A Letter of Authorization (LOA) is a document that you must send to your telecom provider when you want to switch to a new business phone service but keep your old phone number. It lets both your new and old phone company know that you’re the one who is actually requesting the change. Whether you’re switching over your landline or VoIP phone service, you’ll need an LOA to complete the process.
Porting a number can take time — up to a couple of weeks in some instances — so be sure you wait to hear from your new provider before canceling your old service. That is the big thing to remember from my post. Do not cancel your existing phone service until your new service is set up.
Cancelling your old phone service directly after submitting your LOA could lead to a gap in time where you do not have any service. The LOA merely starts the process — you should stay on your existing service during that time. That said, completing an LOA is very easy if you have a single number, or a handful of numbers with a single provider.
If you have a virtual call center with hundreds of numbers across multiple accounts, you will have more work to do to ensure the process goes smoothly. If you have multiple service providers, you are going to need multiple LOAs. Let’s go through everything in detail.
What is an LOA in telecom? LOAs are letters containing detailed information about your identity as well as your current phone service and the phone service you want to port your number to..