Porting BT phone number

[licquorice]

Yes, but that needs to change. Just because it has always been the case it doesn't mean it always has to be. The world has moved on and the telecoms operators need to move with it and update their systems to cope.

[Fumbledore]

Well I’ve had to bite the bullet. After many calls to BT who have been as helpful as they can be under the circumstances, I am now going ahead with the porting. This will inevitably involve the loss of my Broadband from BT, but should result in my phone number in the hands of my VOIP supplier. Then I rejoin BT on a new Broadband only contract for another 2 years and hopefully I will then be able to connect my phone with existing number to the new BT Broadband connection. I know this will involve the loss of Broadband for a while, but so be it. Maybe there is a way to get a SIM card modem to use in the interim!
Seems a laborious procedure, but I see no other way under the current BT system and it saves me having to setup my BT router to work with my Netgear Mesh system in AP mode.

[licquorice]

BT really do need to get a grip with this!

[Fumbledore]

For anybody who is interested, I have bitten the bullet and Ported my BT number to a VOIP provider to retain it after transition to BT Digital Voice.
As quoted earlier, Porting your phone number from BT to a VOIP provider means losing your complete BT service (Phone and Broadband) even though the two are currently provided on separate routings (48 volt Copper cable and Fibre cable).
I was given a disconnect day with the normal 'we are sorry you are leaving us' messages and the the day of Porting arrived. Around midday I received a message from my VOIP provider to say that the Porting had taken place and as planned, testing my phone line showed that my phone connection was now via the VOIP service.
I then called BT to start a new account which was Broadband only and a very helpful BT agent went through all the usual details for opening a new account. A few hours later I received a message from BT with a joining date and service commencement date, 2 weeks ahead. (Not sure why a re-establishment of an existing working service takes so long!). Actually my Broadband connection stayed 'live' for about 5 days so the actual disconnect time was 9 days. I used a SIM powered modem for the interim to provide some Internet connection and Telephone continuity.
On the designated connection day, sure enough the Fibre Modem became active and the MESH network started connecting again. It took a while with some connection problems, but after a couple of re-boots I had a reinstated Broadband network with a Telephone service via a VOIP circuit.
A lot of hassle for what should be an easy process, but ultimately successful. Now to deal with BT billing and charges to complete the exercise!!

[licquorice]

Thanks for the update. What a faff for something that should be extremely simple to achieve.

[Fumbledore]

Hmmmm. Exactly.

[jimrudd75]

Sorry for jumping on this thread

Im in the same boat and wanting to port my DV number to a VOIP provider and not lose my FTTP connection - is there a port and renumber option so that when the port request comes in from the new VOIP provider the existing DV service is given a new landline number? 

Dont want to have to cancel my contract and pay termination fees as still in contract and then have to rejoin and have loss of service

[Fumbledore]

Hi. It sound as if you are in the same situation as I found myself. Sadly after many calls to BT as to possible solutions to what is fundamentally a simple problem, it always fell back on the fact that cancelling part of your BT service terminated the whole contract even though there is a data only contract option. 
I bought a data only SIM card modem to offer me some data connection and of course, a connection for the VOIP phone line. In my case the data connection stayed operational for about 5 days after termination so if you undertake this process then try to reduce the transition time between termination and renewal to as short a time as possible. My reconnection happened as schedule and all my previous connections and routings worked as before. 
Sorry not to have an option to simplify this process, (even the re-numbering possibility wasn’t available), but having been through the transfer it wasn’t as bad as I thought it could be and I have achieved my existing phone number being available to me via VOIP. 

[canders1212]

Hi, thanks for posting. It is very helpful to know that it is possible to port a DV number to a third party VOIP provider. 

I found myself stuck in this situation when I signed up for BT FTTP, and didn't realise that I would have to be tied into using the HomeHub as the router in order to make calls. 

Please could you let us know which VOIP provider you used to make the port? I understand that some providers are better than others at doing this.

Thanks

[Fumbledore]

Hi. I am using Sipgate Basic, a German company which works well. They take care of the Porting request and costs £30, taking about a week although you have to build in the time for termination and re-establishing your BT FTTP data only service. There is no monthly charge with Sipgate, but their call costs per minute are very slightly higher. If you are interested, their website is www.Sipgate.co.uk

Let me know if you need anymore information. 

Good luck.