Just wondering what your thoughts are on this. My mother phones me from her Virgin home phone to my mobile quite a lot. I've always known that this isn't the cheapest way to talk (x pence per minute, plus an extortionate connection charge), but she is old school and prefers to pick up the home phone than reach for her mobile (which admittedly isn't much cheaper - Vodafone PAYG). Also looking at the Virgin Media phone tarrif, calls to Three (my network) are more than all other networks!

I was looking at a site called Flextel.com which offers a variety of phone numbers that you can forward to any other number. I first heard about it when a guy on the radio was interviewed for getting back at the telesales people - buy an 0871 number and get paid to listen to their sales and nuisance calls!

But anyway, I see they also do local 01 and 02 numbers. They vary in price £2 to £999, the pricer ones being those with patterns in the numbers (good for companies to use I suppose). The £2 ones would suit me fine - a one off £2 from my pocket, forward it to my mobile number and give my mum and any other family this 01 number. That way mum can call me for cheap, and even free when in her call package (weekend and evening I think).

Has anyone done anything like this. Are there any disadvantages?

Ignore me - looking at the call charges, mum would be able to call me for cheap/free, but then I'd be paying 4p a minute for receiving the call. Looks like I'll be thinking of something else.

Presumably you have a call plan on your phone giving you x free minutes to landlines?

So why not arrange with your mum that when she wants to have a chat she calls you but you don't answer, she just puts the phone down after a couple of rings. You then call her back.

She won't get charged and your call to her will come out of your free minutes allowance. Everyone's a winner?

If you have an Android phone you can add an Internet phone number. I use http://www.sipgate.co.uk. It's totally free, and you can have any area you feel like, so if your Mum lives in Birmingham e.g. you can get a 0121 number.

You don't need any extra software.

1. Open dialer
2. Press menu button
3. Press Call Settings
4. Scroll down ti, you see Accounts
5. Press Receive Incoming Calls to tick it
6. At bottom is button, Add Account. Press it.

You will need to add all the details of your online sipgate account.

Untick Set as Primary Account.

Then make sure the receive incoming calls is checked. You will then be able to have this as an incoming virtual landline.

You do NOT get charged at all for incoming calls. And it will only cost your Mum the cost of a call she'd normally pay to landlines, unless she has bundsles minutes, in which case she just uses her landline minutes.


I've been using them for years for exactly the reason you have. So my Mum can call me.

I'll have to have look at this one. Never used SIP on a mobile before. Used to have an ADSL modem that had a port for a home phone so I know a little bit about how they work.

@chrisjr
Yes that would be my preferred option too as I've always got hundreds of unused minutes each month. As I say though mum is a bit old school so I'd have to get her out of the habit of ringing, hitting the voice mail then leaving a message 'hi its mum, call me back' as she then gets charged the ~25p connection charge and the 30ppm!

just tried this now... very cool.
it does have a slight battery hit on the mobile though.

one question, when receiving an incoming call to the sip number, the caller ID is showing as 01234567890@sipgate.co.uk.
can this be changed to just the number so that it matches with an address book contact?

I haven't got that far yet. Does sipgate only offer 0845/0870 numbers?

no, it has local 01x numbers too.
i picked up an 0141 number.

Doesn't seem to give me the option when I register

just remember when using sip if your not on an unlimited internet plan/using wifi it will eat into your data if you use it for a lot of calls,

I have been using this for a long time because my grandma gets unlimited landlines calls on her mobile so this makes it free for her to ring me but been on the one plan i dont think twice about it but if you have limited data just keep an eye out

Ash

I'm on the Three One Plan too

Remembered that I registered for sipgate years ago when I used my ADSL SIP gateway, so I've got my old local number back.

Not sure if it is just me, but when I tried registering the only options were 0845 and 0870. Similarly when it asked for my details the only options for title were Mr and Ms. Maybe it was my add blocker?

I'm in the same boat as chenks now though - it comes up with @sipgate.co.uk at the end of numbers to my phonebook doesn't recognise the number.

Ahh all good then no data bills heading you're way lol, I just tried to register and I'm also only getting offered these 2 numbers as well on my pc using chrome with abp, but on my phone it offers me them all so I think it is the add blocker you know

Ash

Why are you so insistent on overcomplicating things?

Just add free mobile calls to her VM landline. Done.

Beg to differ

Out of academic interest I had a look and when I went through the various steps to register I got a full set of options, the local STD code plus 0845/0870. That's using Firefox on Mac OS 10.8.4 with AdBlock Pro firing on all cylinders.

Maybe because that would cost her £120 a year extra and he can do this for free and may also benefit some of his other friends and family calling him

Not sure then just a note I use addboock plus not pro but could just be a coincidence

Ash

Misprint, should be Plus not Pro.

Extra compared to what? Not calling at all?

How would you know how much she pays in call charges at the moment?

I don't know how much she pays but if he dose this it means she can start calling free meaning she would no longer have to pay any call charges. Or have to start paying the extra £10pm/£120pa for the extra package

Ash

Yes she would.

01/02 calls are not free. They're just cheaper than mobile.

She still needs to pay for a package to call those for free, which is barely cheaper than the one that includes free mobile calls.

If quality/reliability becomes more important then you could divert using Localphone.com at a lower cost.

An 01 number is 75p per month then 1.8p per min of diverted to a mobile.

No reliability problems with sipgate for sure.

Any SIP service over 3G/mobile tends to be less reliable and punishes your battery.

I have accounts with sipgate/soho66/aaisp/pbxes and use both UDP and TCP based SIP fairly extensively.

I've had no real problems on WiFi (other than significant battery drain), but latency on 3G has meant that I no longer use it for work calls due to customers complaining.

In that situation call forwarding works much better for me.

That's because Sipgate's geographical IP detection is rather poor & it thinks that you are not in the UK. The only solution is to access their site from another ISP/network/location.

I use Groundwire on my iPhone with multiple Sipgate numbers.

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/grou...378503081?mt=8