> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.compensable.live/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Bring your own carrier

> Connect your own Telnyx, Vonage, Plivo, or Twilio account, or port an existing number into Compensable.

By default, Compensable buys and bills your phone numbers for you. If your firm already has, or wants, its own account with a telephony carrier, you can connect it instead. Numbers you buy through that account are billed by the carrier directly, not by Compensable.

## Connect a carrier account

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Phone providers">
    Go to **Settings → Phone providers**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick a carrier">
    Choose Telnyx, Vonage, Plivo, or Twilio and select **Connect**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter credentials">
    The fields depend on the carrier: an API key and secret for Vonage, an Account SID and auth token for Twilio, an Auth ID and auth token for Plivo, or an API key for Telnyx. Credentials are stored for your workspace only and are used only to operate your numbers.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm the connection">
    The carrier's row shows "Connected" once it's set up. You can return here any time to update its keys.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  What a connected account can do varies by carrier. The Phone providers page summarizes it for each one you connect, for example whether it supports searching and buying numbers, syncing numbers you already own there, or porting numbers in automatically. A carrier that isn't available yet shows as "Coming soon" instead of a Connect button.
</Note>

## What changes once you're connected

Once a carrier account is connected, [buying](/guides/telephony/phone-numbers), [searching](/guides/telephony/phone-numbers), and [syncing](/guides/telephony/phone-numbers) numbers can use that account instead of Compensable's own. A number's detail view shows which billing mode it's under: "Your provider account" or "Compensable-managed."

## Porting an existing number in

If a number is still active with your current carrier, you can port it in rather than buying a new one.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Start a port">
    From **Add number**, select **Already have a number? Port it over**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter the number">
    Enter it in E.164 format, for example `+13055551234`.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Submit">
    Select **Start port**. Compensable checks that the number is portable before anything is committed.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Keep the number active with your current carrier until the transfer completes. Ports typically take a few business days, and your current carrier may ask you to approve a letter of authorization (LOA) before releasing the number. Compensable keeps the port's status updated as it progresses.

<Note>
  Some ports need more than the request itself, for example a signed letter of authorization or a scheduled cutover window with your current carrier. That part of the process is available on request through support, which coordinates it with you directly.
</Note>

## Next steps

* Buy, import, or route numbers day-to-day in [Phone numbers](/guides/telephony/phone-numbers).
* See what carrier registration a number needs before its caller ID is fully trusted in [Sender registration and trust](/guides/telephony/registration).