International Call Forwarding Cost
 

I am moving to the UK and want my US colleagues to keep calling my US number. What is the cheapest option for forwarding these calls to my Vodafone mobile?

you can get new number from google voice; they forward calls very cheap.

Google Voice

later they will be able to port your number into thier company so it will be even better for you.

hope i helped

There are several VOIP carriers that you can use. You just have to compare their rates. For example you can look into voicestick/myGlobalTalk, les.net, kall8, Skype etc. Some betamax carriers, such as VOIPCheap are other options.

I use betamax, voicetrading has rates around 6 eurocents per minute to call a uk number.
There are other betamax brands that have simular rates but you might want to check them first.

Is your current number a viop number. If yes you could use pbxes.com and setup a forward through them.

Google voice cannot forward to international numbers.

Thanks for the replies! I took a look at some of the carriers you guys mentioned and found the rates to be reasonable. However, it looks the services are mostly for placing calls, there is no mention of call forwarding. How would one set that up?

For example, I found the cheapest rates at Voipcheap and Voicetrading. Voicetrading seems to be a wholesaler of Voip services, while Voicetrading is only for placing calls through their software?

There are two steps: set up an incoming number that you can divert to cheaply from your existing US number, and then have a method to forward that number cheaply to a UK mobile. In the US, most VOIP companies do not offer free incoming numbers, so it gets complicated.

What sort of number are you forwarding from? That's the first step, to work out where that can forward to at a reasonable cost. If it's a US cellphone, it can likely forward for "free" (plan minutes) to any US number.

If your US cellphone can forward to a UK mobile, what would the rate be? That might save a lot of bother if affordable, but I doubt it is.

So, you need a US number to forward to. ipkall.com does free numbers. These free numbers need to terminate at a VOIP account.

So, you next need a VOIP account (anywhere in the world) that has good rates for UK mobiles, AND will accept incoming SIP connections from ipkall. I don't know about voipcheap specifically, others can maybe answer if they work with ipkall.

(you could also get the US incoming number, and the voip account, from a single provider, although there is then usually a monthly charge for the number).

So the way it works:

1. divert your US cellphone to the ipkall (or other) US number
2. set up the ipkall.com number to reach your SIP account at the VOIP provider (if you get the US incoming number from your VOIP company by paying a monthly charge you don't need this step)
3. go onto the voip provider's account panel and set up an unconditional divert to your UK mobile, which will be charged as an outbound call

Set up a couple of alternatives, in case one turns out to have unacceptable delays or quality.

I'll defer to Andy, but you can make free Skype calls to any non-UK destination on 3. I think inbound calls to a SKypeout number collect for free. I'm thinking that if you buy a Skype compatible Three handset, a US number Skype Out number, and a US unlimited SKypeout plan, you'll be in business.

Stu is right, you should go for the skype option, looks this:

3 Store - Price Plans

you buy mobile with data from 3 and skype call are free; buy skypein number (from the USA) and now you get all your calls for very good price.

(you need to check 3 allow skypein on thier mobile; i think yes)

i am sure you can find sheaper offers but go for quality.

I think I disagree with the Skype advice here! AFIK the facilities on Three UK are for making free Skype calls between Skype usernames. i.e. If you have a Three SIM in a compatible phone, and have a Skype username setup, you can call other Skype users worldwide for free. Also these calls are not routed via UMTS data or IP (like Skype calls normally would be) but instead via an invisible voice gateway. Three foots the bill for the call made to the special Skype gateway. Basically, the first part of the call is routed via the standard voice network rather than the data network.

As far as I know, on the incoming end, having a SkypeIn number (from US or anywhere) will not allow you to receive calls via the gateway. Simply put, this would take an astronomical dent out of Three's termination revenue on the incoming calls to their numbering range! This is just disabled and is stated somewhere in Three's Ts and Cs. (which I cannot find right now). There are some ways around this though, which you could investigate! A quick Google search shows: SkypeIN / SkypeOUT workaround for 3 SkypePhone | UK Gadgeteer Website

I suppose you could in theory receive calls via UMTS data when you are in coverage and logged in etc. like you would on a PC but the quality is unreliable, and this costs you the data transfer. I do use such a system partially (not Skype though), for receiving calls made to my UK landline number on my Spanish mobile. I use SIP instead, and I have a transfer fallback when my signal is not good enough to support SIP transfer via UMTS or WiFI.