Search engine giant Google has again created another big bang in the news. Earlier this year, it introduced number porting to its Google Voice function. The rippling effect is sending signals not only to the worldwide web community but also to the telecommunications industry. The move is so big that a lot of experts are speculating that it will pave the way for Google to enter the telecommunications arena.
What is Number Porting?
Number porting is a system wherein it allows you to keep the same mobile phone number when you change from one mobile phone provider to another. Customers are often worried about changing mobile phone tariffs as they are afraid of having to tell everyone their new phone number. But it is no longer the case. If one has to switch to another network, then you can do so with number porting and take your mobile phone number with you. It is simple to change your provider without having the need to change your existing phone number.
This has been happening amongst telecommunication service providers since 1999, with Hong Kong and the Netherlands being the pioneering countries to implement the technology.
In the industry parlance it is called Mobile Number Portability (MNP), a process wherein a customer wishing to port his/her number can contact the new provider, known as the recipient, who will then arrange things with the old provider, the donor, to be able to receive calls and message to the ported number.
How does Number Porting Work for Google?
Porting your old number lets you receive calls, texts and voicemails on multiple devices. When someone calls that number it will be directed to the phone(s) that you specify on your account or on your Gmail/Google Talk account. One of the primary advantages of using Google Voice is that Google allows users to screen calls and set specific rules for each caller like blocking and diverting specific numbers directly to voicemail, something that wireless mobile carriers don't offer. Google Voice can also transcribe voicemails and send it directly to your specified email address.
To start porting your number to Google Voice, all you need to do is login to your Google Voice account, go to the Settings page and click on "Change/Port" next to your Google Voice number. Google Voice users who decide or plan to port their mobile numbers to Google Voice should check their mobile carrier contract first before doing this. Porting your number will mean terminating your contract with your mobile carrier and that could mean paying an early termination fee. Currently the number porting feature is only made available for existing Google Voice users and will be made available to new users within the next few weeks. Google Voice is currently available only in the U.S.
Why Port?
One of the evident benefits of porting your number is that it allows you to keep your old phone number. It eliminates the need of passing around a new number to your contacts. So in simple terms, it is life goes on to your old number and let the new service provider take care of the technological aspect of it. Second, porting your number allows you to move freely to a new carrier without the need to change your number. In case you are not happy with the services your current provider provides, you can move to another provider but with the old number. So porting gives you a better reason to terminate your contract early so you can opt to move to a better one.
With Google, it gives you more than just that. It even allows you to screen calls, forward calls going to voice mailbox, and even convert the voice message to an SMS that would be sent automatically to your mobile phones or have it converted through an Email that would be sent to your Google mailbox.
However, there are few things to consider before porting a number. Porting your number would not eliminate your responsibility of your existing contract, so when terminating it, current providers would still subject you to an early termination fee and ask you to pay for fees that are included in your contract. And be mindful as well that with Google, that the ported number will not work as it was. It would have other features that Google Voice has but it would not make calls like your normal phone number, because all calls can now be coursed through Google Voice.
Number porting has been around since 1999, even when we still had fixed lines. As we shift from being mobile to the new convergence - mobile internet using smartphones - number porting becomes a new means to communicate. It allows the end user to be reached using her/his old phone number, but it cannot be limited to a busy tone or a voice mailbox. As porting evolves, it adapts to new technologies as well, and the output now differs as end-users have the option to receive the call via SMS, voice mail box or even transcribe and automatically send it to an email.
The move by Google to incorporate number porting on its Google Voice is a significant milestone as it cements the objective of the search engine giant to soon incorporate all means of communication through the web. And as we are approaching the crossroads of a converged medium, tapping into Google Voice is a click away on our mobile phones. Though Google is not a telecommunications operator, with number porting it provides its end users the option to receive messages and to communicate using their smartphones.
© Telecom Review 2011
