Networking Now

Hi all,

I am currently looking into my options for a business line and numbers etc, so far the best looking solution to suit my requirements looks to be Skype with a number attached to it, only down side is that i am based on the south coast near Portsmouth and the nearest county numbers offered by Skype are Brighton and London?

Now London is a prestigious number but I would like to hear people’s thoughts on service providers and your thoughts on seeing a contact number for a business based in Portsmouth with a London Number? You can see my immediate thoughts on this I hope but I have a small predicament of being unable to get a second land line installed so looking to try and source a secondary solution for the business to keep it independent.

as always thoughts suggestions and ideas all welcome.

Hi Steve, I would point you in the direction of Helen of HLSBS, this is very much something in her area, am pretty sure VoIP is one of her bow strings, or knows a hell of a lot more than me @hlsbs on twitter buddy

Hi Steven

This is one of the areas I am currently moving my business into at the moment. Skype has its uses (am currently about to publish a blog on this tomorrow -will update link later) but I tend to prefer to use an ordinary VOIP supplier for my telecoms requirements.

My VOIP provider gives me a free geographic number, 1000 minutes of calls and the best call management system I could find all for £4.99 month plus VAT. There are other packages dependent on your requirements which could actually manage a whole switchboard for you should you require it.

The beauty of a geographic number is two fold. Firstly, your Clients can call you as part of their inclusive minutes allowance from their mobile, which wouldn't be possible with an 08 number. Secondly, you can have a geographic number from a location of your choice regardless of where you are based. I know of people who dont work in London who have London dialling codes so as to appear more local to their target market.

Now you have your VOIP number what do you want to do with it? Personally I have several settings on mine dependent on the day and the time of day. The call management system allows me to divert, have answerphone messages emailed to me, divert only on busy etc. The list is endless. Oh yeah, remember not to set two contradicting diverts like I did last week!

I originally used my number to give me a business line that I could divert to my mobile so that wherever I was I could receive Client calls. This works well, but really I need to make sure I am not taking calls if I am in a Client meeting. Also the cost of diverting to mobiles is more than the cost of diverting to land lines. Remember, you pay for the diverted part of the call from your call allowance. I now divert my calls to my call answering service. I figured if I was selling it as a service I should be using it myself ;) This means that I don't lose the calls that would have gone to answerphone. People are less likely to hang up if they speak to a person, and it also gives the illusion that I have a team of staff. But call answering is another topic altogether.

If your call goes to voicemail you will actually receive an email with a recording of the voicemail.

If you wish to answer the calls yourself you can download free softphones for your pc. These are a virtual phone that allows you to answer calls on your pc with a microphone and headset and are free. However, beware the call quality. You can get a usb phone that you can plug into your PC, better quality than the softphone but again, not the best call quality. Or you can buy a VOIP phone with router that will allow you through one phone to have your land line, several voip lines and answerphone. I love my VOIP phone! The call quality is excellent, it's just like any office or house phone and has the advantage that you can walk round the office with it and not be tied to a machine to answer calls.

I use really a combination of all three methods above depending on where I am and what I am doing.

When you move office you can take your voip phone number with you. In fact, you can answer it wherever you are in the world!

Feel free to DM me if you have any questions I haven't answered or you would like a link to the package or provider I have mentioned above.

hlsbs wrote:My VOIP provider gives me a free geographic number, 1000 minutes of calls and the best call management system I could find all for £4.99 month plus VAT.

Excellent price and volume of inclusive minutes, is this landlines only?

hlsbs wrote:have answerphone messages emailed to me, divert only on busy etc. The list is endless.

Perfect feature for what i am looking for.

hlsbs wrote:I originally used my number to give me a business line that I could divert to my mobile so that wherever I was I could receive Client calls.

I am looking to avoid having a second line fitted at the home office if possible and allow me to answer the phone like you do with Skype but as you mentioned I do not wish to compromise the call quality as a result of this.

I would be lookingto use a head set system pluged into the PC via USB unless a better solution is available.

hlsbs wrote:Also the cost of diverting to mobiles is more than the cost of diverting to land lines. Remember, you pay for the diverted part of the call from your call allowance.

