DID numbers ultimately forwarding to cell phone?

Hi all,

Relatively new to SIP/VOIP, and very new to the forum, so please let me know if this is the wrong place to post this. In any event...

I'm planning a rather convoluted setup for when I move in June, and I'm not exactly sure how to accomplish what I'm after.
which is...

Basically , I'd like to 3 DID numbers, in 3 different area codes, all forwarding to my mobile phone. I would like to have the true number of the caller showing up on my mobile phone's caller id regardless of which number they called me at. I'd also like to be able to call out from home, and have the call display of the receiving caller show up as my cell phone number (or failing that, as one of the DID numbers I have set up).

Firstly, I'm considering using voip.ms to set the DID numbers up - has anybody had any experience with them?

Anyway, as I understand it, I would simply set up all of the DIDs to forward to a SIP account (probably FWD, since all of the DID numbers will be North American, though I'm open to any and all suggestions as to which provider would be best).

As for how to proceed from there, however, I'm stuck. I don't want to run a SIP server of any kind at home. Nor do I want to colocate one. Accordingly, I'm looking for a service that will receive the call, and terminate it to my mobile phone over the PSTN network. What service will allow me to do this, whilst preserving the call display of whatever number is calling?

As for the outgoing calls, I'm considering using a(n) (unlocked) linksys PAP2(T) for this purpose. Does anybody know if voip.ms would allow me to set up my account so that the call display of the receiving party shows my mobile number in doing so? Alternatively, is there a provider that would?

Thanks in Advance!

Gabe

I Forgot to ask about voicemail options, as well... is it possible to have the SIP provider act as voicemail, as well, or would I have to use the voicemail service on my cell phone for that?

In other words, could I configure the SIP provider that's terminating the call to my cell phone to, after 5 rings (or 20 seconds or whatever), instead route the call to voice mail? If so, is it possible to access this voice mail from my cell phone by calling in, or no?

Thanks,


Gabe

it sounds like what you are really looking for is a PBX system that allows you to use multiple DID, etc. for your situation a hosted solution may be the best. there are services like voxalot and PBXes that offer both free and paid options. there is also mysipswitch which is free and offer all the call routing you would need; but is not all that easy to configure and does not offer the voicemail that voxalot and PBXes do. although if all calls are going to your cell phone your cell phone will probably catch all calls on its own voicemail syetem whenever you are on the phone or out of coverage. the way around this is ussually to require you to hit a button before the call connects but after you answer on your cell phone. services like grandcentral and talkplus work this way. i took a look at the voip.ms website and it looks like they offer much of what you need in the way of origination and termination. although they do charge for inbound calls which is quite unusual; you may want to look for cheap DIDs that are free for incoming if you expect a lot of call activity. if you want to avoid SIP configuration all together you may want look at services like talkplus or tossabledigits that a really targeting people who want to use traditional phones(cell/landline) and not set up any SIP server or PBX. they pretty much perfectly fit the application you are looking for of multiple incoming numbers forwarded to your cell with voicemail.

spg

Thanks spg,

I'm definitely not afraid of a few configuration challenges, and it certainly does seem that mysipswitch will be more than adequate for my needs. So I think what I'll do is just use them, and forward all calls to my cell phone, and allow its voice mail to catch all the calls.

With that settled, on to the next issue... I haven't been able to work out whether or not voip.ms allows you to specify your own CID - assuming they don't, are there any providers other than the flaky betamax ones that allow you to do so?

On a separate note - can multiple logins be made at once? e.g. could I have my ATA at home and my softphone at work logged into the same mysipswitch (or any other provider, I suppose) account at the same time? And can they both be making calls at the same time?

Thanks again, and sorry for all the newbie questions!

Gabe

Also, is there a website somewhere with a comprehensive list of DID number providers?

I had chosen voip.ms because their prices seemed relatively low given that I probably won't be receiving _that_ many calls through the DID numbers. But if that ever changes in the future, it's probably better if I'm not paying a per minute rate... so are there any low price, flat rate providers offering DID numbers in a variety (British Columbia, Ontario and New York, as a minimum) of North American markets? And are there any cheap toll free DID number providers (for novelty more than anything else)?

