Some people might question why I have so many numbers, and pay for all of the lines I do have. They may even assume that I pay too much for telephone service. However, let’s take a step back and look at the cost of most normal service providers. If I needed to choose from one of the big 3 carriers, my preferred carrier will be T-Mobile. I had the best relationship with them. Their cheapest plan is $55+tax. So, let’s assume $65 for phone service with T-Mobile.
Now, let’s look at my phone service choices. I have a cellular bill that is $205 per year. This comes out to less Than $20 per month. For my home phone, I pay $3.95 per month, and incoming minutes is between 2¢ and 23¢ per minute. I pay an extra $2 for 120 outgoing minutes. I also have my voicemail line with Callcentric. This number is chosen by the company including the 1st-3rd digits of the phone number. This number is $1, and for unlimited incoming minutes. All together, we are looking at $7 for my bill with Callcentric. Last, I have a fax number. This is an e-fax service, and therefore paper is not spent when an incoming fax comes in. Instead, the service acquires the fax, converts it to a .pdf file, and email it to me. If I needed to send a fax, I will send the .pdf file to an email address that is based on the number I am sending the fax to. The fax line is $3.95/month + 5¢ per minute for overages. So now we got all of the amounts, let’s do simple math. My cellular is $20/month. Callcentric is $7/month. My fax line is $4/month. That is a total of $31/month. You would be hard pressed to find a competing setup where you get 4 distinct and capable numbers for $31 per month. And keep in mind that the cheapest T-Mobile charge for just a cellular number is $65. Even if I was to go with Visible which would be my second choice (RCS support), I am not going to compete on a level playing field with Visible’s rate, and all of the other services I have.