Nothing about this is customer-facing when it is done properly. Recipients keep seeing the same number, and with RCS they keep seeing the same verified brand.
Long codes: a standard port
A standard 10-digit long code moves through the same number portability process used across US telecoms. You authorise the move with a Letter of Authorization, the gaining provider validates your details against the losing provider's customer service record, and a port date is scheduled. Mismatched account details are by far the most common cause of a rejected port, so the account name and service address on the request have to match the losing provider's record exactly, not approximately.
Toll-free numbers: a RespOrg change
A toll-free number is not ported in the same technical sense. Toll-free numbers are managed in a shared registry, and each one is assigned to a Responsible Organization, the RespOrg. Moving providers means changing the RespOrg on the record. The practical effect is the same, you keep the number, but it is a different process with a different timeline, and it is worth naming correctly when you ask a provider how long it will take.
Short codes: a migration
Short codes move the slowest, because the new provider has to be provisioned on the code with each carrier individually. See what is a short code for when keeping one is still worth the effort.
What does not move with the number
This is the part most migration plans underestimate.
- 10DLC campaigns. Campaigns in The Campaign Registry are filed by a Campaign Service Provider, so when you change providers the new one files new campaigns. Your brand record is tied to your business rather than to the provider, so it is generally reusable, but the campaign layer is re-filed. How does 10DLC registration work covers what that filing involves.
- The verified RCS agent. Verification is granted through a provider's relationship with Google and the carriers, so a new provider submits a new agent for your brand. Your name, logo and colours carry over; the approval does not.
- Opt-in records. Consent belongs to you and must be carried across, not re-collected. Losing the audit trail is a compliance problem even though nothing technical breaks. How does RCS consent work explains what the record needs to show.
How to switch without a gap in service
The safe pattern is to overlap rather than cut over cold. Register and verify on the new provider while the old one is still carrying traffic, prove delivery on the new path with a small share of volume, then move the rest and port the numbers last. A migration only becomes risky when the port happens before the registrations are approved, because that is the window where messages have a number but no sanctioned campaign behind them.
What to ask a provider before you commit
- Who files the 10DLC brand and campaigns, you or them, and who pays the registry fees?
- Who submits the verified RCS agent, and what is their typical approval experience?
- Can both providers run in parallel during cutover, and is the old service billed in full throughout?
- What happens to in-flight messages on the port date?
Where SimplyRCS sits
SimplyRCS ports long codes, toll-free numbers and short codes, and the team re-files your 10DLC brand and campaigns and submits your verified RCS agent, with your approval at each step rather than your effort. You can keep your existing provider running during cutover and switch traffic when you are ready, and we do not charge for the overlap.
- Long codes move by standard porting with a Letter of Authorization; details must match the losing provider's record exactly.
- Toll-free numbers move by a Responsible Organization change, not a port.
- Short codes are migrated carrier by carrier and take the longest.
- 10DLC campaigns are re-filed by the new provider; the brand record is generally reusable.
- A verified RCS agent is re-submitted by the new provider; brand assets carry over, the approval does not.
- Opt-in records must be carried across rather than re-collected.