More importantly, getting back to my first question, is there anywhere that I can find out the answers to these questions without bothering anybody?

Thanks again,



Gabe

gabe :

Also, is there a website somewhere with a comprehensive list of DID number providers? I had chosen voip.ms because their prices seemed relatively low given that I probably won't be receiving _that_ many calls through the DID numbers. But if that ever changes in the future, it's probably better if I'm not paying a per minute rate... so are there any low price, flat rate providers offering DID numbers in a variety (British Columbia, Ontario and New York, as a minimum) of North American markets? And are there any cheap toll free DID number providers (for novelty more than anything else)? More importantly, getting back to my first question, is there anywhere that I can find out the answers to these questions without bothering anybody? Thanks again, Gabe

if these questions would be bothersome we would just stay away; please do not feel as though you are bothering anyone. as far as getting answers direct from a VOIP company. basically 'forget about it' unless you are dealing with one f the high priced companies targeting bussiness's. there is simply not enough profit per account for the discount players to provide more the the absolute minimum in terms of customer service.

google should find you DID providers. i do not know much about canada but believe that there is a company called acanac that is known for reasonable pricing and maybe vbuzzer. basically the more consumer oriented the less likely it may be to work smoothly with mysipswitch. you may even want to look at at voxbone(a wholesale DID provider). toll free will always result in a significantly higher per minute charge than using geographic numbers. but most north american DID providers can deliver them. also do not be afraid to use multiple companies. this will give you the additional reliability that if one of your numbers goes out due to a server failure it is less likely that your other numbers go out as well.

if it is strictly for novelty and you do not mind an extension you can get a free tollfree number with 60 free minutes no obligation/no payment details to submit from 'jaduka' it called the 'jaduka private line' service. i have one that i have never really used as a an emergency way someone could call me from any payphone (or other phone) in north america even if they have no money.

spg

p.s. freephoneline.ca offers a free softphone service in many canadian markets. what makes it interesting is the DID can be forwarded for free. so lets say you purchase a BC DID; you could get an ontario DID from freephone.ca and forward it for free as long as the city in BC is covered freephoneline.ca. you may even be able to get BC and ontario numbers and forward both to your cell phone directly.

actually if you plan on answering all your calls on your cell phone you may find it more reliable to not use mysipswitch and just get 'virtual numbers' that forward to your cell. as for the caller ID issue. you really need to ask that question directly to voip.ms. very few VOIP/SIP provider will let you do this. this will certainly be one of your limiting factors and may cost you a significant premium in per minute charges. on the other hand companies like talkplus and tossabledigits(and even grandcentral which would be free if you can somehow get an invitation) tend to market this as one of their many 'features' and may be the way to go if you do not plan on using SIP hardware/softphones.

I think I've pretty much decided how I'm going to set it all up... basically for forwarding calls to the DID numbers to my cell phone I've decided on the following.

One flat rate (well, for up to 3000 minutes, which I'll never exceed) Callwithus DID forwarding directly to my cellphone.

and...

One les.net and one voip.ms DID number going to a mysipswitch account, set up to first call out with callwithus (since they allow a custom CID, thus allowing me to pass the incoming CID through to my cell phone, and are cheap).

For outgoing calls, I'll just go through the callwithus account, setting the CID to my cell phone number.

In case anybody wants the info, apparently les.net and callcentric also allow you to set your own CID.

Anyway, thanks again for all the help. I'm sure I'll be back at some point with a new problem

Gabe

p.s. Is it possible to set up the voipuser incoming number to forward to my callwithus account? I won't be receiving that many calls from the UK, but I figure it's the least I can do to at least give a little bit back...

Quote:

Is it possible to set up the voipuser incoming number to forward to my callwithus account?

Yes absolutely ! You will need to ask your preferred commercial provider to confirm your SIP address with them, then just paste it into the Voipuser 'My Numbers' menu on the left side of your screen.

