San Diego, CA based VoxOxannounced a new virtual number offer that includes free iNum numbers.
VoxOx plans to enable SMS, Fax in addition to Voice on the service and also allow their customers to do a “vanity number” search to find complimentary digits.
Check out this video of VoxOx CTO Kevin Hertz demonstrating the new features and showing how to add iNum numbers to a VoxOx account in the section from 3:07 – 4:11.
Vonage subscribers – at least in the USA – can directly call iNum numbers. Currently this is free. This short video gives a basic overview of iNum numbers and demonstrates the ease of calling iNums from Vonage.
Pleased to share news today that Rebtel has launched a new iPhone application that will facilitate calling iNum numbers for their customers. Rebtel enables a one-click call by allowing users to generate a local phone number that will map to an iNum for any contact in their address book directly from their handset. As a result, people will be able to call iNums – with no access number or PIN to remember – by clicking on a contact icon from over 50 countries for the cost of a local call.
“Here at Rebtel, we immediately bought into Voxbone’s concept of an ‘area code for Earth,’ as it clearly matches our own vision of making all phone calls local, turning the world into a friendlier place and bringing people closer together,” commented Andreas Bernstrom, CEO of Rebtel. “We’re proud to be an active member of the iNum community and to be providing a hassle-free way of dialing an iNum for the cost of a local call.”
Localphone already provides incoming phone numbers from 45 countries, and charges a monthly fee per number for this service. You can take your local phone number anywhere with you, by forwarding the incoming calls to your existing landline or mobile, your VoIP account, or your voicemail.
Now you can also get a free iNum number from Localphone and benefit from all the features that come with the other DID numbers, such as:
- forwarding calls received on your iNum to your existing mobile or landline
- receiving calls on your PC, laptop or VoIP-enabled device
After introducing SMS support it seemed clear that we will need to work on an SMS reach list, in order to publicly display which wireless carriers support sending SMS to iNum. We are now preparing this reach list, and it will soon be added to the iNum website.
The UK is already well supported, with the three major wireless carriers (Orange, Vodafone, T-Mobile) supporting SMS to iNum.
Here is the situation in the US and Canada as we currently know it:
Confirmed to be working are: T-Mobile (USA), Nextel (USA), Rogers (Canada)
Tested and not working for the moment: AT&T (USA), Telus (Canada)
We would love to get more feedback from users in the USA and Canada, especially for tests made from other carriers.
In order to test whether SMS (text messaging) works from your phone, please send a text message to +883 510 000 000 094 and include your email address in the body of the SMS. If the test is successful you will receive an email confirmation. If +883 510 000 000 094 does not work you can also try 011 883 510 000 000 094.
Thanks again for all the help in testing this.
UPDATE: in order to receive the email confirmation after you send the test SMS, your email address should be the first word in the body of the sms…
UPDATE 2: successfully tested from Bell Mobility and Fido (both in Canada) as well !
We’re happy to annonce that something many thought would never happen, did happen
Incumbent telcos start opening their network to iNum, making it possible to natively dial iNum numbers from their fixed networks.
The first three to make the move are Belgacom, BT and Verizon.
Others are currently in the works. How fast this will go depends on how much users ask for this capability to their local telco.
We are asking for everyone’s help. Wherever you are in the world, please try and make test calls to iNum numbers and contact your local telco if it does not work. The more users ask their local telco to support this, the faster it will happen. The following test number can be used: +883 510 000 000 091 (it terminates on an echo test)
A long awaited feature: SMS (short messaging service) is now supported on the iNum numbers.
Wireless subscribers from a growing number of carriers – including Vodafone, T-Mobile, Orange, Virgin, and Boost Mobile – now are able to text these numbers.
The service is already available in the United Kingdom, France and the United States, at prices ranging from 10 to 20 pence per message in the U.K., for example. We are working on expanding the reachability from more wireless carriers in more countries.
We need your help in verifying reachability from as many wireless carriers as possible. In whatever country you are please try sending an SMS to our test number +883 510 000 000 094 and let us know how it goes and what rate you are experiencing.
Thanks !
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UPDATE 1: As can be seen from some of the comments, the global reachability is far from complete yet. The reachability from wireless networks is expected to grow on a weekly basis, and we will add a reach list on the iNum website as soon as possible.
UPDATE 2: In order to verify whether an SMS was successfully received by our test number (+883 510 000 000 094), please include your email address in the content of the SMS message.
If the test was successful you will receive a confirmation email. If you do not receive a confirmation email after sending your test SMS it means that we did not receive your SMS message.
UPDATE 3: Please spread the word, and please contact your wireless carrier if the test fails.
The more people try to send SMS messages from their wireless carrier, and the more people complain to their wireless carrier when it does not work, the faster the reachability will increase.
If you use Truphone on your iPod touch or iPhone you already have an iNum number, because as soon as you signup for Truphone you will automatically be assigned your iNum.
Now you can also make free calls to any iNum number from your iPhone or iPod Touch. Simply install the Truphone software and start making your calls as you would dial any other phone number.
If you are unsure what your Truphone-assigned iNum is, simply email Truphone Customer Services on: customer.service AT truphone.com
Next week Jeff Pulver’s HD Communications Summit will be hosted by Orange at their R&D Center in Paris. We’re very excited to find out what other telcos are working on as the HD momentum grows.
Over the next few years, the mobile industry is likely to face some competition from city-wide wireless broadband and new carriers springing up to take them on in their own space. For the carriers, the move towards next-generation broadband with technologies like LTE and WiMAX make streaming HD video to mobile handsets an attractive proposition. 3G video can be great if it’s all you’ve got, but a confused mess of a blur is often what you see. Given the quality on my laptop using Skype is super-awesome… it doesn’t help me believe in the future of HD video on handsets.
- What’s the purpose ? I only use video when I sit down and talk to someone… they have WiFi there!
or maybe:
- I don’t use video! What an awful idea!
Clearly, WiFi is a much cheaper alternative to current mobile data plans. But with mobile HD voice and video, you’re on the go with your contacts, with a bright high-definition touchscreen display. The warm fuzzy next-door feeling you have with Skype.
For those, like me, with an allergy to video: it is not only human connectivity that you can benefit from. Applications living in the cloud can receive and deliver, process, interpolate, and create streaming video. This creates a wealth of possibilities once it is accessible to a large community.
