Redirect to mobile

Mark_In_Hampshire

Hi

Can anyone advise if they have used a service which provides a landline number, and redirects to a mobile?

This is for the benefit of callers (e.g. people calling us) so they don't have to pay mobile charges every time as we don't have a landline. Getting one isn't an option I can be bothered with.

We have a Skype landline number which for the most part works fine, but occasionally calls are impossible. But then it is virtually free.

I'm happy to pay the redirect part of the call across to the mobile as long as it isn't something ridiculous like 50p per minute - just exploring options at this point.

Thanks
Mark

LeeSouthEast

You can do this with https://www.sipgate.co.uk

The geographic number is free, but you'll have to pay for the mobile call out of your account credit. Don't be too put off by the fact they are a VoIP provider, you don't need to connect a computer to it, just set up redirections with them directly via their control panel.

redux

O2 offers a landline number on a business mobile contract. Monthly fee, no forwarding charge. So whether it's worthwhile depends on how many incoming minutes you have.

Or plenty of VoIP providers can offer this, with free or modest monthly rentals for the number, call rates typically 7p to 14p a minute. As well as Sipgate, I'd suggest Localphone.

Ypaymore

A couple of providers i have used are www.orbtalk.co.uk and www.coms.com both offer free numbers ,no rental, just pay for diverted calls on payg basis, easy to set up.

Mark_In_Hampshire

Thanks for all your suggestions - I will check them out.

DonnyDave

Landline providers tend to charge per whole minute and add on a call setup fee, which all adds up and means that the actual call cost is higher than at first appears.

I think you should be able to find a provider that will give you a local number that will not employ these rather underhand methods.

I've not used them. Look at Andrews & Arnold's prices:
http://www.aaisp.net/telecoms-callprices.html

Also:
http://www.tndw.co.uk/
http://www.callsure07050.co.uk/divert_to_mobile_inclusive_packages.html

They don't have allocations in every STD code, but a 033 number will do the same job with the same costs to callers.

If it's a VoIP provider like A&A, and you get a landline in the future with broadband, you should able to setup a suitable instrument to receive calls at no extra cost to you.


For those calling you, it may be worth mentioning to them that they might like to call your mobile number directly where the cost is the same as a 01/02/03 call. Typically, I'm talking where they are calling from a mobile themselves, where they don't pay extra to call another network (assuming that your mobile isn't on the same network) or they are on the same network.

Mark_In_Hampshire

Thanks - we do have broadband via 3G (2.5Mbps down, 400kbps up - it's the fastest broadband we can actually get here, no cable) so we can make and receive calls directly via the PC, all calls to landlines are free: but, it's not perfectly reliable (seems to struggle more calling mobiles, for some reason).

One flaw with Skype however was/is that the PC has to be on to receive voicemail, since it's stored on the local computer and not on the server.

Skype does have a redirect feature (I've just discovered) - not sure if the PC has to be on for that to work too.

However if we could get an 01420 number that would be good, since that is our local area code. Some websites insist on landline numbers and some are clever enough to work out if the number you key in is a VOIP number - plus, it looks "suspicious" given that our postcode is in Hampshire just on the border with Surrey, but the Skype inbound number is a Southampton one since you can't have 01420.

I'll come back and update this thread later as the info might be useful to others.

redux

It looks like Sipgate and Orbtalk (both 44....) and Localphone (45....) certainly have numbers there, and one of the ones Dave listed, can't see on the others, but not coms.com

Mark_In_Hampshire

Have set up a sipgate account for the moment with an 01420 number. Testing it out it seems to work very well. You can pay £5.90 for 1000 minutes to landlines per month. Calling mobiles is just under 10ppm versus 14.4ppm on Skype. I am presently assuming that's the same for the redirect to the mobile.

I shall put some credit on it and try out the redirects - seems very comprehensive.

The o2 thing is interesting as I'm in the market for a new mobile anyway and was looking at their site (we have Vodafone and the signal is pants whereas the Three signal is strong, plus it's horrifically expensive - 20ppm I think) however I suppose in common with many others they only accept DD payment on contracts, which isn't something I'm prepared to do. But I quite fancy one of their Cash Manager card things, so I might go for o2 PAYG for the mobile replacement.

Mark_In_Hampshire

I thought I'd update this...

I signed up with Sipgate.co.uk and have a landline number now which has the geographical area code for where we live.

Having credited it with £10 I have been trying out the calling and voicemail features. All of these work very well.

The main issue I had with Skype was that the voicemail only worked with the PC switched on and connected, since voicemail was stored on the local computer.

With Sipgate I've credited £10 and set up the routing so that if the landline isn't answered my mobile is tried, if that isn't answered it goes to voicemail

I've customised the voice mail message just as you might with a mobile, and everything works a treat.

I've also set it to SMS me when a voicemail turns up, and send the voicemail as a WAV file to my email address. You can also dial in and pick up messages remotely.

For £5.90 you get 1000 minutes to landlines. Calls to mobiles and redirects to my own are 9.9ppm versus 14.4ppm on Skype.

Using this all over a 3G connection with the quality setting set to "ADSL/Cable" it works perfectly (we get 2500 - 2700 kbps down and 380 kbps up on our connection which has full signal strength).

I'm using the X-Lite 4.0 Beta free software on Vista Ultimate and Windows 7 (desktop and laptop)

I will probably invest in one of the DECT VOIP phones at some point so as to have a physical "phone" not just a handset connected to the PC or laptop.

All recommended as a genuine landline replacement with better functionality, caller ID built in, redirects, switchboard functionality etc - it's very good.

There is the caveat that it's not suitable for emergency calls since it relies on having power and won't be usable if there's a power cut (about 4 times a year where we live - power lines are overhead).

But then if the power cut is more widespread than just our lane, the landline phone wouldn't work either (at least it didn't when we used to have power cuts in a modern housing estate we used to live in as it took down the sub-exchange).