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GSixZero · Jun 2, 2006, 02:17 AM

So I moved from Colorado to Seattle in 2000, and never got around to getting a local phone number for my cell phone. I still have my colorado area code. I don't really want to change now, since I think the hassle would be huge, but I'm going to be looking for a job and I'd like to have a local phone number for employers to contact me at. I'm looking for a service that would give me a Seattle (206) phone number that forward calls to my current cell phone number. Does anyone have anything like this? I googled around and found some companies that do this sort of thing, but didn't get a great sense of confidence from them.

Then I started thinking about just getting Vonage at my house, with a local phone number, and then just setting that up so my cell phone would ring at the same time as the vonage line, and I could essentially work the problem the same way. Does anyone use this feature? How well does it work?

Any other suggestions on how to go about this?

Thanks.

kikkoman · Jun 2, 2006, 06:30 AM

Yes vonage can do that and it works pretty well.

Mastrap · Jun 2, 2006, 07:56 AM

Don't the long distance charges kill you?

zmcgill · Jun 2, 2006, 08:07 AM

Not if he's got a nationwide plan. I can go most places in the US and not be roaming or long distance. One advantage of using Verizon.

Dork. · Jun 2, 2006, 08:27 AM

It works quite well. I have a job where I can work from home on occasion, and I got a Vonage line as a second phone line that my co-workers can call without tying up my home phone line or eating up cell plan minutes. When they call that number, it simultaneously rings my office phone so that I can take the call if I'm in either place.

In addition, I turned off the Vonage voice-mail feature so that if I'm not available at either phone, my work voice-mail picks it up just like any other outside call, and all my work-related voice mails stay on their system.

Skype is also an option, I think you can do the call forwarding there also and it's probably cheaper in the long run but I think vonage has better quality (especially if you put the VoIP box "in front of" your home network so that it can grab all the bandwidth it needs...)

BTW, long distance is cheap enough now to be essentially free, if you do your homework and find a deal that fits your calling patterns....

Socially Awkward Solo · Jun 2, 2006, 08:45 AM

You don't need a VOIP line to be able to do that.

GSixZero · Jun 2, 2006, 08:59 PM

Originally Posted by Socially Awkward Solo

You don't need a VOIP line to be able to do that.

I know, but it seems VOIP seems to be the most inexpensive option.

Anyone else have experience with this problem or these features of Vonage?

GSixZero · Jun 2, 2006, 09:03 PM

Originally Posted by Mastrap

Don't the long distance charges kill you?

Usually long distance is considered from where you're actually located. So if I'm in Seattle with a Colorado phone number, and I call a Seattle phone number, it's considered local. If I call another colorado number, it's long distance.

Anyway, I have a long distance plan, and there's no cost difference between calling a local number and calling a long distance number. It's a minor problem for people who live in Seattle and call me, as it's a long distance call, but 99% of my friends have cell phones with similar nationwide calling plans.