Can you 'secure' your business phone number?

[MikeH]

Hopefully this question is as obvious as it sounds.

You get issued with business phone numbers by a service provider or you select one that you prefer. Ultimately you do not 'own' the number.

Good service providers go bad, some go bust, some make 'porting' a number easy, some do not. How much business would you lose if your main business phone number was simply turned off one day?

If you do not own your number, and the number is 'managed' by a service provider, how do you protect this in the long run?

 

[Emma Fryer]

Not sure this is really possible to be honest as all numbers are leased.

I guess use a big reputable firm you trust and always control it yourself never through a third party.

(I have a couple of clients now who have done this and they have moved service provider but the original provider is still 'involved' must be uncomfortable.)

If you'd like to talk to someone really knowledgeable about this I have a great contact.

 

[webcrest]

I am also concerned about this problem ... can some one here suggest me some reliable and trustworthy firm to resolve this issue?

 

[it-comms]

When Ofcom allocates phone numbers to a service provider (such as us for example) the numbers are assigned to the provider. The Provider does not own the numbers.

The provider then sells the numbers to its customer base. packaged as part of a service. The Customer is a subscriber to the numbers and does not own them.

However numbers can be ported to other networks but the inbound calls will still pass via the original provider and is then onward routed to the new provider. If the original provider was to go out of business and or have an outage. You would still lose the ability to receive inbound calls.

Unfortunately there is no workaround for this.

 

[Nochexman]

Here is what Ofcom says http://ask.ofcom.org.uk/help/telephone/switching_provider

"If you’re a business, your customers will have your number in their phones and systems, and any change can also be very costly. So if you’re staying at the same address and your number is active, your current provider must allow it to be transferred to a new phone company. Whilst the new provider doesn’t have to accept this request, it is in their interests to do so. They should also make all the transfer arrangements."

Hope this helps.

 

[cjd]

Numbers can be 'ported' - transferred between telcos - so in principle your number is safe, you can move it.

But in practice there can be problems, the main one is that you often have long term contracts with your provider and he can refuse to port your number if you default.

Other issues are where the customer has taken a number from a really cheap and horrible company who has no way of porting because he hasn't made the necessary arrangements with the company that you want to move to.

If the telco goes bust you may have problems as there's no mechanism to move numbers - it's done on a grace and favour basis. A while back Skype dumped all its London numbers - we helped out as we've done with a number of telcos that have ceased trading.

Any decent company will be able to port your number. The moral is to go with a good company to start with and if you're unsure ask. If you're talking about VoIP, choose a telco that's a member of ITSPA and preferably one with its quality mark because those companies must list who they can port to on their website.

 

[MikeH]

Thanks for the replies. We are updating our Recovery Plan and thought it worth while drilling a little deeper into telecoms recovery. Potential dangers if you choose a tinpot service I guess. Otherwise you should be OK.

 

[Emma Fryer]

For Recovery Planning - make sure you have web access to your portal to be able to divert calls elsewhere if required for emergencies. HTH

 

[cjd]

If you're writing a disaster recovery plan you might find this useful:

http://www.voipfone.co.uk/business-continuity-and-disaster-recovery.php