EDIT: This thread has been solved for me at least. I have chosen to keep my GV number intact (for now), and signed up with VOIP.ms. I am forwarding my GV number to VOIP.ms and spoofing the GV during outgoing calls. That way I keep the GV# where it is and can continue to use its SMS features.
Hello, I have a some what a unique minimal service requirement. I have high speed internet 50/5 that I have access via Cat6 going to my Obi110. The internet access is not mine, I just have access to it via Ethernet into my bedroom/office and a 8 port giga switch. I have a GV number ever since it was first introduced. and I run a very small ebay biz making little money. I make maybe 1-10 minutes of calls a month, if that, in fact I think I used the phone this year for about 5-15 minutes total so far in 2014. I have a New Mexico GV 505 area code number that I am not willing to give up. All my banking, customers etc have my GV number so I do not want to lose it.
I am looking for free or nearly free service inbound and outbound just like I have with GV now and my Obi110. After hours of research I am thinking of doing this below.
1. Signing up for CallCentric's free DID and having GV forward to it.
2. Signing up for VOIP.ms .01 cent minute plan for outgoing calls, and have it spoof my GV number so when I call people they see my normal number they are used to.
3. OR, just sign up for a DID from VOIP.ms and have GV forward to it? (Not as complicated)
Would this work on the Obi110? I do not need 911 as I have 6 landline phones (EDIT: one of these are assigned to my room, I just do not use it) and 2 cell phones on different networks (neither are mine, I do not have Cell anymore) just a few feet/yards outside of my bedroom/office, although I do not want to be using them since they do not belong to me (and the landline quality here SUCKS). I have access to them if needed though. I am about 30 miles from Albuquerque NM, and about 1500 feet from the new fiber node (so 1500' of copper) they installed in 2013. Latency is around 50 ms but bandwidth almost never drops below 47 MB/s. My GV works great and perfectly for me now, so I am hoping I can replace it and stay near the same price tag.
I like the idea of $30 a year from Vestalink (Obivoice), but it still seems over priced for something I rarely ever use. And I keep reading people have been having problems with them.
So would this idea work, and what are the drawbacks if any? Is there a better method for me and my simple requirements? Thank you!
I would go with Localphone. US DIDs are $0.99/month. Free inbound. Free outbound to TollFree numbers. Outbound is $0.005/minute (that's 1/2 cent)
They can spoof your GV number.
They have subscriptions available.
250 outbound for $0.75/month $0.003/minute
800 outbound for $1.60/month $0.002/minute
5000 outbound for $5.00/month $0.001/minute
You can forward a Callcentric Free NY DID via SIP URI to Localphone. Have GV forward to the Callcentric DID. That should give you Caller ID and CNAM as well if CNAM still works from them.
I see a myriad of Features for PhonePower...
How can I see what features are available with Localphone?
I have been using Voip.ms for about a year now.
I pay $1.00 for the DID and $1.50 for 911.
It is .01 a minute for calls. It is good for me because I don't
make that many calls. Yes, you can spoof your Google #.
Also inbound goes through GV to my voip.ms number.
No delay and calls are clear. SMS is another thing they
have at a penny a text. But I still use GV for that.
Another great thing is they have a lot of servers all
around the country. So you can ping them and find the
best one for you. Soft phone works great too ! You can
make as many Sub-accounts as you want. I use Zoiper
for my cell and my Nexus 7 tablet.
Sorry guys, not sure why I wasn't notified of replies, but just now decided to see why no one has bothered to reply. I guess the forum decided not to bother to notify me after I clearly asked it to.
Anyhoo, So, @BruceW, are you saying that with Voip.ms I do not need the free DID from CallCentric? Yeah, I make very very little calls, sometimes none at all per month. I made a call two days ago for about 10 minutes to settle an issue at my Bank. However, that is about all I ever do, settle issues with the Bank, or with PayPal or with eBay and/or sellers/buyers and these issues are very rare. Almost every other type of call I get comes through the house owners phone, which they have one for each room and I rarely use it.
