Local Number Portability

What is local number portability?

Telephone number portability is a service that allows you to keep your local phone number at the same location when changing your phone company. Note that this doesn't mean keeping your phone number when changing locations.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) determined that local telephone companies are allowed to recover the costs of implementing and providing telephone number portability through two kinds of charges:

• charges paid by other telephone companies that use a telephone company’s number portability facilities to process their own calls
• a low, long term, fixed monthly charge paid by end users

What is the Long Term Telephone Number Portability End User Charge?

It is a fixed, monthly charge through which local telephone companies may recover certain costs of providing long-term number portability service. Recoverable costs include those for creating new facilities, physically upgrading or improving the existing public switched telephone network, and performing the ongoing functions associated with providing long-term number portability.

What if I am a Lifeline Assistance Program customer?

Carriers can not charge the monthly number portability charge on customers of the Lifeline Assistance Program.

Will all telephone customers be charged?

Local telephone companies may only charge customers in areas where local telephone number portability is available to all consumers. Telephone number portability may not be available in all areas.

For how long will I be charged a long term telephone number portability fee?

Your local telephone company may continue to include this charge on your phone bill for five years from the date it first began doing so. At the end of the five-year period, your local telephone company must stop charging you this fee.

How come different phone companies charge different amounts?

Telephone companies have a variety of network equipment and can incur different costs in preparing their systems to provide number portability. The charge that appears on your monthly telephone bill for number portability may cover certain costs of implementing and providing number portability service.