[Asterisk-Users] Semi-OT: porting numbers away

[Rich Adamson]

> Since the last hurricane (that left me without phone for around 3 weeks 
> or so), I did the call forwarding (remote call forwarding in fact).
> Lucky I was running in the cable modem in a couple of days (power restored).
> I was planning in having two DIDs in distinct providers (I've been using 
> them for outbound in BYOD contracts), and keep the "POTS number" in the 
> more stable one.
> But I'm still concerned with the 911 issue.
> Is the POTS telco (Bellsouth in South Florida in my case) mandated to 
> provide 911 in a "ported line" ? I'm not that confident in using 911 via 
> the ITSP.

When you port a number to an itsp, all calls (including 911 calls) are
handled by that itsp. There are not that many itsp's that actually handle
911 calls today, but you can certainly ask your providers (or just route
a test 911 call to them to see what happens).

Absolutely none of the itsp's offer the same service levels via the
Interent that one gets from a local telco with dedicated copper/fiber
last-mile facilities. So, expect call failures and if that's not acceptable,
keep a local pstn line or cell phone handy. For today, there are no other 
reasonable choices.