IPKall alternative
dircom:
IPComms has worked fine for me, but I use it mostly if I need a phone number for verification, or for Craigslist
SteveInWA:
Quote from: WoodyGee on January 26, 2016, 09:48:15 am
Thanks for the reply. What's truly frustrating about this situation is the seemingly arbitrary nature of Google's approval of providers. Were I to pay the nominal fee for the Callcentric DID, I'm not even sure that their number wouldn't be blocked as well since Google won't publish a list of approved providers (https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/voice/YXhUZGnwzYw).
It's their service - for which we pay $0 - so I get the fact that they can do as they please. A little more flexibility would be nice, oh well...
There's nothing arbitrary about it. Google has taken steps to limit abuse of the service, from people like you who are claiming multiple phone numbers. GV is offered for individual, personal use, as an enhanced call forwarding and message management service. It is not a free phone company. This is an important legal and regulatory distinction. Google's enhanced anti-fraud measures are designed to limit the use of the service for telemarketing, robocalling, scamming, stalking, and similar purposes. The carriers that are being blocked are commonly used as "straw man" numbers to claim Google Voice numbers.
The fact that you already claimed multiple GV numbers proves that the anti-abuse measures are working.
LTN1:
Quote from: SteveInWA on January 26, 2016, 03:16:28 pm
The carriers that are being blocked are commonly used as "straw man" numbers to claim Google Voice numbers.
The fact that you already claimed multiple GV numbers proves that the anti-abuse measures are working.
Steve...I'd like to clarify this for other readers as you are the in-house GV expert. It is not all VoIP numbers that are being blocked by GV sign-up right? OP should still be able to get a telephone number from a reputable VoIP provider like CallCentric which should still work with GV. If I'm mistaken, please clarify.
SteveInWA:
Quote from: LTN1 on January 26, 2016, 04:02:41 pm
Quote from: SteveInWA on January 26, 2016, 03:16:28 pm
The carriers that are being blocked are commonly used as "straw man" numbers to claim Google Voice numbers.
The fact that you already claimed multiple GV numbers proves that the anti-abuse measures are working.
Steve...I'd like to clarify this for other readers as you are the in-house GV expert. It is not all VoIP numbers that are being blocked by GV sign-up right? OP should still be able to get a telephone number from a reputable VoIP provider like CallCentric which should still work with GV. If I'm mistaken, please clarify.
I can't get more specific than this, since doing so just makes things easier for the abusers. In general: working, paid telephone numbers, located in rate centers within the 48 contiguous US States, from any of the major, traditional landline carriers (e.g. AT&T, Verizon, Frontier) or cable companies (Comcast, Cox, Time Warner, etc.), or any of the true mobile carriers (not the freebie VoIP hybrids) should be fine.* Numbers from pure-play VoIP providers will likely not work.
*Edit: Google imposes limits on the number of times and/or frequency that a telephone number may be used to claim a Google Voice number. The details of these limits are not published. Again, this is an anti-abuse measure. For example, someone claims a Google Voice number in Los Angeles, then moves to Chicago, and wants to change their GV number. The correct procedure is to pay a $10 change fee, so deleting the LA number and requesting a Chigago one for free, or setting up a second Google account to request a new number using the forwarding number previously used to claim the LA number will fail. A similar scenario would also be blocked: a user claims a GV number, then wants x more GV numbers, and tries to use the same forwarding phone number to request the additional numbers. This will also be rejected.
WoodyGee:
While I certainly don't feel the need to defend myself, especially for merely posting a question where I specifically said that I do not want to engage in deceit, I don't appreciate being labeled an "abuser".
I am an individual and I use GV as an individual who manages a sole proprietorship. I happen to live in an area that has a couple of area codes and I have found that it is easier for those in other area codes, within my area, to remember my number when that number matches their area code. I do not telemarket, robocall, scam, stalk, or any other similar activity. I do not engage in fraud or abuse, see above.
Lastly, if GV accounts are truly intended to be one per individual, why are Obihai devices "officially supported" by GV?
"Up to four (4) Google Voice accounts may be configured on the OBi202." See, e.g. http://www.obihai.com/obi202pr
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