Online Number Canada

[KimIwanaka]

I also would like an online number!!!  Why is Canada not listed?????

[TheUberOverLord]

Because Online Numbers are currently not offered in Canada, and there is not a date known when they will be offered there.

[HG]

Hello Skype,  

Many customers are waiting for the 'Online Number' in Canada.   Please let us know when the 'Online Number' service will be available in Canada.  Thank you.

[trevorwallis200]

So I have found a work around that others have done...

www dot virtufon dot com and llok for skype information

Virtufon will supply an online number for lots of cities in Canada.  People call that number and it automatically forwards to your skype account.

From what I am seeing, Virtufon is $72/yr plus a one time $6 hookup fee.  Add that to skype unlimited US and Canad plan for 2.99/month brings you up to about $108 plus tax/yr.

You then have to add the cell phone data plan, or just direct into your pc.

Yet to be determinied however, is if the unlimited plan covers sms.  I dont think it does, so where can I find a skype subscription for unlimited sms??

I am thinking that I could get a data only plan on my Android cell and run skype permanently.  Thoughts? Suggestions?

[stepparr]

The link on HG's post (post 1 of 1) indicating that this issue is
"solved" is misleading. The word "solved" indicates that an
answer has been giving. However the answer is hardly an answer.

The question "When will Online Numbers be available for Canada?"
is answered in post 6 of 14 with the response "Currently, Online Numbers
are not offered in Canada." This is merely a restatement of the problem.
This forum exists because "Currently, Online Numbers are not offered in
Canada." We still don't have an answer to this question.

The logical follow up to this question is "What factors or forces are
preventing Skype from offering this service in Canada?”.  Kimlwanaka's post (post 11 of 14) "I also would like an online number!!! Why is Canada not listed?????" would by most of us be interpreted as asking "Why is this service not offered in Canada?".   The official response (see post 12 of 14 - July 21. 2011), clearly ignoring and avoiding the implied question, is  "Because Online Numbers are currently not offered in Canada ...".  To be fair, that would explain why Canada is not listed.  To slam the door on further enquiries UberOverLord adds "and there is not a date known when they will be offered there."

The response offered that is even remotely related to the question asked (post 7 of
14) is found in post 8 of 14 (July 17, 2011).  Longtimeskyper writes "Evidently, Online numbers are not currently offered in Canada. Is there a possibility that they will be at some point in the future?".  UberOverLord answers "Normally, there are not pre-announcements of this or that, the day they happen is the day we all know about it." There does seem to be an air of mystery and helplessness at Skype when it deals with this question - as if we are now waiting for an act of God to bring the service to
Canada.  It is difficult to believe that this company does not plan the roll out of these services.  There must be someone within the company that knows when, and indeed if, Skype intends offer this service in Canada. 

I have been a Skype subscriber for over 5 1/2 years. At that time if memory serves, there were a handful of countries in which Skype Out (now Online Number) was  available. Each year since, as more and more countries were added to the list, I asked this same question (When?) over and over again.  The answer, which has become a  mantra, is unchanged. 

Unlike previous years, my question this year is twofold:

1 - Does Skype intend to offer this service, Online Number, now or in the future, to those who live in Canada?

2 - Why is Skype not able to offer this service to those living in Canada?  What is the nature of the obstacles?  Are they technical?  Licensing issues?  Is the CRTC blocking this service on behalf of Bell Canada and others? 

Throw us a bone here Skype!

[HG]

Yes, I agree. Skype could at least let us know if the 'Online Number' issue is being addressed for Canada. Please! Thx.

[meems]

I can guarantee, skype is on its way out the door.

Very similar to ebay, in that, it starts off easy, cheap and friendly, ...and ends up , pushing you to pay more, add more, do more, and get 'P all in return....except of consistent persistent ads on your desktop skype, to buy more crap.

so glad i only paid 2.99 and will definitely be cancelling.

trust me, i see the future, skype isnt going to last much longer.

There will be a new voip, that sticks to being honest and cheaper, and actually has a 24/7 online help desk, and a phone number you can call for support.  Instead of this 'hide , dont help anyone, and get rich hiding from behind a website'...

pppttttt'

[zigwig]

Don't blame Skype, blame Canada. Have you considered that the regulations in Canada are highly protective? We have several large mobility carriers who have a huge influence on the CRTC, and would hate to see their profits eroded.

So the first problem is that the CRTC requires Skype to work through a Canadian phone company, like Bell, Telus, or Rogers. How excited do you think these companies are to make a deal with Skype, when it will surely erode their lucrative market?

The second problem is that the CRTC requires that 9-1-1 service must be provided by a nomadic VoIP, which a Skype Online Number falls under. It can not provide a 9-1-1 service without a Canadian phone provider. Check the CRTC website and do a search for "9-1-1 rules"for further information on this rule.

Then also look up "why-skype-cant-offer-skype-in-to-canadians-2".

[michelveltkamp]

Well, no online number for Canada, is this a problem caused by Bell ar some form of collusion?  Why not Canada; what is the obstacle to hurdle?  Like New Zeland even offers an online local number.  I would love to subscribe but Skype does not offer the service that I require simply; that my daughters do not have to make an international landline call to talk to their father who lives 40 kms away.  Let me know when I can have a local online number. Thankyou

[Natalie]

Isn't this service just another VoIP service?  If so, there are other VoIP providers in Canada (such as Primus, ACN and even Rogers) that offer VoIP.  I know that ACN and Rogers allow you to "port" your existing phone number.  I understand that if "porting" existing phone numbers is to be offered that these companies must have some kind of reseller agreement with the main carrier in the area (ex, in Ontario and Quebec it is Bell), but come on!  What's the hold up?

The arguement that there is no 9-1-1 calling through VoIP is not entirely valid.  You can dial 9-1-1 from a VoIP phone, however, because the phone number would be associated with a device which is portable and can be moved from location to location as opposed to a regular landline, where the service is "hard wired" (if you will) to a physical (stationary) location, services would not necessarily know exactly where the call was coming from. That being said, firstly, VoIP providers make customers aware that there is no "enhanced" 9-1-1- service (where when someone calls 9-1-1 and the operator can see the exact location that the call is coming from) because of the fact that VoIP devices are portable and can be plugged into any internet connection, and the customer must acknowledge this warning when signing up for such a service.  Secondly, VoIP providers have web portals where customers, can (and should) login and register where, physically (i.e. the address) the device is located for the purposes of 9-1-1 calls.