@N7AS, same questions, so the 99c monthly DID is if I wanted to use them for incoming and not use CallCentric? But if I wanted to save that dollar it would still work with CallCentric's free NY DID, but just be a slightly more complicated setup and then I would only be paying for outgoing minutes? Even the 250 minutes a month would be way more than I would ever use for sure. But I like that idea because it would be recurring and I wouldn't be wondering how much I owe. Also, it says that using PayPal pay option requires that I submit at least $10 up front. So how does this work? I pay up front and that is then used as credit for what ever services I signed up for? So if I only want the 250 minutes per month, they would in turn only take 0.75 cents monthly until that credit is no longer available and I just top off at my convenience when it gets low? If that's the case, that is very interesting.
Do they have setup fee's? I could not find anything mentioning setup fee's, or a spoofing fee.
Quote from: SkOrPn on April 11, 2014, 11:02:14 PM
@N7AS, same questions, so the 99c monthly DID is if I wanted to use them for incoming and not use CallCentric? But if I wanted to save that dollar it would still work with CallCentric's free NY DID, but just be a slightly more complicated setup and then I would only be paying for outgoing minutes? Even the 250 minutes a month would be way more than I would ever use for sure. But I like that idea because it would be recurring and I wouldn't be wondering how much I owe. Also, it says that using PayPal pay option requires that I submit at least $10 up front. So how does this work? I pay up front and that is then used as credit for what ever services I signed up for? So if I only want the 250 minutes per month, they would in turn only take 0.75 cents monthly until that credit is no longer available and I just top off at my convenience when it gets low? If that's the case, that is very interesting.
Do they have setup fee's? I could not find anything mentioning setup fee's, or a spoofing fee.
If you pay with a credit card, you can pay as little as $1.00. The setup fee for the DID is $3.00.
Quote from: N7AS on April 10, 2014, 05:25:34 PM
I would go with Localphone. US DIDs are $0.99/month. Free inbound. Free outbound to TollFree numbers. Outbound is $0.005/minute (that's 1/2 cent)
They can spoof your GV number.
They have subscriptions available.
250 outbound for $0.75/month $0.003/minute
800 outbound for $1.60/month $0.002/minute
5000 outbound for $5.00/month $0.001/minute
You can forward a Callcentric Free NY DID via SIP URI to Localphone. Have GV forward to the Callcentric DID. That should give you Caller ID and CNAM as well if CNAM still works from them.
Can you give instructions on how to forward CC DID via SIP URI to Localphone? I PM'd ya a few days ago, but haven't received a reply. This way it will benefit all on the forum.
Quote from: N7AS on April 11, 2014, 11:19:13 PM
Quote from: SkOrPn on April 11, 2014, 11:02:14 PM
@N7AS, same questions, so the 99c monthly DID is if I wanted to use them for incoming and not use CallCentric? But if I wanted to save that dollar it would still work with CallCentric's free NY DID, but just be a slightly more complicated setup and then I would only be paying for outgoing minutes? Even the 250 minutes a month would be way more than I would ever use for sure. But I like that idea because it would be recurring and I wouldn't be wondering how much I owe. Also, it says that using PayPal pay option requires that I submit at least $10 up front. So how does this work? I pay up front and that is then used as credit for what ever services I signed up for? So if I only want the 250 minutes per month, they would in turn only take 0.75 cents monthly until that credit is no longer available and I just top off at my convenience when it gets low? If that's the case, that is very interesting.
Do they have setup fee's? I could not find anything mentioning setup fee's, or a spoofing fee.
If you pay with a credit card, you can pay as little as $1.00. The setup fee for the DID is $3.00.
Yeah, but my bank is Bank of America which means I may see several fee's for sending money to the UK because BoA is very greedy and does not like sending money out of the country, lol. Would rather pay with PayPal since that is much more an International friendly corporation. Plus my only income comes from PayPal.
I keep hearing about CallCentric being really high quality DID, even their free ones. Is it a noticeable difference from Localphone to CallCentric? Not that I am being cheap, but if it is much higher quality and free, well you see what I am getting at. If its not that noticeable then I would want the easier to setup method which is probably Localphone DID. By the way, you mentioned pinging the servers. How would I go about doing that to see which ones provide the lowest latency? Also, did you say with Localphone my caller ID would continue to work properly? and that for SMS I would just keep using Google Voice on my computer as I do now? Sometimes I purchase stuff off of Craigslist and use GV for texting potential sellers and sometimes I use it for texting friends or family members.
