Porting Reference
Number Porting Reference
Complete reference for the porting process. When doc 04 doesn’t have the answer, this will.
US porting regulatory framework
Number porting in the US is governed by the FCC’s Local Number Portability (LNP) rules. Key points:
- Carriers are legally required to allow porting within defined timelines
- Simple ports (single residential or business number) must complete within 1 business day
- Complex ports (blocks of numbers, business PBX lines) take longer — governed by industry agreements
- Carriers may NOT charge a porting fee (FCC prohibition)
- Carriers MAY charge a disconnection fee for early contract termination — this is separate from porting
Port order types
| Type | What it is | Typical timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Simple port | 1–4 numbers, same carrier type | 1–5 business days |
| Complex port | 5+ numbers, PBX lines, or mixed carrier types | 10–20 business days |
| Toll-free port | 800/888/877/866/855/844/833 numbers | 3–5 business days |
| Wireless port | Cell phone numbers | 1–3 business days |
| Bulk port | Large batches (50+ numbers) | 15–30 business days |
| International port | Numbers in non-US countries | Varies by country — research separately |
Most SMB Avaya migrations are complex ports (PBX lines, multiple numbers). Plan for 10–20 business days.
LOA requirements by carrier type
ILEC (AT&T, Verizon, Lumen)
- Legal business name (exact — verify against carrier bill)
- Service address (exact — must match billing address on file)
- Account number (from carrier invoice)
- BTN (Billing Telephone Number — the main number on the account)
- Authorized signature from account owner
AT&T-specific: AT&T sometimes requires a copy of the most recent bill to accompany the LOA. Attach it to avoid rejection.
Verizon-specific: Verizon Business uses a separate porting portal from Verizon Wireless. Confirm you’re using the correct portal for business lines.
CLEC (Spectrum Business, Comcast Business, Cox Business)
- Legal business name
- Service address
- Account number
- BTN or PIN/passcode (check with customer — CLECs vary on which they require)
- Authorized signature
Spectrum Business: Frequently uses a 4-digit PIN instead of an account number for verification. Have the customer call Spectrum to verify their PIN before submitting the LOA.
Comcast Business: One of the slower CLECs in many markets. Allow 20 business days in major markets. Their porting rejections are often for format reasons — use their exact name format from the account.
Wireless carriers (Verizon Wireless, AT&T Wireless, T-Mobile)
- Account number (mobile account number, different from the number itself)
- Account PIN (often a 4-digit customer-set PIN; different from SIM PIN)
- For business accounts: billing address and account name
Wireless ports are faster (1–3 business days) but the account PIN requirement trips up many customers — they often don’t remember it and have to call the carrier to reset it.
Common LOA rejection codes and fixes
| Rejection code | What it means | Fix |
|---|---|---|
BTN Mismatch | BTN on LOA doesn’t match carrier records | Call carrier with customer, get exact BTN from current bill |
Name Mismatch | Business name doesn’t match exactly | Get exact legal name from carrier invoice (include LLC, Inc., Corp.) |
Account Number Incorrect | Account number wrong | Get from most recent carrier invoice, not from memory |
TN Not Found | Number not found on this account | Number may be on a different account/BTN; call carrier with customer |
Incomplete LOA | Missing required field | Check LOA against carrier’s specific requirements |
Authorized Signature Missing | LOA not signed | Get signature from account owner (not just any employee) |
Service Address Mismatch | Address doesn’t exactly match | Call carrier, get exact address format they have on file |
Cannot Port - Contract | Early termination fee / contract dispute | Customer must resolve with carrier before porting can proceed |
Porting timelines — carrier-specific estimates
| Carrier | Typical FOC timeline | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| AT&T Business | 15–20 days | More predictable than others; rejections add 5–10 days |
| Verizon Business | 15–20 days | |
| Lumen / CenturyLink | 20–25 days | Slower than AT&T/Verizon |
| Spectrum Business | 10–15 days | Varies by market; some markets slower |
| Comcast Business | 15–20 days | Notoriously slow in large markets; allow extra time |
| Cox Business | 10–15 days | |
| T-Mobile Business | 10–15 days | |
| Windstream | 20–30 days | Rural carrier; unpredictable |
| Consolidated Communications | 20–30 days | Small regional ILEC; slow |
| Frontier | 20–25 days | |
| Wireless (AT&T/Verizon/T-Mobile) | 1–3 days | Significantly faster |
| Toll-free | 3–5 days | Via SOMOS RespOrg transfer |
Multi-carrier porting strategy
When a customer has numbers across multiple carriers:
- Create a separate LOA for each carrier account (one account = one LOA)
- Submit all LOAs simultaneously to minimize total timeline
- Request the same FOC date from each carrier — most will accommodate a specific target date as long as it’s within their standard window
- Expect FOC dates to differ by 1–5 days even with the same request
- Decide: (a) hold all cutover until all numbers port, or (b) cut over as each batch ports
Option (b) is operationally complex — the customer’s main number may be on one carrier and departmental DIDs on another. If the main number ports first, inbound auto-attendant routes correctly but some direct-dial numbers still go to Avaya. Coordinate carefully and make sure the customer understands the window.
