Through an agreement with Voxbone, provider of international VoIP origination services and telephone numbers, the popular hosted IP PBX provider Phone.com has begun offering its predominantly small-business customer base iNum numbers - phone numbers with the "area code for Earth."

A particular boon to Internet-based sellers and other businesses that serve markets all over the world, Voxbone-supplied iNum numbers offer Phone.com customers an opportunity to be called through one number for the cost of a "local" call from any of 4,000 cities in 49 countries.

The ITU-assigned +883 code of iNum is the international code for the Internet just like +44 is the code for the U.K. and 1 refers to the U.S.As a wholesaler of direct-inward-dial numbers and IP transport provider, Voxbone receives calls to numbers with this code and delivers them to Phone.com. In turn, Phone.com's Virtual Office PBX greets a caller with a customer's own customized auto attendant, which requests the called person's extension number and completes the call.

Phone.com began reselling Voxbone-provided DIDs with country-specific area codes in 2008. The DIDs and Voxbone's IP transport network give the hosted phone service's customers local access to particular geographical markets.

iNum numbers are charged as local calls or are free when dialed from all major VoIP providers, including Skype and GoogleTalk, and are routed from a growing list of traditional service providers. Through an introductory offer, existing Phone.com customers can order an iNum through the PBX host's self-service Web site at no charge.