I’m talking about the non-obvious nuances of the procedure for transferring an MNP (mobile number portability) number from one operator to another. It turned out that the conditions for accepting new subscribers differ among operators. For example, MTS gives money to new clients, while Beeline and Megafon, on the contrary, ask to pay for relocation.
So, MNP works in the following cases:
– The number is assigned to you . In this case, the passport data must completely match. Any mistake in the number or spelling of a surname is a possible reason for refusal; – You have no debts under any contracts of the “old” operator . If ten years ago you bought a SIM card in another city and threw it away later, but it didn’t have a balance of -2 kopecks, then a refusal will follow. You’ll have to go to the office and balance the debits and credits; – The transfer is carried out within one subject of the Federation . For example, you cannot move while keeping your number from the Yaroslavl region to the Novosibirsk region, and from Moscow go to Kaliningrad.
I had no debts, the Moscow district remained. The move was not driven by a search for better rates. The reason is banal: the family slowly needed an additional MTS number, and the beautiful Beeline number +7 905 740-XX-YY was lying idle, so by transferring it I saved the old one and received material for this publication.
Important conditions for number portability
- The most important point is that the individual who makes the transition must be included in the contract for the provision of cellular communication services. This means that the number to be transferred must be registered to that person. Who signs up for a new tariff plan with another operator. If the user wishes to use the transition function, it is necessary to renew the contract for the provision of cellular communications. To do this, current and future subscribers with passports need to come to any branch of the old mobile operator and make the transition. After registering the new owner of the number, the user can use the transfer service.
- Before making the transition while keeping the phone, you should check the balance of the user’s personal account. To begin with, you need a complete absence of debt. The subscriber's balance must be positive throughout the entire period of the transfer operation. Therefore, if the old operator charges the subscription fee for the tariff within the established framework, you should be sure that the personal account will not cross the zero mark. It is also necessary to pay off all credit functions connected to the old operator’s tariff plan. That is, the user’s number should not have active “promised payment” options or anything resembling them.
- Last but not least, the phone number must be registered in the same region of the Russian Federation in which the transfer takes place. This was done to avoid confusion with roaming that may arise as a result of changing the home communication area. It is also worth considering that in a particular region of the country the price of cellular communication services can change dramatically.
These three conditions are universal for all mobile operators, however, each telecommunications company has its own nuances, which should also be taken into account when transferring an old number to a new tariff plan.
SIP: you can't leave and stay
And so, afraid of losing existing customers, the company continues to use the services of the operator against its will. Or he starts looking for something strange. And he finds it.
The most common option is to land calls on SIP lines. At first glance, there is nothing wrong with this and there are a lot of operators on the market with this approach. But it does not guarantee the quality of the connection.
Firstly, each vendor has something different in mind when implementing SIP support. And, using SIP-compatible equipment or software from different manufacturers, it is very easy to end up with a non-working system due to different implementations of the same protocol. This is why most operators have lists of recommended programs and equipment with which everything has been tested.
Secondly, a call sent via SIP enters the public network and can be routed along the most fantastic trajectories. The call passes through dozens of networks and inter-operator interfaces. And even with an established connection, signal transmission from one subscriber to another takes different paths.
And in the photo there is a counter at one of the telecom operators. And where did our call get lost?
With each connection and redirection, the stability of the connection drops uncontrollably. This leads to deterioration in the quality of voice transmission and interference - clicks, crackles, croaks, skips, delays. In principle, if everything were limited to this, the scheme could be called quite viable.
But - and operators cannot control this - 100 calls will go along the optimal route and subscribers will not experience any problems. And at the same time, 101 will get lost in the intricacies of networks, and no one will ever know about it if they do not meticulously monitor the logs on the side of all points involved in servicing the call. Now let’s imagine (remembering Murphy’s law) that this particular call was from a client who would make, well, let’s say, the company’s monthly profit.
