Upgrading business communications suppliers: Here’s what you need to know about number porting

Are your internal communications suffering because of poor call quality? Do your representatives frequently experience lag, choppy audio, or dropped calls that are impacting your customer service?  

Firstly, let’s remember that business numbers are key for organizations to maintain brand consistency, build credibility and trust, and keep customers happy. Since business numbers are not directly linked to a physical phone line, calls made to these numbers can be routed to any device, from landline or mobile phone, to VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) service. 

For enterprises like yours, this means you can provide your customers with a single point of contact, regardless of the location or device being used. They also increase your business’ mobility and flexibility, because employees can make and receive calls from anywhere, as long as they have an internet connection – enabling successful hybrid and remote working models. Plus, these numbers often come with features that further enhance the customer and employee experience – such as call forwarding, voicemail, and intelligent routing – so all you need is outstanding QoS to make the most of your business numbers. 

In short, business numbers are a great tool to establish and future proof your business. But what happens when these numbers don’t come with a reliable and high-quality connection? Perhaps your business could benefit from a carrier with global coverage, but your existing telephony or cloud service provider has you wondering whether leaving them will cause more challenges than it solves. It looks like you are locked into a complex contract.  

Porting your numbers might be the option if you want to upgrade your business communications providers. Plus, it allows you do so without the hassle of undermining your established corporate identity, or compromising customer and even employee experience. 

Number porting is the process of transferring an existing VoIP, landline, or mobile phone number from one service provider to another without changing the number itself.  

This process has become increasingly popular in recent years due to the rise of cloud-based communication services. With so many options now available, businesses can benefit from greater flexibility, customization, and cost savings depending on their individual needs. 

If your business operates globally, number porting is especially important because it allows you to: 

• Simplify your telephony service by moving to one global supplier. Maintain your brand identity and avoid any potential confusion among your customers, while consolidating multiple invoices and price lists from multiple vendors.
• Streamline communication between different offices, which is critical for ensuring smooth business operations. 
• Relocate your offices to a new location without changing the number. 
• Continue to expand into new geographies without the complexity of enlisting a new service provider. 
• Connect a mobile workforce, with a global carrier that can send calls around the world.  

When it comes to number porting for global businesses, there are several things to consider: 

1. Businesses need to ensure the carrier or service provider they are switching to offers number porting services in the countries where they operate. This is important because the rules and regulations governing number porting vary from country to country. Some service providers may have additional eligibility criteria, such as minimum service time or contract periods. 
2. Businesses should plan the timing of their number porting carefully. This is because the process can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending on the country and the service provider involved. During this time, businesses may experience some disruption in their phone services, so it is important to plan accordingly and work closely with their new service provider to avoid downtime. 
3. Businesses need to ensure that all their phone systems and equipment are compatible with the new service provider’s network. This may involve upgrading existing equipment or purchasing new equipment altogether. It is also important to ensure that all employees are trained on any new phone systems or procedures that may be required. 
4. Businesses need to be aware of any costs associated with number porting. These may include fees charged by the old service provider, such as early cancellation fees, the cost of porting to the new service provider, and any costs associated with upgrading or replacing phone systems and equipment. 

Whilst business numbers can help take your organization to the next level, it is true that number porting has the potential to be a painful experience. It can come with its own set of challenges, but with support from an established and global carrier, your business can reap all the benefits of a faster, more sophisticated service, without the disruption or drain on your time.  

For one thing, it could require you to negotiate leaving your contract with multiple operators around the world. For another, the porting process can be different and vary in its degree of complexity from country to country. 

A global carrier like BICS can simplify the porting process and benefit your business communications in the following ways: 

• Highest call quality globally: 20+ years of expertise in telecommunications and a fully-owned network interconnected, our service quality is unrivalled.  
• Outsource porting complexity: With thousands of in-country operators around the world, BICS takes over the complex porting process with a dedicated porting team that ensures you can port-in numbers onto your own porting code without worrying about any of the technical requirements. 
• Around the sun customer support: as well as a dedicated porting team, we offer 24/ 7 customer support in your language, with highly trained telecommunications experts. Wherever in the world you are, get the support you need during the process.  
• Flexibility by design. At BICS we don’t believe in minimum orders or contract lengths. Our customers stay because they are happy with the service we provide, not because they are locked in by rigid agreements. 
• Consolidate your global services: whether you need a global hosting solution, want to improve collaboration by adding carrier-grade calling to your Microsoft Teams set up, or simply want to make sure you deliver the same high quality services across the globe. BICS is a one stop shop for your cloud communications needs.    
• Intuitive number management platform. Continue managing existing or newly acquired numbers through our MyNumbers portal. This will include stock, number provisioning and customer assignment, porting, and emergency services. 

…but don’t take our word for it, here’s what our clients say about BICS number porting:

“Thanks to their in-depth market knowledge, the BICS porting team supported us every step of the way and brought us the results we needed, without the usual complexity. Porting rarely happens without obstacles, but the BICS porting team are experts and got us through the complex process quickly and efficiently”
Alain Rodriguez, Technical Support Manager at United World Telecom

Porting is always evolving. Contact us to check the latest status on all type of numbers and find out how we can help.