What is a Virtual Phone Number?

Many people ask me what a virtual phone number is. Well, everyone knows what a phone number is. So the real question is “What is Virtual about a Virtual Phone Number?”

First, here is a dramatically oversimplified history lesson:

Historically, phone numbers were tied to physical locations. The phone company would provision a phone number to work over a single physical line, which would be “dropped” at the actual location the number would be tied to. Calls to that number could only be delivered to that physical location and businesses would have to receive the calls using expensive PBX systems which maintained routing smarts, voicemail applications, IVRs, etc.

With a virtual phone number, the physical limitation is removed, allowing a company to use a phone number in a more flexible manner with no reliance on physical presence of phone lines or phone systems. Calls to a virtual phone number are handled by a remote agent or proxy, which forwards on calls based on user defined rules. This allows a business to:

• Seamlessly connect multiple locations
• Eliminate on-premises telco equipment, telco space, phone lines, etc.
• Maintain phone service during incidents effecting physical offices.

Here is an example of how a business uses a virtual phone number from OnSIP:

Company X maintains a New York headquarters and a Los Angeles sales office. The company has local phone numbers and one toll free number, all virtual phone numbers. When a customer calls the toll free number, rather than having it answered by a phone system in either the Los Angeles or New York office, an IVR answers the call on the OnSIP Virtual PBX service. When prompted by the IVR, the caller selects option 2, for sales. Because there are sales associates in both offices, phones ring simultaneously in both offices until answered in Los Angeles. The call is from a key customer who needs to speak to the CEO who is working from his beach house in Cape Cod. The sales associate transfers the call to the CEO who is connected to OnSIP using his home office cable Internet connection. When the call is completed, the CEO uses 4-digit dialing to a make a free call to the sales associate in Los Angeles to congratulate her on a job well done for helping close a major sale.

The entire team is connected via OnSIP, which acts on behalf of the users, no matter where they are now or where they move. Users have the flexibility to make and receive calls and use the service as if they were in the office at all times.

OnSIP has phone numbers available throughout the country and are available for immediate activation.