FAQ

The Number Portability Administration Center (NPAC) supports the implementation of Local Number Portability and is the system used to facilitate number porting in the United States. Comprised of seven regional systems across the U.S., the NPAC manages the number portability processes of all telecom Service Providers in the United States, including wireline, wireless, and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

LNP stands for Local Number Portability. You may also hear it referred to as number portability or number porting. Mobile number portability (MNP) or wireless number portability (WNP) refer to a type of LNP related to wireless or mobile numbers.

LNP was created as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to give consumers the choice and convenience of keeping their wireline or wireless telephone number when switching from one service provider to another. Prior to LNP, consumers were required to get a new telephone number every time they switched service providers. Note that for wireline numbers, there are some geographical limitations to the consumer’s ability to porting their number. For more technical information regarding how LNP works, click here.

In 1995 and 1996, several states began the process of selecting the architecture to be used for LNP in their respective states.  After considerable discussion and deliberation, AT&T/Lucent Technologies' Location Routing Number (LRN) architecture was selected. The LRN method became the industry standard and later was adopted by the FCC in 1997. 

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 provided a pro-competitive, de-regulated national policy framework designed to open local telecommunications markets to competition.

The FCC issued its First Report and Order (adopted June 27, 1996) in Docket 95-116 providing the regulatory framework for LNP. Other LNP-related FCC Orders and Code of Federal Regulations are posted on the NPIF - Number Portability Industry Forum (NPFI) WG website.

The NAPM LLC was formed to manage the contracts for the Local Number Portability administrator(s) following the orders and directions from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

iconectiv is the LNPA for the United States. As the LNPA, iconectiv manages seven regional databases that make up the U.S. NPAC, which:

• Facilitates the porting of telephone numbers
• Distributes ported number information to service providers for their network administration and
• Facilitates mass changes, such as location routing number (LRN) transfers.

• Law Enforcement agencies, or officers of such agencies, of the United States or of a State or political subdivision that are empowered by law to conduct investigations of or to make arrests for violations of federal, state, or local laws.
• Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) entities of the United States or of a State or political subdivision, empowered by or contracted under law to operate or administer a PSAP facility to receive 9-1-1 calls, and as appropriate, dispatch emergency response services, or transfers or relay 9-1-1 calls to another public safety operator.

ELEP offers fee-based, online access with historical porting information. . It can aid in investigations by enabling identification of the current service provider of record of a given telephone number (up to 100 numbers at a time), individually or in ranges, and provides porting history.

IVR offers free, telephone-based access via a PIN. Users can utilize the assigned PIN code to determine the current service provider for a given telephone number that has been ported (up to 20 per session) and the Service Provider's law enforcement point of contact, which is vital for tracking down the user and call history of that telephone number.

Click here to download the Comparison Chart

Users of the ELEP service receive the following information:

• The current Service Provider
• The Service Provider’s Law Enforcement Emergency Contact
• Whether or not the number has been ported
• The porting history of the number, including the Service Provider and the Law Enforcement Emergency Contact
  
  

Users of the IVR service receive the following information:

• The current Service Provider of record for a number that has been ported
• The Service Provider’s law enforcement emergency contact
• Whether or not the number has been ported

An entity may qualify to become an ELEP Clearinghouse if they:

• Have an attestation from a customer who qualifies as an authorized law enforcement agency for the ELEP Service
• Agree to keep all ELEP data stored in the US
• Agree to provide a quarterly report to iconectiv of all entities that receive ELEP data from the Clearinghouse
• Agree to the terms and conditions of the ELEP Clearinghouse Agreement that will be provided by iconectiv during the registration process

An agency that meets the qualifications to be an ELEP user also qualifies to receive data from an ELEP Clearinghouse. 

The company must provide a letter from a qualified ELEP agency on their letterhead stating that they desire to receive ELEP data from the Clearinghouse for its investigations.

Yes, registration is required for both the ELEP and IVR service. Agencies interested in accessing both services must register for each service separately To get started, select Register and fill out the form.

There is no fee to access the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) service. There is a subscription-based fee to access the web-based Enhanced Law Enforcement Platform (ELEP) service. 

Click on the “Forgot Your Password?” link on the ELEP login page, enter your username and the email address associated with your account and a temporary password will be emailed. Those who forgot both their username and password, will need to call the Help Desk at +1 844-511-3537 or email ELEP@iconectiv.numberportability.com. 

ELEP users must renew their subscription annually prior to the contract expiration date. Failure to renew prior to the expiration date could cause service interruptions.

IVR users do not need to renew their service but must validate their contact information each year. 

ELEP access allows queries up to 100 telephone numbers or ranges per session. It also provides historical information on the telephone number.

After the completed registration has been processed, users will receive a PIN to access the IVR system.

Once IVR registration is successfully completed, the access PIN(s) will be available with 24 – 48 hours. Instructions for retrieval of the IVR access PIN(s) will be provided to the primary registration contact.

Access PINs for IVR service are assigned to the agency or a specific agency division/unit. Each agency division/unit can request up to 20 PINs per registration. The access PIN(s) are only provided to the agency’s primary and alternate contacts listed on the registration form for PIN management and security purposes. Agencies can handle PINs at its discretion (i.e., share a PIN throughout an agency or division or request individual PINs for each agent).

Phone: +1 844-511-3537

Email:

• IVR: IVR@iconectiv.numberportability.com
• ELEP: ELEP@iconectiv.numberportability.com 

Bills are sent via email or U.S. mail.

Call the Help Desk at +1 844-511-3537 or email IVR@iconectiv.numberportability.com.

Users can contact iconectiv at ELEP@iconectiv.numberportability.com  or call +1 844-511-3537 to have a password reset.

"Not ported” means that the telephone number has not been moved to another Service Provider and that it still resides with the Service Provider originally assigned that area code and prefix.

• The IVR service only provides the Service Provider information for numbers that have been ported.
• The ELEP service provides the Service Provider information for both non-ported and ported numbers.