small business phone/broadband packages

MortgageMamma

Not sure if this is the right place to get the best response but I can't find any other area for business utilities

I am setting up a mortgage brokerage, initially from home (for the first 12 months)

I need some help with phone numbers. I don't know the difference between 0345 0845 0300 etc.

I want to install a phone number that is cheap for my customers to use but also cheap for me to use. As I'll be advising over the phone I expect some phone calls to be over an hour long. Can anyone advise which format of number is best to use? is it best to have the phone and broadband with one provider or split them? is there anywhere I can go to get a comparison of packages and costs

Also, not majorly important but I may have to move home before winter 2016 so I need a package that can move with me or no tie-ins.

Thanks in advance, going to post this in utilities too and see if anyone there can help

DKLS

Might be worth exploring one of the VOIP providers, I will ask a mate which company he uses, he mentioned something about £15 a month with zero call costs.

Ian011

See https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5418641
and https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5292529

paddyrg

I've been very happy with Sipgate who offer a truly PAYG service (ideal for startups), your mileage may vary. dmClub have similar but different offerings, and have a really good explanation of the dial-in number differences.

When someone calls an 03, 08, 09 number, they're dialing an alias, underneath that is a 'real' phone number (01, 02) and you can have all sorts of routing and services (eg after x rings it'll call your mobile for you, or take a voicemail, or call a friend at home).

03 may work for you, you have to explain to other people like you that those numbers are in mobile packages (they're charged like 01,02 but are non-geographical), but can always offer a geographical alternative. Too many of us have been stung with 08's costing a fortune from mobiles.

VOIP rates eg Sipgate are cheap but you must have decent broadband for them to be reliable. You can set them up with 'normal' phones (I have a little SIP/DECT box which plugs into my router and let's me use three normal cordless handsets, for instance).

Ian011

03 numbers aren't just in mobile packages. Calls to 03 numbers are inclusive from landlines and mobiles else charged at 'geographic rate' - exactly the same as 01 and 02 numbers are.

Calls to 084, 087 & 09 numbers are premium rate with a hefty Access Charge and an additional Service Charge, the latter paid to the benefit of the called party and their telecoms provider.

frugaldad

An 03 number is basically an 01 number (which have run out hence why 03 was introduced).

084 numbers are premium rate numbers and the charge will vary from number to number and provider to provider.

Ian011

01 (and 02) numbers haven't run out. There are hundreds of millions of these geographic numbers still available. A few specific area codes are running short of local numbers and other arrangements will need to be made in those areas over the next few years.

03 numbers are non-geographic. They are inclusive in allowances on landlines and mobiles else charged at geographic rates. They were introduced in 2007 for those who need the technical facilities of a non-geographic number but without imposing additional charges on callers.