Number Garage : Parking And Forwarding My Cell Number

For the past 10+ years I’ve had the same mobile number. Originally it was my pager number, then I had it ported to be my cell phone number. Over the years I’ve switched carriers a few times and moved around a bit. But this cell number is my digital identity and it’s been a reliable means of reaching me wherever I might be. Currently it’s tied to a personal cell phone that I don’t use. My employer provides a cell phone which has a different number. So for the past nine months I’ve simply had my carrier forward all calls from my personal cell to my work cell, allowing me to carry one phone. But all this time I’ve been paying a full monthly account fee with my personal cell provider even though I haven’t powered up that cell phone in nine months! Fortunately I’m no longer under a contract with them and can leave at any time. In order to avoid paying an unnecessary monthly bill I started to explore my options:

1. I could keep my personal number on some kind of less expensive “parking and forwarding” option but apparently none of the major cell carriers offer this. I’ve pleaded with my current provider for a better deal than the $40 monthly package they inform is the best available deal. They want to keep my business, but only on their terms.
2. I could just close my account and tell everyone to take note of my new number. But there are a lot of people in the music industry who have my number; I hear from some of them infrequently and I’m not interested in trying to reach out to all of them with a “please update your records” email.

As of today I’ve ported the number to an independent “park and forward” service called Number Garage. There are other options out there for this service, some of which are a little less expensive. But quality and support are really important to me. After exchanging a few emails with Jeff Heeren – the company’s ”Chief Mechanic” – I made the decision to go with them based on his quick replies and complete answers. Within ten minutes of completing the online setup as a new customer, I received (1) an email confirming that the account was set up, (2) an electronic invoice for my payment and (3) notification that my current carrier has been notified to initiate the porting request. My expectation is that it will take several days to complete the porting process. This service will cost me less than $10 per month. I’ll continue to provide updates on the account setup process and the quality of the service. Stay tuned!