Anyway thanks for your assistance. Its still hard to believe that Google is going down this route with their voip service. I was hoping they were going to have the next big thing with voice service, similar to how exciting their Fiber Internet is slowly becoming. Oh well, I think its for the best as we need less Google as apposed to more. I used to be such a huge Google fan boy, but now I see them as nothing but a major Privacy Invasion company. I wouldn't be surprised if they listened to every phone call made through their network just to key in on those specific key words to try and figure out what to sell us next.
Quote from: VoipDude on April 12, 2014, 06:12:27 AM
Quote from: N7AS on April 10, 2014, 05:25:34 PM
I would go with Localphone. US DIDs are $0.99/month. Free inbound. Free outbound to TollFree numbers. Outbound is $0.005/minute (that's 1/2 cent)
They can spoof your GV number.
They have subscriptions available.
250 outbound for $0.75/month $0.003/minute
800 outbound for $1.60/month $0.002/minute
5000 outbound for $5.00/month $0.001/minute
You can forward a Callcentric Free NY DID via SIP URI to Localphone. Have GV forward to the Callcentric DID. That should give you Caller ID and CNAM as well if CNAM still works from them.
Can you give instructions on how to forward CC DID via SIP URI to Localphone? I PM'd ya a few days ago, but haven't received a reply. This way it will benefit all on the forum.
Log into Callcentric dashboard. Click the Preferences tab then click the DID FORWARDING tab. You will see a list of your DIDs. Click the edit link on the right of the DID you want to use. You will see a list of options. Select the bottom one and enter the SIP URI for Localphone in the box. Use the format your Localphone account number @ localphone.com example xxxxxxx@localphone.com
click SAVe and you are done. All calls to that DID will be forwarded to your Localphone number.
@SkOrPn,
I use Bank of America and send money to Localphone all the time when I fill up. I have no problem. I just get nicked a 3% International Transaction Fee which amounts to next to nothing.
Quote from: N7AS on April 10, 2014, 05:25:34 PMYou can forward a Callcentric Free NY DID via SIP URI to Localphone. Have GV forward to the Callcentric DID. That should give you Caller ID and CNAM as well if CNAM still works from them.
Drawbacks:
1. Two additional points of failure - if ANY of the providers involved has an outage your calls will fail.
2. Significant additional latency. A quick example of where your incoming calls will travel: PSTN->Your GV number (let's say Dallas)->GV's carrier->CallCentric via PSTN (New York)->Localphone (Amsterdam!)->your adapter (Dallas). A local call which should've had very little latency is now routed to Europe and back. I'm pretty sure CallCentric proxies media and Localphone does proxy it if your adapter is behind a NAT router. This kind of setup is likely to have audible delays as-if you're getting the calls from abroad, because technically.. you are!
Or, you could go with a domestic provider, get a DID from them, and voila - no latency, no unnecessary points of failure.
Quote from: N7AS on April 12, 2014, 11:51:18 AM
@SkOrPn,
I use Bank of America and send money to Localphone all the time when I fill up. I have no problem. I just get nicked a 3% International Transaction Fee which amounts to next to nothing.
Which you could easily by pass by using Capital One credit card which does NOT charge this rip off fee.
Quote from: nitzan on April 12, 2014, 02:08:07 PM
Quote from: N7AS on April 10, 2014, 05:25:34 PMYou can forward a Callcentric Free NY DID via SIP URI to Localphone. Have GV forward to the Callcentric DID. That should give you Caller ID and CNAM as well if CNAM still works from them.
Drawbacks:
1. Two additional points of failure - if ANY of the providers involved has an outage your calls will fail.
2. Significant additional latency. A quick example of where your incoming calls will travel: PSTN->Your GV number (let's say Dallas)->GV's carrier->CallCentric via PSTN (New York)->Localphone (Amsterdam!)->your adapter (Dallas). A local call which should've had very little latency is now routed to Europe and back. I'm pretty sure CallCentric proxies media and Localphone does proxy it if your adapter is behind a NAT router. This kind of setup is likely to have audible delays as-if you're getting the calls from abroad, because technically.. you are!
