We don’t know how long this will last or to how many users this option was made available, but Google Voice is currently allowing people to port over their phone numbers into their system. What exactly does that mean? That you can take your current phone number from say AT&T, port it into Google Voice, change to Verizon, forward the number they give you to Google Voice, and never have to tell your friends that you have a new number because it has been ported. You can essentially “own” your phone number for the rest of your life.
In order to do this, you will have to pay a one-time $20 fee, but more importantly, may face termination fees from your current carrier. I wouldn’t suggest that any of you do this right now, but instead wait until your contract is up. At that time, it may be a good idea so that you can lock in your number forever, but again, NOT in the middle of a contract.
We’re seeing rumors suggesting that the option may have disappeared, but as you can see from the screenshot I just took 5 minutes ago, it is definitely still live. If you are a Google Voice customer, then head into your account, choose Settings>Voice Settings>Change/Port to get started.
Cheers Mike!
This post was last modified on January 20, 2011 1:55 pm