For example, according to the experience of one of the call tracking services based on a telecom operator (i.e., with its own switch and direct connections with the main operators), the number of calls when SIP is excluded from the chain of their processing increases by 10-15%. That is, approximately 10-15% of revenue is lost in the abyss of IP networks.
Transfer from another operator to MTS while maintaining the number
Since 2013, the telecommunications company MTS has been providing its customers with the MNP (Mobile Number Portability) service, that is, transferring an old number from another operator. This option is carried out in one possible way - by personally contacting the mobile operator’s cellular communication salon.
Before the operation, you should check compliance with three basic conditions for the subscriber:
- positive personal account balance;
- whether the client is the owner of the number;
- whether the reconnection region matches the home region for the number.
When contacting an MTS cellular communication salon, you must fill out an application for registration of the service. To do this, the user must present a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation or a basic identification document for foreign subscribers without Russian citizenship.
Next, you need to select the tariff plan you are interested in. Any current tariff of the telecommunications company MTS is suitable for the transition.
After completing the contract, the user will be given a SIM card with a temporary phone number. The selected tariff plan is registered on it, as well as a personal account, which the subscriber will retain after the transfer. The function of switching to the MTS operator with your old number is paid.
The amount for transferring an old number from another mobile operator to MTS is 100 rubles.
The telecommunications company set a very vague transition period - from 8 days to 6 months from the date of concluding an agreement on the provision of cellular communication services. However, complaints about long number porting are not found on customer review sites.
The day before the complete transition, the mobile operator informs the user of the exact date, and most importantly, the time of the function via SMS. This is done so that the subscriber has time to top up his personal account with the amount necessary to provide the service, and also to notify the user of possible problems with the communication signal during this period of time. This occurs due to the transfer of the number and all information associated with it from the database of one mobile operator to another.
Also, the telecommunications company MTS has two hotline numbers for questions about the transition function: 8-800-250-82-50 and 8-800-250-08-09.
What to keep in mind after the transition
After successful number porting, you must remember that replenishment using usual methods may not be available for up to several days. This is due to the fact that payment systems may not immediately identify the connection of a number to another operator. The best option for replenishing in this case is to deposit funds through the office of your new telecom operator, or using the replenishment system on the website of your new operator. Also, if various services are connected to the number, you may need to confirm the change of mobile operator. Thus, banking services have access to information about the change of operator and can make adjustments on their own, but sometimes confirmation of such actions is required from the subscriber. It is recommended that if you have not received a request from the bank, you call yourself to check the relevance of the data for the new operator you are using.
Transferring from another operator to Megafon while maintaining the number
Mobile operator Megafon also provides the Mobile Number Portability service. However, unlike the MTS company, there are two main ways to transfer an old phone number to a new tariff plan:
- contact any cellular branch of the mobile operator Megafon;
- leave a request on the company's official website
Transferring in person to the nearest office is standard. The user needs to contact a representative of the mobile operator, indicating the desire to sign up for a tariff plan from Megafon with porting a number from another cellular company. You must have a document confirming your identity with you.
Then you should choose the tariff plan you like and get a temporary user SIM card. Next, the company will check the relevance of this application. That is, whether the subscriber has any debts on his personal account, and whether the number is tied to a given region of Russia.
The minimum transition period for the Megafon operator is longer than for MTS and is 11 days. A few days before the transfer, a text message with the exact date and time of the service will be sent to the user’s temporary number.
In addition to personally contacting the mobile phone store, the client can transfer the number on the official Megafon website. To do this you need to go to the address.
In the window that opens, enter the phone number and connection region. This will be followed by a standard operation with choosing a tariff and receiving a temporary SIM card. However, unlike contacting the company’s office, the order will be delivered to the user by a courier, with whom it will be necessary to conclude an agreement on the provision of cellular communication services.
The number porting function is provided by the mobile operator Megafon for free.
