Want a boring phone

[expat]

I meant the ongoing subscription cost ~£40 pa. for skype number vs £0 for the 0845/VoIP. It would be OK if the service performed but so often it didn't.

£0? Virtual Telephone Numbers | Get a Virtual Phone Number says £20 pa for an 0845 number: still cheaper than Skype though.

Just because I do use Skype for voice and video calls (I got my current contract on a Skype video call while I was on holiday in Vietnam) does not mean that I have to use them for everything. The big advantage of a Skype Number is that I can answer a call in to it free with Skype, but since I am only on Skype by appointment that is hardly a factor (the Skype app on the iphone will not stay connected in the background).

Oh dear:
Skype out to French mobile: 7.2 cents per minute.
TTNC 0845 number, forwarding to a French mobile: £5.20 per minute. Ah, I think not.

[Contreras]

£0? Virtual Telephone Numbers | Get a Virtual Phone Number says £20 pa for an 0845 number: still cheaper than Skype though.

Interesting, I paid a tenner for setup with no ongoing costs since. That's for an incoming service though (voicemail + forwarding only).

Just because I do use Skype for voice and video calls (I got my current contract on a Skype video call while I was on holiday in Vietnam) does not mean that I have to use them for everything. The big advantage of a Skype Number is that I can answer a call in to it free with Skype, but since I am only on Skype by appointment that is hardly a factor (the Skype app on the iphone will not stay connected in the background).

Skype-to-skype works well as both parties know what to expect. I just no longer use it with a virtual phone no.

Oh dear:
Skype out to French mobile: 7.2 cents per minute.
TTNC 0845 number, forwarding to a French mobile: £5.20 per minute. Ah, I think not.

I'm not sure why (or how) you'd use an 0845 for outgoing calls? I have VoIP for that, configured to present Caller ID of either the 0845 or my mobile no. Also with no ongoing subscription costs.

[SimonMac]

https://www.just0845numbers.co.uk/

Free to set up and free to forward calls to a geographic number, I use a Skype number which I then forward to my mobile which I think is about £4 a month all in

[expat]

Interesting, I paid a tenner for setup with no ongoing costs since. That's for an incoming service though (voicemail + forwarding only).


Skype-to-skype works well as both parties know what to expect. I just no longer use it with a virtual phone no.


I'm not sure why (or how) you'd use an 0845 for outgoing calls? I have VoIP for that, configured to present Caller ID of either the 0845 or my mobile no. Also with no ongoing subscription costs.

No, I only want it for incoming calls, but I have to forward the incoming calls to my real phone. At the moment that is a French mobile, and TTNC will charge £5.20 per minute to forward my incoming calls to that. Looks good if you are in the UK but in the UK I just use my UK mobile number, I am looking to cover the case when my everyday phone is not UK.

SimonMac, I currently use a Skype Number which I forward to my mobile, but that has a 35 second delay on the forwarding. Getting rid of that is my quest right now, too many people will hang up before they get through.


To describe in detail:
I currently have a UK mobile, and a UK Skype Number.
I spend a lot of time outside the UK, in a varying set of places.
I usually have a local SIM card wherever I am, and would like only to carry that.
My current solution is to forward the UK mobile to the Skype number, and forward the Skype number to my current local number.

That is not working in practice, because the Skype number takes about 35 seconds of "ringing" before it forwards to my local mobile. Some callers hang up before it gets through. I don't want that so I am looking for another solution.

BTW you can change the Skype forwarding delay but the change only applies if you are logged in to Skype at the time of the incoming call! If you are not, then it goes back to the default.

[Contreras]

No, I only want it for incoming calls, but I have to forward the incoming calls to my real phone. At the moment that is a French mobile, and TTNC will charge £5.20 per minute to forward my incoming calls to that. Looks good if you are in the UK but in the UK I just use my UK mobile number, I am looking to cover the case when my everyday phone is not UK.

Right yes, I see what you mean.

But it's 5.2p per minute not £5.20 !

[expat]

Right yes, I see what you mean.

But it's 5.2p per minute not £5.20 !