Local Number Portability (LNP) is possible thanks to the Location Routing Number (LRN), a unique 10-digit telephone number assigned to each switch.
Prior to the establishment of LNP, a telephone number’s original state, rate center, Service Provider and carrier type (wireline, wireless, or VOIP) were identified in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) by the NPA (area code) and NXX (central office code). With the introduction of LNP, telephone numbers were being ported between Service Providers and a new way of determining the network address of the serving switch was needed to ensure the call was routed correctly. With that, the LRN was created.
There are three reasons a telephone number might need to be ported:
Inter-carrier or competitive porting: when a telephone number moves from the current Service Provider to a new Service Provider.
Inter-carrier or competitive porting: when a telephone number moves from the current Service Provider to a new Service Provider.
Number pooling: when a telephone number moves to a new Service Provider in blocks of 1,000 to create an inventory of unassigned telephone numbers.
Each telephone number entered into the NPAC’s records, is called a “Subscription Version” and contains the following information:
The entire porting process can take just minutes. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has mandated simple one-number port requests be completed within one business day.
A call is made to a ported telephone number