Hi all, I'm trying to start a small business and want to obtain a very specific local telephone number.

Hi all, I'm trying to start a small business and want to obtain a very specific local telephone number. As far as I can tell, that number isn't provisioned or allocated (or whatever the term is) to anybody.

I'm wondering if anyone had any ideas. I suspect one possibility is if I get a lease at an address serviced by the local exchange where that number is, I could request it when signing up with AT&T. But I'd like to avoid that if possible.

Alternatively, please sell me on other phone number ideas that won't destroy my bank account (i.e., "million" numbers aren't likely to fit into my budget if I also get the right area code and a matching toll-free number).

Apologies if this is the wrong board for this question, but since it's a telephone company thing more than a straight business or finance thing, I figured you guys would have better ideas than PrepHole.

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  1. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Hey this is anon from the last threads. The way I got my personalized number years ago, doesn’t work anymore. It was via google voice. Back then you could search for a specific number, so I wrote a Perl script to to query the API everyday for the 6 months it took for the one i wanted to show up

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      Hey there. Thanks for checking anyway. I've still got a few ideas.

      1-866-suck-a-dick-go-frick-yourself.org
      >ask you local telephone provider

      Yeah I don't want a number I can get from my local provider, I want one from a different area code and exchange. But before I go the route of renting an apartment or office space or whatever on a short-term basis just to do that, I wanted some input on whether that's even a viable process.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        Why do you want a phone number different from where you're doing business?

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          Does 7 digit dialing even exist anymore?

          • 2 years ago
            Anonymous

            My state has only one area code so people seven digit.

            • 2 years ago
              Anonymous

              based wyoming chad, how'd you enjoy giving cheney the middle finger?

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                Way off. Maine.

              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous

                Well damn. I feel like lobster now.

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          There are about eight area codes covering the place where I'm doing business. I ideally want a number in one of the more affluent parts of the city. But moreover, because I want seven specific digits, in order to get it straight from the phone company I may need to secure an office in a specific small area of the city that's covered by the local exchange the first three numbers of the phone number covers. And I don't *want* an office right there. I just want the exchange for vanity purposes, and really any area code in my vicinity would be fine (though I'd prefer the older, more prestigious one in the city center).

          Essentially same answer for "Why do you want an 800 or 888 number when you can get an 833 number?"

          Does 7 digit dialing even exist anymore?

          Not in my area. I don't remember being able to do seven-digit dialing since the 90s here.

          • 2 years ago
            Anonymous

            have you called and asked?

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          Nice thing about having a phone from different area code is scammers often if not always spoof the area code. I have a cell phone from a different area code and every time I see a number with the same area code I know it's a scam - if it's somebody I know I'd have the number saved. Saves me the bother of having to answer.

          • 2 years ago
            Anonymous

            OK, I've wondered about this for a while. Why do scammers try to hit numbers with the same area and central office codes? Do they really think it's the 1970's and someone is going to say "hmm, I don't recognize that number but it's very close to mine so it must be Ethel up the street! I'd better answer". I'm less likely to answer a number that very similar to mine as I am a completely random number.

            • 2 years ago
              Anonymous

              Delete your comment you fricking idiot. Dont tell pajeet our secrets

            • 2 years ago
              Anonymous

              >I don't recognize that number but it's very close to mine so it must be Ethel up the street! I'd better answer
              that's exactly how boomers think. they also think the government accepts itunes gift cards over the phone to pay for fines.

            • 2 years ago
              Anonymous

              Hey man if you've got kids or are even slightly involved in your community it's entirely possible that you'll get a phone call in your exchange from a number you don't recognize and it's legitimate.

            • 2 years ago
              Anonymous

              I used to work for a 'marketing' firm that used a service like this. The dialer would match to the area code you were calling. Almost every single person who picked up noticed the accent difference (I'm from the South), and became immediately suspicious. It was worse than just calling from a rando number.

            • 2 years ago
              Anonymous

              All the old numbers in my village started with one of two 4 digit prefixes (this was before 10 digit dialing) If I see a number with either of those 2 prefixes I know they are local.

