If you are a small business entrepreneur, your business phone service might as well be a part of your identity. But if you want to change business phone carriers, would you lose your number? No.

If your business is in the same geographical area then according to the FCC, you can keep your business telephone service number even if you change providers, which is known as number porting.

Here are key things you must know and what you must do if you want to change your business phone plan and carrier without giving up your old number:

• Select well-known business phone services company that can offer your business the options and features you need within budget.
• Check the agreement with your present phone service for business to make sure you are not obliged to continue with them for more service time. If you are, you may need to pay early conclusion fees.
• If you are combining services with your phones, like Internet and cable TV, you may want to know what happens if you switch to your service or fees.
• Many people just terminate the services with their current carrier before acquiring a new service, which is a mistake. Don’t do that. Instead, contact the new carrier and give them the phone numbers you want to switch with any other info needed.
• You must send a LOA to your present business phone plan carrier to notify them of your choice to switch.
• Carriers can charge you for porting your number under FCC rules. But, you can negotiate for a waiver. Big carriers may not charge but can refuse to port your number if you have unpaid dues.
• Check if the 911 services may be affected by the change. Most often they aren’t, but GPS and callback services may not be available.
• There will be a period when you have two different business phones and plans with the same number.
• A single line porting takes 1 business day while switching from wireline to wireless could take 10 days.