How to Keep Your Number When Switching to VoIP

“Will I lose my phone number if I switch providers?” It is one of the most common questions we hear from Calgary business owners considering VoIP — and the answer is almost always no. Number porting is a well-established, regulated process in Canada that lets you transfer your existing business number from one provider to another. Your customers keep calling the same number. You simply change who carries it.

Here is exactly how the process works, what to expect at each stage, and how to avoid the small number of things that can cause delays.

What Is Number Porting?

Number porting — formally called Local Number Portability (LNP) in Canada — is the mechanism that allows a telephone number to be moved from one carrier to another while keeping the number itself unchanged. It is regulated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), which means carriers are legally required to honour porting requests under standard timelines. You cannot be held hostage to a provider simply because they control your number.

The regulation covers local Canadian numbers (those with Canadian area codes and exchanges) as well as toll-free numbers. It does not matter whether your current number is with Telus, Rogers, Shaw, or another carrier — the porting obligation applies universally.

Is Your Number Portable?

Most Canadian business phone numbers are portable. The main categories:

• Local geographic numbers(standard business numbers with a local area code, such as Calgary's 403 or 587): Always portable.
• Toll-free numbers (800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, 833 prefixes): Portable. Toll-free numbers are managed through a centralized registry, and ACVoIP can port them in on your behalf.
• Fax lines: Also portable in most cases. If you have a dedicated fax number you want to retain, it can be ported and connected to an internet fax service. Learn about our internet fax options →
• Numbers tied to DSL or bundled internet: Some numbers are embedded in a bundle where the phone line also delivers your internet. In these cases, porting the phone number away may affect the bundle — this is worth confirming with your current provider before initiating a port.

How the Porting Process Works — Step by Step

1. You sign up with ACVoIP and request a port. When you set up your new VoIP service, you tell us which numbers you want to bring over. We initiate the port request on your behalf — you do not need to contact your old provider to start the process.
2. We submit a Letter of Authorization (LOA). This is a standard form that authorizes ACVoIP to request your number from your current carrier. You will need to sign this and confirm the account details associated with the number (account number, billing address, and the number to be ported).
3. Your current carrier is notified. Carriers are required under CRTC rules to process valid porting requests. They verify that the account information on the LOA matches their records. This is the most common point where delays occur — if the information does not match exactly, the port may be rejected and need to be resubmitted.
4. A port date is confirmed. Once the port is accepted, a completion date and time are set. You will know in advance when the number will move.
5. The number moves at the confirmed time. At the scheduled moment, your number is live on the ACVoIP platform. Calls to your number now ring through your new VoIP system.

How Long Does Porting Take in Canada?

For standard local geographic numbers (including most Calgary 403/587 numbers), porting typically completes within 5–10 business days from the time your LOA is accepted. Toll-free number ports can sometimes complete faster — within 3–5 business days — because the toll-free registry process is more centralized.

Multi-number ports (moving several numbers at once from the same account) generally follow the same timeline, though complexity can add a day or two. If you have a large number of lines to port, we recommend starting the process a few weeks before your planned go-live date to ensure everything is complete before you cancel your old service.

What Happens to Your Existing Service During Porting?

This is important: your old service remains fully active until the port completes. You will not experience any gap in incoming call coverage. Calls to your number continue to ring on your old phones right up until the moment the port finalizes, at which point they switch to your new VoIP system.

This means you can set up and test your new VoIP service — configure your auto attendant, train your staff on the new phones, test call quality — before the number moves. The transition is seamless from your customers' perspective.

After the port completes, you can cancel your old service. Do not cancel before the port finalizes — doing so may make your number temporarily unreachable or, in rare cases, cause it to be released back into the number pool.

Tips to Avoid Delays

• Match your account information exactly. The name, address, and account number on your LOA must match what your current carrier has on file. Even minor discrepancies (a shortened street name, a missing suite number) can cause a rejection. Pull your most recent carrier invoice for reference before completing the form.
• Do not cancel your old service first. A cancelled number cannot be ported — it may already have been returned to the number pool. Keep your old account active until the port is confirmed complete.
• Know your account number.This is on your carrier invoice and is required on the LOA. Some carriers call it a “billing account number” or “BAN.”
• Port numbers in the same carrier batch when possible. If you have multiple numbers from the same carrier, submitting them in a single port request is faster than submitting them one at a time.

Porting to ACVoIP

ACVoIP handles the porting paperwork and communicates with your old carrier on your behalf. You provide the LOA and account details; we manage the back-and-forth with the losing carrier and keep you informed of the port status. There is no fee to port your number in.

Once ported, your number lives on the ACVoIP hosted PBX platform alongside all your other extensions and features. You can add ring groups, set up an auto attendant, enable voicemail to email, and manage everything through the web portal or with a call to our local support team.

If you are ready to start or want to confirm your number is portable before committing, contact our team — we can do a quick check and answer any questions specific to your current carrier and number type. For a broader look at what switching to business VoIP involves, see our Calgary business VoIP guide.