New White Paper Finds Neustar Successfully Administers Complex, Robust and Expanding Local Numbering Portability Services
STERLING, VA – Today, Neustar, Inc. (NYSE: NSR), the United States’ Local Number Portability (LNP) Administrator, released a newly commissioned white paper from the Yankee Group, an independent research firm with expertise in the technology and telecommunications industries, entitled “Telephone Numbers Are Portable; Is the NPAC?” The white paper details the Number Portability Administration Center’s (NPAC) performance going back to its launch in 1997 and explains how changes in the telecommunications landscape have made the critical role of the NPAC administrator both more complex and more essential. The paper calls the NPAC an “essential infrastructure element in today’s network” and it finds that the “NPAC is not a ‘set it and forget it’ operation. The rate of change in telecommunications demands that the NPAC system scale to accommodate the rapid growth and at the same time, be flexible enough to react to unforeseen or extraordinary demand.”
The paper highlights the NPAC’s vital role in managing the unbridled growth in the telecommunications market, responding during natural disasters or emergencies, and providing reliable service as customers transition to the latest mobile, “shiny new objects.” It concludes: “Has [the NPAC] scaled, incorporated new technologies, lowered pricing, lowered response time, maintained reliability and satisfied its carrier customers? By any measure of these criteria, the answer has to be yes.”
The paper finds that given the complexity of the NPAC, and considering the constant evolution and growth of the U.S. telecommunications infrastructure, Neustar is able to meet changing consumer demands while ensuring reliable, effective number portability service. To handle all of this, the paper notes that the NPAC, during Neustar’s tenure, has scaled to become the largest LNP administrator in the world, supporting over 500 million numbers and more than 4,700 individual customers. To evolve with the industry and improve efficiencies, Neustar implemented eight major software releases and three platform upgrades, lowered pricing while expanding customer value, supported a wide variety of carrier migrations and product launches, and enabled (in conjunction with the FCC and industry partners) one of the fastest porting periods worldwide for American consumers.
Neustar, an innovative technology leader, has provided neutral, trusted, tested, and reliable number portability services in the United States since becoming the LNP Administrator in 1997. LNP is a critical piece of our nation’s communications infrastructure which ensures as consumers change service providers or upgrade their mobile devices, their telephone numbers transfer seamlessly without interruptions in service. Neustar, working with the telecommunications industry, policymakers and other stakeholders, provides a world-class LNP service. As the paper explains, Neustar has innovated to improve its services and meet customer demands, earning the NPAC a customer satisfaction rating of 3.8 out of 4 and a service level performance record of 100 percent in 2011.
“Our nation’s telecommunications infrastructure and consumer demands have changed dramatically since Neustar became the NPAC provider over fifteen years ago. New mobile applications and devices make telephone numbers more important today than ever before. We’ve demonstrated our unique ability to evolve alongside the industry,” said Steve Edwards, senior vice president, Carrier Services. “Our innovation and our constant drive to meet our customers’ needs with 99.999 percent reliability is something that drives us every single day, 24x7. It’s an honor to have the trust of our customers and we work every day to earn it.”
This paper further validates the findings from a recent NPAC study by Dr. Scott E. Masten, Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business that found NPAC services are best delivered by a single, tested administrator.
About Neustar
Neustar, Inc., (NYSE: NSR) is a trusted, neutral provider of real-time information and analysis to the Internet, telecommunications, entertainment and marketing industries throughout the world. Neustar applies its advanced, secure technologies in routing, addressing and authentication to its customers’ data to help them identify new revenue opportunities and network efficiencies, and institute cybersecurity and fraud protection measures. More information is available at www.neustar.biz.