Port numbers to Wiretap Telecom

The FCC mandated number portability in 1996, which is why you can take your numbers with you when you change carrier. Behind that simple idea sits NPAC, NANPA, the Number Pooling Administration, LERG, BIRRDS, and the losing carrier's own approval process. We handle those parts. What we need from you is accurate information.

Submit a port-in order

1. 1Sign in to the portal and choose your account if you land on the multi-account dashboard.
2. 2In the left bar under ACCOUNT MANAGE, expand Manage Numbers and choose Porting.
3. 3On the Ports Management page, click the blue plus sign in the upper left.
4. 4Enter the numbers to port. You can add up to 5,000 on a single order; more than one requires CSV format.
5. 5Click Verify and wait for the portability grid to load.
6. 6Click Create Port-In Order, complete the detail fields, check the authorization box, and Submit.

The portability grid tells you the Number, its Tier (which is a pricing band for inbound calls), the Current Provider, and whether it reads as Portable.

Why accuracy matters so much

The losing carrier has to approve every port-out, and they are obliged to prevent unauthorised ones. The details you give us are submitted to them as evidence that we are acting for their customer — in effect, the information works as a password. The large majority of rejections come from inaccurate or incomplete porting information, and each rejection can add weeks or months.

What goes in each field

Company Name

The company name exactly as it appears on the losing carrier bill. For a residential port, the person's name as shown on the bill.

Account Number

From the losing carrier bill. Dashes, spaces, and symbols are stripped automatically, but avoid them.

BTN

The billing telephone number on the losing carrier bill.

New BTN

Only for a partial port where the BTN itself is porting. Give a number staying behind on the losing carrier account, so they can swap it in and keep that account active.

PIN

The port-out PIN held by the losing carrier.

Auth Name

Someone on the losing carrier's list of people authorized to change or close the account.

Auth Date

Usually today. If an MSP holds a signed LOA from the customer, use the signature date. It can be no more than 30 days old at submission.

Address fields

Street number, pre-direction, name, type, post-direction, location type and value, city, state, and zip — all exactly as they appear on the losing carrier bill. Avoid a PO box unless the bill actually shows one.

Desired FOC Date

At least two business days out. This is a request, not a commitment; the real FOC date is stamped when the losing carrier agrees, and often falls later.

I have an LOA / Bill / CSR

Optional but genuinely helps. A recent bill or LOA lets us contest a rejection without coming back to you.

Select a Trunk

Assign one. If you do not, the numbers play a disconnect message when the port completes until somebody adds them to a trunk.

Split ports

If your order contains numbers belonging to more than one losing carrier, the portal splits it into separate orders and submits each to the right carrier. Expect a higher chance of rejection on split ports, because the same account details go to multiple carriers when they typically only apply to one. We work these behind the scenes and notify you by port note.

Toll free ports

Toll free differs from standard ports in two ways: there is no estimated FOC time, only a date, and a hand-signed LOA is required. Submit the port the same way; our system identifies toll free numbers and splits them if needed, then emails the submitter an LOA to sign by hand.

Once a toll free port reaches FOC, we have no control over the time of day, and the desired FOC date carries little weight. Expect it to complete on a day you did not request, usually in the morning Central time.

The porting lifecycle

Status tells you who the order is waiting on. A New port needs action from us; an Exception needs action from you.

New

Every port starts here. It either promotes to Submitted automatically, or we work it by hand — common when the losing carrier is not automated, or when something like the account number is missing.

Submitted

With the losing carrier for review. Nobody needs to do anything; we are waiting for them to issue an FOC or reject. Responses take minutes, hours, or days.

Exception

The losing carrier rejected it, or we found the order incomplete before submitting. Read the port note and respond — we cannot move it without you, and it will eventually expire.

Manual Support

Not in trouble, but needs human attention. Triggered by a toll free port awaiting its LOA, by us pausing the order, or by you editing any field on it.

FOC

The losing carrier has agreed a release date and time. Your numbers are pre-initialized on our network so you can set attributes, but they are not live until the port completes.

Complete

Done. Every number on the order is live on the Wiretap network.

Why losing carriers reject

Updating or canceling a port

Editing any field on an active port moves it to Manual Support and generates a port note, because a modified port has to be handled by hand. Try to only edit while the status is New, Exception, or Manual Support. Editing an order that is already in motion is rarely necessary.

To cancel, open the port from the Ports Management page, scroll to Cancel This Port-In Order, and confirm. Who else has to agree depends on how far along the order is.

Plan the cutover

Treat a port as a number migration: something has to be ready to make and receive calls the moment it completes. Depending on scope, that means building trunks in the portal, buying temporary test numbers, adding the Wiretap trunk to your PBX, building inbound routes, installing hardware, and agreeing the date with the end user.

What you can and cannot do at FOC

Numbers appear in the portal once the order reaches FOC, but a few actions stay locked until it completes.

DID transformation (Route As Number)

Here is the problem this solves. Say a hundred employees have a hundred numbers. Before the port completes you need a hundred inbound routes on the new PBX. A common workaround is to buy a hundred temporary numbers, build a hundred *temporary* routes, and have the losing carrier forward each permanent number to its temporary one — so the PBX starts taking calls early. That works, but you have just built two hundred routes and half of them are throwaway.

Route As Number removes the throwaway half. It presents a temporary number to your PBX as the permanent number, so you only ever build the routes you intend to keep. When the port completes the transformation stops by itself, because the temporary numbers stop receiving calls.

1. 1In the left bar under TRUNKING, expand Manage Trunks and choose Trunk Numbers.
2. 2Find the temporary number, click it, then click Edit.
3. 3Choose Route as Number and enter the permanent number it should present as.

Terms you will see

Winning carrier

The carrier receiving the numbers. On a port-in, that is us.

Losing carrier

The carrier releasing the numbers.

CSR

Customer Service Record. A document from the current carrier listing account name, account number, BTN, address, numbers, and number PINs.

BTN / ATN

Billing or Account Telephone Number — the main number tied to an account. Legacy carriers treat it strictly; modern carriers keep the term mostly out of formality.

Partial port

Porting some, but not all, numbers off the losing carrier account.

PIN

An optional port-out PIN set by the customer or assigned by the carrier, to stop numbers moving without authorization.

LOA

Letter of Authorization, sometimes Letter of Agency. Formal permission for the new provider to act for the customer. Electronic or hand-signed.

PON

Port order number. A unique ID shared between winning and losing carriers so both can reference the order.

Snapback

Reversing a port back to the losing carrier within 24 hours of completion. Rare, and expensive.

Questions