So you want to get a US telephone number. There could be a few reasons of why. The most likely reason is there is someone that lives in the US that you want them to reach you easily. At least in my perception, calling beyond the US is usually pretty expensive. With that being said, there is only two options for those on a limited income, and that would be to get a SIP provider, and therefore a SIP number, or get a US number. This page will go into both as you would need to use a SIP provider to get a US number. You will also need a SIP client.
Requirements
- A Stable Internet Connection
- A Mastercard, or Visa Debit/Credit Card
- An Android or iPhone
Stable Internet Connection
You need a stable Internet connection. This stable internet connection for not only the setup, but calls. A voice call will take about 500kbps (1,000kbps = 1MBPS) and a latency of less than 100ms. As you can see, you don’t need a fast connection, but it must be stable. If you can acquire home internet, you should consider using that over your limited cellular data connection.
Credit/Debit Card
While the Callcentric account in itself is free, the number, and outgoing rate plan is not. This cost will be for the number, and an outgoing calling plan if you intend to make calls showing your US telephone number.
Smartphone
You need a smartphone. This is because you would have to install an app to make and receive calls for your new US telephone number. Personally, I used Acrobits which is $10 for the app. This will allow you to have a unique ringtone which will be nice if you want to make sure you know which number is ringing. You can also turn on DND which can be valuable for when you go to bed, or in a doctor’s appointment. However, you can not get a SIP client on a basic cellular phone. With 60% of the world’s population having a smartphone, it would likely mean that you have one. If you want free, I heard that Zoiper is a good option.
Steps
- Acquire a SIP Client
- Sign up with Callcentric
- Setup Credentials
- Acquire a Dollar Unlimited Number
- Acquire an Outgoing Calling Package
- Setup Voicemail
- Setup Rules
- Provide US Telephone Number
- Receive Calls
Acquire a SIP Client
You would need a SIP client to make and receive calls. There are free SIP clients, and most of these clients will only allow for 1 or 2 accounts, but this is fine as you only need 1 account. However, if this is very important to you, I will recommend Acrobits Softphone. This client will also make it easier for you to add your Callcentric account as you would just need the UID, and SIP password. The SIP client will have a similar interface to that of your native phone dialer. Use this for calls only. Some numbers will support SMS, but this requires a special app, and costs per SMS message. This simply is a waste of money.
Sign up with Callcentric
Once you got your SIP client, you would want to create an account with Callcentric (https://callcentric.com). You would sign up, provide the information you need to provide, and be prepared to provide a credit/debit card number. Callcentric will support both Mastercard, and Visa numbers. This is required for acquiring the number. Once you acquired an account, setup a SIP account within your account. Make note of the number, and the password you created. Callcentric allows you to have multiple sub-accounts, but you only need 1 unless you have a family who would want a US Number as well.
Setup Credentials
Once you got your SIP number, and SIP password, you would want to go to your SIP client, and add your credentials. If you are using Acrobits, you would simply select Callcentric as the provider, then you would add your UID, and SIP password. If you are using another client, you would want to enter the SIP domain for Callcentric (callcentric.com). Once you done that, you would want to dial 17771234567. This will verify if you can make calls. If you can make calls, then you should be able to receive them. Don’t worry, this is a Callcentric number, and all in-network calls are free. Be sure to use the SIP password, and not the account password.
Acquire a Dollar Unlimited Number
Once you got your credentials setup, and running – it is now time to spend money. Go back to Callcentric, and select receive calls tab. You will want the Dollar Unlimited plan. This will as the name suggests cost $1 per month, and gives you unlimited incoming calls. Almost every service provider in the US will offer domestic calling included within their package. They will not be paying for long distance calls. Therefore, the area code does not matter. Once you receive your number, make a note of it and this will be your US telephone number that you will give out to people.
Acquire an Outgoing Calling Package
If you think you might make outgoing calls, then you may want to acquire an outgoing calling package. This is optional, and you could have outgoing calls restricted, or pay for each minute with a prepaid pool of funds. All sub-accounts making outgoing calls will use your package’s minutes and/or your prepaid pool. If you are doing this to allow someone in the US to call you, then you likely don’t need an outgoing calling plan. If you want to talk to them, encourage them to call you.
Setup Voicemail
You would want to now setup voicemail. Dial *86 using your SIP client, and follow the instructions. I will personally keep this simple. My announcement is “You’ve reached Frank Pilone. Leave a message”. You can choose to be more elaborate, but I don’t see much of a point in doing this.
Setup Rules
While you are in your Callcentric account, go to Call Treatments, and set up all incoming calls to ring your extension. This is important to receive calls. I would setup to where the call will hunt your number. Have it first ring to your extension for 15 seconds, then send the call to voicemail.
Provide US Telephone Number
Now that you got everything working the way you want – it is now time to provide the number to people you wish to have the number. Contact your favorite US person, and ask them to give you a call. If you are able to receive calls from your favorite person, then everything works fine. You can give the number out to everyone else.
Receive Calls
Now that you are able to receive calls, you can promote your US telephone number. Anyone calling you will ring to your SIP client. This means that your cellular phone will likely have a cellular phone number, and a SIP phone number. Just keep in mind that calls while on the cellular network will cost you 500kbps per minute on your SIP call. If you have home internet, and that connection is not metered, I will recommend that you encourage people to call your US number when you are home.