Porting from Spark to VOIP

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Noig

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#213917 18-Apr-2017 19:13

Hello All

I intend to port our last Spark number over to 2talk. We have a home phone and broadband plan. Is there going to be a problem when porting the number while still on he broadband/land-line plan? Does anyone of you know if I have to cancel other services like call minder and forwarding first?

Thanks

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#1766953 18-Apr-2017 19:17

the last time i ported a number from spark which was about a year ago, when the porting was complete they canceled all the services that we had including the internet which didnt bother us as we were moving any way and werent going to have internet for a while so this allowed us to keep out landline number and manage it through the live.2talk portal

chevrolux

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#1766959 18-Apr-2017 19:27

If your POTS line is still linked with your broadband connection then porting the number will trigger the broadband to be disconnected too. If you want your broadband to stay with Spark, ring them and get them to set your broadband up as a naked connection. If you are moving the broadband to another provider too, then transfer the broadband first and then do the phone line.

You don't need to worry about extra services like caller minder.

Once you have done the number port, would pay to ring Spark and make sure the voice charges are gone from the account. Have seen a few customers who had bundle packs that needed to do this manual step to get the billing updated.

speed

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#1766960 18-Apr-2017 19:32

If your current broadband is DSL then porting your PoTS number without suitable preparation beforehand will cause your DSL service to be torn down.

You have a couple of options for lining up your ducks:

[Option 1]

- Call Spark and ask them to change your landline number to 'Customer Link' service and have them forward the number to your cellphone (temporarily, until your port out - you may change to something else when on 2talk). At the same time, instruct them to change your broadband service to the naked variant. This is usually the time when they tell you they've got you locked into a contract. If not then you'll be able to subsequently port the PoTS number out without the naked DSL being lost.

[Option 2]

- Call your ISP of choice (can still be Spark, but doesn't have to be, and I'd suggest you can get a better deal elsewhere), and order a new install for a concurrent DSL circuit alongside your current one. Get the second connection installed, tested & operational, then lodge the port. When the number ports out the old DSL will be town down automatically but it won't matter as you'll already be using the new connection.

Option 1 (the harder one IMO) is cheaper, but option 2 has the guarantee of no downtime during the cutover. If you're a business then the second option is the only way I'd play it. But if you're a home user... Well some homes (and even SOHOs) could get by using cellular tethering during the downtime if they did loose their circuit.

Don't worry about the caller ID, call waiting or any other smartphone services they've been charging you for; those are attached to the PoTS and will be removed automagically, along the same lines as any 'clothed' DSL.

Hope this helps!

chevrolux

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#1766967 18-Apr-2017 19:51

speed:

Option 1 (the harder one IMO) is cheaper, but option 2 has the guarantee of no downtime during the cutover. If you're a business then the second option is the only way I'd play it. But if you're a home user... Well some homes (and even SOHOs) could get by using cellular tethering during the downtime if they did loose their circuit.

Why bother with the annoying-ness of a new connection? Just transfer the existing - much faster, simpler and cheaper. Also, the POTS line gets left behind to be ported as required.

speed

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#1766969 18-Apr-2017 19:56

chevrolux:

Why bother with the annoying-ness of a new connection? Just transfer the existing - much faster, simpler and cheaper. Also, the POTS line gets left behind to be ported as required.

Because of the guarantee of a clean cut-over. I've seen it all go wrong before more than once and my experience has taught me to only ever do it this way :) Wherever possible, I'd also aim for that new circuit to be UFB ;)

As for the transfer; I don't think the OP indicated they intend to churn, but if they do then sure that's a good reliable approach (although again, I've seen people temporarily loose their number in this process due to provider error!).

Noig

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#1766970 18-Apr-2017 19:58

Hi sparkz25, chevrolux, speed

Thanks. That'll give me plenty for tonight. Very, very much appreciated.

As we are moving for an extended period overseas it might be best to use one of the above options at last minute. Any interruption/cancelling to the internet is not relevant at that time. Just want to be able to use the NZ local(2talk) once landed/living overseas.

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cisconz

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#1766977 18-Apr-2017 20:23

The master service on copper changed a while ago from being the POTS to being the Data Service. This means that porting POTS "Should not" touch your data service, however some ISP's will cancel the DSL as they don't know what billing plan to migrate you to.

Hmmmm

speed

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#1766980 18-Apr-2017 20:46

cisconz:

The master service on copper changed a while ago from being the POTS to being the Data Service. This means that porting POTS "Should not" touch your data service, however some ISP's will cancel the DSL as they don't know what billing plan to migrate you to.

Wow really?! Nothing is constant in the telco industry is it! Except change...

Thanks cisconz for mentioning that!

chevrolux

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#1767016 18-Apr-2017 22:04

speed:

cisconz:

The master service on copper changed a while ago from being the POTS to being the Data Service. This means that porting POTS "Should not" touch your data service, however some ISP's will cancel the DSL as they don't know what billing plan to migrate you to.

Wow really?! Nothing is constant in the telco industry is it! Except change...

Thanks cisconz for mentioning that!

Haha yea... emphasis on "should not"... Spark's process certainly suggests otherwise though.

cisconz

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#1767029 18-Apr-2017 23:05

chevrolux:

Haha yea... emphasis on "should not"... Spark's process certainly suggests otherwise though.

If you already have POTS with 1 provider and DSL with another, you can port the POTS with no effect to your DSL, however it used to be that porting the POTS would cancel any associated service.

Now that POTS is the associated service, that no longer is the case.

But what if I want to change DSL providers??

When they provision the DSL Churn, there is a check box "Leave POTS Intact" which they can select to leave your POTS as is (That was never an option on POTS Porting)

Hmmmm

Noig

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#1767055 19-Apr-2017 07:30

To summarize...

Does it mean I can port the local landline number without Spark pulling the broadband down?

It would make it easier than waiting for the last day, porting over the phone in a rush, before flying off overseas.

and thanks for debating the issue!!

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richms

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#1767098 19-Apr-2017 09:18

pots porting is not a last minuite thing to arrange, it takes days and you schedule it ahead of time.

Just schedule it for the day you need the line gone and it will happen.

Richard rich.ms

Noig

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#1767178 19-Apr-2017 10:23

So to help us ahead of time, could I change supplier of broadband now? It could mean that the broadband and home line would be divided. Would Spark with the landline only remaining, accept that?

robfish

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#1767224 19-Apr-2017 11:41

When my neighbour and I both ported our numbers to 2talk we followed the advice here.....

http://blog.2talk.co.nz/porting.html

Rob

Noig

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#1767394 19-Apr-2017 15:08

robfish:

When my neighbour and I both ported our numbers to 2talk we followed the advice here.....

http://blog.2talk.co.nz/porting.html

I got that part of it. The difficulty is the Spark side as I would like to port the Spark landline without having the internet stopped. We have a homeline+broadband plan.

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