Recommed me a VOIP provider

[Pardus]

My contract with phone power is coming up for renewal, paying about $10/mo. There service is just ok. Does anyone use magicjack or any other voip provider worth looking into.

 

[dr150]

Ooma......./thread

 

[DesiPower]

Ooma......./thread

plus 1
With google voice soon gone there is really no other option

 

[tortillasoup]

You can try out the following sip providers: CallCentric, Anveo, Localphone, VoIP.ms, in this order. (CallCentric seems to be the one everybody likes)

 

[Miramonti]

Still lovin voip.ms.

 

[drebo]

CallCentric is awful.

 

[Ken g6]

What are you looking for from VOIP? My T-mobile plan has unlimited minutes and does Wi-Fi calling.

 

[microAmp]

Ooma......./thread

Ditto.

 

[Pardus]

What are you looking for from VOIP? My T-mobile plan has unlimited minutes and does Wi-Fi calling.

As hard as it may to believe, i still use a landline. Cell phone have there place, but i can never hear anyone clearly on a cell.

Ooma......./thread

Doesn't Ooma charge $10/mo for added features and monthly taxes ?

 

[dr150]

Doesn't Ooma charge $10/mo for added features and monthly taxes ?

All you pay is taxes which is ~$3/mo(?) depending on where you live. Equipment is a one time hit. You can get the machine at Costco for $100-$150ish. Costco has regular sales on this stuff.

You can add extra features if you want, and that can be $10/mo or cheaper if you prepay for a year. The most important features are offered for free but if you're a power user on-the-go type of guy, the extra features may be worth it to you.

 

[tortillasoup]

As hard as it may to believe, i still use a landline. Cell phone have there place, but i can never hear anyone clearly on a cell.


Doesn't Ooma charge $10/mo for added features and monthly taxes ?

I too have a landline for call reliability/clarity reasons but knowing the cost, I'm looking to make changes much like you.

Perhaps doing a blend of Cell phone with wifi calling and a bluetooth ATA adapter is what is needed. What kind of cellphone do you have? (please don't say iphone)


As for Ooma, my issue is with hardware reliability as I've read reports of people complaining about the hardware failing after 2 years which makes it a pretty expensive proposition.

 

[HumblePie]

plus 1
With google voice soon gone there is really no other option

Google voice isn't going away, just getting rid of XMPP support for chat to merge with hangouts. I have an obihai that should still be working just fine after the change.

 

[RossMAN]

Doesn't Ooma charge $10/mo for added features and monthly taxes ?

All you pay is taxes which is ~$3/mo(?) depending on where you live. Equipment is a one time hit. You can get the machine at Costco for $100-$150ish. Costco has regular sales on this stuff.

dr150 is correct, we pay just under $4/mo per month.

From our last bill:

Taxes and Fees
Regulatory Compliance Fee
1 $1.78 $1.78
911 Service Fee
1 $1.59 $1.59
Federal Universal Service Charge and FCC regulatory fee
1 $0.37 $0.37


Subtotal $3.74
Total $3.74

Go here and enter your zip code https://go.ooma.com/tax_calculator

If you're looking for a reliable VOIP provider and just want it to work, Ooma all the way. My only regret is not signing up when they first launched. Of course the hardware could die or the company could go belly up or CasioTech might return and become AT Forums Admin.

 

[Pardus]

I too have a landline for call reliability/clarity reasons but knowing the cost, I'm looking to make changes much like you.

Perhaps doing a blend of Cell phone with wifi calling and a bluetooth ATA adapter is what is needed. What kind of cellphone do you have? (please don't say iphone)


As for Ooma, my issue is with hardware reliability as I've read reports of people complaining about the hardware failing after 2 years which makes it a pretty expensive proposition.

Have a LG Optimus Elite with Virgin Mobile, horrible phone and horrendous service. Heard the same issue with Oooma hardware. The only premier feature worth getting is 3-way calling.

 

[nickbits]

Google voice isn't going away, just getting rid of XMPP support for chat to merge with hangouts. I have an obihai that should still be working just fine after the change.

Have you not read any of the info from the obihai blog? Your obihai will work but you will need to buy voip service from another provider. They are in the working on a deal with an undisclosed voip provider to provide service for $40/year.

 

[twinrider1]

Can someone check on SunnyD? He should have posted by now.

I recently dropped my land line and I wish I'd done it years ago. I'm using an Obi100 ($35, one time) and Google Voice (free) currently. When GV support ends, I'll try Anveo.

 

[HumblePie]

Have you not read any of the info from the obihai blog? Your obihai will work but you will need to buy voip service from another provider. They are in the working on a deal with an undisclosed voip provider to provide service for $40/year.

I had been. The company itself hasn't said it wasn't going to work with GV or not in the future. It's just some rampant speculation by users. All GV announced was stopping support for XMPP support for GV Chat because it is totally bugged with Hangouts which they want to fix.

If GV does decide to stop all 3rd party connections and support though, then the obihai will just work with another VOIP service, which it does right now. There are several dozen right now I can chose from which is nothing new.

NVM, I guess there was a bit more official announcement since I last checked.

http://blog.obihai.com/2013/10/important-message-about-google-voice.html

 

[mikeford]

VOIP is like shoes, different people are going to like different kinds. I suggest you start by finding a forum that is full of VOIP users from many services.

 

[GoPackGo]

I've been using Ooma Core for years...don't pay any taxes since I was grandfathered in.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Just installed my Ooma this morning and filled out the number port request. Once that's done, we're canceling our VOIP service from Bright House. We should save $25/month or so.

 

[tortillasoup]

Google voice isn't going away, just getting rid of XMPP support for chat to merge with hangouts. I have an obihai that should still be working just fine after the change.

Obihai relies on XMPP to function the way it does. In otherwords obihai won't work after XMPP support is removed.

 

[HumblePie]

Obihai relies on XMPP to function the way it does. In otherwords obihai won't work after XMPP support is removed.

There is rumors of them doing what GVJack App (app for magic jack to use google voice) did and make it function with hangouts. If that can be done, it will be the same after the XMPP support is pulled.

Beyond that, there are some interesting things people are doing to gain the same free VOIP support provided by GV with obihai once GV support is pulled. 6 months is plenty of time for people to come up with stuff. If need be I can always just buy a magicjack and still continue to get GV with that. It's a bit more annoying of a hardware setup to get going than the Obi200 + wifi setup I have going on now, but it wouldn't be significantly different.

 

[RossMAN]

http://slickdeals.net/f/6719680-ref...rranty-89-00-free-shipping-newegg-com?src=pdw

 

[Druidx]

Obihai relies on XMPP to function the way it does. In otherwords obihai won't work after XMPP support is removed.

Ohhh No. The OBi will still work the same as always, it's just losing the free Google Voice functions associated with XMPP. There are a lot of people who don’t even use GV with their Obi. For those who do, there are dozen alternatives to replace the loss of XMPP. I myself, switched to ObiVoice for $40/year. For people who rarely use their house phone there are even cheaper alternatives.

 

[RossMAN]

I myself, switched to ObiVoice for $40/year. For people who rarely use their house phone there are even cheaper alternatives.

Thanks for the ObiVoice reminder, is it true the $40/yr is a limited time offer?

http://www.obivoice.com/#plans