HELP PLEASE! When switchboards call my Phone Number, all they get is a busy signal [Telecom]

Hello, Telecom professionals,

I have a cell phone number: 269-692-3692. I am discovering that when people try to call me (only from businesses with switchboards that is), all they get is a busy signal. What happens is that business people end up calling me on their personal cell phones, which is not always comfortable for me.

This is never a problem from people calling me from home land-lines, cell phones, or small businesses with just one line.

I'm thinking that the "69" or "6" is some sort of a switchboard code which prevents calls from being placed out, but I know NOTHING about telecom.

Any ideas from this talented group of men and women? I'm wondering if I should change my number, or what.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Matthew McCormick snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com

***** Moderator's Note *****

I spoke with Mr. McCormick about this issue, and he told me that the failed call attempts all seem to be from the ILEC exchange which used to serve his cellular number.

I told Matthew that the local exchange might not be handling the portability correctly, and suggested he complain to the ILEC (in his case, Son-Of-Deathstar®) and ask them to check the translations.

Are there other possibilities?

Bill Horne Temporary Moderator

Please put [Telecom] at the end of your subject line, or I may never see your post! Thanks!

We have a new address for email submissions: telecomdigestmoderator atsign telecom-digest.org. This is only for those who submit posts via email: if you use a newsreader or a web interface to contribute to the digest, you don't need to change anything.

Yes but the odds of it being one of those other possibilities is pretty close to ZERO.

It _IS_ the ILEC's problem and he should not take "no" for an answer. Chances are that they have a class-of-service screen screwed up.

It really makes no difference what the cause of the problem _IS_, the ILEC is the only one in the position to trace the problem and get it fixed ... even on the off chance that it is not their problem.

Mathew should find out how to contact the State PUC. Should all else fail, contacting them with the facts and not emotion (similar to his post here) should bring swift action. He should consider doing this after the _FIRST_ "duh" response from the ILEC ... not the second ... or 10th ... or ...