How to get a UK Phone Number when overseas

International businesses often have a shared objective of long term growth and local presence in the countries they wish to deliver business within. From increasing your customer reach to opening your business in new markets, there are many attractive benefits in taking your business abroad. However, when it comes to scaling your business at this level, it is important to ensure you embrace the various challenges and relevant communication solutions early on. Within this article we will be taking the popular UK market as an example, with overseas businesses wishing to set up here. When setting up a presence in a new market, it doesn’t always have to mean a physical office location and a UK based team on the ground. Quite simply, establishing an international local UK phone number provides the answer to this conundrum, by enabling you to take international calls and have a local awareness in a city or country of your choice from your business’s existing location.

What is an International Local UK Phone Number?

Let’s firstly understand what an international phone number is; Many scaling businesses are moving their communication across to VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology, mainly due to the endless benefits and cost saving opportunities for them. An international number allows businesses to establish a presence in a country without having to set up a physical office location there. International local numbers appear exactly like the local numbers of the country or city you’re targeting. These calls are charged at the same rate as a standard local number, which means your target customers are unaware that you are taking the call from another country. International local numbers will increase your international reach as you can connect as many non-geographic numbers as you need within a single business telephone number.

How can Zadarma help you establish a UK number when overseas?

At Zadarma we offer access to a variety of UK phone numbers to overseas based businesses and individuals. We provide the opportunity to establish local phone numbers, mobile phone numbers and business phone numbers.

1. UK Local Phone Numbers

If you are an individual looking to have a UK local virtual phone number but perhaps are based outside of the United Kingdom then you may well require a virtual UK phone number. A virtual phone number is a telephone number that isn't bound to a fixed location. Virtual numbers can be used to make or receive calls on any phone, often through VoIP phones. Virtual numbers can be a huge help for overseas businesses looking to make calls from outside of the UK to avoid roaming charges. A good example of personal usage benefits here is for expats. Expats often wish to have a local phone to achieve effective and affordable international calling. With a trusted provider like Zadarma, you can set up a virtual UK phone number in a few minutes. All you would need is a laptop and a good internet connection. Zadarma offers wide spread geographical coverage of virtual phone numbers, with more than 30,000 phone numbers available across 100 countries, with the UK being one of the most popular!

2. UK Mobile Numbers

A virtual mobile phone number allows you to receive and make calls and text messages, while you are based outside of the United Kingdom, be it anywhere in the world. Zadarma’s UK mobile phone number’s allow you make and receive calls through various mobile applications and other programs. These mobile apps include iOS, Android, Windows. In addition you can leverage Zadarma’s call forwarding feature and PBX solution to activate your UK mobile presence. Zadarma can offer simple forwarding of your virtual phone number to any country, often free of charge. You can receive text messages to your Zadarma app on iOS or Android apps or messengers such as Facebook, Slack, Viber, Telegram. If you already have a number in the United Kingdom, you can port that number to Zadarma for free.

3. UK Business Phone Numbers.

If you are a business looking to establish a UK business phone number then Zadarma can assist. We can provide your business with the opportunity to connect a phone number in the United Kingdom to your business’ PC, SIP gate, office PBX, business mobile phone, or to any other device that supports SIP. In addition, as mentioned, we can offer a call forward to another business number often free of charge. Zadarma’s overseas users have instant access to virtual UK business phone numbers and you can even have them pointed to existing business landlines. You can gain a business phone number in most of the UK cities ranging from London, to Oxford, Birmingham to Manchester and beyond. The prices will vary subject to the city selected. You can find a full list of the cities Zadarma covers here. Furthermore, your business may instead opt for a freephone number, often known as an ‘0800’ number. Zadarma can offer this setup too, with no monthly fee. You will only be charged a minimum monthly payment for incoming calls. The freephone number is a number for which your callers don’t have to pay, so they are more likely to make that call to you. Moreover, having a local UK phone number will help build your worldwide presence even for the smaller businesses out there.

What are the advantages of setting up a UK VoIP phone number when overseas?

