Comcast digital phone service

[Stallion]

Ok, so the Comcast people are visiting the neighborhood trying to drum up some buisness. They are asking for us t oswap over to their digital phone service from our current provider. While it is a little cheaper wit ha few extra benifits the wife is worried that when our cable goes out their will go the phones too..

Anyone else using Comcast for TV, cable and phone service?

Complaints? Benifits?

 

[Modelworks]

It is true the power goes out, so could the phone service. Depending on what backup provisions they have for the area. Cable services like voip depend on how they setup the network for the area and what causes the outage as to whether you lose service. Do you have corded phones in your house ? Cordless phones don't work either when the power is out regardless of who provides the service.

 

[Stallion]

We do have a few corded phones but the rep also said it wasn't VoIP. But my wife thinks that their phone will still run over their cable and that when and if we lose the cable there will go our phone as well. She doesn't trust them to much.

 

[pm]

It's not true VOIP - it has a few minor differences - but it's close enough that the distinction doesn't really matter. They are running it over their cable network using a service under the DOCSIS standard for the cable modem. Your wife is correct - if you lose internet service over Comcast cable, there's pretty much no chance that you'll still have phone service with CDV

Comcast even (more or less) calls it VOIP here:
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="https://www.comcast.com/corporate/about/phonetermsofservice/comcastdigitalvoice/cdvresidential.html">https://www.comcast.com/cor......dvresidential.html</a>

Comcast Digital Voice Service is an Internet Protocol (IP)-enabled communications service offering real-time, multidirectional voice functionality.

If it's Voice Over Internet Protocol... it's VOIP.

As far as VOIP, my wife and I have been using Vonage, AT&T CallVantage and now Callcentric VOIP on our Comcast cable internet service for years and it's been fine. Our cable internet hasn't gone out in years and so neither has our phone service - although we both have cell phones too. Our phone service is reliable, cheap, and the voice quality is pretty good (better than a cell phone, worse than a phone line from Ma Bell).

I have had the power go out, but our cable internet was still working. It's happened a couple of times. I have the cable modem and telephones on a UPS battery backup and when the power goes out, then it runs off of our big UPS for a couple of hours, and it definitely still worked with internet service and a corded phone.

 

[corkyg]

I have had the Comcast digital voice phone service for over a year now. We had one outtage when equipment cur through a cable on a road repair site. But - the same thing can happen to Qwest or any other service.

The Comcast service is good - reliable, and includes caller ID, voice mail, call waiting, etc., etc. - and free LD anywhere in the US.

Since we have had it, we almost never use our cell phones.

We have the whole Comcast enchilada - TV, high speed Internet and phone. They are each mutually exclusive. IOW, my computer does not have to be on for the phone or TV to work.