Telephone Number Availability

Telephone Number Availability

Subscribers are permitted to choose any number in the country of the service they subscribe to for their primary line. Whether it be Vonage US, Canada or UK, subscribers may choose from any area code regardless of their actual residence. Subscribers also have the option of obtaining additional "virtual numbers" for a monthly fee. For example, a subscriber in Florida may choose a number with Manhattan area code 646, allowing callers from New York to be billed only for a local call. In addition, Vonage also offers 'virtual numbers' in Mexico, Canada and throughout Europe for any and all customers to choose from. This is especially beneficial to businesses with an international client base. While Vonage supports porting a telephone number in the US via the FCC's Local Number Portability (LNP), Vonage does not offer phone numbers in every area code in the United States.
Although only residents of the US, Canada, and the UK may subscribe to Vonage (paying with a credit card from their respective nation), the routers with phone ports can be plugged into the internet anywhere in the world. For instance, a student studying abroad in Brazil plugs the router and phone into a cable or DSL internet service in the apartment or into an internet café that accepts notebook computers (LAN plug-ins), and the service works with the original local phone number and pricing. The student thus receives calls from and makes calls to the home country for no extra fee. International pricing is often so low that it can be cheaper than calling direct in the same country. For example, the Vonage price to Rio de Janeiro is USD$0.06/min (2005), but calling from a cell phone or pay phone in Brazil costs about USD$0.20/min. Vonage also offers a USB phone adapter (called a "V-phone ") that runs a softphone application on the computer, and with internet access, gives it a fully functional and portable telephone with access to the worldwide telephone network.Article Directory : en.wikipedia.org