To port or not?
aopisa:
I guess I am a bit confused.
I have signed up with Vestalink in preparation for the GV cut off date. Is there any advantage to porting my number vs. just forwarding from GV? And it's not about the $13. I am cheap, but won't cry over $13 if there is some clear advantage or better peace of mind over forwarding.
Thanks in advance.
giqcass:
I would not port until after the 30 day money back guarantee has expired.
Advantages to forwarding from Google Voice.
You can forward to multiple locations.
Google Voice provides SMS.
Google has spam filters for calls and from the last time I used Vestalink Google has better Ring time scheduling.
Advantages of porting.
Better call quality. Adding multiple services will add some delay.
If using Vestalink Voicemail you will have message waiting indicator and stutter tone.
Adjustable ring time(I think) Check the voicemail settings to verify.
Notes: You can use Vestalink Voicemail if you forward from GV but you must shorten the ring time. Both services do voicemail transcription. If you don't port to Vestalink you will have 2 incoming numbers which could mean 2 targets for robocalls. Vestalink claims they are planning on adding SMS but no one knows for sure if/when that will happen or what additional fees might be involved for that feature.
carl:
I would port right away, just not to Vestalink. There has been a multitude of problems with GV forwarding and it will most likely get worse, not better. Also, expect increased problems with porting in April/May. As a matter of fact, i just started porting my second DID away from GV.
giqcass:
Quote from: carl on March 21, 2014, 08:04:00 pm
I would port right away, just not to Vestalink. There has been a multitude of problems with GV forwarding and it will most likely get worse, not better. Also, expect increased problems with porting in April/May. As a matter of fact, i just started porting my second DID away from GV.
When it gets close to the deadline you may be right about porting getting backed up. I have not personally had any issues with forwarding accept CID getting messed up. Even on the day Google Talk and Hangouts went down it did not cause any issues for my inbound calls forwarded to my Callcentric number. Callback also continued to worked for me that day.
There doesn't seem to be any reason to be hasty about porting unless there is a feature or a problem. At least one Vestalink customer on the forum seems to regret porting their number to Vestalink which is why I don't recommend doing it right away. That's why I said "I would not port until after the 30 day money back guarantee has expired."
I'm actually concerned the influx of customers on and around May 15th might cause another Vestalink disruption similar to the recent disruption.
SteveInWA:
Quote from: giqcass on March 21, 2014, 09:02:20 pm
There doesn't seem to be any reason to be hasty about porting unless there is a feature or a problem.
My opinion: there will likely be some increased demand and backlog of porting INto the various SIP ITSPs on/shortly after May 15th, due to the sheer size of the GV user base (millions). Of course, it will be "peanut buttered" across lots of SIP ITSPs. The fact is, underneath all those hundreds of big and small SIP VoIP retailers are only a small handful of actual Local Exchange (telephone system) Carriers who need to actually perform the ports (e.g. Level 3, Bandwidth, etc.).
However, and here is what I am really worried about, as a guy who answers questions over on the GV forum: if thousands of people wait until 5/15 or later to port OUT of GV, GV and its carrier partner's already crummy and fragile porting tools will keel over from the strain.
SO: my advice to everyone who is thinking of porting out of GV to some other carrier: If you like GV features, just leave your number with GV, and get a new number from some SIP ITSP, and forward your GV number to the SIP number. IF you are only using GV as a "free phone company", and don't care about all the nifty GV features, then don't wait. Port now.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page