pbxphone

Hi All, Thank you for some great info here. Any suggestions on white label platforms for texting to Landlines where mobile users can send and receive texts from existing landline number via an online interface?
Any info would be great!! thanks.

Tim-E

Hi - pbxphone (name would be better if asking questions)

You can get numbers non geographic numbers from Twillio that accept voice and text , $1.00 a month plus a little call time for a local number or $2.00 a month for a freephone 0800 number, you would need a text software package too, but look up/contact Dez Futak he offers a great cost effective program that hooks into Twillio, name escapes me at the moment.

If you don't want to install or deal with any software and want a complete online solution, I may have another service I can point you towards, just want to check before I say. Where are you based ?

Tim

Tim-E

pbxphone

Thanks Tim.
I wouldn't mind looking at any viable option. Not averse to software packages too.
But getting an all-in-one online service or turnkey solution would be great!
- Shay

xlfutur1

I don't believe you can send SMS messages directly to landline numbers. I didn't want to give up my landline phone number, so I ported the number to Twilio and it now forwards to a free (lowest plan) VoIP provider. Outgoing calls are free, and incoming through Twilio are 1 cent per minute.

Calls come in to my old landline number and I route it via <Sip> from Twilio to the VoIP service. I haven't done it yet, but I could receive SMS to that same number and forward those incoming messages to my cell phone.

pbxphone

I am not sure why there isnt any buzz on this....maybe it doesnt excite text marketing experts.
If you care to check out....

Text Powered Business Applications | TextUs.Biz
zipwhip.com
heywire.com
10 Digit Communications
textmybiz.com

Would be nice to see some warrior experts who can throw more light on how they are able to text enable existing landlines to 10 digit long codes... ( I am guessing thats what it is, based on www.longcodes.com )
Been researching for a week to get all the above info.... and as a phone system reseller I would love to resell this service white labelled or build my own solution if possible.

- Shay

pbxphone

I beg to differ. I just tested this service with textus.biz
Of course, you cannot receive the text directly on the phone line, it comes in via a web interface /browser and you can reply to them via the same web interface... But the key here is that your customers can text you on the same number they would normally call ! How cool is that???

Your voice service stays untouched and as-is, with the original provider and your phone number can receive texts from another provider !

-Shay

xlfutur1

That's what I meant by not being able to text a landline. Sure it can be done, but you still have to have a place for the text message to be received and a place to send it from. If you are sitting at a computer all day and night, then a service like textus.biz would probably be a good choice. The cost seems very high though for what it actually does. ($99 bucks a month?!) You still have your monthly bill to pay with the landline carrier, which is in addition to the texting monthly fee.

Porting a landline number (free) to a platform like Twilio is much cheaper and you would actually have more flexibility with both voice calls and texts. You could send texts to multiple phones at once, or send them to email addresses too. The reason I mentioned using VoIP after the number is ported because that makes it even cheaper by not paying for outgoing calls. How you route the incoming calls and texts are virtually unlimited once the call or text goes to the cloud.

pbxphone

I wish it would be as easy as that.... I mean porting your client's business line to a provider that supports voice & text....especially when going VOIP is the only option.
Infact the market for text enabled landlines is the brick & mortar businesses that use these "landline" or "PSTN" lines.
They are the ones who employ staff that sit at a desk or counter all day attending to walk-in or phone-in customers.
Also, such businesses have already invested in Office phone systems or PBX and have multiple lines....and going VOIP is not a good idea for a whole lot of other reasons.
I am surprised to find out that Lime,Avid and other such providers have no clue about this, as their platform offers everything else!
And www.longcodes.com has some great info on 10 digit texting and the longcode revolution.
It may not excite text marketers but seems like a goldmine opportunity for telephony vendors.
There could be a wave of Long Code squatting soon...similar to the .com domain squatting.

On second thoughts... using text enabled landline numbers as long codes could be great for text marketers too...why adopt new numbers?

xlfutur1

It seems that this concept is not extremely "hot" right now because landline numbers are dwindling in number, and many businesses are converting over to VoIP platforms to save money.

Sure, there will probably always be a demand for this sort of service, but it's not an easy sell to convince a business owner to add an additional $100+ per month to their current phone bill so they can accept text messages at that number on a computer screen.

An easier sell might be to simply show them how to CUT their telecom expenses AND be able to add text messaging to the mix by converting their landline number to a more flexible and inexpensive VoIP solution.

NewParadigm

It'd be interesting to see some data/results on text enabling landlines. More and more customers want to text instead of call. Does it increase sales/lead acquisition???Another plus is the conversation is documented eliminating he said/she said stuff.

Emailing most businesses is a frustrating and useless endeavor. I'll get maybe 10% of my customer/sales inquiry emails even answered, and those are a day or several days later.

Someone needs to come up w/ an app/SAAS that gives a text notification to a company when they receive a dang email. Or one that rings a loud bell in the office/store when they get an email or web sales inquiry form.

In a moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing. ~ Theodore Roosevelt

xlfutur1

If a company uses a Gmail address, you can set up IFTT (if this then that) to send a text when an email comes in.

bcb

Is there good way to actually replace a landline with Twilio?...and be able to use the Twilio line with a land phone without maintaining a landline active?

https://www.twilio.com/blog/2013/03/...ai-obi100.html

This article seems to provide a way to do it, but it looks a bit intense and I'm not sure that I want to risk a business line on this.

Thoughts?
Bryan