Or, you could go with a domestic provider, get a DID from them, and voila - no latency, no unnecessary points of failure.
Domestic provider? Is there a list of US based Domestic providers? Maybe there is one in the South West US? I am located just outside of Albuquerque New Mexico, USA. Also, if Localphone has servers here, why would there be any routing outside the US?
Quote from: BruceW on April 11, 2014, 03:13:31 PM
I have been using Voip.ms for about a year now.
I pay $1.00 for the DID and $1.50 for 911.
It is .01 a minute for calls. It is good for me because I don't
make that many calls. Yes, you can spoof your Google #.
Also inbound goes through GV to my voip.ms number.
No delay and calls are clear. SMS is another thing they
have at a penny a text. But I still use GV for that.
Another great thing is they have a lot of servers all
around the country. So you can ping them and find the
best one for you. Soft phone works great too ! You can
make as many Sub-accounts as you want. I use Zoiper
for my cell and my Nexus 7 tablet.
You have an ideal setup which is the best of both worlds, GV and Voip.ms. It's very clean and works reliably. I like that they don't require you to have E911 service as I have that provided by at least two other carriers. Voip.ms is hard to beat IMO.
Quote from: BruceW on April 11, 2014, 03:13:31 PM
I have been using Voip.ms for about a year now.
I pay $1.00 for the DID and $1.50 for 911.
It is .01 a minute for calls. It is good for me because I don't
make that many calls. Yes, you can spoof your Google #.
Also inbound goes through GV to my voip.ms number.
No delay and calls are clear. SMS is another thing they
have at a penny a text. But I still use GV for that.
Another great thing is they have a lot of servers all
around the country. So you can ping them and find the
best one for you. Soft phone works great too ! You can
make as many Sub-accounts as you want. I use Zoiper
for my cell and my Nexus 7 tablet.
I just got out of a very long Chat session with VOIP.ms, and I must say what a nice experience. He answered every question quickly, was very friendly and even laughed and joked along with me. He even tested several servers close to me and suggested the best ones to start with. He said for $1.10 a month I can get exactly what I am looking for and he suspects it will be very high quality in my area. I think I will give them a try first.
The $25 minimum per deposit is kinda steep, but it may take me several years to use even that, so that definitely seems worth it. Thanks for recommending them.
Looks like you've already made your decision, but just to throw in my .02: there's really no reason to get a DID from localphone (or anywhere else), IMO: the callcentric DID works fine (again, in my experience: apparently mileage varies here). Just set up the callcentric DID as inbound in your OBI and have your GV number forward to it.
Outbound is the issue post 5/15, and for that, the least expensive options appear to be:
CircleNet - 7/10ths of a cent per min., rounded to 6 secs., $2 free credit up-front;
Localphone - 5/10ths of a cent per min., but rounded to nearest minute.
Voip.ms - proven quality; 1 cent per min., rounded to 6 secs.
Quote from: danielbliss on April 18, 2014, 07:56:10 AM
Looks like you've already made your decision, but just to throw in my .02: there's really no reason to get a DID from localphone (or anywhere else), IMO: the callcentric DID works fine (again, in my experience: apparently mileage varies here). Just set up the callcentric DID as inbound in your OBI and have your GV number forward to it.
Outbound is the issue post 5/15, and for that, the least expensive options appear to be:
CircleNet - 7/10ths of a cent per min., rounded to 6 secs., $2 free credit up-front;
Localphone - 5/10ths of a cent per min., but rounded to nearest minute.
Voip.ms - proven quality; 1 cent per min., rounded to 6 secs.
Yeah, but since they are over 2000 miles away from me (as apposed to 460 like voip.ms is), wouldn't I be possibly introducing lag or noise into the equation? Or are you saying that the Free NY DID can be connected via a local server like Denver, Dallas or Phoenix? I am in the South West central New Mexico.
