telephone_cartoon-custom.pngI’ve been using this nifty feature for quite some time now, and I think people will be interested, especially those who want to save up on telephone costs. Do you know you can sign up for a US and/or UK-based number that will route calls to your computer thru VoIP?

It’s as simple as signing up for an account with FWD, downloading a SIP-enabled VoIP client, and signing up for a DID (direct international dialling) account with IPKall or CallUK.

Here are the steps

  1. Sign up for an account with FWD. Freeworlddialup will then assign you a “telephone number,” in xxxxxx format. This will be your SIP (session initiation protocol) number, which other VoIP users can use to call, via xxxxxx@fwd.pulver.net. If they’re using FWD, they just dial your number.
  2. Download and install an FWD-compatible client. You can use any SIP client, but you’ll probably spend some time configuring for FWD. I suggest you download a client pre-set for FWD already, such as Pulver’s own communicator. But if you want to go lite, download SJPhone instead (choose the one marked as FreeWorldDialup softphone. It’s free and it takes only minimal CPU and memory load. There are even versions for the PocketPC (yes, I’ve tried it and it works—I was able to turn a WiFi-enabled iPaq into a mobile phone of sorts).
  3. Sign up for a free DID number from IPKall (US) and/or CallUK. These services will assign you a US or UK telephone number, and calls made to those will be redirected to your FWD number.

For instance, my US number is +1-425-906-3733. If you call this number, you will be redirected to my VoIP client, which is 635397@fwd.pulver.net, or simply 635397 if you’re calling from within FWD.

If you’re in the US, you would probably spend a lot less if you call this (425) number than if you were to call my Philippine telephone number.

The catch is, you have to be online (and have to have a headset or a laptop with a mic ready) to receive calls. However, you can activate the free FWD voicemail to pick up when a call is unanswered or when you are offline. Messages will then be sent to your email as .MP3 files.

If you’re running an offshore business that caters to US or UK clients, this might come in handy. You can even route these calls to your office PABX so you can receive calls as if you had your own US number.

Outgoing calls

Making outgoing calls is trickier, as you have to subscribe with your provider to get outgoing access (this means you have to pay!). FWD and Skype allow you to dial out to 1-800 nunmbers for free, though, so you can still use this to call toll-free company hotlines.

Other options?

There may be other services that allow you to set up DID numbers from other countries. Just make sure these are SIP compatible, or even better, already FWD-compatible.

Also, if you already have VoIP hardware that supports SIP (Such as a USB plug-in phone, or even a phone that plugs in directly to ethernet), having a US and UK number would be very handy!

Of course, there are other options, such as SkypeIn, but this would cost you monthly subscriptions. If you’re going for free, then the SIP+DID option would be the way to go.

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