I want to keep the ghost of my cell phone number around

July 3, 2019 8:45 AM

I'm looking for the cheapest solution to a telecom need I have. I have had the same cell phone number for almost 20 years in America. I recently moved to Russia. I am looking for ...

a. a plan that will allow me to keep my number
b. receive and send texts
c. receive calls (this part can be an insanely expensive per minute rate, i only plan to use it very rarely


My goal is basically to retain my number so if anyone tries to text or call, I can text a response back asking if they can use viber/skype/whatsapp/signal/ telegram all of which I have to make US-Russia communications easier. I have an unlocked lgV20 from the US that is connected to my US number and now my main phone is a S9+ with a Russian number on a Russian carrier (MTC, also insanely cheap compared to US).

I'm hoping there's some kind of prepaid option that rolls over every month because I haven't received more than 5 texts to my US number in the past 3 weeks, but if that is not available I will take anything cheaper than my standard plan I'm on now with TMobile which is over 70$ a month.

posted by WeekendJen to Grab Bag (9 answers total)

You could port your number to callcentric and pay for a basic DID (incoming) plan which is $1.95, and add the Basic SMS package which is $1. Note the SMS package is SMS only (not MMS), but you can either read and reply on their website, or forward the incoming SMS to another number.

To receive the calls, you can use any SIP phone, which could be your wifi-connected cell phone, or a box that plugs into your home internet and you plug a traditional phone into ("ATA adapter").

If you want to make outbound calls that "come from" this number too, that would be an extra dollar or two per month for an outgoing plan.

I have used callcentric for years and have nothing but good things to say about them. I think you could do what you need for $2.95/month. They will charge your credit card (in $10 chunks I think) as needed.
posted by fritley at 9:01 AM on July 3, 2019 [2 favorites]

I've moved to Mexico and migrated my U.S. cellphone number to Google Voice. It's free, I get texts just fine and it supplies voice mail and email notifications.

It has worked very well for me.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 10:18 AM on July 3, 2019 [2 favorites]

With regard to Google Voice: I ported a number to Google Voice, and I have it forward calls to my cellphone (an iPhone 8 with Verizon as the carrier). I find that it's very difficult to have a normal conversation, because the latency is so high (latency is the delay between the time that someone says something, and the time when the other person hears it). Conversations are awkward, because the caller and I keep interrupting each other. The only reason I haven't ported the number away from Google Voice is because I don't get very many calls on that number, and the calls that I do get are typically pretty short.
posted by JD Sockinger at 12:06 PM on July 3, 2019

I’ve done this with Anveo. The service is geared towards small business, but do have pay per use plans (calls, SMS) and a small monthly fee to retain your number there. I think I spent under $100 in the last 5 years as I only received less than 10 texts a year and even fewer calls.
posted by photovox at 12:45 PM on July 3, 2019

I believe there is a one time fee for Google Voice, either $10 or $20. I've been using it for several years for voice and text. Generally happy with the service. There is always the concern that it might be a product or service that Google decides to abandon at some later time.
posted by ericales at 12:46 PM on July 3, 2019

T-Mobile has a pay-as-you-go plan, that's as low as $3 a month. For that, you get 30 texts, or 30 minutes of talk time. That's what I use for a backup phone I have, for activism purposes.

Hopefully, that'll suit your needs.

https://prepaid.t-mobile.com/pay-as-you-go
posted by spinifex23 at 2:53 PM on July 3, 2019 [1 favorite]

I rely on my Google Voice number, and you can port a landline or cell number to it, and then port it back out again later (as of today, and I'd expect in the future, at least until reasonable notice.)

If you want complete control and have moderate tech chops, you could port your number to Twilio or one of its competitors. There's a one time $1 fee for the number, plus low usage fees. But it's more work to configure forwarding etc.
posted by alittleknowledge at 3:16 PM on July 3, 2019

I work in a field where 2-3 year expat assignments are common so this is definitely a popular topic at the office. I haven't tried it myself, but I have several coworkers who have used Google Voice. As mentioned above, call quality will likely not be good, but it should meet your other two criteria. I plan to go this route myself if I go back overseas some day. Only concern I would have is that it's not super well-known so Google could always drop it later - wouldn't be the first time they've done it.

I also know a few who ported their number to Google Fi - plans are $20/month (more to add data), but international roaming rates are very good: $0.20/min for calls (free if you use Wi-Fi) and no charge for SMS. Only drawbacks are that Fi doesn't work with all non-Pixel phones (website says your LG should be compatable though) and tech support for Fi has apparently really gone down the tubes the past year or two.

Porting/converting to T-Mobile prepaid is another option - I think a basic $3/month plan would at least keep your number active. However I don't know how international roaming works with it or how much it would cost (I tried Googling and couldn't find a good answer). I did find this price list - not cheap but that might not be an issue if you're not using it frequently.
posted by photo guy at 4:57 PM on July 3, 2019

I've had my old number on Google Voice longer than I've had it attached to a cell phone at this point. It works rather nicely. I just use their app for texts, and forward the calls to my real number. There's probably be a small cost to forward them to a Russian number, but there is no recurring cost, just a pool of money you top up as needed. I put $10 in years ago, and I still have over $9.
posted by wotsac at 9:43 PM on July 3, 2019