Porting Your Number(s)

You can bring your existing business telephone numbers with you when you become an Connect customer!

Local Number Portability Law

Regardless of your current phone service provider, the Federal Communications Commission requires that all wireline (or land-line) service providers allow customers to port their number to a new service provider provided the customer remains in the same geographic area.

Please read the FCC's Local Number Portability rules for full details.

Initiating the number porting process

1. Do not terminate your existing telephone service.  Terminating your service will release your phone number back into your service provider's "pool" of numbers. Once the number porting is completed you will be notified by Fonality and you can then cancel your previous phone service.

2. Contact Fonality - we will start the process of porting your number by contacting your current company.  Be prepared to provide Fonality with your 10-digit phone number(s), customer account number (for your current provider), and your five-digit zip code.

3. Be aware that when terminating service with a wireless company, you may be obligated to pay any early termination fees under your existing contract. Also, when terminating service with any company, you are usually required to pay any outstanding balance owed. Review your bill or contract to determine what fees or charges apply. Once you request service from Fonality, however, your current service provider may not refuse to port your number, even if you owe money for an outstanding balance or termination fee.

4. You may request service from Fonality at any time regardless of any outstanding contract with your current service provider.

How Long Does It Take To Port My Numbers?

Fonality understands that keeping your numbers consistent as you change your phone service is important. As soon as Fonality receives your required completed porting documents we begin the number porting process immediate. The required documents are:

• Completed and Accurate LOA

• Recent phone bill from your previous carrier

Incomplete documents can significantly slow down the porting process. Please make sure to fill out these documents accurately and completely before 

Once completed and accurate documents have been received by Fonality the expected porting time is 7-30 days.

Why does porting my business numbers take longer than my cell phone?

The government mandates that a carrier which is losing a number may take up to 30 days to release the number to a new carrier. Some carriers will release numbers sooner than others (and Fonality will always send your request as soon as it is received).

Cell phone numbers are under different legal provisions and the cell phone carrier architecture is different. This is why cell phone numbers port faster than land line or business numbers.

What to do while your number port is processed

You must ask your current service provider to forward one or all of your number(s) to the DID (phone number) that Fonality provides you when you sign-up for Connectservice.  Connect service includes one DID for every line that you activate, but you can add other DIDs to your account a la carte.

Your existing service provider may charge you fees for forwarding your calls.  These fees may only apply to long distance calls in line with your contract, or they may charge a fee for forwarding your phone number to another company.

Direct from the FCC's website on Local Number Portability:

• Companies may assess fees to recover the costs that they incur in providing number portability. Fees may vary between companies, and some companies may not charge any fees.

• Companies may not refuse to port a number because a consumer has not paid for porting.

• When considering a switch, consumers should ask the new company whether it charges any number portability fees and whether those fees can be waived.

Fonality certainly wants to make your Connect experience pleasant and smooth, but it is your responsibility to communicate with your existing service provider about any fees that may be assessed when porting your number(s).