Hello. I'm starting a business and need a telephone number so that I can advertise it and put it on stationary. However... we won't be needing an office for another three or four months.

What I was wondering is is it possible to register with BT, get a landline telephone number and pay line rental WITHOUT actually having a phone line installed. Then if somebody calls the number it gets redirected to another number (such as a mobile). Anyone know if it's possible?

I did spend most of Friday trying to get through to BT to ask them but they don't seem to like picking up the phone!

You could get a number via VoIP, get one free - a local number and not pay monthly line rental. Whether you'd want to use VoIP form then on, I don't know. The number could be diverted to a mobile (though you'll have to pay the call costs to the mobile) and if you did want to then move the number to BT they might not accept the number.

Still you could simply get a line from BT and use that for fax, have decent broadband on it and carry on with the VoIP number as the voice line.

You can get ATAs (analogue telephone adapters) quite cheaply, the Linksys range being very good, which you connect to a router and then connect up telephones.

Yes - getting a number from a VoIP provider is probably the best idea.

I work for a VoIP provider in the UK, you can PM me if you want any information .

You can do exactly as you want because i did the same thing a few years ago. Order your new line and tell them when you want it installed. They will give you a new number right away and you can simply ask for it to be diverted to XXX until furthur notice. You will have to pay line rental and also for the diverted portion of any calls. I actually had a Norwich number (with no line at all) diverted to my mobile for a couple of years.