# Things to know before porting a phone number to Amazon Connect Things to know before porting The topics in this section explain which numbers can be ported, how long it takes, and what fees you might incur. The following terminology is used in these topics: **Letter of Authorization** Letter of Authorization (LOA) is a legal document in which you assert to the carrier for Amazon Connect that you have the authority to port phone numbers from your current carrier to the carrier for Amazon Connect. Traditionally, this is a paper document requiring an actual signature. **Losing carrier** Also known as your current carrier. This is the carrier that currently owns your telephone number. The losing carrier reviews all information presented on the Letter of Authorization (LOA) and validates if it matches the information that they have on file for you. **Mutually agreed date and time** After the LOA has been approved by the losing carrier, the losing and winning carriers agree upon a date and time to perform the porting activity. **Phone number portability** Number portability allows you to transfer your telelphone numbers to other carriers. Carriers and countries may have unique processes and procedures required. **Winning carrier** Also the carrier for Amazon Connect. This is the carrier that the phone number is being ported to, and will own the phone number after the porting is completed. **Topics** + [What is phone number porting?](what-is-phone-number-porting.md) + [How much does it cost?](fees-for-number-porting.md) + [Can my number be ported?](what-numbers-can-be-ported.md) + [How long does it take to port numbers?](how-long-for-number-porting.md) + [Can I cancel a scheduled porting?](cancel-port-request.md) + [When do I cancel my current telecom service?](cancel-current-service.md) # What does it mean to port phone numbers to Amazon Connect? What is phone number porting? Porting a phone number is the process of moving a phone number from one telephony service provider, or carrier, to another. Many businesses and organizations already have a phone number that is advertised to their customers, so changing this number would be disruptive. If you port a phone number from your current carrier to Amazon Connect, you can keep using the same phone number for your contact center. This helps to eliminate the need to update your business contact information. ## Downtime and service disruption during the porting process The porting process requires the losing carrier to remove your number from their systems, the winning carrier to add your number to their systems, and for number routing to be updated. Most porting activities complete within 15-30 minutes, with possible call disruptions. To ensure that they have engineers available to troubleshoot issues, most losing carriers complete porting actions only during normal business hours. Carriers typically communicate a two-hour porting window to resolve any issues that could arise. For detailed information about available porting dates and times, see [Region requirements for ordering and porting phone numbers in Amazon Connect](phone-number-requirements.md) for your country or region. ## What happens to a number after it is ported What happens to a number after it is ported As long as you continue to pay for the phone number, and do not release it from your Amazon Connect instance, it stays assigned to your account, and you are billed accordingly. To release a phone number, follow the steps in [Release a phone number from Amazon Connect back to inventory](release-phone-number.md). When a phone number is released from your Amazon Connect instance: + You will no longer be charged for it. + You cannot reclaim the phone number. + Amazon Connect reserves the right to allow it to be claimed by another customer. If you move your contact center away from Amazon Connect, and want to port your phone number away from Amazon Connect, see [Port phone numbers away from Amazon Connect](port-away.md). # How much does porting a number to Amazon Connect cost? How much does it cost? Amazon Connect does not charge fees for porting numbers. Your existing carrier may have fees associated with the disconnection and early termination of your service. After a phone number is ported to Amazon Connect, standard pricing applies for [Amazon Connect service usage and associated telephony rates](https://aws.amazon.com/connect/pricing/). # Phone numbers that you can port to Amazon Connect Can my number be ported? Not all phone numbers can be ported. The ability to port a specific phone number depends on several factors. For example: + The regulations in the country or region of the phone number. + Agreements between the losing and winning carriers. + The type of phone number being ported. + Your service contract with your current service provider. To find out if a phone number that you currently own—whether local, mobile, or toll-free—can be ported to Amazon Connect: 1. See if your country or region supports number porting: [Region requirements for ordering and porting phone numbers in Amazon Connect](phone-number-requirements.md). 1. Then get started by [submitting an Amazon Connect support ticket for number verification](about-porting.md#step1-porting). ## Porting numbers purchased from other contact center providers Port numbers purchased from other contact center providers In most cases, you can port numbers that were purchased from other contact center providers. Confirm with your current contact center provider who holds the assignment to the number, and work with them to ensure the correct information is provided in the Letter of Authorization (LOA). ## Port short phone numbers Port short phone numbers Because of Telecom regulations in various countries or regions, the short phone number will need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. To verify if your phone number can be ported to Amazon Connect, [submit an Amazon Connect support ticket](about-porting.md#step1-porting). ## Port a number to one EU Region only Port a number to one EU Region only The Amazon Connect Regions of EU-CENTRAL-1 and EU-WEST-2 are symmetrical European Regions that offer the same carrier coverage for telephony. If a phone number cannot be ported to an instance in one of these Regions, then it cannot be ported to an instance in the other. If you had a phone number ported into the EU-CENTRAL-1 or EU-WEST-2 Regions, and want to move it to the other Region, [submit an Amazon Connect support ticket](about-porting.md#step1-porting) for assistance. The same is true for the North America Regions of US-EAST-1 and US-WEST-2. ## Port a subset of numbers from a block Port a subset of numbers from a block If you have a block of numbers, in some instances Amazon Connect can port a subset or portion of your phone numbers. In other cases, it is required by the