Anyone using or has knowledge about virtual phone numbers in Japan?
I am looking to start a small business and instead of using my personal number or carry 2 phones, I would like to get a virtual phone line which forwards all calls to my cellphone and allows me to make outgoing calls as well.
Anyone recommend a good company? I have contacted 2 companies so far and they both are extremely slow and inefficient. (I am in touch with their Japan sales team/office) AVOXI and Vonage Japan to be specific.
Any recommendation would be appreciated.
Thanks
Virtual Phone Line
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captainspoke
- Sensei
- Posts: 1573
- Joined: Tue Aug 15, 2017 9:44 am
Re: Virtual Phone Line
I wonder--would a dual SIM phone work for you? One for biz, the other personal?
Re: Virtual Phone Line
As a last resort I suppose...
Re: Virtual Phone Line
For anyone still wondering about this question, I have answers.
I used to have a side business in the US migrating standard phone systems to VoIP phone systems. I started doing this after I did it for our home phone. I rented a wholesale SIP trunk, connected (this is a logical term, it all works through your internet; there are no other cables) it to a RaspberryPi running PBX software, and then hooked up/configured an IP phone and softphones (SIP) on our smart phones to use the line. We ported our landline phone number to the trunk/pbx. Since then I have setup many companies and individuals with very cheap VoIP solutions.
If you are a freelancer and want a Japanese number to make and receive calls with that isn't your mobile phone, you can rent (through the provider I use) a "National" Japanese phone number (+81 50...) or Toll Free number (+81 120...), host it on a free hosted PBX, and configure a softphone on your mobile phone (recommend Bria Solo, which is either free or some low annual subscription fee (I pay $35/yr for my version) which works with PC, Mac, iOS, or Android.
The national number will cost you a little over $5/mo and outgoing calls are $.006/min. That's right, less than a penny per minute. I believe incoming calls are free. The toll-free number is a bit more pricey: $0.319/minute $26.1 setup fee, and $39.35/mo. Unless you have very good reason to give people free calls to you, I suggest the National number.
Feel free to PM me if you are in need of specifics or help.
I used to have a side business in the US migrating standard phone systems to VoIP phone systems. I started doing this after I did it for our home phone. I rented a wholesale SIP trunk, connected (this is a logical term, it all works through your internet; there are no other cables) it to a RaspberryPi running PBX software, and then hooked up/configured an IP phone and softphones (SIP) on our smart phones to use the line. We ported our landline phone number to the trunk/pbx. Since then I have setup many companies and individuals with very cheap VoIP solutions.
If you are a freelancer and want a Japanese number to make and receive calls with that isn't your mobile phone, you can rent (through the provider I use) a "National" Japanese phone number (+81 50...) or Toll Free number (+81 120...), host it on a free hosted PBX, and configure a softphone on your mobile phone (recommend Bria Solo, which is either free or some low annual subscription fee (I pay $35/yr for my version) which works with PC, Mac, iOS, or Android.
The national number will cost you a little over $5/mo and outgoing calls are $.006/min. That's right, less than a penny per minute. I believe incoming calls are free. The toll-free number is a bit more pricey: $0.319/minute $26.1 setup fee, and $39.35/mo. Unless you have very good reason to give people free calls to you, I suggest the National number.
Feel free to PM me if you are in need of specifics or help.
Re: Virtual Phone Line
I use a Skype number (050-) and forward the calls to my mobile.
¥1800/year I think + skype call costs. Because I have an office 365 contract I have 60mn of skype calls included/month.
Enough for my freelance business.
For outgoing calls I just use my mobile, Rakuten contract with unlimited calls
If you need a 03 number to look more professional to Japanese clients it's another story though.
I found providers for ~3,000¥/month + communication costs
¥1800/year I think + skype call costs. Because I have an office 365 contract I have 60mn of skype calls included/month.
Enough for my freelance business.
For outgoing calls I just use my mobile, Rakuten contract with unlimited calls
If you need a 03 number to look more professional to Japanese clients it's another story though.
I found providers for ~3,000¥/month + communication costs