Guide to Submitting a Port Request

You can submit a port request through the Simwood Portal or you can configure the Simwood API if you wish to integrate porting more fully into your own system.

Please note, any information you provide has to exactly match the information the Losing Communications Provider (LCP) and Range Holder (RH) hold for the number(s) you wish to port. Any information missing or incorrect will result in a rejection. The only way to check information before you submit a port request is to get your end user to contact their current Communications Provider (CP).

Step 1 - Check Service Availability

Here you’ll be asked to provide the main billing number, account number, and confirm you have a letter of authority.

Main Billing Number (MBN): This is usually the number that appears on the end-user’s phone bill. If the main billing number is to be ported, it is essential that the end-user is aware that it will result in the termination of their existing service, including any associated services such as Broadband. If there are any associated numbers on the line, these must either be ported or ceased at the same time. You will need to specify whether you want to port the main billing number or not. 

Account Number: This can be found on the phone bill.

Letter of Authority: The customer does not always necessarily know every detail of the numbers they have working on an installation and this could lead to orders being rejected for trivial reasons. The best way around this is for you to gain a letter of authority from your customer, empowering you to contact the LCP on their behalf. You must obtain your customer’s agreement for this dialogue to take place between CPs, regarding installation details and numbers used on them. 

We require a LoA for all ports, though you do not need to send it as part of the order unless it is requested by the LCP. You must provide the name of the person who has signed the LoA, to allow the LCP to contact them to discuss their requirements. Please maintain the original LoA for at least one year following the porting date.

An example of a suitable letter of authority can be found here.

Step 2 - Confirm Current Provider

Our portal will determine who the Range Holder is for the number, and suggest the current LCP based on that. If the number has been ported previously and is currently operating under a different Communications Provider, then you will need to select that from the list on this page. It may also be that the LCP is a reseller (for example of BT WLR), in which case the RH and LCP will be the same regardless of the customer’s CP being different. Particular care should be taken with providers (such as TalkTalk or BSkyB) who have evolved through reselling BT’s products (BT is LCP and RH), through being a RH (CP is LCP and RH) to porting numbers in from BT (CP is LCP, BT is RH). As you can tell these situations can quickly become overcomplicated -  thankfully, as the RH is always undeniable, finding the LCP should usually just be a matter of contacting whoever handles the billing at present and asking for more information. 

We're also seeing a number of companies reselling numbers through BT IPEX. These are usually portable if BT is the Range Holder, but if the IPEX reseller is the RH then it may need to go through as a Scenario 7 Off-Net port, which some IPEX resellers can be hesitant to do. The best way to proceed in these cases is to ask us if we've encountered the company before, so we can advise on the best way to deal with the port request.

Numbers that have already been ported to a different provider, and as such have an LCP different to its RH, are called Subsequent Ports. Regardless of whether or not it’s been ported before, a number will always fall under the same Range Holder, but we'll need authorisation from both them and the current provider for a port to go through. While your customer should know who their provider is, the Range Holder can be found easily through many online number lookup tools, though our portal should find the Range Holder automatically.

We must have porting agreements in place for both the LCP and the RH in order to process a port request. Please see our list of porting partners to check before you submit a request, but as many providers not listed may be resellers of companies we have agreements with, it could be worth asking to make sure.

Step 3 - Fill in Customer Details

This page is where you fill in information about your customer, the number's end-user.

Number of Lines: The total number of lines that the end-user currently has from the LCP.

Number of Channels: The total number of channels the end-user will require once the port has been completed. This is for capacity planning purposes - the RH will be required to carry out a capacity planning study for porting requests where calls are delivered to 31 lines or more.

Installation Address: The end user’s installation address is required, particularly the post code, for security purposes with LCPs. It is crucial the post code is correct, as this is a very common reason we see ports rejected. This is not necessarily the same address as the one shown on the phone bill - if you have any doubts, double check with the LCP. We won’t be able to get any correct post code information on your behalf, due to its purpose as security verification.

Step 4 - Onsite Numbers

If the user has more than one number considered to be on the same installation as the main billing number, they must be included on this page. This does not necessarily mean to include all numbers the user has with that provider, as different installations will need to be installed separately. In cases of VoIP numbers or digital numbers, different providers have different methods of how they consider numbers to be associated with main billing numbers - as always, the best method to discover more information here is to contact the current provider to ask. 

Usually it will be a number associated with the Main Billing Number, but if not then you should specify it as an “Other” number. All associated numbers must either be ported alongside the MBN, or you may cease service to these numbers. “Other” numbers also have the option of remaining in service with the LCP.

"Keeping" numbers means the number will stay in service with the LCP - this is usually only available for "Other" numbers in installations, as when a main billing number ports, the associated services will usually be ceased. Selecting to "drop" numbers will cease service to those numbers entirely - we won't port them over, and the LCP will no longer provide service to them. Only select this option if you wish for the number to permanently lose service. 

You must list all associated numbers, otherwise the request will be rejected. As always, the best way to check associated numbers is to get in contact with the LCP who should give the customer a full list of any associated numbers, though assuming other information is correct any rejection should usually contain a list of missing associated numbers.

In the vast majority of cases, you can't split a DDI range - this means that if you have a range of consecutive numbers, they should all either be ported together or ceased together. In some cases, an LCP will agree to split a range up for you, but you'll need to agree that with the number's current service provider before putting a port request in. 

Step 5 - Finalise

If you have selected more than 1 line in Step 3 of the wizard, then your port will automatically be listed as a Multi-Line port. However, it is possible that single numbers may have been installed as a Multi-Line - if this is the case, you must tick the “I know this is a Multi-Line” box or the port will be rejected. As a general guide:

Single Line: A Single Line order is for a single line which terminates on a socket that has a single number allocated to the line. Residential installations are usually Single Line, although not always.

Multi Line: Multi Line orders cater for ranges of numbers or PBX groups that terminate on equipment (e.g. ISDN) configured for use by an end-user or customer.

This includes the following:

• Multi Line (30 lines or less)
• Multi Line (31 to 150 lines) - Simple DDI
• Multi Line (151 lines or greater)
• Complex DDI
• Single Lines that are part of a Feature Line installation

When it comes to the port date, the portal will suggest a date based on the minimum allowed lead-time. You may choose to port the numbers ASAP, or specify your own date. For information on the industry-agreed minimum lead times, click here. 

Please note that every porting request incurs charges. If any information is incorrect then your port request will be rejected, and you will be charged for a resubmission attempt.

Step 6 - Acceptance/Rejection

Once we have received your porting order, we will submit it to the LCP as soon as possible, but absolutely no later than the next working day. You will be informed on the ticket at every step of the porting process - when we submit the port to the LCP, when they have responded with the confirmed port date, and when the number has ported. Please note that different communication providers have different response times to porting requests - generally, you should expect a response within 24 hours (Single Line) or 48 hours (Multi Line) of us sending the request to the LCP, but this is not always the case. If an LCP takes longer than this to send a response, we’ll chase them for an update. We kindly ask you not to chase us yourselves - if we’ve had a response, we’ll pass it onto you, and if we haven’t then rest assured we’re on the case ourselves. For information about why ports may be rejected, please see our page on common reasons for rejection. 

If you wish to change or cancel a port order, you have until 24 hours before the port date to let us know. Please provide us clear information about what you want to change - if you wish to change the porting date, it must still comply to the lead times listed above. Charges for change requests amongst other porting features can be found in our numbering document.