• Cost effective local presence

The most obvious benefit is the extensive cost saving you will be leveraging through using a VoIP phone system and provider. With a virtual phone number set up, users simply need to make and receive calls through their designated online virtual number to avoid tapping into roaming charges. This number can be diverted to your mobile, to allow you to receive calls on the go. The reduced calling rates is one of the most important benefits of an international virtual number over a traditional UK mobile or traditional UK landline number. Virtual numbers use less resources and they are far less expensive than traditional mobile calls. A major advantage of establishing a virtual UK phone number is it will provide an instant local presence. Neither you or your UK customers have to worry about fees for international calls. Your local UK phone number will attract UK callers who will only pay a local call rate.

• Call rates are affordable to all

As touched on above, virtual local phone lines are highly affordable. Zadarma's UK calling tariff is popular for its cost-friendly call price plans. All incoming calls on DID number are free, except for numbers 0800. Once more with every UK phone number you will get 2 lines (2 concurrent connections) and you can add more very easily. Outgoing calls and call forwarding is accounted for by the current phone system bundle regardless of the number connection. Virtual and freephone numbers through VoIP providers, are widely known to be cheaper than a traditional regional centre calling set up. If we take freephone numbers for instance, Zadarma offers these at no monthly fee and set up is provided free of charge. You will only be charged a minimum monthly payment for incoming calls. 0800 numbers are useful for any company that is working with clients in the United Kingdom. Clients will be able to make calls for free from any part of the country. The cost of the call is covered by the company. A highly effective communication method for acquiring and retaining UK customers.

• Quick & simple to set up and maintain

Traditional phone lines can be difficult to set up and maintain in particular if you are based far from the provider. VoIP, in comparison, is straightforward to set up and configure without the help of a tech consultant or IT representative. If you adopt a VoIP powered UK phone number or mobile number, then there is no need for any hardware or phone wiring required as you use your broadband connection to activate your UK number and your calls in and out of the UK.

• UK video calling capability

If you consider a provider like Zadarma, you can also access video calls and the video conferencing facility through your virtual number too. Having face time with your family or business associates has proven engagement benefits, far out weighing a flakey expensive mobile phone call. You can take your time through virtual meetings and avoid the roaming rates.

• UK phone numbers provide scalability

The beauty of a virtual number through a VoIP provider is it does not require additional expenses, whether you’re adding or removing users. Conveniently, you can add a new UK phone line as soon as you add a new team or family member. Equally if you need to scale down, you can just as easily reassign the existing line or remove it completely.

Customisable phone communication

Zadarma will allow you to customise your voicemail greeting messages. At Zadarma, we offer local UK answer phone messages which will enforce your local representation and put your UK customers at ease. In addition, Zadarma offers access, to all users, to their free cloud PBX which has a host of useful features to accelerate your communication solution for your business. Zadarma’s PBX allows you to connect as many phone numbers in different regions, providing a direct call connection instantly to your appropriate employees. The PBX features are endless improving business operation efficiencies and call performance through call analysis tools. The PBX offers advanced call forwarding features, customisable voicemails, providing missed call notifications. Zadarma’s PBX can ensure your overseas business is portrayed as credible in the UK through providing a level of sophistication with a professional communication solution in place. With features such as the voice menu function and working hour call diversions as well as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) integration capability, the Cloud PBX is proving to simplify and unite internal and external processes across growing international businesses.

In conclusion:

Establishing a UK virtual phone number with a Cloud VoIP provider like Zadarma, will cost far less than it would with a standard UK phone line provider. Setting up a traditional phone line for international or local UK calls would be far more costly with more paperwork and hardware required than it would be worth. With a local UK virtual phone number in place, it will provide you with easier access to UK customers, without the need to set up a physical office. A virtual phone number will help portray a positive business image, which will boost your company’s local business exposure, aid customer perception and in turn can help improve and accelerate customer satisfaction rates.

If you are looking to evolve your international calling capability then be sure to select a flexible, scalable VoIP solution to liberate your business communications. VoIP provides a unified communication solution without the need for extensive investment. Most importantly your international or remote teams can communicate from anywhere in the world through a central phone calling system. When it comes to choosing the best UK phone number for your business, it is advisable to select an experienced international VoIP provider that will take the hassle out of the set up process. Zadarma has decades of experience in the telecommunications industry, so when it comes to choosing the right international phone number for your business, you know you are in good hands. With a virtual UK phone number in place it will allow you to break down barriers quickly, providing you with fast, reliable access into the UK market.