VOIP phone numbers: listed or unlisted?
Lafong:
Quote from: CoalMinerRetired on October 24, 2013, 06:44:33 pm
And in reality you do want this (the address and your name) to be correct and accurate. I can't say this authoritatively, but it seems that no 911 service provider can go out and sell or otherwise give away your info. In summary, if you want to take it to this level of privacy and anonymity then simply do not sign up for any 911 service................
I think it's a very bad idea to use a fake name on any 911 account.........
If you truly want to know if that is a possibility, then read any and all of the terms and conditions for using Call Centric. By law they have to spell it all out for any consumer............
> I assume the router functionality MUST be used for the OBI to work at all?
No, not necessarily.
Thanks for response.
Re 411: I may push the limits or maybe not. Truth is, I screen all calls regardless and the voice that answers my phone is a generic sound file that came with the telephone. As I understand it, a person can have many Google accounts. I'll use this current one ONLY for phone purposes, no credit card involved. Actually, the less I have to do with Google, the better, so I may eventually just go completely with someone like Callcentric.
Re 911: As you imply, it's pointless for 911 to have bogus names or addresses. I'll either be truthful or just not get 911 service. I talked to local fire/police non-emergency dispatch today and they advised the local system is E911, but does NOT have a 7 or 10 digit number equivalent that puts you at the top of the queue as would 911. But the only apparent advantage to 911/E911 I can see is that they can read your address in case you are speechless for whatever reason. Non-emergency dispatch claims they can get help to you just as quickly assuming you can talk to them. I could just put their 7 digit number into speed dial.
Re router: appears I was mis-informed. I thought I needed router and thus went with 202, not 110. No big deal.
Considering I have zero router experience, do you recommend I try to get things going via Obitalk or through local web interface? This will I hope be a very simple config---high speed Internet, one wired phone, one number, one desktop PC, all wired, no cells, no network, no separate router. I'd want to let my phone do the call screening rather than Google. Never configged a router, so I'm a babe in the woods.
Lavarock7:
Many people have unlimited calling on their cellphone or it doesn't matter if they dial local or long distance. Where the area code comes in handy is when people decide what time is appropriate to call. I have numbers in cities 6 hours earlier than where I live, thus calls at 3am are not uncommon.
There is also an interesting effect I noticed having to do with telephone numbers. It may help you decide where to get a phone number.
First, Googlevoice will give you a free telephone number, but that number may or may not be in the area where you live. You also get free US and Canada calling. Google charges a porting charge to take an existing number to them. I believe $20.
Other Voip providers offer porting a number anywhere from free (Voip.ms) to $10 or maybe $15. You also can buy a telephone number in various cities (more than Google). I looked at Voip.Ms and their current charge is usually 50 cents to buy a number and for most people 99 cents per month to have the number in their account. There are a few exchanges where they have to pay more to get a number, and then the charge is $1.49 a month. Here in Hawaii, my local exchange is $1.49 but if I wanted a toll-free number instead, it is only 99 cents. It is cheaper monthly for me to have a toll free number than a local number!
Where Google gives you free calling, voip companies charge either a flat rate per month or per minute for calling. There may be free inbound minutes or a combination of both. Calls on a toll free number may be more expensive than on a non-toll-free number. Still, there may be considerable savings over traditional phone service, which also would not include all the options of voip. You might also be able to make your outbound telephone number match another phone number you have (but Googlevoice does not).
Some services also allow you to decide what caller ID shows to the called party (CNAM).
Lafong:
Lavarock:
Thanks for the input.
I don't care about my current number, so porting is out. I'll just get a new one. Where, I'm not sure. I don't really care if it's not a local number, but I might at least keep it within the state.
I make and receive few calls (rarely an hour a month), so most likely would want free Google or "pay as you go" from someone like voip.ms or Callcentric. I've already checked Callcentric and it looks like their "Pay Per Call" would cost about 1.95 per month, plus about $1.00 per hour actually on the phone, plus 911 for 1.50 if I want that. Plus one-time setup of $5 or $6. Plus taxes and fees.
I guess if I went with Google for all non-emergency calls, my only charges would be for 911 at Callcentric.
My concerns are mainly about uptime generally (reliability) and expense. My current phone bill is $20 plus---for an hour or less per month. I'd be better off with a 1950s pay phone considering my usage pattern.
I use Google as a search engine and for maps, but none of their other crap. I generally don't like the way they try to insinuate themselves into every corner of my life and do not use any "portable" devices other than a TV remote control.
I've also thought about a cheap throwaway cell phone for 911 only. I know next to nothing about cell phones, but I hear there are such "prepaid" things. But that's a complication.
Jackson:
There are a number of search engines that claim anonymity.
This one uses Google.
https://startpage.com/
Quote
Startpage, and its sister search engine Ixquick, are the only third-party certified search engines in the world that do not record your IP address or track your searches.
CoalMinerRetired:
Quote from: Lafong on October 24, 2013, 07:49:45 pm
Quote from: CoalMinerRetired on October 24, 2013, 06:44:33 pm
And in reality you do want this (the address and your name) to be correct and accurate. I can't say this authoritatively, but it seems that no 911 service provider can go out and sell or otherwise give away your info. In summary, if you want to take it to this level of privacy and anonymity then simply do not sign up for any 911 service................
I think it's a very bad idea to use a fake name on any 911 account.........
If you truly want to know if that is a possibility, then read any and all of the terms and conditions for using Call Centric. By law they have to spell it all out for any consumer............
> I assume the router functionality MUST be used for the OBI to work at all?
No, not necessarily.
Thanks for response.
Re 411: I may push the limits or maybe not. Truth is, I screen all calls regardless and the voice that answers my phone is a generic sound file that came with the telephone. As I understand it, a person can have many Google accounts. I'll use this current one ONLY for phone purposes, no credit card involved. Actually, the less I have to do with Google, the better, so I may eventually just go completely with someone like Callcentric.
Apologies, I read 411 and saw 911 in this. Rather than edit my previous reply, take it as such.
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