VoIP Number Portability

Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP as it is more commonly known is a great way of making cheap telephone calls. In fact telephone calls between people, who use the same provider, are totally free of charge. There are other benefits too such as free calls from a VoIP phone to an ordinary landline, but this can be dependent which country you are calling from, and which country you are calling to.

It is normally possible to be able to port your telephone number (in the case of an ordinary landline telephone service) across to a VoIP service. However, up until recently, there have been some ordinary landline service providers that did not allow you to re-port your number out of your original VoIP service provider and into a new VoIP service provider. But now VoIP number portability is set to become a reality.

The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) have enhanced consumers rights by ruling that all telephone service providers (including VoIP service providers) must facilitate the free movement or "porting" of consumer's existing telephone numbers from one provider to another.

Furthermore the FCC have specifically stated VoIP number portability is to be extended to interconnected VoIP service providers, thus enabling the free movement and portability of any telephone number generated via a VoIP service provider, from one VoIP provider to another. The telecommunications companies that provide the numbers to the VoIP service providers are instructed to cooperate with this initiative. This decision follows pressure being exerted by consumers who have been denied this portability by certain interconnecting VoIP providers and is seen as a huge step towards leveling the playing when it come to shopping around to find the most competitive deals based on quality of service and price.

The FCC has further ruled that telephone companies are not to request extraneous additional information. This has sometimes been the case where telephone companies were seeking to slow down or block such transfers from happening. It has been stated that all future VoIP number portability transfers should be completed within a 48 hour period.

There is no doubt that is a very positive step forward not only for VoIP service providers but more importantly for the consumer too. It will allow users to keep their familiar numbers which are known and shared amongst friends and business colleagues alike, whist enjoying the most competitive call deals around

VoIP is certainly the way forward for both personal and business calls. In some areas of the USA (or even the world), (and as I write this, I am sat in Spain), there are no telecommunication services via landline. Also in Spain, as with some other parts of the world, I suspect they will never go to the expense of laying cables underground or on telegraph poles across the country, as it is so costly, and they are falling back on people using mobiles. But mobiles can be really expensive, especially when making calls abroad. So, with the emergence of the Voice over the Internet Protocol, providing you can get access to the web, (which I can, wirelessly where I am in Spain), you now have a viable alternative which is cheaper than either landline, or mobile.

VoIP number portability - Long live the revolution!!