Landline to Mobile - Any Suggestions?

[ekke_287 10]

Hi all,

 

I've been looking into getting a cheap mobile phone on SIM for my business only. I'm looking to get a landline number to divert to this phone, but looking online there seems a baffling amount of options, all with monthly costs.

 

I'm simply looking to get a unique landline number (not my house) to direct to a mobile phone but it seems overly complicated.

 

Is it possible to buy landline sim cards or diverts? Does anyone have any experience doing this? Can you recommend a service?

 

My current home telephone is provided by Sky, and I've been told they can offer a forwarding service, the problem is I'm living with in-laws at the moment while our house is finalised so it's an inactive service for the foreseeable future.

 

Any help or advice is appreciated!

 

Thanks, ekke.

[Chez2 10]

See what O2 can offer. We have an O2 landline and smart mobiles via O2 so I can't answer you question. We can divert the landline to our mobiles as and when we want. I know you don't want a landline.

[MobileB 10]

Not sure if any good for you but with Virgin Media landline you can upgrade it so that mobiles and calls to 01, 02, 03, 0870 and 0845 are included in the package. It is £15 per month on top of the line rental.

 

Detail here:

 

http://store.virginmedia.com/phone/compare-fibre-optic/index.html

[Copperwood 10]

I've spent a fair bit of time lately looking for a decent way to do this myself and I ended up going for a deal with EE.

 

EE offer a service called Pocket Landline where they give you your own local number (ie. 0114...) for £12 per month. All the calls go directly to your mobile and there's no extra charge to you or the caller other than the normal costs.

 

Alternatively you could set up a call divert from an existing landline to your mobile but once you take in to account the divert charges and per minute charges it can end up costing a fortune.

[Nekatom 10]

Not exactly cheap though £12 every month.

[mlfc 10]

Funnily enough I'm just in the process of doing the same thing for a franchise I've just bought.

 

I've ordered an 0800 number and an 0114 number. They are virtual numbers and you have to divert them online to whichever number you want to answer them on. Prices are as follows. The call charges relate to the diverting part of the call ie whether you answer on a mobile or landline

 

0114 number is £10 setup and £5 per month then 1.5ppm landline and 9ppm mobile

0800 number is £10 setup and £5 per month then 7ppm landline and 16ppm mobile

 

Happy to pass on the supplier's details if you are interested

 

---------- Post added 02-03-2015 at 20:30 ----------

 

And further to that will also probably buy a cheap mobile to make calls from as I'd like to use a different number to my personal/other business mobile

[Nekatom 10]

Why do we bother with the landline? I have 2 mobiles, thinking of putting 2 numbers on van and stationary and not bothering with landline.

[ekke_287 10]

Thanks for the suggestions all, I'll probably have a wander down to the EE shop for a chat and see if I can get this moving.

 

It's a bit tricky becasue £12 per month doesn't sound a lot, but actually is when I add it on to my other outgoings per month for the business.

 

I think the benefits of offering a landline option to customers outweighs the downside though, so we'll see.

[heavenlyarts 10]

check out http://www.sipgate.co.uk

 

and run to a voip app on your phone

[truman 10]

Why do we bother with the landline? I have 2 mobiles, thinking of putting 2 numbers on van and stationary and not bothering with landline.

 

Just from a customer's point of view a landline seems to offer a bit more of a feeling of permanance.. doesn't seem as "fly by night" as just having a mobile ...not saying it is.. just that that's how it seems..

[Private-Medi 10]

you can get a landline number from skype for £4.20 including vat. When somone calls it can either go through to your skype account mobile / pc. Or you can set up cal forwarding straight to your mobile.

 

---------- Post added 03-03-2015 at 12:23 ----------

 

to set up call forwarding to a mobile on skype you will need a package that covers both landline and mobile calls.

 

So all I do is have the skype app on my mobile and just pay the £4.20. You also get a free voicemail that can send you either an email or a text to let you know you have a message.

[Chez2 10]

Just from a customer's point of view a landline seems to offer a bit more of a feeling of permanance.. doesn't seem as "fly by night" as just having a mobile ...not saying it is.. just that that's how it seems..

 

I agree. It does depend on your target market though. My customers know I'm not always in the office so they email (which I pick up on smart phone) or they call my mobile. Potential customers may view this differently, hence we give out two landline numbers. I can divert my calls from my landline but don't bother. One landline is a shared reception/virtual office service so there is someone to pick up the calls.

 

A business landline for a small business is not much more than a domestic landline, its not much to pay per month.

 

I do wonder why people use 08 or 0845 numbers now though. Most people use mobiles and calls to 08 or 0845 number aren't free but standard UK geographic numbers are for people on contracts.