In our recent webinar, NumHub Director of Sales Drew Andersen and InflowCX CRO Mike Dolloff...
Take Ownership and Control of Your Phone Numbers with NumHub.
In this guide, we will explore authoritative ownership of phone numbers, why it's essential for businesses, and how to take control of your phone numbers. We’ll break down the misconceptions, highlight the benefits, and show how owning your numbers can protect your business from disruption, fraud, and carrier dependence and empower you to take control of your brand's identity and integrity.
If I Don't Own and Control My Phone Number, Who Does?
When you sign up for phone service, your assigned number might feel like it’s yours, but technically, you are only "renting" the number from your carrier. The carrier retains what is known as the right-to-use in the central regulatory database, meaning they are the subscriber of record—not you. As a customer, you are granted temporary usage of the number while your service agreement is active, but beyond that, you hold no formal ownership or control.
In practical terms, this means that although you can use the number to make calls, send texts, or run your business, the carrier has the ultimate control over it. You cannot manage the number independently in the regulatory system. The carrier, as the registered owner in the database, can reassign or revoke the number under certain circumstances, such as if your service ends or if the number needs to be reallocated.
This lack of control can cause problems if you want to port your number to another carrier or ensure long-term use of it without interference. Further, without control of your number, your identity is at risk of spoofing, a form of fraud where bad actors can hijack your phone numbers and pretend to be you. True ownership and control means moving beyond "rental" status and taking complete legal and operational control of your phone number at the regulatory level.
This article will focus on three paths to phone number ownership and control. First, for inbound calls, we will discuss how NumHub empowers you to take control of your toll-free numbers by assigning you a unique RespOrg ID. Second, NumHub is poised to bring the same regulatory advantages to local phone numbers, leveraging ALT SPIDs to deliver disaster recovery and multi-carrier routing. Third, for outbound calling, NumHub now actively participates in the Branded Caller ID (BCID) system, acting as an onboarding and vetting agent responsible for verifying a given phone number user's identity and issuing a Stir/Shaken Certificate (also known as a passport or token) for outbound calls to establish your right-to-use. This will allow brands to establish themselves as the verified phone number owner making the call and deliver their logos with a verified identity check mark on outbound calls to increase answer rates.
Let's Review a Few Definitions to Help Us Along
Before we discuss the benefits and specifics of owning your phone number, let’s review a few key terms that will help clarify the discussion.
RespOrg (Responsible Organization)
A RespOrg manages and controls toll-free phone numbers within the SMS/800 database, the centralized system for toll-free numbers in the U.S. and Canada. Typically, carriers serve as RespOrgs, but businesses can also become their own RespOrg to gain complete control over their numbers. Becoming a RespOrg allows you to port, route, and manage your toll-free numbers independently without relying on a carrier.
SPID and ALT SPID
A SPID, or Service Provider ID, is the identification code assigned to a local carrier within the NPAC database, the centralized system for local phone numbers in the U.S. Unlike Toll-Free numbers, local numbers are not divorced from the phone number's routing, meaning they must be assigned to a carrier to work. ALT SPID is a secondary field created during the formation of NPAC as a failsafe but can now be used to add secondary ownership information for a given phone number.
Right-to-Use
Right-to-use refers to being the subscriber of record for a phone number as recognized in the regulatory database. While you may be the user of the number assigned by your carrier, they are technically the subscriber of record unless you take action to gain ownership. Having right-to-use means that you have direct control of the phone number’s assignment and routing within the regulatory system, allowing you to dictate how the number is used and who can access it.
Subscriber of Record
The subscriber of record is the entity recognized as the official holder of the phone number’s right-to-use. In most cases, this is the carrier, even though you, as the user, might be making the calls. To fully control and own your number, you need to be recognized as the subscriber of record, meaning your business, not the carrier, is listed as the authoritative owner either in the appropriate regulatory database or on a Stir-Shaken certificate.
Stir/Shaken
Stir/Shaken is a set of protocols designed to prevent caller ID spoofing by authenticating the caller's identity. It works like an SSL certificate for phone numbers, verifying that the call comes from the actual subscriber of record. To obtain a Stir/Shaken certificate, you must have authoritative ownership of your phone number through NumHub's onboarding and vetting platform. This ensures that your business’s calls are trusted and less likely to be flagged as spam.
By understanding these definitions, you’ll better understand what it means to own your phone number and its technical landscape.
What's the Benefit of Establishing Ownership and Control of My Phone Numbers?
