Vonage and my mobile...

Vonage recently launched their VoIP telephony service in the UK. The pricing is attractive, but I am just as interested in the services. In particular, the voicemail, which includes email notification and web access. I am just so frustrated that on an ordinary carrier, like BT, you're either stuck with an answering machine or using their incredibly basic voicemail service (with zero notification options).

I would like to see better integration with mobile. For example, SMS notification of messages would be very useful and allow immediate dial-in to the voicemail. Notification of missed calls might also work, especially considering that about 80% of callers do not leave messages. It would also be nice to allow access to the voicemail and other features via an application on the phone, such as a MIDlet or Symbian app. I suspect this would be in Vonage's interest as one feature could be a "follow me" service, which configures the call forwarding to the mobile. If this is as easy to turn on as clicking a button on the mobile (more or less), it is imaginable that the service would get used, even with the forwarded-leg costs (15p per minute day-time to mobiles in the UK).

These days it really is quite easy to develop a mobile application and thereby extend service offerings into the mobile domain. The potential level of convenience offered by mobile control and access to services is easy to underestimate.

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