Porting number from Vonage

[#1]

Hi

My current Fibre Broadband/Home phone contract will soon be ending and I would like to move to PlusNet. I would also like to Port my existing phone number from Vonage at the same time. My current provider have said that it isn't possible to do this but looking at posts in this Forum, it looks like this has been done previously:

https://community.plus.net/t5/Home-Phone/Phone-number-Port-from-Vonage-previously-BT/m-p/1691305#M30...

https://community.plus.net/t5/Home-Phone/Number-port-FROM-voip-To-Plusnet/m-p/1571910#M27269
https://community.plus.net/t5/Home-Phone/Porting-Number-from-Vonage-Voip/m-p/1668937#M29545

The number was Ported from BT to Vonage about 5 years ago and is in the usual geographical format e.g. 0115 23*****.

Vonage say that there shouldn't be an issue with the transfer. Could you please advise if its possible and what I would need to do when I sign-up to PlusNet to ensure it happens?

Thanks

[#2]

Hi @exningview firstly welcome to our community forums. If your telephone number was previously active on the BT network at the address you’re at now, I agree there shouldn’t be an issue as long as the number remains active. 

Having said that if the number is owned by BT i.e. it first started life on their network, even if the number is ceased we should be able to use it as what’s called a spare number although we’d have to wait 14 days before the number is released and made spare/available on the BT network. 

The 14 days are what’s known as a quarantine period which applies to landline numbers that were first made on for example Network A and then last active on Network B. Before the number is sent back to Network A as an available number it goes into quarantine. 

If you type in your full telephone number in the ‘Partial Telephone Number to Lookup’ box Here then click on ‘Lookup Number’ check the ‘Operator’ a.k.a rangeholder as that’s the network where your number was first made. 

If the rangeholder isn’t BT and the number isn’t active then unless we’ve previously provided the number and something had gone wrong which meant it was ceased in error, we’d struggle to activate the number ourselves.

In summary as long as the number is active and it meets what I’ve said in my first paragraph we should be able to import it for you.

You’ll just need to tell us the number at the very beginning of the online signup process when you enter your postcode and then select your address.  We’ll use this information when placing the order with our suppliers. 

Feel free to let us know if you do go ahead and we’ll be happy to check on the progress of the order for you and advise on any issues. 

I hope this helps. 

[#3]

@exningview 

Can we be clear on the situation here ? The way I read your post is that you currently have 2 numbers , one for the landline associated with the fibre connection and another associated with the vonage account.

Is that correct ?

[#4]

Many thanks for your prompt responses.

@MisterW You are correct; we have two numbers.  One number we were provided with associated with the fibre connection which we have never used (I wouldn't know what that number was without looking it up) and the other associated with the Vonage account.

@MisterW I have checked the number as you suggest and the Operator is coming-up as BT.

Regards

[#5]

@exningview  thanks for that. I'm assuming that you just want to end up with the one number, the vonage one, associated with the landline. I wasnt sure that was possible in one go,  but having communicated with @Gandalf  it would appear it is.

When you do signup as @Gandalf  says, using the vonage number, then I suggest you post back on here so that one of the Help team can check that the order progresses correctly

[#6]

Many thanks @MisterW and @Gandalf . I have a few weeks left on my current contract but will post back here once I have signed-up with PlusNet.

[#7]

Hi @Gandalf

My contract with Talk Talk is finally over and I have today placed my order with Plusnet. Would you be able to keep an eye on progress with regards to the Porting of my number from Vonage please?

Thanks,

Lee

[#8]

Morning Lee. I've checked your order and everything's looking good. We've automatically placed the order to takeover your line and import your telephone number. Provisionally this should happen on the 1st April but we'll confirm this with you within the next 3 working days. Let me know how it goes.

[#9]

@Gandalf . Thats great. Thanks very much. As long as Plusnet transfer the number that I entered at the sign-up process (the Vonage one I want to keep) and not the one that was allocated to me by Talktalk then we are good to go!

[#10]

No problem, if you've not told us your TalkTalk number we wouldn't know it to import so all should be good.

[#11]

@Gandalf Thanks again. Much appreciated.

[#12]

@Gandalf Hi, hope you are keeping well. Ive received a notification via Question 200203270 from your support team that due to the shutdown in India, they dont know when my Broadband/phone will be activated. This is totally understandable but I am concerned that Talktalk and Vonage may still end my service on the 1st April (the switchover date originally agreed). Ive raised the same concern via the above message but I'm not sure they receive a notification? Can you please help/put my mind at rest?

Thanks.

[#13]

Hi @exningview Sorry for the concern and confusion. I've checked your order and everything was good to go as of the 23rd as we received confirmation then from our suppliers that your order was committed in their systems.

I'm not sure why our system generated a delay ticket yesterday but I can see somebody else responded back to your ticket this afternoon having checked the order through and advised everything's going through fine.

Openreach's helpdesk being closed for the foreseeable future shouldn't be a problem, however unless there are any delays on the 1st April but we may have to cross that bridge if we come to it. Openreach's back-end team will still be progressing orders but we won't be able to specifically contact them, unless the current situation changes by then.

Normally I wouldn't say this but as this situation is unprecedented (I've heard that a lot recently) it may be worth cancelling your order with us and re-order when Openreach are back at full power, unless you're happy with the risks.

[#14]

Hi @Gandalph thanks for the reply. Yes received confirmation this afternoon as you say. Just for clarity, presumably your supplier isn't Openreach and you would only require Openreach intervention should there be an issue? If there was an issue, would your supplier reconnect to Talk talk? Thanks.

[#15]

Hi @exningview 

Our supplier is Openreach, they're the backbone of the infrastructure that also provides TalkTalk, however at the exchange TalkTalk use their own equipment and we'd use BT's equipment. Both of our suppliers helpdesks are unfortunately closed. 

If something goes wrong with the transfer order and it goes into a delayed state, the line will likely cease with TalkTalk on the 1st April and won't start with us until the order has completed.

A 'working line takeover' consists of two orders in the Openreach systems; one order to cease the line with the previous provider and another order to 'start' the line with the new provider.

With the number port, there's another party involved to complete the order, that's Vonage to release the number to us.

The majority of these type of orders go through like clockwork, but on the occasions that things go wrong, if they do go wrong at the moment, you'd potentially be left without phone and/or broadband until the order's progressed.

I couldn't give a timeframe though and we wouldn't be able to chase the delay up as we'd normally do. We wouldn't be able to arrange your line to be connected on to TalkTalk's equipment as we've no agreement with them to use it.

Sorry that this is a bit of a difficult decision to make.