Google Voice or something else?
 

I'm going to be working from home 2 days a week. My job doesn't have an easy way for me to daily set-up whether calls to my work number forward or not. So, I've been looking for an alternate solution.

I signed up for Google voice and so far it does everything I want. The only thing I don't like is that when it forwards a call it stays on the Google voice network, therefore it's running on VoIP (at least from what I've read). I'd prefer to have forwarded calls do just that....forward to another number and go to the landline for the carrier. I've read that the Google voice quality isn't that great, but I haven't had any issues (yet) with quality.

Here are the features I'm wanting:

- Ability to forward calls to another number but the forwarded call is carried on the landline network
- Ability to make outbound calls that show my home office number on the other person's caller ID
- Not a necessity, but would love it if voicemails could be e-mailed to me
- Would also prefer to not have to get another phone line (even if it is just VoIP)...would like to just use my existing home landline.

Is there a different service I should try other than GV? For anyone using GV, how has the quality been for you? I of course like that GV is free but wouldn't mind paying if needed.

If you are not having any problems with the call quality then what is wrong? The notion that a call is really landline these days is kind of fake too as everything is getting digitized and sent over fiber for the bulk of its journey. GV call don't get forwarded in the classic sense of the term for several reasons, mainly because it means you get to still utilize features of GV while you are on the call, like switching phones or recording conversations. It also means that GVs voice mail will pick up an unanswered ring. I think if you are happy with GV right now there is no reason to switch.

Thanks, I agree that if it's working then I should keep using it. However, what I've read online is that it might sound ok to me but not the caller. I've tried calling a few friends to see what they say about the quality but want to ensure the quality is good for business calls.

I guess the post was dual purpose...see if others had good or bad experiences with GV (I found very few posts here on it) and see if there are other alternatives I should be looking at.

This is common with cheapo VOIP telephone cards but not so much with modern, reputable solutions. (and yes, I am calling Google reputable) :)