[AusNOG] Phone Numbers in Australia

[andrew khoo]

Google Voice (non Fi-integrated) came close to a model i liked, albeit
limited to +1 numbers. SMS and/or voice forwarded to other devices or
email, even transcribed. outbound to non +1 at Hangouts rates.

alas, now that I have integrated it with my Fi account, most of the magic
has gone away.

(features are moving targets at Google)



On Tue, 1 May 2018 at 08:56, Mark Tees <marktees at gmail.com> wrote:

> I am kind of wondering if we can get to a stage of complete number
> virtualisation. Mainly so when I’m overseas I can more easily direct actual
> inbound SMS how I see fit. Have also had the same number for almost 10
> years.  At present I hook up an Android phone and send/receive SMS via
> email or forwarding with normal call diversion.
>
> Ideally, I could port my number to a virtual mobile service and receive
> calls via SIP of whatever then receive SMS via API calls or email.
>
> From the carrier VOIP side it would be awesome if we could receive SMS in
> a similar fashion as SIP.
>
>
> On Tue, 1 May 2018 at 07:36, Matthew Moyle-Croft <mmc at mmc.com.au> wrote:
>
>> Previous thread about fake caller ID made me think about what phone
>> numbers mean in the Australian context.
>>
>> Historically we’ve had numbers that are geo based for landlines (02, 03,
>> 08 etc) and other numbers that delineate the cost to call (eg. 04 for
>> mobile, 13/18 for fixed cost non-geo or free, 1900 for “premium” etc). But
>> we’re now looking to a future where a range of factors are meaning that the
>> differentiation is less meaningful.
>>
>> A _lot_ of people are moving, because of generation change, NBN, etc to
>> only have a mobile number. Many people are on mobile or “fixed line” plans
>> where calls are all-inclusive so knowing the cost of a call from the phone
>> number is pretty much irrelevant. My parents and some of my grandparents
>> (yes I still have them) basically use mobile only and don’t answer home
>> phones *because* of the scams on home phones!  I don’t actually know what
>> my brothers and sisters home phone numbers are.
>>
>> There’s still a historic “interconnect” charging model/market between
>> telcos that I suspect is just as painful as when I last looked at it.
>>
>> What is the future for voice and calls in Australia? Do geo-numbers make
>> sense? Why shouldn’t I be able to have an 08 xxxx xxxx number as my mobile
>> number? (I know the back-end charging/porting reasons, but we’re looking
>> forward not backward here).
>>
>> Even calling internationally - voice calls now between countries are
>> generally so awful to use (delay, crappy audio etc) that even for business
>> calls I use things like Facetime/Facebook/WhatsApp/Hangout calls where the
>> voice is so good and low delay I can’t tell where the other person is from.
>>
>> I suspect nothing much will change and that’s primarily because the major
>> telcos with mobile networks want to continue to make money out of charging
>> each other for calls, but, even that I suspect will all fade away.
>>
>> We do get attached to phone numbers - my Australian mobile is one from
>> the dawn of GSM in Australia and I’ve had it now for more than 20 years and
>> even though I don’t live in Australia at the moment I keep it running on a
>> long life prepaid! So, don’t think I lack sentiment here.
>>
>> MMC
>>
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> --
> Regards,
>
> Mark L. Tees
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