I would not require the calls to be diverted to a mobile at this stage as thsi is an expense / luxury i can get by without for the time being but the voicemail to email fetaure sounds perfect so i can pick these up on the Blackberry instead and just call using my own call allowance here.

Also i have some good ideas for Answer phone message's that will not allow the customer / prospect forget our service which could be a good benefit.
My services will require me to be at my computer 90% of the time anyhow so unless i have a meeting with a client their should be no reason for me not to be available.

hlsbs wrote:If you wish to answer the calls yourself you can download free softphones for your pc. These are a virtual phone that allows you to answer calls on your pc with a microphone and headset and are free. However, beware the call quality.

I dont want to avoid compromising the call quality as mentioned above so your proffessional opinion hear would be greatfully appreciated.

hlsbs wrote:Or you can buy a VOIP phone with router that will allow you through one phone to have your land line, several voip lines and answerphone. I love my VOIP phone! The call quality is excellent, it's just like any office or house phone and has the advantage that you can walk round the office with it and not be tied to a machine to answer calls.

This sounds great but the hardware sounds very expensive? i am on a tight start up budget for year 1 & 2 as i am funding the complete network of businesses starting up independently and from my own pocket which is very shallow at the moment.


Can you answer inbound calls and call outside landlines and mobiles using the VoIP systme through your computer only?

hlsbs wrote:When you move office you can take your voip phone number with you. In fact, you can answer it wherever you are in the world!

Again this is perfect as by the end of year 1 i plan to be moving to more permanant offices already planned and this would be a big benefit.

Is VoIP an interent only based telephone access system?

There is an alternative to skype.

I am a Utility Warehouse distributor so if that puts you off now then that is fine.

Still here ok :)

The alternative that I can offer is an internet phone. This plugs into the back of the router and you can then use any phone. You can get up to 2 extra lines that will take voice calls - 'card swipe machines' have to plugged into the BT line.

You choose your std code. If you want Portsmouth or London or if you want to provide a service in Bournemouth with a local number then that is an option.

An alternative to having an 01 / 02 number is to go for an 08 number. I do not know if your clients / customers would be put off by that.

If this has provided food for thought & you would like to chat it over further - no obligation of course do get in touch 01603 485089

Best wishes
Mark

s.willett wrote:

hlsbs wrote:My VOIP provider gives me a free geographic number, 1000 minutes of calls and the best call management system I could find all for £4.99 month plus VAT.

Excellent price and volume of inclusive minutes, is this landlines only?
Apparently yes, just found the small print on that one myself. Then again if I ring a mobile I tend to ring it from my mobile. The free calls are to local and international landlines excluding mobiles and non geographic numbers.

hlsbs wrote:have answerphone messages emailed to me, divert only on busy etc. The list is endless.

Perfect feature for what i am looking for.

hlsbs wrote:I originally used my number to give me a business line that I could divert to my mobile so that wherever I was I could receive Client calls.

I am looking to avoid having a second line fitted at the home office if possible and allow me to answer the phone like you do with Skype but as you mentioned I do not wish to compromise the call quality as a result of this.

You don't need to have any additional lines fitted. This works over your exising internet connection.

I would be lookingto use a head set system pluged into the PC via USB unless a better solution is available.

I purchased a Philips headset from Amazon for around £10, it works well but I can only take calls when at the machine.

hlsbs wrote:Also the cost of diverting to mobiles is more than the cost of diverting to land lines. Remember, you pay for the diverted part of the call from your call allowance.

I would not require the calls to be diverted to a mobile at this stage as thsi is an expense / luxury i can get by without for the time being but the voicemail to email fetaure sounds perfect so i can pick these up on the Blackberry instead and just call using my own call allowance here.

Also i have some good ideas for Answer phone message's that will not allow the customer / prospect forget our service which could be a good benefit.
My services will require me to be at my computer 90% of the time anyhow so unless i have a meeting with a client their should be no reason for me not to be available.

hlsbs wrote:If you wish to answer the calls yourself you can download free softphones for your pc. These are a virtual phone that allows you to answer calls on your pc with a microphone and headset and are free. However, beware the call quality.

