Good VOIP provider in the UK?

projec3t

Hi all,

Looking for a solid VOIP provider that supports incoming SMS, and potentially outbound too. Ideally in the phones messaging app or the proprietary app of the VOIP provider. Email transcription is ok too but not my first pick.

I also would like multiple phone numbers, between 5-10.

I know VOIP isn't the most ideal form of communication however i'm only using it where using signal is not possible, ie for medical and banking stuff, and verification.

Hope i've given enough information, thanks in advance :)

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projec3t You're looking for A&A. They do 07 (mobile) numbers, support inbound and outbound SMS, forward them to your email and even offer actual SIM card that you pop into your phone and it connects to either their SIP endpoint or some other provider's endpoint. Good if you hate softphones. The only catch, you have to live in UK and/or have some other connection to it (ie by being a brit). Somewhat of a darling in UK techie circles, I hear.

emblem7042

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I checked out A&A and it looks good. (I’m from the UK) Do you know if I could get this hooked up and working well with cheogram? All the other softphones seem pretty bad.

Sorry if it’s a dumb question, this xmpp and sip stuff confuses me too much. I’ve looked on cheogram and jmp but I can’t find a definitive answer.

N1b

Maybe crypton.sh is what you want, I haven't checked them out yet like I wanted. Discussed further here.

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N1b I totally blanked on them. Depending on what is meant by 'proprietary app of the VOIP provider' they might fit the bill as they provide both the service and the interface. No need to for pesky Jabber clients or softphones apps. If all you're looking for is receiving SMS they might work.

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emblem7042 No, you can't use it with Cheogram. There would have to be an SGX written specifically for A&A. As I see it, the easiest way to use A&A if you don't want to use a softphone would be to use it alongside their SIP2SIM card which requires less configuration than setting up either a softphone or Cheogram.

Why do you need a VoIP number if you don't mind my asking?

emblem7042

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Ah damn, oh well thanks for your help and letting me know though. :)

The only issue about having the SIP2SIM is it seems that they get the sim from O2, and so O2 can probably track me by tying my identity/ numbers to my IMEI? However correct me if I’m wrong. Maybe A&A buy the sims and keep the customers identity hidden from O2. I might send an email and just ask.

I was planning on getting a data only SIM and paying in cash, which I know doesn’t stop the cell tower tracking but it at least helps me attempt to keep my IMEI not linked to me.

I would like voIP numbers (around 6-7) for a few different whatsapp and signal accounts and to give to different types of people/ companies. Personal, work, etc…
I would still like to be able to receive and send calls so getting a one time number just to activate a whatsapp account is not really for me sadly.

Jmp chat with that esim data plan seems incredible. Sadly I was born as a Brit.

Might just go with MySudo, 9 numbers for £30 is a bit much but I could manage it.

Or just use linphone but as many threads say it seems janky and dodgy (still probably my best option) Anyway I’m waffling on now. If you see any obvious solution I would really appreciate some more knowledge dropped my way. Apologies for the excessively long reply, cheers.

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emblem7042 MySudo seems like a no brainer given they openly cater to your use case of different identities. After cycling through a bunch of VoIP providers myself this goes a long way and deserves a premium.

JMP have international numbers on their long-term roadmap. That said, they already offer existing SGX via Vonage and Twilio both of whom can net you +44 numbers that you use through Cheogram. I believe Twilio is recommended if you're planning on making any calls. I wouldn't bother with any of it myself though.

As for SIP2SIM, if you're looking to entirely decouple your cellular identity from all the calling you're going to be doing it's better to use a softphone instead. Groundwire is the best among the ones I tried but still doesn't match experience of Cheogram.

emblem7042

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Hmm yeah mysudo is probably the way. I will check out groundwire though, if this seems acceptable then I could get the cheapness of the A&A and without most of the tracking.
I looked at twilio and stuff too but I agree it just looks tiresome.

Thats good to hear about jmp, I’m sure many others would love their service.

Thank you for all your help. I really appreciate it.

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emblem7042

I looked at twilio and stuff too but I agree it just looks tiresome.

That's before they suspend your £5/month retail account in some opaque and automatic fashion without recourse.

emblem7042

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Lol I’m staying well clear from that.

Benten

Another possibility to look into is a Glocalme sim box. Then if you use a data only sim, it breaks the link between the handset imei and the number being used to make and receive calls.