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Learn how to smoothly transfer your business phone numbers to Microsoft Teams with confidence. Understand the porting process, roles, and responsibilities, and overcome challenges effectively. Explore number porting 101 and key takeaways for successful execution.
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How to transfer your business phone numbers to Microsoft Korneel Bullens Senior Program Manager Teams PG THR2038
Session objectives and takeaways Session objectives: Understand number porting process Overcome number porting challenges Learn roles and responsibilities Key takeaways: Plan for number porting better Execute number porting with confidence Importance of managing stakeholders expectations
Phone numbers \ PSTN calling… It’s Tricky Everything should be considered caveated Just because it worked for A doesn’t mean it works for B Just because it worked yesterday doesn’t mean it works today The amount of rules and regulations concerning PSTN calling has grown over the years as expected from legacy service PSTN’s third law : for every rule there is an equal and opposite regulation
What is number porting Transfer existing phone numbers from current service provider to Microsoft (port-in) Alternative (often preferred) option to provide phone numbers for Phone System with Calling Plan and Audio Conferencing implementation Transfer phone numbers from Microsoft to other service provider (port-out)
Where can I port my numbers today Number porting, in general, requires* availability of Calling Plan (PSTN Calling) service in that country Current list of countries/regions Belgium France Germany Ireland Netherlands Spain United Kingdom (U.K.) United States (U.S.) and Puerto Rico Canada Australia (through partner) * Number porting for service numbers will be assessed on case by case basis
What numbers can I port You can port Land line phone numbers Mobile device phone numbers (US and Puerto Rico only) Toll phone numbers Toll-free phone numbers (except for UIFN) Service phone numbers Fax phone numbers (this will be transferred as subscriber number, thus cannot be used for faxing) VoIP phone numbers EU Non-geographic numbers* You cannot port Phone numbers used for data connections Phone numbers dedicated to faxing addendum: Yes you can, they just won’t work * Need to be assessed on case by case basis
Types of number porting Full-port Transfer all numbers to Microsoft Partial-port Transfer some numbers to Microsoft Works for US, some other markets maybe supported with caveats In the US, if the number to be ported is the BTN*, new BTN with the existing service provider must be assigned In the UK, existing service provider and range holder** will determine if number fragmentation is allowed ** Range holder is the original service provider given the phone number range by Ofcom Caveat 101 * BTN = Billing Telephone Number
Types of number porting (cont.) Inter-tenant port Transfer numbers from one Office 365 tenant to another Involves port-out and port-in, thus port-out PIN must be set (US Only) Project port Multiple port orders with tight schedule, involves multiple existing service providers or multiple accounts, may involve number fragmentation and its associated services
Key challenges The majority of the global porting process is governed by regulatory bodies Porting regulation varies by country and port type The level of regulator influence on porting processes, SLAs & disputes varies by market Some port types are not regulated (e.g. complex ports), and instead rely on agreements between service providers Fragmenting phone number ranges in many markets is restricted or not permitted, restricting Office 365 customers gradually migrating their users to Microsoft
Key challenges (cont.) Current service providers frequently miss defined SLAs not all SLAs carry penalties Expediting ports is outside of the process Escalation required by the customer to the existing service provider Porting complexity (and its SLA) determined by existing service provider In rare cases, numbers cannot be ported Porting numbers means losing a customer
Common mistakes Mismatched account information Authorized name, address, account number, BTN Advanced call control features are not disabled Call hunt, distinctive ring, etc. Numbers in the port request come from multiple carriers and accounts Inflight changes or disconnection with existing service provider Service is inactive
Before you begin A unique port request is needed for each service provider, type of number being ported Multiple port requests for a single contract (BTN) cannot be submitted in parallel Will impact the eventual porting timeline if involving multiple partial-ports for a single contract (BTN)
Number porting timelines SLA for processing and scheduling phone number porting is generally around 7 – 14 business days Note: depending on the current service provider, it can take up to 30 days (and even greater than 30 days in some cases) Port activation follows universal process that should complete within 2 hours Number conversion and inter-tenant port can be completed within 1-3 business days
Automated vs manual port Automated port order creation via Skype for Business Admin Center is US only and for fewer than 999 phone numbers port order Manual port is required for other markets and if more than 999 phone numbers Project port can be requested via email
Prerequisites for number porting Recent bill or invoice Account number Billing Telephone Number (BTN) Billing address Customer Service Record (US) Service address Lists the numbers belonging to one BTN Lead time to receiving CSR is determined by existing service provider
Prerequisites for number porting (cont.) Letter of Authorization (LoA) Different form per country and per type of number [RECOMMENDED] Verify if numbers can be ported Submit service request, or Send email to: PTN@microsoft.com (US and Puerto Rico) PTNEU@microsoft.com (Europe)
Project timeline and number porting Planning for site migration to Calling Plan need to account for number porting timelines Full-port (number type conversion) is preferred over multiple partial-port submissions For a complex number porting involving multiple port orders with a tight schedule, create a service request to initiate project port
Avoiding number porting pitfalls Make sure LoA* is correctly completed Verify if numbers can be ported Policies vary from one country to another Double check that port request contains correct information If expecting to work on multiple port requests, involve project port team as soon as possible * LoA = Letter of Authorization
Avoiding number porting pitfalls (cont.) Leverage relationships with existing service providers Advise on number porting constraints May assist to expedite the process Acknowledge the risk that project timeline can slip Porting timeline can miss due to exceptions or industry actions Provide multiple port activation windows Manage your stakeholders expectations
In review: session objectives and takeaways Session objectives: Understand number porting process Overcome number porting challenges Learn roles and responsibilities Key takeaways: Plan for number porting better Execute number porting with confidence Importance of managing stakeholders expectations
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