Changing the operator on Beeline while maintaining the number
You can also switch to the Beeline operator while keeping your old number in two ways:
- by submitting an application in person at the nearest company office;
- on the official site
When registering for a service, three basic conditions must also be met:
- keep your personal account balance positive;
- be the owner of the number;
- connect a new tariff plan only in your home region.
The transition takes place according to a system identical to Megafon. The user, through the official website or during a personal visit to a cellular communication salon, leaves a request for the provision of services. Next comes the selection of the tariff plan you are interested in. Then a company representative, a salon employee or a courier, will conclude an agreement with the user on the provision of mobile communication services. After this, the subscriber will receive a SIM card with a temporary phone number, and the Beeline operator will begin checking the client’s data and working on the submitted application.
The minimum period for switching to the services of the telecommunications company Beeline with your own number will be 8 days.
The cost of switching to Beeline communication services depends on the tariff plan that the client chooses. If the transfer occurs to a tariff with a traffic package, the service will be free. However, if the transition is made to a tariff plan with per-minute billing, then the cost of the option will be 100 rubles, which will be debited from the subscriber’s personal account on the day of the transition.
The telecommunications company has several ways to contact its subscribers if they have questions about the function of switching to their tariff with an old phone number. The first is the hotline number 8-800-700-4004. The subscriber can also check the status of the application using the USSD command *444*1#.
Beeline also provides its customers with a gift for porting a number to their tariff plan. 100 bonus points are credited to the subscriber's account, which the user can spend on expanding Internet traffic packages, minutes of voice calls or text messages.
Transfer from another operator to Tele2 while maintaining the number
The transition to Tele2 can be done using three available methods:
- visit to the office of a telecommunications company;
- by calling the operator's service connection number 8-800-555-06-11;
- by filling out an application on the official website
The transfer procedure is carried out in accordance with the standards of the Mobile Number Portability operation.
First, the user must select a suitable tariff plan and sign an agreement with the telecommunications company Tele2. In the case of an Internet connection or ordering services through a call to the hotline, you will need to conclude a deal with a company representative who will bring a temporary SIM card.
Next, the newly minted user of the Tele2 mobile operator can only wait for the company to check the possibility of switching. The service is carried out within one working week.
Do not forget about three important conditions, without which the transfer is impossible: positive balance, SIM card owner, home region.
However, it is the portability of services from this telecommunications company that causes many complaints from customers.
The main problem of switching from another operator to Tele2 services while maintaining the old number is problems with the received signal. Users complain that after the end of the period of technical problems, communication problems still continue. For some, this time lasted for several days, and some users had to abandon this number altogether.
If you have any problems or questions regarding the connection, the Tele2 mobile operator has a number of hotline numbers:
- 611 - for calls from Tele2 SIM cards;
- 8-495-97-97-611 - for mobile phones of subscribers of other operators.
Voice calls to the company's hotline numbers are free.
What's next
The transfer process takes 8-14 days for individuals and a month for legal entities. You don't need to do anything at this time. The operators themselves communicate with each other and report via SMS about each step:
At the same time, the customer retention service of the old operator will contact you. So, Beeline invited me to stay and gave me an exclusive rate of 1 ruble. to all numbers in Russia and monthly free 10 GB of Internet for six months. I explained that the whole family is on MTS, so it is beneficial for us to stay within the same network. In addition, MTS has a bonus program, which Beeline does not have, under which my wife and I give our children free minutes and gigabytes. This is relevant because I have a lot of points that I don’t use.
Changing the operator to Tinkoff Mobile while maintaining the number
Mobile operator Tinkoff Mobile has turned the standard procedure for switching from another operator into a real promotion, which can rightfully be considered the most profitable offer from the company.
This function is present in all mobile operators, but Tinkoff Mobile not only allows subscribers to switch to their tariff plan with their number, but also encourages it.
