I'm beginning to plan for the installation of four new PRIs. I have
473 DIDs in 10 blocks that will need to be ported from my current CLEC (Cox Communications) to MCI over a short amount of time. I want to avoid a situation where my customers can't receive calls during working hours. Plus I don't have enough DS-1 cards in my switch to have the existing PRIs plus the new ones all connected at the same time.The MCI implementation coordinator says that they can't start the port before 7am, or work after 6 pm or on weekends. I'm not confident that I can get a one-hour maintenance window starting at 7 am on a weekday. I know if I were one of my customers, my first response to this proposal would be "No, it sounds too risky." The coordinator also says that if they don't successfully complete the port the first time, the CLEC requires 5-10 days to reschedule it.
Is this the way porting is typically handled?
Does it usually go perfectly the first time around?
Do you expect that this can successfully be done in an hour or less?
If it can't be completed on time, what are my roll-back/recovery options?
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