Newbie help please - quick question

Hi there,

Basically I am starting a business and I require simply an 0840 number in order for my business to look professional. I would also like calls recieved forwarded to my mobile phone.

I do not need to make calls from this number.

I wondered if there are any free services out there for my needs? If not, what are my cheapest options? I have tried sipgate but it seems far too complicated showing my number as 'offline.'

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Welcome to Voipuser forums.

I think it depends on too many variables to offer much help without more information. If I was looking for a local tradesman in the UK then I think I would look for a local number starting 01XXX not an 0845 or 0844 number. If it was a national company I would expect an 0800 number (1800 here). DID numbers are not all that expensive but you problem is with forwarding to a UK cell as over there it is caller pay so forwarding costs a likely to be rather high.

By default, Sipgate probably forwards to your registered user account and that is what the offline indicates. I have a Sipgate 0845 number and if that is called it rings the phone registered to my Sipgate account here in Canada.

A geographic number from DrayTel correctly displays the caller ID when diverted to mobile, so I assume an 0845 number would too. But you pay for the diversion as noted above!

Google voice may achieve what you are trying to do.

Google Voice is USA only at the moment.

Draytel and most of the other non-geographic number providers can give you a service that does this, but as mentioned you'll pick up the cost of the mobile forwarding.

There's no free option and even if there was you probably wouldn't want it for business purposes. Missing business calls can be costly - you need an "always-on" supported service.

Hi,

You can buy '0845' numbers or '01xxx' numbers, it depends on what you find more attractive or easy to remember and you can also buy a call forward option which will enable calls to be forwarded from that number to any landline, mobile or ring one then divert to another etc.... it really depends on you need.

There are companies that do all of those things and they are very easy to set up (you dont have to do hardly anything) and you can manage your account online too and see calls, missed calls, voicemails etc all online. It's very simple and easy.

Hope this helps.

Hi Voipnewbie

The best you can do is search for a VOIP provider that offers cheaper than other provider. You can download trial versions so that you can test their product to make sure that its worth it. Now a days we have many VOIP provider that offers cheep services. So try to surf up.

You need to asses first what number would really support the growth of your business. You can choose from 0800 or 0845. 0800 is a toll free number.Callers are not charged for calling this number so,they are encourage to make call thus creating high response rate. This number is not bound to a certain geographic area which creates a wider business coverage.The 0845 number on the other hand would charge long distance call same with the local call.

Some Virtual PBX providers include this number in their plan. You can read reviews on line so that you can compare different providers.