Thank you for your support

Hi again,

I just want to check to see what I'm misunderstanding... hopefully nothing, but anyway... I got the number set up and forwarding properly. No problems there. But something strange I noticed...

the rate for calls to my 0844 number, using callwithus, is $0.0140 USD per minute.

As far as I understand it, you receive more than this amount for each minute I spend talking on this line - am I wrong?

(as an aside for the admins, I currently have it forwarding to my mobile phone, rather than a true sip account, so please do not call me to test it without prior agreement)

Assuming I am not wrong, I'm sure the implications are clear to all... but who's paying for it in the end?


Gabe

Hi Looking at the callwith us routes, Im guessing that the cheap rates will fail and the higher rates will succeed.

This is because the call cost is £0.04 ie $0.08 . Now these might be loss leaders but I doubt it.

Don't bet on getting connected at $0.014.

Ian

Quote:

the rate for calls to my 0844 number, using callwithus, is $0.0140 USD per minute

Looks like that from their price list and in fact they may even charge that ... for a while until they realize !

Voipuser won't be losing out but it does cost more than 1.4 cents to call a UK 0844

I just tried it, and the call does indeed connect. So assuming your revenue on these incoming calls is greater than $0.014, you can basically print money just by calling yourselves - or am I mistaken somehow?

Gabe

gabe :

Hi again, I just want to check to see what I'm misunderstanding... hopefully nothing, but anyway... I got the number set up and forwarding properly. No problems there. But something strange I noticed... the rate for calls to my 0844 number, using callwithus, is $0.0140 USD per minute. As far as I understand it, you receive more than this amount for each minute I spend talking on this line - am I wrong? (as an aside for the admins, I currently have it forwarding to my mobile phone, rather than a true sip account, so please do not call me to test it without prior agreement) Assuming I am not wrong, I'm sure the implications are clear to all... but who's paying for it in the end? Gabe

it is really not that uncommon for foreign carriers(or one of many middle men in between) to take a hit on certain calls. for example lots of carriers(particularly USA based ones) charge UK cell phone rates(15 to 30 US cents) for calls to UK personal numbers. someone along the line is losing money in the process; but it is small in the big picture of things. even within the USA certain area codes can cost as much as 15 cents to terminate but that does not stop most LD carriers from charging the same rate for all long distance calls, usually under 5 cents per minute. the most extreme example that i can think of has top do with iridium satellite phones. telstra in australia has there own in country prefix for iriduim phones(sold under the telstra TMS brand). domestically these calls cost several dollars per minute but there are a few major USA carriers that charge as little as $0.02 for calls to these numbers. i believe in most cases it is the major wholesale carriers like AT&T, global crossing, level3, etc. that take the hit from these calls but there could also be cases where small operators suffer greatly.

Hi

Hmmm

Quote:

I just tried it, and the call does indeed connect.

do you know what you were charged? as if you look at the number search you will see they actually charge uptp $0.17 per min.

Ian

I'm familiar with the concept of loss leaders, but it's a fundamentally different issue where you can benefit financially by doing what's described below. Where the number does not share revenue, you can bilk the phone company, sure, but you can't profit personally. Where there _is_ revenue sharing, however, well, just imagine what happens if you set up 10000 revenue sharing numbers, and just leave 10000 calls to these numbers open. Assuming a margin of 1p per minute, you're making 100 pounds a minute (ignoring the costs of running the computer, that is). Hence my surprise at seeing this happening - it's a money tree.

Just checked my bill - I was charged a rate of $0.014 per minute, and I've even checked with the operator (it's a small company with very quick and excellent customer service, well, at least for the day I've used them, anyway) - he assures me that it's no mistake, and that the carriers they use to terminate do not distinguish the 0844 prefix from other 08X rates. (There is, however, a higher rate on 0870 calls if you look at the pricing guide.)

I was loathe to post this, in case there is a mistake on the part of the callwithus guy, but now that he's written me back, I don't see why I shouldn't... now it's time to set up my own 10000 revenue sharing numbers - what's the capacity of an asterix setup again? (:

Which brings me back to - what am I missing? Would doing this be illegal? If the error is indeed by one of the large carriers, it would probably take them quite some time to realise what was going on...