From what I understand, I can keep the same phone number when I change services. I recently lost my phone, and since I hate Nextel’s service, and no longer need them for work, I’m thinking about switching services, rather than just buying a new phone. But, I want to keep the same number.
So, has anyone done this? How do I close out my Nextel account and get the new service (haven’t decided on which one) to start me up with the same phone number?
Everything you ever wanted to know about LNP (Local Number Portability) direct from the FCC.
All you need to do is go to your new provider and give them the phone number you want to keep. They will do the rest.
Yeah, my wife and I changed from Sprint to Verizon a couple years back. The guy at the Verizon store punched our Sprint phone numbers into the computer and said the system would take care of switching the numbers from one account to the other. He said it might take a couple hours to go into effect but the new phones were working before we even left the store. Piece of cake.
The only reason I couldn’t keep my number when I switched is because I paid for my old phone, and my new phone is part of a family plan. The new bill is not in my name, so they wouldn’t let me switch. As long as the bill was and will remain in your name, you’ll have no problems.
Apparently LNP is not an FCC-mandated program, but an option that can be used or refused by each phone company.
I tried to port a number from a landline (AT&T) to a celphone (Cellcom) last year. Cellcom was OK with it, but AT&T said, “No way, we won’t do it, and you can go jump in the lake, because you can’t make us. Nyah, nyah.” So I found a way around it by transferring the number first to Charter Communications (TV, Internet & phone), then the following day, from Charter to Cellcom, since they had assured me in advance that this would work. So now I seem to have the only number in the county that looks like a landline number but rings on a celphone.
Confuses the hell out of some people, since everyone seems to know which prefixes “belong” to celphones and which don’t, and mine doesn’t look right.
When I did it they told me that you still have to have service on the phone you are switching from, so don’t cancel your Nextel account until they have switched the number over.
That’s because you don’t “own” the number if you aren’t using it actively.
However – and this is probably a policy specific to each company – there is a grace period between inactivity and putting the number back in the general pool for anyone to use. I once knew of a certain number that was being abandoned, and I was told that I could either request a letter from the about to be former owner transferring rights to me immediately, or I could wait for 3 months and unless someone else requested it first (when it became available), I could get it. They didn’t have a waiting list provision. I waited, checked on the first available day, and got it.
Just out of curiosity, what is it about that number that made you want it?
I had my new number for 2 full years before I realized it spelled xxx-TALK, and the only reason I noticed was because I was listening to a talk radio show, and when they gave their number, it was VERY close to mine.
A very easily remembered number with the last 3 digits = 000. Good for business.
And the reason I wanted to keep & port over the other number mentioned in a previous post was I had had the number for 20 years. It saved me the hassle of learning a new one and reprinting cards. And since it cost me nothing to port it over, why not?
Your number with Nextel will have to be active - the system won’t port a suspended or cancelled line. Just go to the new service provider and they should be able to set you up. You will need to have the account number and any account passwords. If, by chance, the number/account is not in your name, you can do what is called a Two-Party number transfer. Basically, you will just need the account holder’s permission to release your number to the new service provider. The transfer itself should take less than an hour, but you may experience what they call dual service for a day or so. Dual service just means that you will make outgoing calls on one phone and receive on the other.
On a side note, people prefer keeping there old numbers for many reasons. I transferred mine over to Verizon from Sprint because I use it about 75% for business and there are many people who will call my number that I have not had contact with in 5 or 6 years.
My parents had the same number for 35 years and when my dad passed away we got calls from people that I knew only when I was a child. Pretty neat.
Holy crap! You’ve had the same Nextel cell phone number since 1987? That’s pretty impressive. How many physical phones have you gone through?
How about one? Phones used to be built to last! 
Who said anything about Nextel? Who said anything about having CELphones for 20 years?
One of my landline phones was built in the late 1950s, one of the first touch-tones ever issued. It has never been repaired or ever broken down.
And one of my phone numbers was first assigned in 1976. That’s CE, in case you wondered.
Color me stupid, but was the number that was being abandoned your own number, abandoned by yourself? Or somebody elses number, that was going out of business or something similar?
It doesn’t say anything about it being optional at the FCC site (http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/NumberPortability/).
In fact, it says:
Maybe the phone company was lying to you?
Did you miss the part about the number being for a landline? On the very page you link, the FCC says that “Wireline-to-wireless porting is possible in some cases.” (Emphasis mine.)
If you have a number for your cellphone that you want to transfer, your current cell service provider can’t prevent the transfer. If it’s a landline, all bets are off.
I’ve ported my number three times between different wireless providers, and it went smoothly every time. The first time took a few hours to take effect, the last time it was just minutes.
One bit of advice the people at the stores told me, was to be absolutely sure your current plan is up with the provider you are leaving before you begin the process. Apparently porting your number over will cancel your account with your old provider immediately, so you want to be certain you have fulfilled your contract before cutting off service. From what they told me, some people will try to cut it too close and port over their number either they day before or the actual day their old contract ends, and end up getting hit with a big penalty for breaking their contract.
As the OP, I figure I might as well check in. Basically, Rico’s response was the only one that made it through before I headed of to work. But, I did get a decent reading of his link, and educated myself about the issues. So, today, I’ve got myself set up with a nice T-Mobile plan and a nice new phone.
So, thanks Rico and everyone else who replied here.
Actually, I had such a number BEFORE number portability was made available. Many landline companies offer “prefered number service” where you can pay for a number (which you own) to be permanently forwarded to a new number. Basically a single landline with more than one number. I cancelled my regular service and had them forward my “landline” number (which I had had listed on my business cards for years) to my cell phone, thus not losing the number or any business. My buddy tried this when getting his cell phone and was told that forwarding to cell phones was not allowed. Just other landlines. Either I got lucky, or it was before a policy change. But this is a service not often used and if you call back often enough, you will eventually reach someone who is not aware of policy and will put it through. (That’s what he did.) 'Course with the popularity of number portability now, this might no longer be the case.