FOOD FOR THOUGHT Multiple lines for a single number

thejackal

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Hi,

I have been using PIAF with Vestalink (previously obivoice) with a single number.

However, my needs have grown and I need multiple lines for customers to call in. I talked to Vestalink and they told me there isn't a way to do that because they are only 1-line to 1-number.

I read through the forum but doesn't seem to have any topic on this. Anybody can point me to a solution?

Thanks in advance!

Jackal
 

Trimline2

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However, my needs have grown and I need multiple lines for customers to call in.

What you are looking for is more than one inbound channel for your number. Off-hand, VoIP.ms does this quite nicely (as well as others). I believe you can have 20 inbound calls to 1 number. More if you ask. Check them out. It may be your solution.
 

thejackal

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Hi Trimline,

So essentially you are saying to port the number to another VOIP provider that supports multiple inbound channels right? (and it happens to be voip.ms that you are giving an example)

Thanks!
 

Trimline2

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Yes, on their business plan, which is the default at signup, you pay for inbound/outbound minutes. They are currently less than .001 per minute (1 cent) for inbound/outbound calls. The current monthly plan is .99 plus the minutes used. For residential, they are 4.95 or less a month for unlimited inbound calls on 2 channels, and are capped at 3500 minutes. Outbound is still the same rate.
 

AndyInNYC

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thejackal,

To elaborate on Trimline2's comment, the channels typically work for inbound and outbound - i.e. you can receive X and make Y calls simultaneously where typically X+Y <= 20. So your 19 kids could be on the phone to different people on different extension and the next caller would still ring into the system. The one after that wouldn't (by default).

Trimline2 had a decimal place off, I believe. The cost is $.01 +/- per minute (in or out) for metered lines. I use flowroute, which is more expensive at $.012/min or so.

From Vestalink's website, I see no mention of channels, so the information you got from them appears to be correct.

Andrew
 

john p

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Not sure how many DID's or channels you need (they are not the same). Also, not sure how many minutes you expect per month incoming & outgoing. I use both Vitelity & VestaLink each with 1 DID but, as I recall, each allows 2 channels. I use Vitelity for incoming since the plan I have (available through here) allows unlimited incoming at low cost. In general, I've had good luck with each for personal use but, in general, I'd be cautious about the support for business use. Not sure what your needs are. Hope this helps.
 

thejackal

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@AndyInNYCJ: Thanks for suggesting flowroute. Looks good! I don't see information regarding the maximum no of channels that Flowroute allows. Do you happen to know?

john p : So you use Vestalink only for outbound? How does that work? No DID?
 

AndyInNYC

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I love Flowroute. That being said, they are more expensive than some others, don't (as far as I know) have a referral system for PIAF (where these guys get paid) and only do Amazon Payments. They do have tremendous customer support, which is why I won't switch to save a little (given the quantity of minutes I use). If I were burning through a large company's worth of minutes, the 20% premium might start to annoy me.

From Flowroute's site:

How many simultaneous calls do you support?

For most international destinations we can handle burst traffic in excess of 1000 simultaneous sessions. Simultaneous sessions may be restricted for accounts with low remaining balances.
That's about all I could find to answer your question.

Andrew
 

john p

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john p : So you use Vestalink only for outbound? How does that work? No DID?[/quote]

VestaLink gives me a DID & it routes - I just don't give out the #. Since my PIAF screens all robocalls, I don't get spam.
 

thejackal

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Just to post an update for folks using vestalink and wants multiple incoming.

I decided to sign up with Vitelity. I first created a temp DID number. Then I use the Vitelity Number Portability to switch the service from Vestalink. In the meantime, I use the temp DID to set up all the Vitelity services in my PBX to ensure everything is working. Although it says it will take 6-8 weeks to port, it actually took only 1 week. When the number was ported, I didn't even have to do anything and the transition was seamless! Now I have multiple incoming channels! I also noticed that the calls are clearer with Vitelity than Vestalink.

Thank you everyone!
 

w1ve

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I use all these vendors. With the flexibility of PIAF, I used different vendors for Origination and Termination. I have different outbound (Termination) carriers depending on where the call is going... much better deals from some than others. Right now, using Voxbeam for NA and voip.ms for internationl. My DIDs are from Vitelity, Anveo Direct, Voip.ms, and more recently, Twilio. They were a surprise. I needed a DID in Whitehorse, NT, Canada -- Only $1/month $0.011/min for Origination.
 
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