Hello,

I am looking for a "follow me" phone service in Canada: A phone number
that, when someone calls, rings first X times on my home phone, then X
times on my cell phone, then (optionally) finally goes to voice mail.

I prefer a service that will do this for a flat rate. I would STRONGLY
prefer not to use a toll free number for this due to the variable
cost. I would like a local number that can be forwarded to my phone in
Toronto (416 area code), or a new NON-VOIP local service (since they
tend to be bundled).

Please ensure the service works for Canada and not just the US!

Here are some I've found myself, to help you and show what I already know.
NOTE: Due to the 4.9 cents/minute, all below are TOO EXPENSIVE (since
I use 700 minutes)!

telcan.net - Do they support followme services? To a LOCAL line in
Toronto? They cost 8 cents/min Can$.

tollfreelive.com - Provides follow-me service, but only toll free as
far as i can see.

voiceinformation.com - again no local #

Kall8- same story. Need a local number to avoid per-minute fees.

http://www.talkbroadband.ca/business/plans.html - Looks good but its
expensive considering all I want is the followings service.. And I'm
not sure it has that. (Site gave basic details) ($29/mo). Also, my
internet is not trust-worthy enough to use VOIP!

FYI, I want to pay well under $50/month for this. I am thinking it
should cost maybe $10 US/month, but often it comes as part of a
package. Given that I use 700 minutes or more per month,
pay-per-minute services get expensive.

Thanks!

Have you looked at Bell Canada's 'Just One' service?  The web
information is somewhat incomplete, but it sounds like what you're
looking for.  http://www3.bell.ca/shop/sconr.details?language=en&region=ON&myurl=SMESQ

They charge $10 a month, and I believe you need to have a Bell
Mobility cell phone, although you'd have to check with them to be
sure.

You do need a cell phone from bell for this. My provider is Telus.
Thanks for the scoop tho. Anyone else got any ideas?

cym-ga:

I'm sorry that I was too busy on other matters during the time that
your question was active to have seen it, otherwise I would have
responded. However, in case you are still seeking a solution, here is
one that will work for you. It is incidentally from Bell Canada as
well, and is in many ways the successor to their JustOne service from
before. The key difference is that you do not necessarily need to have
a Bell Mobility cell phone in order to use it. The service is called
Single Number Reach:

http://www.bell.ca/snr

- you can be assigned a new 'virtual' phone number if you wish, or can
port an existing Bell Canada landline phone number over to become your
Single Number Reach number (and have a new number assigned to the
actual landline)
- the service allows you to forward calls to your Single Number Reach
number to ANY phone number that you want to configure it for
(forwarding to calls outside the local calling area of your 'virtual'
number incurs LD charges for the forwarded portion, ie. Toronto to say
Barrie if you forward to a Barrie number), and you can configure it
for up to four numbers to 'follow' you to
- you can add voice mail to the service for unanswered calls
- you can opt for the enhanced package with comes with a bunch of
additional call management features
- you can set forwarding schedules to match your life schedule
(including quiet times when calls go straight to voice-mail)

All in all, I think it's a perfect match for what you are looking
for... and you can use it with your Telus cell phone, too.

Hope this helps, and I'm sorry that I wasn't around to provide this as
an Answer when you first posted this question!

Regards,

aht-ga
Google Answers Researcher

OH MY GOD --- I know you don't want VoIP, but just look at Lingo.Com
$20/month, unlimited, any area code, extra lines at $5/month, hello!