Google Voice users, I have some good news and some bad news. Good news first: you can now port your existing phone number into Google Voice. Have you been giving out your actual mobile number to your closest and dearest friends, and dishing out Google Voice to minor acquaintances? Or have you been bouncing back and forth and frustrated that you don’t have one number to rule all your phones? Ideally, Google Voice should be your one number, and now you can do just that.
For $20, you can port your existing mobile number into Google Voice, but there are a few catches. That’s the bad news: by porting your number, you may be canceling your existing wireless contract. So it’s not just the $20 fee you’ll have to worry about, it’s the hefty early termination fee from your carrier. There is a silver lining, however, and that means you can jump from carrier to carrier and phone to phone with a single number and never have to worry about contracts.
So, is porting your number worth it? There are a number of factors consider – namely costs – and you’ve got to weigh the pros and cons. But if Google Voice is your life, the choice is an obvious one.
[Update]
It appears that the porting option has either disappeared from Google Voice, or it has temporarily been removed. Several Google Voice users have already ported their numbers out, so the option will undoubtedly return. In the meantime, hang tight!
[Via: PhoneScoop]