Port Order Number (PON)

What is a port order number?

A port order number (PON) is a system-generated order number assigned to port orders to easily identify individual requests.

The PON acts as a unique identifier created by a carrier when a customer requests the transfer of a DID number to another carrier.  To place a port order, the owner of the number (the user) generally signs a Letter of Authorization, or LOA, and submits it along with a port order.  The PON is how the carriers schedule and track these number transfers or “ports.”  From the customer perspective, though it can be helpful to know the PON when inquiring about the status of a port order, generally, providing the DID(s) to be ported will be sufficient to track the status of your port order.   

Porting background

Number Portability, or “porting” numbers describes the procedure of transferring a DID from one carrier to another.  It’s important to note that in the US, there are a finite number of different 10-digit combinations (Approximately 6.1 billion).  Prior to 1982, and the breakup of the telephone monopolies, if a customer switched carriers, they were also forced to switch phone numbers, as carriers were allotted particular blocks of numbers, and no more.  If they let these numbers go, they would not be able to replace them with new numbers.  The emergence of so many new carriers created an increased need to allow customers to take their phone number with them by placing a Port Order.

How is Bandwidth involved with PON

Bandwidth uses a PON to signal that the LSR has been submitted to the losing carrier. If a PON has not generated, that indicates that there is an issue with the submission.

What are the benefits of PON?

Having a PON to reference makes it easy for customers to manage their orders in the Bandwidth Numbers Dashboard. Customers can find this information on the main page in the bottom right corner under “Search for an Order.” Choose “Port” and then type in the PON.

Where we talk about PON

• Local Number Portability
• Carriers FAQ
• 7 most common reasons your port order is rejected

Related terms

• Number portability
• Bandwidth phone numbers dashboard
• Number Portability Administration Center (NPAC)