Hello. I just received my Obi110 and have done the basics to prove it works with Google Voice.
Several things have come together recently to make me change how my family's phone service is configured.
- I have had a VOIP phone for many years running successfully using Galaxy Voice, a small local provider in Massachusetts, configured on a Grandstream HT-386. Sadly, I received a notice recently that they were ceasing operation within this month and if I don't port out we will lose our long standing home phone number (978-39x-xxxx). Our E911 was through this provider and we want to keep E911.
- My wife and I both have individual Google Voice numbers (978-2xx-xxxx and 503-3xxx-xxxx) which are currently forwarded respectively to each of our individual cell phones' numbers (978-38x-xxxx or 603-8xx-xxxx) and that VOIP line above (978-39x-xxxx) due to spotty reception at home. I'm set up with GV voicemail on my cell (and my wife will be soon).
- My parents have recently gone into a Nursing Home which only allows calls to local (603-xxx-xxxx) numbers from their room but we don't have one. I plan to set up a Google Voice number in 603, pointing to our other phone(s).
- I also work with a couple of non-profits which I've set up with GV service, which I currently forward to my home phone (but are usually on do not disturb, acting primarily as vmail to email/callback service).
My original intent was to port the 978-39x home number through a prepaid cell to Google Voice and then use that with the Obi as our primary phone, with something like Callcentric, etc. for outgoing E911. However I'm now aware that we could not forward other Google Voice numbers to this number if we did that, so my plan needs changing.
What I'm hoping to do with the least complication is achieve the following:
Have calls placed to our home phone (978-39x) ring there and both our cells (503-3xx and 978-38x) and leave vmail on the home phone (GV?) mailbox when unanswered. Calls placed from that home phone show the (978-39x) caller ID and hopefully use GV for the free service.- Have calls placed to either of our personal GV numbers (503-3xx or 978-38x) ring through to our cell and the home phone (978-39x) but leave vmail on our respective GV mailboxes.
Have calls placed to my Parents' new GV number (603-xxx) ring through simultaneously to my cell (978-38x) and our home phone (978-39x) and leave vmail on my GV mailbox.
- Non-profits calls stay as before, forwarding to home (978-39x) sometimes, but mostly vmail to email/callback.
How would you configure this set up? I have an Obi110 and a Grandstream HT-386 hardware currently to work with.
I'm now thinking that I may need to bite the bullet and get a paid VOIP low outgoing/free incoming service as an anchor destination for all the inbound GV forwards and placing E911 calls (and port the existing home phone 978-39x there). However that will kinda eliminate the benefit of the Obi/GV approach, probably not even using the Obi110. Are there better alternatives?
GV doesn't easily (if at all anymore) allow forwards from GV numbers to GV numbers. So that right there tends to put a wrench in things.
Start with getting your number ported to something durable since that seems important.
One or two low cost voip DID's would be handy to handle all the GV forwarding you want to do. Once you figure that out, it should fall into place.
The solution is easier than your think....
Port your regular phone number to GV (through a pre-payed cell phone). Set up Callcentric for your E911 service and let Callcentric issue you a new phone number (ie don't port a number over). You will forward you and your wife's GV number to that Callcentric number. If you set up a new GV number for your parents to use, then forward that number to the Callcentric number too. Or you can have Callcentric give you a number in the 603 area code and give that number to your parents. Then you can skip setting up a GV number for them since they can call directly to the Callcentric number.
You'll have to pay Callcentric for these incoming minutes, but only for the forwarded calls from your cell phones and incoming calls from your parents - all other incoming and outgoing calls from your GV Home number will be handled through GV for no charge. You can pay by the minute ($1.95/mo + $0.015 per minute) or if you expect to have a lot of incoming minutes (break even is about 265 minutes/mo), they have an unlimited residential incoming plan for $5.95/mo. Check out the pricing here http://www.callcentric.com/did/ (http://www.callcentric.com/did/)
In other words, your original plan works just fine, but instead of forwarding your cell GV numbers to your new home GV number (which you cannot do), forward them to the Callcentric number that you are going to be setting up for E911 service anyway. You don't need to give this Callcentric number out to anyone (other than your parents if you don't use GV for that setup) because only GV numbers will be forwarded to it. People will have your cell GV numbers and your Home GV numbers as they always have.
Your Obi110 will be set up with your Home GV number as service provider #1 and Callcentric as service provider #2. All non-emergency calls will go out via the Home GV number and people will see that caller ID on their phone when you call. 911 calls will go out via Callcentric to use their E911 service.
Incoming calls from your Home GV number will come in via service provider #1. People that call your Cell GV and your wife's Cell GV number will have those calls ring the respective cell phone number AND the Callcentric phone number. This means both the cell phone and the home phone will ring because those calls will come into the Obi via service provider #2 (the Callcentric line). Callcentric will forward the original caller ID number so the actual caller's number will appear on your home phone's caller ID, not your GV number or Callcentric number.