Canadians can now port their landline phone numbers to a voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) line with NetTalk.com Inc.’s service, the firm announced Jan. 15.
It’s not the first time this option has been available to Canadians. Vonage offered number porting from landlines years ago, and VoIP service TalkIt also offers number porting.
Rates offered by VoIP services are much lower than traditional landline services. For example, the NetTalk Duo for $59.99 or Duo WiFi for $74.99 will get you one year of free calling across North America, with all the frills of a premium phone package such as voicemail, call forwarding, caller ID, directory assistance, etc. Annual renewal of the service costs $39.95 per year.
NetTalk is advertising its new ability to port Canadian landline numbers.
With many people relying more on cell phones these days, landline cord cutting has become more common. But a low-cost VoIP alternatives can help relieve those costly long distance charges on your cell phone and provide your home office with another phone line for your customers to reach you on business matters. If you’ve been holding out on switching to NetTalk because you didn’t want to give up a long-held phone number, here’s how to get your number ported. NetTalk charges $29.95 for the service.
1. Check to see if your number can be ported to NetTalk with this number porting availability tool.
2. In your NetTAlk account, click on “phone numbers” in the left-hand navigation and then click on the “Port Number” tab. Complete the six-step process including payment. Make sure the Number Porting
3. Authorization form matches the information your current carrier has, or the process may not complete correctly.
4. You may have to wait up until 30 days for the service to transfer. You can check your status in the same area of your NetTalk account that you registered for porting.
5. NetTalk will e-mail you when the transfer is complete and you can then safely cancel your current carrier’s services.