telephone number portability is currently unavailable

Posts: 2 · New Forum Member Joined: Aug 31, 2005 Posts: 2

I had recently decided to switch to Vonage after a friend suggested I try. I tried to sign up and keep my current number from Verizon, but I get the message "We're sorry, telephone number portability is currently unavailable for your number." Is this a Verizon issue or Vonage? Is there any kind of timeframe where the number would be able to be transferred. If it makes any difference, I am from Azle, Texas, just NW of Fort Worth.

Thanks

Posts: 4 · New Forum Member Joined: Aug 04, 2005 Posts: 4

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The same thing happened to me on two numbers. Vonage Web Site said the numbers could be ported before I signed up but found out later that they could not. The reason that was given was that Vonage could not port directly from Sprint and had to use a 3rd party phone company. The 3rd party had no agreement with Sprint, therefore the number could not be ported.

This raises several questions. Why is Vonage required to have another phone company act for them? Why is an agreement between companies required? Is there any technical reasons why a number cannot be ported?

When I first started looking into VOIP I was mislead by an FCC Web site that head lined the issue of LNP "Take it with you":it being your phone number. This told me that LNP was a law but now I found that it is a law without force subject to the whims of various phone company decisions

I intend to write my congressmen, the FCC and the State authorities about this and I think others should too.

Posts: 4 · New Forum Member Joined: Aug 04, 2005 Posts: 4

Adding to the above statement.

Vonage needs to correct its LNP data base when a number cannot be transferred. I just entered 620-364 and their web site still states that that number can be retained. I was notified twice during the last 30 days, once on July 29th and again this week that it cannot be transferred.

Now maybe I was the first to try it in our town. To keep others from going through the LNP process for nothing the questions must be raised, why is the web site still saying that the above number is transferable?

Posts: 2 · New Forum Member Joined: Aug 31, 2005 Posts: 2

I tried a couple numbers in my local that I know are Verizon. I know the issue is between them and Vonage. Also I think the reason for the 3rd party phone company is, from what I've read, Vonage is a data company, not necessarily a telephone company. This may be untrue, but this is what I;ve found in my quest for answers.

I was under the assumption that LNP was available to all areas as law per the FCC. I also think that what Verizon is doing is not right. They are trying to keep customers by offering them a dis-service by requiring you to get a new number just to change telephone companies. They know long time customers do not want to change their number. If my number was recently assigned to me, I would have no problem changing.

I tried to change companies a couple years ago to another local service, but the pricing was even higher than Verizons already outrageous rates. They said this was so because they had to "rent" the lines from Verizon. I think Verizon is trying to own the world. It is tactics like this that make me want to change even worse, even if it requires me to get a new number. I do have patients though and will wait a little while, as long as I can stand it.

Posts: 29 · Vonage Forum Junior Joined: Aug 18, 2005 Posts: 29

I had the opposite situtation:

Vonage website said my 508-771 number could not be transferred, yet I put in for a LNP transfer because they could port numbers from other towns in the same LATA (local telephone area) and it went through fine.

Now my number rings to my Vonage phone just fine even though I'm in an "unavailable" town".

Go figure....