For transferring the phone to the balance of the personal account, 1000 additional rubles are credited, which the user can spend on communication services or purchase additional packages with traffic.
The transfer is carried out by filling out an application in the official mobile application of the operator. The transition function can be ordered at any convenient time, and not only when connecting to a new tariff. To send a transfer request, you need to go to the “Settings” section and select “Transfer number”.
To perform the action, the subscriber must not have any debt from the previous operator.
The minimum period for number transfer is 8 days from the date of application. A more precise transfer date will be sent along with an information message about the processing of the application.
You can also submit an application on the operator’s website.
On the day the old number switches to the new tariff, the connection may malfunction for 5 to 20 minutes. Usually the operator performs this operation at midnight so as not to limit the subscriber’s communication. After the process is completed, the user will receive an SMS indicating that the transfer is complete.
If a subscriber has questions regarding various aspects of changing a mobile operator to Tinkoff Mobile while keeping the number, he can ask them to a company representative by calling the hotline - 8-800-555-97-77. Subscribers can also use online help from the technical service via chat in the official mobile application.
Cost and transition time
The timing of the transition from one operator to another while maintaining the number may be different, it all depends on the desires and state of information about the client who is being transferred. The waiting period can last from several hours to 6 months, but in most cases this transfer is carried out within 1-2 days. The cost of the transition is standard for all mobile communication providers (Beeline, MTS, Megafon, Tele2), it is 100 rubles per operation.
Other additional fees may be imposed by individual companies for service in special tariff plans, installation of new features or enhanced communication capabilities. During a consultation with specialists from Beeline, MTS, Megafon or Tele2, it is worth clarifying all the points of interest and asking what the payment will be charged for. Here you need to clarify the transition time that will be needed, because this data will be the most reliable, since it takes into account the specifics of the client.
Transferring a number from another operator to Yota
To switch from your old operator number to the Yota tariff plan, you must fulfill the following conditions:
- Check the documents for the phone number. The user who wishes to make the transition must be included in the contract for the provision of cellular communication services as a subscriber. If the number is registered to another person, then the future client of the mobile operator will need a deed of gift certified by a notary.
- Prepare your personal account for the transition. The user should not have any debts or loans to the old cellular operator. Yota company offers customers to pay for all mobile services 5 days before submitting an application.
- After the preparatory stage, you can proceed directly to the transition. You can fill out an application for the number porting service at any Yota sales point convenient for the subscriber. You can view their full list and exact addresses on the company’s official website.
- When filling out the application, you must have your passport with you to conclude a new contract, as well as pay an advance according to the selected tariff plan. This is necessary, since the client will immediately be given a SIM card with a temporary number.
- The last stage is to wait until the old number is completely transferred to the new tariff plan from Yota. According to the company, the transfer period can be a period of 9 days. Closer to the date of the service, the user will receive a text notification from the operator, which will inform the exact time of the transition.
Transferring a number from another operator to Yota is free.
#1. Connection using SIP settings
The fastest and most profitable option for saving a landline number in Telfin is to register an existing phone number using SIP settings. That is, you independently request the necessary parameters from your current telecom operator, and then transfer them to Telfin technical support service. You can receive data from your service provider within a couple of hours, although sometimes this process can take up to several days or even weeks.
Required settings for the connected number:
- All UDP traffic is allowed to be exchanged with the address sipproxy.telphin.ru - signaling;
- the exchange of all UDP traffic is allowed on all RTP ports, regardless of the address with which the exchange is carried out - voice traffic;
- disabled support for session timers / Session Timer;
- codec priority - G.711a/u;
- DTMF type - RFC2833 + "Payload Type" = 101 ptime:20.
There are two options for connecting third-party numbers via SIP trunk:
Preferred Method
The operator sends calls of the form sip:7ХХХххххххх@sipproxy.telphin.ru to the Telfin.Office address sipproxy.telphin.ru port 5060 or 5068 (UDP protocol), where: 7ХХХххххххх is the number that needs to be associated with the Telfin.Office PBX .
