Impact of Mobile-number Portability in VOIP and LCR Environments
Mobile number portability impacts the internet telephony, VOIP (voice over IP) and least cost routing (LCR) businesses. Mobile number portability is a service that makes it possible for subscribers to keep their existing mobile phone number when changing the service provider (or mobile operator). With number portability now in place in many countries, LCR providers can no longer rely on using only a portion of the dialed telephone number to route a call. Instead, they now need to discover the actual current network of every number before routing the call. Thus, LCR solutions also need to handle MNP when routing a voice call. In countries without a central database like UK it might be necessary to query the GSM network about the home network a mobile phone number belongs to.
MNP checks are important to assure that this quality of service is met; by handling MNP lookups before routing a call and assuring that the voice call will actually work, VOIP companies give businesses the necessary reliability they look for in an internet telephony provider.
In countries such as Singapore, the most recent Mobile number portability solution is expected to open the doors to new business opportunities for non-traditional telecommunication service providers like wireless broadband providers and VOIP providers.
In November 2008 the United States' FCC (Federal Communications Commission) released an order extending number portability obligations to interconnected VOIP providers and carriers that support VOIP providers.
Read more about this topic: Least-cost Routing
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