EDIT: Ok, looking at the fine print on the Free NY DID it says
"US and Canada customers with Free Phone Number(s) on their account will be required to activate 911 for an additional fee as per FCC / CRTC regulations." After, looking up the fee, it is $1.50 per month, every month. The VOIP.ms is a total of $1.10 per month every month and includes 911, and has servers much closer to me. Not sure if I am missing something here, but it appears CallCentric is not that great a deal, unless of course your living in NY or close enough to them.
Quote from: SkOrPn on April 18, 2014, 07:49:42 PM
Quote from: danielbliss on April 18, 2014, 07:56:10 AM
Looks like you've already made your decision, but just to throw in my .02: there's really no reason to get a DID from localphone (or anywhere else), IMO: the callcentric DID works fine (again, in my experience: apparently mileage varies here). Just set up the callcentric DID as inbound in your OBI and have your GV number forward to it.
Outbound is the issue post 5/15, and for that, the least expensive options appear to be:
CircleNet - 7/10ths of a cent per min., rounded to 6 secs., $2 free credit up-front;
Localphone - 5/10ths of a cent per min., but rounded to nearest minute.
Voip.ms - proven quality; 1 cent per min., rounded to 6 secs.
Yeah, but since they are over 2000 miles away from me (as apposed to 460 like voip.ms is), wouldn't I be possibly introducing lag or noise into the equation? Or are you saying that the Free NY DID can be connected via a local server like Denver, Dallas or Phoenix? I am in the South West central New Mexico.
I'd agree with what was already stated: you are having a good customer experience with voip.ms, so enjoy and stick with them; they're a reliable and good-quality service provider with good tech support, as you found.
The "use Callcentric free NY DID for incoming but use Localphone for outgoing" is certainly another viable option, except, as has been pointed out it doubles the number of providers involved from a reliability perspective.
I use Callcentric, which can cost more, but again, I am very satisfied with their combination of quality service and support. I believe those things are worth paying for. No, the location of their SIP servers doesn't seem to introduce an objectionable latency, and (as long as the ITSP, like voip.ms, is using quality VoIP call routes) "noise" as you mentioned, is determined more by your own ISP's connection quality than the distance.
Latency tolerance is subjective, but I think most people don't start to notice until it's longer than about 3/4 second.
Yeah, CallCentric does seem like a great option, but I was reading the fine print on the free number and its telling me I must pay for 911 service per month. I already have 911 here on the landlines, not me personally, but still within the same House (I rent a room here), so I can call 911 if needed. Not to mention with VOIP.ms they have local numbers that coincide with my local area of Tijeras, NM. That will make the number look like its a local phone company even though we know better. And if something was to happen to GV, then I would already have a local (505) area code number in place to give out. I probably wouldn't have to do anything at all in that case, other than laugh at Google's fail. lol
Quote from: SkOrPn on April 18, 2014, 08:43:46 PM
Yeah, CallCentric does seem like a great option, but I was reading the fine print on the free number and its telling me I must pay for 911 service per month. I already have 911 here on the landlines, not me personally, but still within the same House (I rent a room here), so I can call 911 if needed. Not to mention with VOIP.ms they have local numbers that coincide with my local area of Tijeras, NM. That will make the number look like its a local phone company even though we know better. And if something was to happen to GV, then I would already have a local (505) area code number in place to give out. I probably wouldn't have to do anything at all in that case, other than laugh at Google's fail. lol
I hate to "touch the third rail" of the E911 debate, but I feel, as an aging baby-boomer who has indeed needed to call E911 for a health issue, that it is important to consider this: if you have a telephone in your home, people will assume that it can call E911 in a panic situation or emergency. If someone is having a heart attack, stroke, major bleeding or other emergency, precious seconds will be lost while someone else who doesn't know your phone doesn't reach E911 tries in vain to get through to E911. So, either pay the small fee for E911 service, or prominently label the telephone set as not working with E911. It's just not worth the risk.
Also note that CC will disable your DID if you don't answer any calls in 30 days. So if you use it infrequently, you might be better off paying VOIP.MS and having the peace of mind that your infrequent calls "will" get through
Quote from: murtazao on April 18, 2014, 09:52:51 PM
Also note that CC will disable your DID if you don't answer any calls in 30 days. So if you use it infrequently, you might be better off paying VOIP.MS and having the peace of mind that your infrequent calls "will" get through
Thank you for that tidbit. I didn't know that about CC and this takes them out of the equation for me. My phone wasn't used once in March.