If it is not possible to route calls to a domain, then route them in the specified form to the current IP address of this domain (not recommended, since the ability to use DNS SRV will be lost).
Current IP addresses from SVR records of the sipproxy.telphin.ru domain:
srvpbx1.telphin.ru:213.170.84.105,
srvpbx2.telphin.ru:46.229.221.93,
srvpbx3.telphin.ru:79.175.9.162.
SIP signaling traffic is exchanged only with the address sipproxy.telphin.ru.
On the number provider's side, the exchange of all UDP traffic must be allowed on all RTP ports on our side - regardless of which address the voice traffic is exchanged with.
You must explicitly specify:
- connecting number in E164 format (7ХХХххххххх);
- IP address/addresses from which calls will come;
- connection type and other required connection parameters, without which connection is impossible.
Undesirable way
The operator provides parameters for setting up dynamic registration of SIP equipment to work with the number: server address, login, password, number in E164 format (7ХХХхххххххх), which will be specified in the Contact field of registration requests and in the routing settings of Telfin.Office and IP addresses, from which calls will come.
This option implies the ability to connect any SIP device from any Internet address, which means there should be no blocking of registration requests.
If dynamic registration does not take place, it is possible to provide a SIP connection log, with which you will need to independently find out the reasons for the errors from the number provider.
ATTENTION:
Using this option is undesirable due to its direct dependence on the quality of the Internet channel between the number provider’s server and the Telfin network. If a third-party server does not respond to registration requests or responds with an error, Telfin.Office makes several attempts to re-register and may stop sending registration requests for some time. This is due to the fact that it does not create unnecessary burden both on the Telfin.Office side and on the number provider side. As a result, a downtime may occur for up to 5 minutes in the operation of such a connection. You can get around this problem only by using the first (static) type of connection of a third-party number to the Telfin.Office PBX.
Using SIP settings, you can connect both landline and mobile numbers to a virtual PBX. Moreover, their number should not exceed the number of additional ones that are entered into the Telfin.Office ATS. Connecting third-party numbers takes no more than an hour. Telfin specialists perform all setup work free of charge.
Transfer to the Danycom operator while maintaining the number
Since Danycom is a virtual operator, changing the tariff plan while maintaining the number is available only on the company’s official website.
The transition is carried out in a standard way. First, the user needs to order a SIM card and indicate the transfer function. Next, wait for the courier and conclude an agreement with Danycom. Then you should wait until the company checks the possibility of the transition and informs you about the exact date of the service.
Transferring an old number from another mobile operator to a tariff plan from Danycom is completely free.
Transfer deadlines
Legislators have established specific deadlines within which a cellular company must change operators while maintaining the number. For any legal entity that has submitted an application for this service, all numbers specified in the application are renewed within 29 days. For an individual, this period is even shorter – only 8 days. During this time, operators must carry out the necessary verification of the subscriber’s personal data.
How does a subscriber use cellular communications until the operator is changed while maintaining the number? During this period, having both SIM cards in hand - new and old, the subscriber continues to use until he receives an SMS indicating the time and date of the transition.
Subscribers who have already gone through the transfer procedure while preserving the number often warn that it is very important during the transfer not to allow a “zero” or negative balance on the SIM card of the “donor” operator. Lack of money in your cell phone account may well serve as a reason for the operator company to refuse the transfer.
Changing another operator to SberMobile while maintaining the number
Another virtual cellular operator from the largest bank in Russia. SberMobile also provides its users with the opportunity to switch from another cellular company with their own number.
The transition can be made on the operator’s website.
A nice addition to number porting is a gift from SberMobile in the amount of 1000 rubles on the user’s personal account. The subscriber will be able to spend this amount on all available communication services. However, this should be done as quickly as possible, because after 4 months this thousand rubles will be canceled from the user’s personal account.
