Told your toll free number is gone? If it shows Bandwidth, it probably isn't

We get a lot of emails from people who lost a toll free number. One situation comes up over and over: the company they paid every month says the number is disconnected and gone, but when they look it up here on Resporgs.com, it shows Bandwidth, and it shows in service.

If that's you, there's a good chance the number never left.

The short version

• Bandwidth is the RespOrg (the company that controls the number in the national toll free registry) behind a lot of phone service resellers.
• Your reseller may have removed the number from your account, but Bandwidth still has it working, connected to your reseller.
• The person on the phone told you it's gone because they don't see it on your account. They didn't look up the number itself.
• Show them the history from Resporgs.com and tell them it's still with Bandwidth. That's often all it takes.

Who Bandwidth is, and why they show up on your number

Every toll free number in the U.S. and Canada is managed by a RespOrg, short for Responsible Organization. The RespOrg is the company the toll free registry lists as controlling the number. They decide where calls go, and they're the ones who can move it, reconnect it or let it go.

Bandwidth is one of the biggest RespOrgs. Besides selling service directly, they're the wholesale carrier behind many of the phone, VoIP and cloud calling companies that small businesses buy from. Those companies are resellers. You pay the reseller, the reseller pays Bandwidth, and Bandwidth holds the number in the registry.

So when you look up your number and see Bandwidth, even though you've never heard of them and never paid them, that's normal. Bandwidth was the company underneath the company you were paying. In the registry, Bandwidth shows up as JY or JYT01. Every RespOrg ID is five characters, and the first two identify the company, so JY covers all of Bandwidth's IDs. JYT01 is their main one, though they can have others.

How to read the history

Look up your number in the box above. You'll see who controls it today and every RespOrg that's had it, with dates. Here's the pattern to look for:

• Bandwidth shows as the current holder, status in service. The number is still active in the registry.
• Bandwidth has had it since before you lost it, during the time you were paying your provider. That tells you Bandwidth was the underlying RespOrg the whole time. Your reseller didn't own the number in the registry; Bandwidth did, on their behalf.

Put those two together and you've got the answer: your reseller took it off your account, but nobody actually let the number go. It's sitting with Bandwidth, still connected to your reseller.

We saw exactly this recently. A business owner had an 833 number for years and was told by their provider it was disconnected and gone. The history showed it with Bandwidth since 2023, in service, the whole time they had it with that provider. It wasn't gone. It just wasn't on their account anymore.

Call the number, too

Call it from another phone and listen to what happens:

• Another business answers, or you hear a generic misdial message (a generic greeting or recording, or a pitch for some other company): someone else is using it. It may be gone.
• A phone company intercept (a recording like "the number you have dialed is not in service" or "has been disconnected"): that's another good sign. Together with Bandwidth showing in service, it usually means the number is still sitting there, just not connected to your account, and it may be recoverable.

Why they told you it was gone

This isn't usually anybody being dishonest. It's how phone company support works.

The rep pulls up your account. The number isn't there. What they should say is "I don't see it on your account." But that sounds like someone else might be able to do more than they can, and their job is to close the ticket and get you off the phone. So it comes out as "That number has been disconnected and it's gone."

And the truth is, they usually can't look any further. Reseller support reps don't have access to the toll free registry. They only have their own company's system, which shows the numbers connected to each customer account. Once a number is taken off your account, it doesn't show up on your account anymore, so as far as their screen is concerned, it's gone.

But taking it off your account doesn't remove it from the underlying company they go through. Bandwidth still has it. That extra layer beneath your reseller can actually work in your favor: the number didn't get released just because someone cleaned up an account.

What to say to your provider

Go back to the company you were paying and be specific:

"I know this number is still in service with Bandwidth. Bandwidth is your underlying carrier, and the registry shows it's still with them and still working. It was removed from my account, but it wasn't released. I need it reconnected to my account."

Print the number's history page from Resporgs.com or send them a screenshot. When you tell them you know it's still there with Bandwidth, they can't just say it's gone. In our experience they usually dig a little deeper, find it, and reconnect it.

That's the simplest fix, and it costs nothing but a phone call with better information. A few tips:

• Ask for someone in number porting, provisioning or carrier services if the front-line rep can't help. They can see what the regular support screen can't.
• Have a past bill handy showing the number on your account.
• If the number lapsed because a card expired or a payment failed, be ready to bring the account current.

If that doesn't work

Sometimes it doesn't go that smoothly. Maybe you've already left that reseller, they've gone out of business, or they just won't help. When that happens, the number can get stuck in the cracks between the two companies: the reseller doesn't think it's theirs anymore, and Bandwidth still has it assigned to the reseller.

That's where we may be able to help. We can sometimes pull a number out of that gap and get it back to you. We handle it the same way we handle recovering a disconnected number, and it typically costs a few hundred dollars depending on the area code (800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844 or 833).

To do it, you need a bill or receipt from the reseller that had the number, showing it was yours. Without that we can't help, because we have to be able to show the number belonged to you.

Once we recover it, you can transfer it to whatever company you want, with no strings attached. You don't have to go back to the same reseller, though you can if you need to.

Ask us about your number →

What if it doesn't show Bandwidth?

If your lookup shows something else, the story is different:

• A different RespOrg picked it up after Bandwidth or after your provider: the number was released and someone else got it. It may be in use by another business now.
• Disconnect status: it's on its way out. Numbers sit in disconnect for up to about four months before going back to the available pool. Act fast.
• Spare or available: it's back in the pool, and it may be possible to get it again.

Either way, let us know and we'll take a look. There's more on every one of these in Lost your toll free number?

Or make it an upgrade

If your number really is gone and you have to get a new one anyway, why not get one people can remember? We can find you a vanity number that spells your business name, your product or what you do, so the switch looks like an upgrade instead of just a change. An optical shop that lost a plain number, for example, might end up with something like 844-YOUR-EYES. Search vanity numbers or ask us and we'll do the searching for you.

Quick answers

My provider says the number is disconnected, but Resporgs.com says it's in service with Bandwidth. Who's right?
The registry. Resporgs.com reads from the toll free registry's records. If it shows in service with Bandwidth, the number is still active with Bandwidth. Your provider is most likely telling you it's not on your account.

I never had an account with Bandwidth. Why are they listed?
Because the company you paid was a Bandwidth reseller. Bandwidth was the RespOrg underneath them.

Can I go to Bandwidth directly?
Usually not. Bandwidth's customer is your reseller, not you, so they'll send you back to the reseller. Start with the reseller and bring the history.

What does it cost if you recover it for me?
Typically a few hundred dollars, depending on the area code. You'll need a bill or receipt from the reseller showing the number was yours.

Hopefully understanding how this works and having the right information gets your number back. If you still need help, contact Bill Quimby at 1-800-MARKETER (1-800-627-5383) or ask here, and we'll see what we can do.