Vendor Neutrality:
Disaster Recovery:
Least Cost Routing:
Access to Source of Truth Information:
By establishing ownership and control of your phone numbers with NumHub, you gain direct access to critical data about them. This "source of truth" information includes accurate, real-time data about number assignments, ownership, and routing. This information allows you to make informed decisions and ensures you have complete visibility into the status and usage of your numbers.
Fraud Detection:
Phone number fraud is a frequent and persistent issue in telecom. Ownership and control of your numbers gives you the tools to detect and prevent fraudulent activity, such as unauthorized porting or spoofing. Direct access to regulatory data allows you to monitor your numbers and respond quickly to suspicious behavior, protecting your business from potential fraud and identity theft.
Brand Integrity:
As telecom security evolves, ownership and control of your numbers enables you to protect the integrity of your brand. Stir/Shaken is essentially an SSL certificate for phone numbers designed to authenticate the caller and prevent robocalls and spoofing. By proving authoritative ownership of your number through a Stir/Shaken certificate, you can secure your brand and increase customer trust.
Brand Identity:
Looking to the future, ownership and control of your phone numbers opens the door to Branded Caller ID services. With Branded Caller ID, your business can display its logo and verified identity directly on the recipient’s handset, boosting brand recognition and call engagement. While this feature is still being rolled out across the industry, it will soon empower your business to protect brand identity and make your customers look forward to answering your calls again.
For Inbound Calls: Leveraging RespOrg IDs and ALT SPID
While the conversation around phone number ownership and control has historically focused on toll-free numbers, local numbers have largely been left out of the equation—until now. The regulatory framework that has allowed businesses to take authoritative ownership of toll-free numbers through the SMS/800 database has not been available for local numbers in the same way. This limitation left businesses reliant on carriers to control and route their local numbers, unable to break free and manage them independently.
However, this is changing. NumHub has introduced a groundbreaking solution that brings the same concept of authoritative ownership to local numbers, much like what has been available for toll-free numbers. Through the NPAC (Number Portability Administration Center), which administers local numbers, NumHub enables businesses to claim complete control of their local numbers by leveraging a creative new framework. This framework allows firms to take authoritative ownership of their local numbers, giving them the similar control that toll-free number users have long enjoyed.
This development is a game changer for businesses. With authoritative ownership and control of local numbers for inbound calls, companies can now directly manage and control their local numbers and can port, route, and secure those numbers based on their needs. By integrating our new framework into the NPAC system, NumHub offers a way for businesses to protect their local numbers from carrier disruptions and fraud, providing a new level of autonomy and security in their telecommunications strategy.
In short, what was once only possible for toll-free numbers is now a reality for local numbers, thanks to NumHub’s innovative approach. Businesses no longer rely on carriers to control one of their most valuable assets—phone numbers.
For Outbound Calls: Leveraging Stir/Shaken Certificates
When it comes to outbound dialing, the path to ownership and control of phone numbers takes a different form than inbound services. Instead of relying on RespOrg IDs or ALT SPID codes, businesses can establish ownership and control of their phone numbers through Stir/Shaken certificates. These certificates act as the verification mechanism that ensures the legitimacy of outbound calls, protecting against fraud, spoofing, and unverified caller identities.
NumHub takes a proactive role in this process, serving as an onboarding and vetting agent for the Branded Caller ID (BCID) ecosystem. For businesses making outbound calls, we verify your identity and right to use specific phone numbers before issuing a Stir/Shaken certificate. This certificate authenticates your business as a legitimate caller, ensuring that your outbound calls are trusted by the telecom network and consumers alike.
Stir/Shaken isn’t just a tool for compliance—it is the key to establishing real ownership and control over outbound call traffic. Once your Stir/Shaken certificate is issued, NumHub follows the call path to ensure that the "packets" containing your verified identity travel seamlessly to the terminating carrier. From there, the recipient’s device receives the authenticated call and, in many cases, can even display your business’s logo through Branded Caller ID, further increasing trust and improving call engagement.
Stir/Shaken certificates are the definitive solution for controlling your communications for businesses that rely on outbound dialing. Unlike toll-free numbers, which require a RespOrg ID for authoritative ownership, or local numbers used for inbound calls, which will soon be managed through ALT SPID codes, outbound dialing is secured and controlled via Stir/Shaken. This makes it the third path to ownership and control of phone numbers, enabling businesses to ensure their outbound calls are trusted and verified.
In summary, while inbound calling on toll-free numbers involves establishing ownership through a unique RespOrg ID (and soon, ALT SPID codes for local numbers), outbound dialing uses Stir/Shaken certificates as the mechanism for asserting control and verifying identity. By partnering with NumHub, businesses gain the tools to protect their outbound communications, increase customer trust, and fully control their phone numbers in today’s telecom environment.
