Everyone is interested in porting their phone number(s) to save on high phone bills if you are one I highly recommend you read this hub before you make the final decision to port your phone number(s).

For those of you who have already jumped in let me say sorry because many of you already know that this process can be quite simple or very complicated especially if all the 'i's and 't's are not dotted and crossed.

Before you call to place your order there are a few things you should do before hand, below are some common issues you will need to resolve first.

1. If you have a service block or freeze on your account you have to call your carrier to have this feature removed. If you don't do this before your order is set up there will be a delayed until this service is removed and cleared from your account.

This can take any where from 3-5 busness days. You will be given a confirmation number as well you will need this as proof that the freeze order was placed.This block can be on both residential and business account.

2. This tip is mainly for small businesses, if you dial '9' to get an outside on your phone you have a feature called centrex or custopak this also must be removed from your account before your carrier will release the numbers for porting. As mentioned above you will have to call your phone carrier to request this feature to can removed. Please be aware that many businesses that ultilize this feature are in a contract so in order to have it removed you will be breaking your contract as a result you may be charge a fee for breaking your contract.

Some carrier's will offer you a credit for a portion of this fee you should confirm this information with your new carrier if you do decide to make the switch. This can take up to 5-7 business days to clear your account.

3. Earlier I mentioned that this process is fairly simple, there are times when it is not as simple. If you have none of the features mentioned your number(s) can be ported in a few days if you are with a major service proviider. If you are with what is called a 'manual carrier' this can take anywhere between 12-15 business days. As long as there are no problems.

4. All of you information must match exactly, let me explain lets say your account is name is John Doe Enterprises LLC but the new carrier is sending the information as John Doe LLC your order will be rejected. This hold true for your address as well if you are moving from point A to point B, if point B is 2 hours away chances are you will not be able to port your number.

5. Some carriers offer T-1 lines if you have this type of service your billing telephone number will be a alpha-numeric number in the form of xxx-xxx-AAAA this is very important to your order being processed as well because many customers especially business customers do not realize they have a T-1 service.

Here are some other features and/or services that can delay your port order that must be addressed.

• off premise extensions - your carrier will reject your order if you have this service you will either lose the service or will have to change it with your carrier before they will release your phone numbers
• circuits - if you have a servicee that requires you to have what is called a circuit this will also delay your order; again you will either lose the service the circuit supports or you will have to make changes by contacting customer service
• pending orders - if you have a pending order with your carrier for example you call to have the name on your account updated this will cause your order to be rejected until you either cancel the pending order or it clears the system
• remote call forwarding - numbers that are being forwarded remotely CAN NOT be ported. If you carrier is remotely forwarding this number 9 out of 10 times it will not be able to be ported; remote call forwarding comes into play when your phone carrier can not move your service at point A to point B if they can't move the service you can't port it
• address mismatch - if you live at 1 J St. in blue loon, MO 11111 and you are move to 18 S Ave in blue loon, MO 22222 this would be a address mismatch for the purpose of the E911 emergency service your order will be rejected. In this case your phone carrier has to move the service to the new address before the port can take place
• ISDN - if you have this service on a phone line if you are trying to port it can not be done you will have to switch the service to what is called a regular POTS line or plain old telephone service.
• distintive ring - this also must be switched over to a POTS line
• Trunk lines - if you are trying to port 1 number to is part of a group of trunk lines you will not be able to port this number. Your phone carrier will reject this order

I have covered some issues to arise when it comes to porting phone numbers from one carrier to another. All for the opportunity to keep that magic number you may have had for 10, 15, or 20 years.

I had no problem when my number was ported, I know that is not the case with many who have. If you have ported a number or plan to, please comment on your experience.

Thanks