Telephone Landline/Voip?

[Spoonbed]

I have a landline at home ( used solely for business) which is on a continual divert to my mobile. Line is with Virgin Media

Now considering moving home, and wondered the best way of ensuring this landline "is mine" for as long as I need it, how to go about ownership, and if Voip(?) would be the best option?

Hope that makes sense!

[broxie]

As far as I know, you won't be able to transfer a geographical number to a new VOIP account, but you can get geographical VOIP numbers so you might have to bite the bullet and change your business number to your VOIP. I use Sipgate with the Zoiper app on my phone and laptop, although I've moved out of the area, I still use it and the caller ID always throws people when I ring them from Malaysia etc.

At home, I have a Cisco SPA112 2-Port Phone Adapter with a normal cordless answerphone plugged into it so I can receive messages if I don't pick up incoming calls within a few rings.

It's been very reliable in the several years I've been using it.

[BritishExpat]

We use Vonage and it's been brilliant. The monthly charges are reasonable and they have an extensions app with which you can link 2 mobiles as well.

I don't think you could port over an existing number though.

[wadebridge59]

My UK number is with https://www.localphone.com/terms. You can contact them to see whether they will port the Virgin number. As you always divert to your mobile I would use an app to make/receive calls. I use https://play.google.com/store/apps/d....wave&hl=en_AU. Register your new voip account on Grandstream and any calls to your local number will ring on your phone whenever you have a network connection by wifi or mobile data. One of the nice things about voip is that most providers include voicemail and email the messages to you.

I have 4 accounts registered on Grandstream. If you have any international customers you can get a local number from their country to make it easier for them to contact you.

[VDG]

My UK number is with https://www.localphone.com/terms. You can contact them to see whether they will port the Virgin number. As you always divert to your mobile I would use an app to make/receive calls. I use https://play.google.com/store/apps/d....wave&hl=en_AU. Register your new voip account on Grandstream and any calls to your local number will ring on your phone whenever you have a network connection by wifi or mobile data. One of the nice things about voip is that most providers include voicemail and email the messages to you.

I have 4 accounts registered on Grandstream. If you have any international customers you can get a local number from their country to make it easier for them to contact you.

Thanks for the heads up, although I’m not sure if I want either US or APAC clients to call me during their working hours ;)

[markrlondon]

As far as I know, you won't be able to transfer a geographical number to a new VOIP account

Yes you can, most UK POTS landline numbers can be ported to UK VOIP providers. For example, Voipfone can do this.

See https://www.voipfone.co.uk/PB_Porting_Numbers.php for information on porting UK landline numbers to Voipfone.

We can transfer almost any number including BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin Media, both Geographic starting 01 and/or 02, as well as Non-Geographic 03 and/or 08 etc. onto our service.

We can also port most AQL, Gradwell, Vonage, Sipgate, IPC and Voiptalk and some Skype numbers and numbers from other UK VoIP providers that are members of ITSPA, the UK trade body for VoIP.

We can sometimes port others too - please email porting with the number to see if we can.

[broxie]

Yes you can, most UK POTS landline numbers can be ported to UK VOIP providers. For example, Voipfone can do this.

See https://www.voipfone.co.uk/PB_Porting_Numbers.php for information on porting UK landline numbers to Voipfone.

Thank you. Every day is a school day!

[Maysie]

I have just sacked off my Sky landline number and transferred it onto my VOIP account, so it now runs over our 4G broadband connection.

Different VOIP providers have different charges for this service and they all have differing monthly/call charges too, so shop around for the best deal that suits you.

Edited to add:
I have found Voipfone provide an excellent service and their customer support is superb.
I also have a (free) Sipgate voip line and it is free for a reason....