BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

INEZ — The Martin County Public Library at the Collier Center has new phone and fax numbers following a recent switch in its internet and telephone service providers.

Library officials said the transition from Optimum to Foothills Communications resulted in the loss of their previous numbers despite efforts to retain them.

The issue came to light during a meeting of the Martin County Public Library Board on Monday.

Maurice Mills, the board’s chairman, explained that the library opted for Foothills Communications due to its competitive pricing—offering two gigabits of internet for approximately $140 per month.

“We set that up,” Mills said. “Then we went to set things up through Mike at Walker Communications to get our numbers ported over from Optimum to this new system.”

According to Mills, the library’s phone system, through Estech Systems Inc., can port numbers without any extra cost. But the transition did not go as planned.

“What happened is our numbers through Optimum got killed,” said Mills.

Board member Barry Webb asked whether the numbers could simply carry over.

“No,” Mills replied. “Trust me. I sat at home on the phone for about three days fighting with Optimum.”

Federal regulations allow customers to retain their phone numbers when switching service providers within the same geographic area—a process known as number porting. According to the Federal Communications Commission, the rules apply to wireline, IP and wireless services.

Mills acknowledged the regulations but said Optimum was uncooperative.

“They didn’t like it when I told them what we were doing,” he said. “I talked to the first person, and they said, ‘No. You’ve lost your numbers and you can’t get them back.’ I called back and talked to another person who said, ‘Yes, I can reinstate them in two days.’ After a week, they were not.”

Walker Communications ultimately obtained new numbers.

The library’s phone number is (606) 534-5390. Its new fax number is (606) 548-6629.