I dont want to avoid compromising the call quality as mentioned above so your proffessional opinion hear would be greatfully appreciated.
I know some people who offer call answering just using this software on their pc's and they assure me the call quality is fine. Perhaps it is just me remembering what it was like in the old days. I do however think the call quality is far superior on the DECT IP phone I now use. We could probably give you an example of how this works by having a call on my voip line, you will hear the quality that the Client hears when using the handset. I will see if there is a way you can do a test call on a softphone from your pc

hlsbs wrote:Or you can buy a VOIP phone with router that will allow you through one phone to have your land line, several voip lines and answerphone. I love my VOIP phone! The call quality is excellent, it's just like any office or house phone and has the advantage that you can walk round the office with it and not be tied to a machine to answer calls.

This sounds great but the hardware sounds very expensive? i am on a tight start up budget for year 1 & 2 as i am funding the complete network of businesses starting up independently and from my own pocket which is very shallow at the moment.
I know exactly what you mean. You can get a decent DECT IP phone for about £60 - £90, when you consider how much it would cost to install a new landline, this phone will go with you wherever you decide to move your business to and it will allow you to have about six different telephone lines on there. All of the VA's that I know that have invested in this phone swear by it, I have to say it is one of my favourite toys.

Can you answer inbound calls and call outside landlines and mobiles using the VoIP systme through your computer only?
Yes you can. Using the computer only you cannot make calls from your BT Landline but you can make all other calls.

hlsbs wrote:When you move office you can take your voip phone number with you. In fact, you can answer it wherever you are in the world!

Again this is perfect as by the end of year 1 i plan to be moving to more permanant offices already planned and this would be a big benefit.

Is VoIP an interent only based telephone access system?

My VOIP provider doesn't just offer internet phones, they also offer full business systems and can accomodate saving you money on your landlines. The package I mentioned above is ideal for a start up company but you can get full switchboard type systems with extensions etc and different call packages based on your individual requirements.

I want to make this clear that this is not Skype. Whilst Skype is a brilliant free product it works on a different level to VOIP and the two are not compatible. Skype is not compatible with many of the VOIP handsets out there. You will also find that you cant use the BT Home Hub phone to take your voip calls either, it will only work for the BT issued numbers which is a real pain as it is a nice phone.

Any more questions, or if I have forgotten to answer something please do get in touch and I will do my best to answer.

Well Helen,

Thank you, perfect just the information I required.

last couple of little things if you do not mind:

1) DECT IP phone for about £60 - £90: Do you have a web link?

2) so you would recommend the VoIP over the Skype?

3) I do currently have a BT Hub and Internet phone line but this is not reliable enough for me as it stopped with no warning once and looked as though it was still working fine.

I am not bothered about not being able to use the BT Broadband phone but would the VoIP cause this to ring as well do you know? I can take the whole phone off / away from the hub if this is the case?

Phone wise:
Check out 'Siemens Gigaset A580 IP DECT Cordless Phone - Black' by Siemens http://bit.ly/3N4opK

Check out 'Siemens Gigaset C475 IP' http://bit.ly/2Hf3QF

Check out 'Siemens Gigaset S685 IP' by Siemens http://bit.ly/1Q0K8s

There are three different price levels there. I use the middle one and love it, my colleague uses the third one and swears by that, however the first one is more entry level in terms of price, though neither of us has used it.

The third one does come with option of two or three phones as well which does bump the cost up.

For making and receiving calls I personally choose to use the VOIP, howeber, if you look at my blog today you will see all the things that I use Skype for: http://hlsps.blogspot.com/

The thing to bear in mind with both Skype and VOIP is that you will need an active internet connection for them to work. The phones listed above have a wireless router that plugs into your BT broadband hub. You can the programme the phone via your computer.

Any more questions you think of just shout.

Just found the perfect VoIP phone, if the services costs are suitable and call rates.

see here: VoIP Phone

Wow thats some piece of kit, worth the money? Will you use all it has to offer?