Anyone here using VOIP?

[John Connor]

I'm seriously considering dropping Comcrap voice and going the VOIP route. I have looked at Magicjack and NetTalk. I need a cheap VOIP provider that offers caller ID, E911 and voice mail that I can access over the phone and not the computer. NetTalk looks like you can only access voice mail on the computer which is lame.

What do you recommend?

EDIT- I also need to be able to port my current number to VOIP.

 

[Iron Woode]

I'm seriously considering dropping Comcrap voice and going the VOIP route. I have looked at Magicjack and NetTalk. I need a cheap VOIP provider that offers caller ID, E911 and voice mail that I can access over the phone and not the computer. NetTalk looks like you can only access voice mail on the computer which is lame.

What do you recommend?

EDIT- I also need to be able to port my current number to VOIP.

does your phone have its own answering machine? if so, just turn off Nettalk's answering service and use the phone's built in one.

 

[nickbits]

Obihai + anveo

 

[ultimatebob]

I thought that Comcast Voice technically was VOIP.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I used Packet8 and Sunrocket (briefly) years ago. Not all VOIPs are created equal. Just between those two, I found that the latter had more echo and even dropped calls. I was with Comcast for my connection and had a very good, fast Internet connection. Both had some interesting connection quirks, but I was with Packet8 for probably 3 years and very happy with their service. I dropped them because I moved and was in between houses for 6 months.

I can't recommend Packet8 (now known as 8x8) because their pricing is a higher. They are going more for commercial clients these days.

PhonePower might be a good option: http://www.phonepower.com/voiphome.aspx

I may end up getting home phone service again using one of these companies just for security.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I thought that Comcast Voice technically was VOIP.

It is, but they probably charge more for it than other companies. In either case, make sure you have a good router and can set QOS policies if anyone likes to do P2P or large downloads, they can kill your bandwidth.

 

[Ryland]

I have had vonage for a few years without any real issues other than the obvious ones (no internet means no phone).

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I switched to Ooma earlier this year and have been very pleased. I'm on the standard plan, which means the service is free except for about $4 in taxes every month.

 

[Pardus]

I thought that Comcast Voice technically was VOIP.

Comcast XFINITY Voice does not use the public internet to move traffic. calls stay on Comcast's private IP network and never goes over the public internet. It's not worth the $30/mo they want.

VOIP choices are:

PhonePower, $250 for 2-years of prepaid unlimited service incld taxes and hardware. The service is ok, but calls do fade out time to time, I been dealing with this for over a year now. Tech support is good.

NetTalk, $70/year of unlimited service. Nettalk Duo VOIP Telephone Service $45 at Amazon. No idea if service is good or bad.

Vestalink $60-1yr or $90-2yr. OBi202 VoIP Phone Adapter is $64 at Amazon. No idea if service is good or bad.

Vonage is $325/year plus taxes plus hardware, horrid customer service.

Voip.com, phone.com and viatalk.com are others to look into.

If someone can comment on the quality of vestlink, please post it.

 

[cronos]

Nettalk for almost two years now, and ported my number in without a problem.

I use my own answering machine, not Nettalk voice mail system.

 

[JM Aggie08]

It's a shame that there haven't been 234908324 other threads regarding this exact question.

 

[Mixolydian]

My parents use Vonage and have never had a problem with it. It does all of those things.

 

[SunnyD]

See this?

This hosts my voip server.

See these?

They are littered around my house.

See this?

www.anveo.com

That's who I use as my voip provider. I pay a fixed fee of $4.80 for 4 voip channels (I have teenagers, it comes in handy) and E911 service per month, plus $0.01/minute for outbound calling. Inbound calls are free. I ported my landline number for free. My average monthly bill just for the phone service including the fixed costs is probably less than $7/month.

The voip server part is optional. You can connect to anveo directly, use their voice mail service and whatnot at no additional cost, etc. Just get an ATA and go to town. I just have my own voip server and actual voip phones because geek.

I really need to just save this text to a text file so I can copy and paste it into each one of these threads that come up.

 

[John Connor]

Does MagicJack have E911? I didn't see that on their page.

I don't want a dedicated computer to host a VOIP. As it is I'm thinking of using a UPS for the modem, router and VOIP device. I want no computer in between.

What is the typical bandwidth of a VOIP device?

 

[SunnyD]

I don't want a dedicated computer to host a VOIP. As it is I'm thinking of using a UPS for the modem, router and VOIP device. I want no computer in between.

Read much?

 

[Pheran]

I switched to Ooma earlier this year and have been very pleased. I'm on the standard plan, which means the service is free except for about $4 in taxes every month.

Same here, except I've been using Ooma for several years. I'm completely satisfied with it.

 

[dabuddha]

I switched to Ooma earlier this year and have been very pleased. I'm on the standard plan, which means the service is free except for about $4 in taxes every month.

this

 

[John Connor]

Read much?

Yeah, the big ass pic of the desktop that says, "this host my VOIP server."

 

[John Connor]

How do you pronounce Ooma? Is it Uma?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

How do you pronounce Ooma? Is it Uma?

I pronounce it like oooo-mah.

 

[John Connor]

Does Ooma allow you to access voice mail by dialing your number or do you have to press a button on the device?

 

[Pheran]

Does Ooma allow you to access voice mail by dialing your number or do you have to press a button on the device?

It can do both of those ways plus web access. If you call your own number you just press * when it goes to voicemail and enter a PIN.

 

[desura]

You could try Republic Wireless.

I've been thinking lately that with Republic, it might actually make sense to buy the phone (should have $150 Moto G soon), and then just leave it docked at all times. Go on the $5 unlimited wifi calling plan.

Then connect it up to a bluetooth handset.

Voila, you have $5/mo unlimited calling at home. Cheaper than any other VOIP provider (with the possible exception of Ooma).

 

[IndyColtsFan]

It can do both of those ways plus web access. If you call your own number you just press * when it goes to voicemail and enter a PIN.

Plus if you pay the $9.99 a month for premium (I think that's the cost), you can have voicemails emailed to you.

 

[SunnyD]

Yeah, the big ass pic of the desktop that says, "this host my VOIP server."

So that's a no then. Glad we cleared that up.