pocket landline

[liamx1234]

can anyone recommend a good pocket landline? im always out and about so cant use my phoneline at home

 

[Novevan]

how about google voice?

 

[liamx1234]

i need a local number which can be ported to by my phone

 

[fisicx]

BT redirect seems to work OK.

I've just googled this and all the telephony providers offer this service.

 

[TotalWebSolutions]

Your existing landline provider should be able to offer you this type of service (Call Diversion, Caller Redirect, Smart Divert etc), in which case it can usually be enabled for use same day or following working day.

 

[Copperwood]

We use Pocket Landline from EE, it's £10 per month + vat and it's worth every penny.

You get a local area phone number and there's no 'per minute' divert costs as with most providers. You just pay the fixed fee each month and that's it.

With EE you also get the PC dashboard so you can control the availability times, record greeting messages and view call stats etc (not that we ever use this part).

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

VoIP is the way forward, or even this.

Pocket Landline seems interesting, though!

 

[Copperwood]

We looked into VoIP but I was concerned about not having a fast enough internet connection in poorer signal areas and also the cost of the mobile data allowance.

The YBC option above is the same price as Pocket Landline from EE but you are restricted to 200 minutes per month without extra charges where as with EE it is unlimited.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

With VoIP, for this, internet connectivity is irrelevant - you do not even need a connection in your home. The call goes from the VoIP provider to the diverted number!

 

[cjd]

This is the way we do it

http://www.voipfone.co.uk/Call_Forwarding_And_Divert.php

Also, we have a free app that automatically diverts your calls when you leave your usual location and knocks it off when you return.

http://www.voipfone.co.uk/geodivert.php

 

[cjd]

Consultant is correct - divert to mobile doesn't require VoIP at all, except to set it up for the first time.

 

[Copperwood]

I was under the impression that it was app based like Viber so that's an interesting read.

 

[Copperwood]

So do you pay £2 per month for the number then 10p per minute to divert to your mobile as that still seems quite expensive?

 

[cjd]

So do you pay £2 per month for the number then 10p per minute to divert to your mobile as that still seems quite expensive?

If you think £2 per month is expensive, you don't buy a round terribly often.

 

[Copperwood]

If you think £2 per month is expensive, you don't buy a round terribly often.

Fair enough but over the month it must cost you a fortune.

Today I was on with one customer for over 40 minutes - that would be £5 including the vat and that's just one call of the 5/6 that we had today.

Pocket landline is £10 for the month all in with no extra fees.

 

[cjd]

The average length of a business call is a little less than 2 minutes. Forty minutes on a mobile call is a hellova long time, but if that's normal for you and you make a lot of them then our service is going to cost you more than a fixed fee service.

But our service does much more than that, it's designed mostly as a way of having a single number for your business. Most people will be answering their calls at the office or home directly on their VoIP phones for which there is no charge for the incoming calls. They only divert the calls to their mobiles when they leave the office. They also have the free GeoDivert app so they don't have to think about diverting or otherwise.

These 'free' call services are loss leaders for the operators, they have to pay for the numbers and the interconnect cost of the calls, O2 dropped theirs and people lost their landline numbers overnight - we had to bail some of them out.

 

[My Owl 1]

If there are any free call apps still available then I would recommend that. I agree with CJD a lot of the companies that provided this service have decided to drop them, but they are still about. Look on your iphone/smartphone store to see what is available. only down side it obviously works thru your data .

 

[Paul Murray]

I was actually going to suggest Voipfone as I'm a customer myself, but the cost of diverting to mobile was the exact reason I didn't suggest it. I find it's ideal for what I need, but it does start to get a little pricey when you call mobiles. Perhaps factor that into the price of estimates though?

In the long-run paying a few extra quid to have a landline number that people can get hold of you on anywhere is not a bad deal, especially if you convert these people to customers on that call. Just ask them to call you on your mobile in future and keep the number solely for new business.

I looked into other landline providers but didn't want to be tied into a contract, have to faff about with them installing a line (and charging me for it) and having to pay a line rental on top.

Voipfone is essentially pay as you go, you just buy the number (£2, and you can select a number in any area code), top-up your credit (you can auto renew) and pay for the calls you make.

 

[ricky776]

I'm with BT your best of going for a fixed fee rather then a pay per min as at least you know what your paying

 

[Tamar Telecommunications]

Hi liamx1234,

If you are still looking for a local number to divert to your mobile, we provide a similar service to what has been mentioned.

We have tariffs from £4.99 with inclusive minutes, as well as tariffs with unlimited diversion minutes to your mobile too with online number management included.

I hope that helps and if I can be of any further help, please do let me know.

Kind regards


Jamie Christoforou
Tamar Telecommunications
Tel: 0800 772 0000

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

How about using a virtual assistant to take your calls and you can then call clients back?

 

[MarcusCornelius]

The simplest solution is using landline forwarding service to redirect calls to your mobile number. I do it every time I am out during the day and it works perfectly.