Moving an existing phone number to a new provider is called porting. Adding a brand new number is much simpler. Both are worth planning a few weeks ahead, because porting in particular runs on someone else's timetable, not yours.

What porting actually is

Your phone number does not belong to the handset or the wiring. It sits in a national database that tells the whole phone network where to send calls for that number. Porting is the process of changing that entry from your current provider, the losing provider, to your new one, the gaining provider. Both providers have to agree, and the details on both sides have to match.

That matching is where nearly every delay comes from. If the account name, the address or the account number on the port request does not exactly match what the losing provider has on file, the request is rejected and you start again. It is not unusual for a business to have a number registered to a former director, an old trading name, or the address of an office they left years ago.

How long it takes

A straightforward single number often completes within a couple of weeks. A group of numbers, a number attached to a business line bundle, or a number where the account details need correcting first can take considerably longer. Nobody can guarantee a date, because the losing provider controls the timetable.

Two things follow from that:

• It cannot be rushed on the day. Once a port is lodged, the date is set by the process. Ringing on the morning you were hoping for does not move it forward.
• Start early. If you are moving premises, opening a new site or changing providers, raise it as soon as the date is known, not the week before.

Do not cancel the old service

This is the one that hurts, and it is easy to do by accident. If you cancel your existing phone service before the port completes, the number is released and may be lost permanently. There is often no way to get it back, whatever anyone promises.

Leave the old service exactly as it is, including paying the bill, until we confirm the port has completed. We will tell you when it is safe to cancel. If your current provider offers to cancel for you as part of a retention or a new deal, say no until the port is done.

What we need to start

Have these ready and the request usually goes through first time:

• The numbers to be moved, written out in full.
• The current provider's name.
• The account number with that provider, exactly as it appears on the bill.
• The account holder name as it appears on the bill, not as you would normally write it.
• The service address held by that provider.
• A recent bill, which usually settles all of the above in one go.
• Whether you are moving every number on the account or only some. Moving one number off a bundle sometimes affects the rest, and that is worth knowing before you start.
• Written authority from someone who can authorise changes on the account.

Adding a new number

Much easier. Tell us roughly what you want, such as a Melbourne 03 number, a second number for a new department, or a separate number for advertising so you can see which calls come from where. New numbers are typically available quickly and can be pointed at any extension, ring group or greeting you like.

On the day

Calls switch across at some point during the cutover window. There can be a short period where some callers reach the old service and some reach the new one, so it is worth keeping someone near the old handset that morning. Have the new phones set up and tested before the port date, so the only thing changing on the day is where calls arrive.

Talk to us

To start a port, add a number, or check what is possible with your current setup, email admin@yougrowit.com.au with the details above and we will confirm the steps and the cost in writing before anything is lodged. If a port is already under way and something is not working, log a ticket at portal.yougrowit.com.au.

Support hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:30pm Melbourne time, excluding Victorian public holidays.