  2. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    1-866-suck-a-dick-go-frick-yourself.org
    >ask you local telephone provider

  3. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    >, I'm trying to start a small business and want to obtain a very specific local telephone number

    There is no way in hell that a small business benefits from a gay-assed cute phone number. Your business will live or die for many other reasons, and having an adorable number won't make a difference.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      There is a difference between marketing and branding. I have a “gay ass” vanity telephone number for my business and people have said “oh yeah I saw your ad blah blah blah” after they met me. It won’t get you extra business but it does give you credibility and notoriety. Both of which benefit the business.

  4. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Call ringboost. They can try and broker it for you. 914 two million is their phone number.

  5. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Call the phone company talk to a business account representative. They'll do anything you want.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      This is the way. When you call the phone company and ask about a business account, you get to speak to a different team of people and IME the service is WAY WAY WAY better even if the price is a little higher.

  6. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    When I bought my house, I wanted a number in my village's old prefix. Like frick was I signing a mortgage to end up with some new phangled prefix. I wanted a number that everyone in my village would know was tied to my village. Anyway, I knew a few numbers that were empty and when I was signing up for the phone I just asked the lady to use one of those. She said "sure, but it'll cost 40 bux just to make sure it's available. if it isn't, it'll cost 40 bux to test another number"

    That was 20 years ago. Prefixes aren't tied to exchanges anymore. Hell, they aren't even tied to carriers anymore.

  7. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Twilio + FreePBX server

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      Tried Twilio, they don't offer the number I want in any area code. Unless there's another trick I'm not aware of.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        http://business.mci.com/small_business/customer_service/index.jsp
        Frickingnhell. They will do anything you want in any exchange.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        >Tried Twilio, they don't offer the number I want in any area code. Unless there's another trick I'm not aware of.
        Unironically voip.ms. Their service is excellent.

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          You want VOIP.ms, use them as your trunk. They will sell you a DID.

          I personally use callcentric, and they've been really nice, and cheap. I have a pattern number,

          Something like 631-613-NNNN, it's a dollar a month.

          So I should be clear, I don't have a problem getting *a* number, it's just that I want a specific local number and none of these guys have it in their portfolios or provide a clear way to acquire it. The way I intend to structure things for now, I don't really need advanced PBX services, and would be perfectly fine with plain old telephone service. But, I'd like a particular number to give my firm that legitimate feel.

          Call the phone company talk to a business account representative. They'll do anything you want.

          When I bought my house, I wanted a number in my village's old prefix. Like frick was I signing a mortgage to end up with some new phangled prefix. I wanted a number that everyone in my village would know was tied to my village. Anyway, I knew a few numbers that were empty and when I was signing up for the phone I just asked the lady to use one of those. She said "sure, but it'll cost 40 bux just to make sure it's available. if it isn't, it'll cost 40 bux to test another number"

          That was 20 years ago. Prefixes aren't tied to exchanges anymore. Hell, they aren't even tied to carriers anymore.

          http://business.mci.com/small_business/customer_service/index.jsp
          Frickingnhell. They will do anything you want in any exchange.

          This is the way. When you call the phone company and ask about a business account, you get to speak to a different team of people and IME the service is WAY WAY WAY better even if the price is a little higher.

          Yeah I probably am gonna just have to do that. Not sure what exactly to ask for.

          I mean, really what I want to do is get assigned a number, port it out to a cheap VOIP provider, and not have to deal with telco rates. And I get the feeling they aren't gonna be crazy about helping me to just get a setup fee and a month's payment.

          • 2 years ago
            Anonymous

            >So I should be clear, I don't have a problem getting *a* number, it's just that I want a specific local number and none of these guys have it in their portfolios or provide a clear way to acquire it. The way I intend to structure things for now, I don't really need advanced PBX services, and would be perfectly fine with plain old telephone service. But, I'd like a particular number to give my firm that legitimate feel.
            That's obvious, OP. You need to ask the voip provider to get the number for you.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        You want VOIP.ms, use them as your trunk. They will sell you a DID.

        I personally use callcentric, and they've been really nice, and cheap. I have a pattern number,

        Something like 631-613-NNNN, it's a dollar a month.

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