I think I have settled onto the combo I am most interested in. Looks like GV forwarding to the VOIP.ms DID will work best for me. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions and tips. ;D
Quote from: SkOrPn on April 19, 2014, 01:26:52 PM
Thank you for that tidbit. I didn't know that about CC and this takes them out of the equation for me. My phone wasn't used once in March.
Don't believe everything you read on the Internet.
QuoteEach Free Phone Number must receive call(s) from the PSTN totaling at least one (1) completed minute of use every three (3) months; or they may be removed from your account without warning.
Quote from: Taoman on April 19, 2014, 01:35:04 PM
Don't believe everything you read on the Internet.
QuoteEach Free Phone Number must receive call(s) from the PSTN totaling at least one (1) completed minute of use every three (3) months; or they may be removed from your account without warning.
Correct.
And frankly, if you do not use a DID for 3 months you probably do not need it. You can program into your cell phone a reminder and make a 61s call to your CC DID saying a prayer. ;)
Quote from: carl on April 19, 2014, 08:15:24 PM
And frankly, if you do not use a DID for 3 months you probably do not need it. You can program into your cell phone a reminder and make a 61s call to your CC DID saying a prayer. ;)
Precisely what I do. Good for the soul.
Quote from: SteveInWA on April 18, 2014, 09:26:52 PM
Quote from: SkOrPn on April 18, 2014, 08:43:46 PM
Yeah, CallCentric does seem like a great option, but I was reading the fine print on the free number and its telling me I must pay for 911 service per month. I already have 911 here on the landlines, not me personally, but still within the same House (I rent a room here), so I can call 911 if needed. Not to mention with VOIP.ms they have local numbers that coincide with my local area of Tijeras, NM. That will make the number look like its a local phone company even though we know better. And if something was to happen to GV, then I would already have a local (505) area code number in place to give out. I probably wouldn't have to do anything at all in that case, other than laugh at Google's fail. lol
I hate to "touch the third rail" of the E911 debate, but I feel, as an aging baby-boomer who has indeed needed to call E911 for a health issue, that it is important to consider this: if you have a telephone in your home, people will assume that it can call E911 in a panic situation or emergency. If someone is having a heart attack, stroke, major bleeding or other emergency, precious seconds will be lost while someone else who doesn't know your phone doesn't reach E911 tries in vain to get through to E911. So, either pay the small fee for E911 service, or prominently label the telephone set as not working with E911. It's just not worth the risk.
+1
I just don't see risking your life or the life of someone else a few dollars year if do you not not already have e911.
In addition to the reason stated above, not having e911 could have serious consequences if you are able to dial 911 but, are unable to speak. Even calling 911 on a mobile phone will not give emergency services your actual location if you cannot speak or if the person calling does not know the address.
OP Edited to be more clear.
As I said, I already have 911. I already have access to two phones in my room, one is a landline and the other is connected to my Obi110. If I need to make a 911 call I will obviously reach over, pick up the landline phone and make the call. I just keep the ringer off since it bothers me to no end and always being used by someone.
Furthermore, No one comes into my room, it is my room, off limits and doubles as my business office. No one knows I have this Obi+Panasonic phone combination, and it NEVER leaves my office desk. If there is an emergency, why would people in other rooms, on the other side of this house going to bypass all the phones sitting right next to them in and try and locate a phone they are not aware of in another room they are not even welcome in? lol that makes no sense.
I do not have a Cell phone anymore and I do not want one, unless it is 100% free, and assuming I can find a purpose for it. If I come across a purpose for having one I will most definitely get one, or I will simply re-activate my old Nexus S. I turned off my money sucking Nexus S two years ago and no one has even noticed. So until I need to make calls or receive calls via mobile I do not need it right now. I consider Cell phones for people who are mobile and on the move. I am not mobile.
My questions have already been answered. Thanks again to everyone here ;D
I signed up for VOIP.ms and GV is being forwarded. The few calls I have made sound fantastic. Now I hope the incoming works, lol... well see. Thanks everyone.