Tesco (and Freshtel) VoIP Closures

[cjd]

I'm getting a lot of questions about Tesco closing its internet telephone service - whether hardware can be re-used, whether numbers can be ported, what alternatives there are etc....

There is some help here:

https://www.voipfoneuserforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=3944

Unfortunately the situation is still unresolved but there's some hope and the industry (ITSPA) is trying to get some action from Ofcom

 

[leemason]

Interesting. I guess they've not made a great success of their cheapo VoIP service.

They really should be forced to provide number and (where possible) equipment porting.

 

[yorkshirejames]

Isn't it rather gratifyinig when Mr. Leahy has a failure

Voipfone - thanks for providing useful information.

 

[cjd]

They got all the low margin cheapskates.

Then Freshtel - who are an Australian company and provided their service and numbers - decided to pull out of the UK so Tesco thought it wasn't worth the hassle continuing. I think they find a bigger market with their mobile business.

Really peed off about number portability - Ofcom need a rocket up 'em

 

[cjd]

The Register picked up the story - Voipfone got a name check ;-)

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/04/22/tesco_voip/

 

[garyk]

They got all the low margin cheapskates.

Yep and all the same problems that all residential VoIP providers face; how to turn non-paying customers into paying ones! Even ebay reluctantly admitted they paid well over the odds for Skype, 50 million users maybe but how many actually pay?

 

[Adam_Webb]

We are finally now in a position to have your ex Tesco / Freshtel telephone numbers allocated to our network.

So, if you are an ex-customer of either of those companies and would like to use your old phone numbers again via the VoiceHost service then please send an email to: -

t esco at voiceho st.co. uk

Please include the telephone number you would like to claim and your VoiceHost account number. If you have more than five numbers, please enter your numbers into a spreadsheet and attach it to the email so that we can create a full list of all of the number ranges needed.

Any questions on time frames please feel free to email

s upp ort at voicehost . co .uk

Sorry about the spaces, cant post URL's

 

[Adam_Webb]

We are finally now in a position to have your ex Tesco / Freshtel telephone numbers allocated to our network.

So, if you are an ex-customer of either of those companies and would like to use your old phone numbers again via the VoiceHost service then please send an email to: -

tesco at voicehost.co.uk

Please include the telephone number you would like to claim and your VoiceHost account number. If you have more than five numbers, please enter your numbers into a spreadsheet and attach it to the email so that we can create a full list of all of the number ranges needed.

Any questions on time frames please feel free to email
support at voicehost.co.ukSorry about the links, im a new member!

 

[british steve]

We are finally now in a position to have your ex Tesco / Freshtel telephone numbers allocated to our network.

So, if you are an ex-customer of either of those companies and would like to use your old phone numbers again via the VoiceHost service then please send an email to: -

tesco at voicehost.co.uk

Please include the telephone number you would like to claim and your VoiceHost account number. If you have more than five numbers, please enter your numbers into a spreadsheet and attach it to the email so that we can create a full list of all of the number ranges needed.

Any questions on time frames please feel free to email
support at voicehost.co.ukSorry about the links, im a new member!

Wow.

You have managed to get Ofcom to give you all the old freshtel numbers?

I am impressed! Very well done

 

[Adam_Webb]

With alot of hard work and alot of paperwork yes!

It has been a long process, alot of hair pulling in the office but we are happy that we can now help all Freshtel customers who still require their numbers.

 

That's great that Ofcom have released the numbers but for some of us it's too late where having no active telephone number for over month wasn't an option. But that's not VoiceHosts fault at all and we're finding their service with our new number really good. I like how I get an email when I get a voicemail, which I can pick up on my mobile when I'm away from the office