Does anyone know of an alternative to Google Voice?

4 points by mkaziz 7 years ago | 6 comments

I've used it pretty much since I got my first phone in the US ... but in the context of Google bot-banning entire businesses without human recourse, I don't want my phone number to be at risk of that. If anyone has suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

Digory 7 years ago |

After GV went down during business hours once, I realized I needed to control the number. It's more expensive than free, but worth it.

You can port out a GV number to any telecom provider for a small fee, including any of the big SIP/VoIP providers. They'll usually provide voicemail and dirt cheap rates -- but not VM transcription.

mkaziz 7 years ago | |

Got any recommendations?

Digory 7 years ago | | |

Ward Mundy's nerdvittles blog had a recent overview of the SIP/VoIP market. [0] Looks like he currently recommends Vitelity, VoIP.ms, or CallCentric.

Ward's PBX in a Flash projects (business class features on a raspberry pi or in the cloud) are also fun if you really want to go down a rabbit hole.

[0] http://nerdvittles.com/?p=26128

GlenTheMachine 7 years ago |

This is the very last Google service I use. I've been looking for an alternative for a couple of years, and have never found one. In particular, the ability to use a single phone number that rings my cell, office, and home.

mkaziz 7 years ago | |

What did you switch out for Gmail?

GlenTheMachine 7 years ago | | |

Fastmail. Works great.