How to Gain Authoritative Ownership and Control of Your Phone Numbers
Gaining authoritative ownership and control of your phone numbers—toll-free or local—is critical in ensuring your business has complete control and security over its telecommunications assets. Here’s how you can achieve this for toll-free and local numbers and how NumHub simplifies the process with our SaaS platforms and services.
For Inbound Toll-Free Numbers: Become Your Own RespOrg
You must become your own Responsible Organization (RespOrg) to gain authoritative ownership of toll-free numbers. This means having NumHub issue you a unique RespOrg ID to take complete control over your numbers' assignment, routing, and management. Here’s how the process works:
- Partner with NumHub: As a certified RespOrg, NumHub can handle the entire process on your behalf. We ensure your business is listed as the RespOrg in the central SMS/800 database, giving you direct control over your toll-free numbers.
- Use ATLaaS: Our advanced SaaS platform, ATLaaS, provides an easy-to-use interface for managing your toll-free numbers. Through ATLaaS, you can route, port, and secure your numbers without relying on a single carrier.
- Maintain Full Control: Once set up as a RespOrg, you gain vendor neutrality, disaster recovery options, and access to least-cost routing. You also have direct access to critical regulatory data, ensuring complete transparency and control.
For Inbound Local Numbers: Get Listed in NPAC
For inbound local numbers, the path to authoritative ownership involves being listed in the NPAC (Number Portability Administration Center) system, which manages local numbers. Here’s how to do it:
- Partner with NumHub: We work with businesses to facilitate their listing in the NPAC system through our new and revolutionary framework. This allows your business, not your carrier, to control and manage your local numbers independently.
- Leverage PortControl: Our SaaS platform, PortControl, provides the tools you need to manage local numbers easily. You can port numbers between carriers, track activity, and protect against unauthorized changes within a user-friendly platform.
- Achieve Authoritative Ownership: With NumHub handling the technical aspects, you’ll gain full ownership and control over your local numbers and can route and manage them just like toll-free numbers.
For Outbound Numbers: Get Onboarded and Vetted
For outbound numbers, securing authoritative ownership and control of your numbers involves being onboarded and vetted for a Stir/Shaken certificate. Here’s how:
- Partner with NumHub: NumHub facilitates the onboarding and vetting to verify your business for a Stir/Shaken certificate. We verify your identity and right-to-use for your numbers, ensuring that your business meets all requirements to secure a Stir/Shaken certificate.
- Leverage BrandControl: Through BrandControl, you can easily and efficiently manage your Stir/Shaken certificate issuance. BrandControl ensures that your business's verified identity is consistently applied to outbound calls, helping to prevent fraud and increase call trust.
- Achieve higher answer rates: With BrandControl, you will be able to use Branded Caller ID to deliver your verified logo to consumer handset, increasing your answer rates and making you customers look forward to answering you calls again.
Looking Ahead: Branded Caller ID
NumHub is preparing to offer Branded Caller ID services as the telecom industry evolves. Soon, businesses can display their logos and verified identity on customers’ handsets, increasing call trust and engagement. This will be available to businesses that have achieved authoritative ownership of their numbers, positioning you to benefit from the latest advancements in trusted communications.
With NumHub’s certified expertise and advanced platforms—ATLaaS for inbound toll-free, PortControl for inbound local numbers, and BrandControl for outbound numbers—you can easily gain authoritative ownership of your phone numbers and future-proof your business against industry changes and fraud.
Take Control of Your Phone Numbers Today
In today’s telecom landscape, owning your phone numbers isn’t just a technical formality—it’s a strategic move that protects your business, enhances security, and opens doors to the latest advancements in trusted communication. By gaining authoritative ownership, whether through becoming your own RespOrg for toll-free numbers or securing your local numbers via ALT SPID in the NPAC system, you can safeguard your operations, reduce costs, and future-proof your business as new technologies emerge.
With NumHub, the path to phone number ownership is simpler than ever. Our certified experts and advanced SaaS platforms, ATLaaS and PortControl, empower you to take control of your numbers, ensure regulatory compliance, and combat fraud. Whether you need help managing toll-free numbers, local numbers, or securing Stir/Shaken certificates, NumHub provides the tools and support to give your business the edge it needs.
Don’t let your carrier control one of your most valuable assets. Take the next step toward full ownership and future-proof your business today. Contact NumHub now to start your journey to authoritative phone number ownership and gain the independence and security your company deserves.
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