I’ve been using Google Voice (and GrandCentral before it) for years, and have always thought that it is an amazing service. It’s been my “work number” for my consulting business and has actually gotten me business in a number of ways (including the attention I got for my demo of the GV Mobile iPhone app). It was a great tool from the beginning, and Google has improved it quite a bit. However, the biggest upgrade to the service since it was released was just rolled out, and it doesn’t come from Google at all. It comes from a third-party unofficial partner: Gizmo5.
This weekend, Gizmo5 added the ability to make outgoing calls from their SIP service using Google Voice as your connection to the regular telephone network. You have been able to use Gizmo5’s computer-based “soft phone” (or a landline phone with the right adapter hardware) as one of your phone numbers in Google Voice for a long time, but — until now — that only worked for incoming calls. You couldn’t make a call without paying Gizmo5 a per-minute fee.
Adding this feature makes it possible to set up a VOIP-based home phone line that works exactly like the service we’ve been charged a lot of money for by the telephone companies for more than a century, but with absolutely no fees for inbound or outbound calls within the continental United States.
This will take about 10 minutes if you have everything you need. The total cost (including the ATA device you’ll need to hook up a regular phone to Google Voice and a cheap phone if you don’t already have one) should be less than $60.
Here’s how to set it up:
- Get a Google Voice number if you don’t already have one. They are being much freer with invitations lately, and existing members should be able to invite you soon.
- Verify at least one “real” number (cell phone, work phone, or home phone) to activate your Google Voice account. This must be a US number.
- Sign up for a free Gizmo5 account and write down the “phone number” they assign you. (That’s in quotes because nobody can actually call it unless they are also using a SIP phone too.)
- In your Google Voice “settings” area, add your new Gizmo5 number as one of your forwarding phones. Be sure to choose “Gizmo” as the Phone Type in this step.
- Buy an ATA (Analog Telephone Adapter) to hook up your regular corded or cordless phone to the internet (I use a Grandstream HandyTone 486
). You will plug this into your router or modem and configure it with Gizmo5’s SIP settings:
- Log in to your Gizmo5 account’s admin page and find the new “Google Voice” section. Enter your Google Voice account’s login info (probably your regular Google Account’s login, unless you set up a separate account for Google Voice), and choose either “Use for U.S. calls only” or “Use for all calls.” Click Save.
- Wait a few minutes for the changes to take effect (I was getting busy signals on all calls for about 5 minutes when I first tried it this afternoon), then pick up your phone and dial a number. Gizmo should access Google Voice and connect your call. On the other end, your Google Voice number will show up as the Caller ID.
That’s it! When someone calls your Google Voice number, the phone connected the ATA will ring along with the other numbers you’ve forwarded your calls to. Making a call on that phone is as simple as picking up the receiver and dialing (don’t forget the area code), just like any other phone. Unlike those other phones, though, calls to and from your new internet-connected phone won’t use any cell phone minutes or cost you any pennies.
This means that you no longer have to pay for any calls, but you get to use a regular corded or cordless phone to make your calls, saving your cell phone battery and — if cell phones do have negative health effects — your brain cells. This is a huge improvement over using software on your computer or initiating every call through the Google Voice website, and lets you just hand the phone to a guest or technophobic family member without explaining why you need to dial the number in the other room and they should answer the phone when the connecting call comes in.
Gizmo5 and Google/GrandCentral have had a special relationship for a long time (you can’t use any other SIP provider with Google Voice), but this step takes their cooperation to a new level. Google is giving Gizmo the keys to Google Voice, and we get to benefit by taking this new feature for a spin.