Number porting

US rules from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) give you the right to keep your phone number when you switch providers, as long as you stay in the same area for local numbers. The new provider requests the number, and the old one must release it. How a port usually goes: 1. Check the number can move. The new provider confirms it can take that number. 2. Gather account details from your current provider: the account holder's name and service address exactly as on file, the account number and a port-out PIN if one is required. A recent bill often helps. 3. Sign a letter of authorization (LOA), which lets the new provider act for you. 4. Get a FOC date, the day the old carrier commits to releasing the number. 5. The number moves. Calls and texts start arriving at the new provider. Tips that avoid delays: - Don't cancel your old service until the port is done, or the number may be lost. - Make sure every detail matches the old account exactly. Mismatches are the most common reason ports are rejected. - Texting needs its own setup. A number used for business texts may need new 10DLC registration or toll-free verification with the new provider. Toll-free numbers port too, through a change of the number's managing company (its RespOrg). How Chargezen handles it: you can bring a US number to Chargezen. Chargezen checks that it can move, you sign the letter of authorization in Chargezen and follow the transfer there. A toll-free number can start texting through Chargezen before the voice port finishes.