Broadband Telecommunications Handbook, Second Edition
A blockbuster overview of broadband updated and expanded to reflect the latest technologies.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Broadband Telecommunications Handbook, Second Edition
Chapter 6: Local Number Portability (LNP)
With the Telecommunications Act of 1996 in the United States (and the Telecom Act of 1997 in Canada), a series of competitive changes were required in the network. For years when competitors tried to compete with the Bell System, their efforts were stymied. Part of the reason was the competitor's ability to serve a new customer. Whenever the new competitor offered to serve a business or residential customer, customers were required to change their business or residential telephone number to use the new Local Exchange Carrier (LEC). Local Number Portability (LNP) is, therefore, an essential issue in the telephony business. Because of the need to change numbers, the incumbent LECs (ILECs) were able to prevent losing their customers to the competition.
Three Flavors of LNP
LNP gives end users the ability to change Local Service Providers without changing their telephone numbers. Three basic forms of LNP were introduced to the industry over the past few years (the only one implemented is service provider portability):
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Service provider portability enables subscribers to change Local Service Providers without changing their telephone number. This assumes that users can change suppliers and keep their existing telephone number. Still to be completed is the ability to provide LNP in a wireless world.
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Service portability enables subscribers to change from one type of service to another (for example, analog to digital ISDN without changing their telephone numbers) or to be served from a different central office (where the service is available) and...
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