Toll-free number porting
Toll-free numbers (800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, 833) are managed through SOMOS, the North American toll-free database. The entity managing a toll-free number is called its “RespOrg” (Responsible Organization).
Porting a toll-free number = changing the RespOrg in SOMOS.
Process:
- Customer provides current RespOrg ID (visible on carrier invoice or call carrier)
- Submit a separate LOA for the toll-free number authorizing the winning carrier to become the new RespOrg
- Winning carrier initiates a RespOrg change through the SOMOS system
- Typical timeline: 3–5 business days
- No FOC date — toll-free ports happen in real-time once both RespOrgs agree
Routing after port: After the RespOrg change, the toll-free number routes to whatever termination you configure in the new platform (usually same as the main DID auto-attendant).
Port-day escalation contacts
Always collect these before port day — not at 3am when the port fails.
| Carrier | General porting contact | 24/7 escalation |
|---|---|---|
| RingCentral (winning carrier) | 1-800-574-5290 porting dept | Ask your channel manager for NOC line |
| 8x8 | porting@8x8.com | Partner NOC: verify with 8x8 account team |
| Net2Phone | support@net2phone.com | Verify 24/7 number with account team |
| AT&T losing carrier | Carrier porting team via winning carrier | Winning carrier escalates to AT&T |
| Spectrum losing carrier | 833-914-1800 (partner line) | After-hours via partner NOC |
| Comcast losing carrier | Via winning carrier escalation | Winning carrier escalates to Comcast |
The winning carrier is your primary escalation path for any porting issue. They have established relationships with losing carriers and can escalate on your behalf faster than you can directly.
Related Articles
- 04 — Number Porting — Step-by-step porting guide using porting_tracker.py
- 06 — Cutover Playbook — Port-day runbook; what happens when the FOC time arrives
- Cutover Day Checklist — Print-and-carry companion for port day
- 07 — Troubleshooting: Issues 5–7 — LOA rejection, port failures, and partial ports
Porting for hosted PBX vs. traditional phone service
Some customers don’t have traditional PSTN lines — they already have a hosted PBX or SIP trunk service. In this case:
- The “losing carrier” is the SIP trunk provider (Twilio, Bandwidth, Vonage API, etc.)
- Porting from SIP trunk providers is typically faster (5–10 business days)
- The LOA format may differ slightly — SIP trunk providers often use a simpler form
- Contact the SIP trunk provider’s porting team directly; they usually have a self-service portal
What “port-back” means and how to do it
A port-back is an emergency reversal of a port. If something goes catastrophically wrong after cutover and the rollback plan (keeping old PSTN trunk live) isn’t sufficient, you can request a port-back.
The 48-hour window: Most carriers will accept a port-back request within 48 hours of the port completing. After 48 hours, you must go through the full porting process again (new LOA, new FOC date, new 10–20 day wait).
How to request:
- Call the winning carrier’s porting NOC (24/7 line)
- Provide the port order confirmation number (get this at FOC confirmation)
- Request an emergency port-back — they’ll initiate the reversal with the losing carrier
- Timeline: typically 4–24 hours for the reversal to complete
The old system must still be running for a port-back to be useful. If you decommissioned the old PSTN trunk before the 48-hour window, a port-back will result in numbers with nowhere to ring. This is why the rollback plan requires keeping the old trunk live for 48 hours.