carrier to port full block of phone numbers. If you want to port only a subset of the phone numbers you currently own to Amazon Connect, [submit an Amazon Connect support ticket](about-porting.md#step1-porting) to verify whether the phone numbers can be ported. We will verify the actions that can be completed and assist you with next steps. **Note** If you port only a subset of the phone numbers, you will still be liable for the remaining phone numbers with the original carrier and any associated fees. If your intent to is release the remaining phone numbers not being ported to Amazon Connect, we recommend waiting until the requested porting has been completed to avoid any disruptions to service. ## Letter of compromise Letter of compromise Before porting phone numbers, some customers ask for a letter of compromise stating that they will be allowed to move their phone numbers from Amazon Connect to another service, if their contact center moves. Because of Telecom regulations in various countries, the phone number will need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. To verify that your phone number can be ported to Amazon Connect, [submit a ticket to Amazon Connect support](about-porting.md#step1-porting) . # How long does it take to port phone numbers to Amazon Connect? How long does it take to port numbers? **Important** Porting requests for USA DID and toll-free numbers cannot be submitted more than 30 days in advance of porting date. For other countries, we recommend opening a porting request as far in advance of your pending go-live date as possible. The amount of time that it takes to port numbers depends on the country, complexity of the request, the type and quantity of numbers being ported, and your current carrier. Telecom carriers also may implement porting block days because of holidays and network maintenance. Because of this, Amazon Connect requires porting requests to be open several months before pending go-live dates. For a list of countries and their portability windows, see [Region requirements for ordering and porting phone numbers in Amazon Connect](phone-number-requirements.md). ## Inside the US and Canada Phone numbers in the US or Canada typically take between two to four weeks to port, after phone number portability has been verified, and all required documents are correctly submitted to the carrier. ## Outside the US and Canada Phone numbers outside the US and Canada require between two to six months to complete the full porting process. This includes: + Time for you to submit all the documents to AWS Support. + Time for the Amazon Connect service provider to verify whether they can port all of the phone numbers that you have requested. + Time for the losing provider to verify the provided documents. After all documents are verified by the losing provider, the losing provider and the Amazon Connect service provider will schedule a mutually agreed date to port the numbers to Amazon Connect. ## What affects porting timelines? Porting timelines can be negatively impacted when incorrect information is provided on the required Letter of Authorization (LOA). This causes the LOA to be rejected and resets the porting timelines. ## Port many numbers over multiple countries or carriers Complex porting requests have their own timelines. The timelines discussed elsewhere in this topic do not apply to complex porting requests. Complex porting requests for more than 10 distinct number ranges or 10 distinct locations are considered a project and require advanced coordination with your AWS Account team. If you are a Business or Enterprise customer, engage your Amazon Connect Solutions Architect (SA) or Technical Account Manager (TAM) for assistance in planning your number porting. To help make the process as smooth as possible, gather the following information before submitting a porting request: + Your most recent telephony bill from the carriers that currently service the numbers to be ported. + The country specific documentation required; see [Region requirements for ordering and porting phone numbers in Amazon Connect](phone-number-requirements.md). + The contact information for a central point of contact who can act on behalf of your organization in support of the porting requests. ## Can I choose the port date? **Important** The Amazon Connect service team supports porting phone numbers FROM 9am Monday in Sydney NSW, Australia Time, TO 5pm Friday in Seattle, WA, USA time. Depending on the country and carriers involved, you may be able to choose the porting date and time. In most cases, however, the losing carrier picks the date and time and communicates it to Amazon Connect based on their schedule. If you have a specific date and time you want to request, provide the information in your support case. We will work with our carrier to determine if they can support the requested date and time. **Note** Most carriers only support porting activity during their normal business hours. For detailed information about available porting dates and times for your country, see [Region requirements for ordering and porting phone numbers in Amazon Connect](phone-number-requirements.md). # Can I cancel a scheduled phone number porting in Amazon Connect? Can I cancel a scheduled porting? **Important** If you need to cancel or reschedule your porting, let us know immediately. Depending on the country of service, after a mutually agreed date and time has been provided it can be difficult to cancel. Because of the coordination required between carriers, Amazon Connect support requires a minimum of 5 business days notice to cancel or reschedule a porting request, if the number has not already been ported. If you need to cancel or reschedule your porting, let us know immediately. You cannot cancel a port after it has been moved to the RespOrg (Responsible Organization). The port is complete. For this situation, see [Revert phone numbers to your original carrier after porting to Amazon Connect](revert-porting-to-original-carrier.md). If a porting is successfully cancelled, timelines for the port schedule are reset and the carriers will need to identify another mutually agreed date and time. This will impact the overall timeline for porting your numbers. **Note** Please be advised that sometimes a porting request cannot be cancelled because of process automation, but Amazon Connect support will make every attempt possible to stop the request. # When do I cancel my current telecom service when porting numbers to Amazon Connect? When do I cancel my current telecom service? Do not cancel your existing telecom service until your phone numbers have been ported and confirmed working in Amazon Connect. Canceling your existing telecom service before your number is ported releases your phone number assignment, and may result in you losing the number.