the same line, While technically possible to 'port' your existing phone over to Vonage. Your local telephone company, Verizon, will probably reject the 'port' request saying the line has special services enabled (namely DSL). (I'm assuming the 202-tel number and DSL come in on the same pair of wires.)

Perhaps a better option is simply to get a new phone number set-up with Vonage for either the 703 or 202 (or whatever code) you'd like. Then once that's working to simply call Verizon and disconnect the existing 202 number.

If you were really bold, you could ask Verizon to bring the DSL in on another pair of wires (incurring some cost and a whole bunch of questions from Verizon) AND then port your 202-number but this seems like a lot of work.

Perhaps someone might chirp up who has better experiences -- but my guess is trying to port a DSL equipped number is bound to get ugly along the way.

Let us know how it turned out.

Posts: 6 · Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2004 6:37 pm Post subject:

ckoehncke, thanks much! You are right, the 202 number is on the same line as the DSL and at this point I'm not going to make any changes to the current line. I had started to get the feeling that is what I was probably going to have to do - get a temporary 703 number, then disconnect the 202 and get it ported. But I still wonder - once I disconnect the 202 number, is there a danger that it might get snatched up by a new Verizon customer in DC? Just a little nervous about this as I've heard the whole process of porting can be prone to problems which cause delays for months. I will definitely keep people informed on what happens if I end up going through with it. Smile

Posts: 110 · Vonage Forum Senior Joined: Mar 06, 2004 Posts: 110

AFIAK, you can't port a number that you've disconnected, so this approach won't work either.

First of all... are you really attached to this 202 number? If not, then why are you so hell bent on porting it over to Vonage? If you disconnected the DSL, then you could probably port it. You could also opt to retain the directory assitance listing (or not), but it would not list your new VA address ever as far as I know.

Why don't you just slow down and wait a month? Disconnect all your DC stuff and get a VA number from Vonage now or when you move? You won't be listed (doesn't sound like this is a problem) and all your new friends in VA won't have to pay extra $$ to call you on a 202 area code?

The only question, which Verizon could answer for you, would be if they would be willing to put a "This number has changed .. .the new number is " message on your 202 # afte ryou move which indicates you new Vonage number. If so, then this would be the way to go.

Posts: 6 · Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2004 8:33 am Post subject:

Plyons, thanks for your help. First of all, the area we are moving to in VA is right next to DC, so whether we have a VA number or DC doesn't matter - people will pay the same. Actually, it is probably preferrable to keep a DC number because the Maryland suburbs around DC I think sometimes have to pay more to call VA numbers whereas DC numbers are considered regular local calls. We want to hold onto the current DC number because my wife has had this number for I think 5 or more years, and it would be nice not to have to tell people to update their phone books yet again. I think I will take your advice though. Once I get my ATA, I will hook it up and test it out here in DC. We get the house on May 1 and DSL will supposedly be ready by May 7, at which point I can disconnect DSL here. We will still have the DC place until the end of May, so there's a bit of flexibility for us. Once we disconnect DSL in DC, we can then try to get the number ported. I'm hoping we can then just drop the Voip number we will have until our current number is ported withouth fees and additional fuss... It's just the logistics are a bit unique I suppose and wanting to get this done AS we move to a new place, kind of the way you want to overhaul the way you do things when you move, just as you are overhauling WHERE you live Smile

I will mention that I have made a decision about which Voip provider to go with after reading lots of reviews and messages, and went ahead and ordered it last night. I'm sorry to say it wasn't Vonage. I ended up with Broadvoice. They seemed to have an array of features very similar to Vonage, reviewed as having better voice quality, they are cheaper per month, and there customer/technical support got high ratings. Their main downsides seem to be that they have higher startup costs (actually similar to Vonage except that you don't own your ATA as you do with Vonage), their web portal is supposed to be a little clunky (although they are supposed to be bringing out an overhaul in the next month or so), and they've simply not been around for very long - only since December, 2003 - so who knows what growth will do to their current high ratings... But I figured at least for the moment they seem to be the best solution for me. I just hope that LNP gets faster in the future so that one can port a number if the service from your Voip provider gets to be unsatisfactory...