Local Number Portability (LNP) Port Out Handbook

1.0 AT&T LNP Overview

This document provides information specific to AT&T Business and AT&T Consumer VoIP Services Local Number Portability (LNP) processes for SPID 7421 (AT&T Digital Link - ADL) and 7125 (AT&T Local Network Services (LNS) and AT&T Consumer VoIP), such as required forms, intervals, contact information and policies. It is intended to provide general guidelines to LECs who wish to acquire an AT&T local customer and need to send a port out request to AT&T. It is not intended to address all issues related to the LNP Port Out process, and AT&T reserves the right to amend this document at its discretion.

This document is also not intended to supersede the terms and conditions of any agreement between AT&T and another service provider, including any agreements with respect to LNP Port Out processes.

Definition: Local Number Portability (LNP)

Local Number Portability (LNP) is the ability of a telephone customer in the U.S. to retain their local phone number when switching to another local telephone service provider. Removing the inconvenience of having to get a new phone number when changing service providers increases competition among local service providers. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 mandates LNP. The Location Routing Number (LRN) makes LNP possible. In the future, phone number portability may be extended so that customers can retain their phone number when moving anywhere across the country. LNP and LRNs are supervised by the Number Portability Administration Center (NPAC), operated by NeuStar, Inc., under the appointment of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). When a customer moves their local service to an alternative carrier, a new LRN is assigned to the telephone number being ported. Each local exchange, long distance or wireless carrier needs to know what that new LRN is, so when someone in another area dials the number being ported, the carrier knows how to route the call correctly. This is accomplished through Local Service Management System (LSMS) databases distributed among exchange carriers. The NPAC updates these databases with newly assigned LRNs. Thus, when a call is made from another area, that carrier refers to its LSMS database to obtain the current LRN for the number dialed.