Voice Over IP Systems

[Bumrush99]

I'm thinking of signing up with Vonage, which runs for 24.99 a month for unlimited calls with free calls to Canada, which will be my primary destination. Does anyone have any experience with them? How does the service compare to other VOIP solutions? Anything comparable in the market with better pricing? TYIA

 

[LuckyTaxi]

My gf called her grandmother in cambodia once and it only cost us $5 for a 20 minute call!!!
We use it as our main line with our cellphones as backup. No problems whatsoever.
My friend said she would hear herself echo when she's talking to me but other than that, there arent many complaints.

I too would like to know how vonage compares to others. I went with vonage because of their customer base. Who knows if the other companies will be around years from now.

 

[FlyLice]

I have vonage too. Your bandwidth is key.

 

[intogamer]

you dont' get 911 right?

 

[EyeMWing]

Originally posted by: intogamer
you dont' get 911 right?

You get 911, you just have to keep your address PROPERLY UPDATED (and to some extent it depends on your 911 center not being stuck using call trace equipment from 1983)

 

[StageLeft]

I've looked into it but you don't save all that much money unless you use the phone a lot. My local phone is $35 (bellsouth sucks balls) and onesuite.com for my long distance, so I probably spend about $15/month more than Vonage, but on the other hand my phone has only gone down once and I know that in all but the most extreme circumstances it will hold up perfectly. I've looked at voip, but I just don't quite find the price compelling enough. I'd love to drop bellsouth though (cellphone reception at my house is too bad to rely on that).

 

[neonerd]

<--- vonage user

 

[luv2chill]

Is it truly $24.99 a month? Or do taxes, surcharges, and fees end up pushing it higher? I'm trying to decide whether or not to switch over... my current local phone bill runs $40 a month with 100 long distance minutes included (which I never use since LD is free on my mobile phone). If Vonage's $24.99 actually means $30 after taxes then I'm less inclined to switch over (Vonage doesn't have my area code yet so I couldn't port my number).

To be honest, the main reasons I've kept my home phone stem from paranoia... . First is 911. Until e911 is completely up and running for cell phone 911 calls, I just feel more comfortable knowing that on a wireline your address and phone number is transmitted automatically to the dispatcher. I realize Vonage has gone farther than most VoIP carriers in that they will connect you to your local 911 dispatch (assuming you set it up correctly), but they have absolutely no idea where you are unless you tell them. EDIT: Hmm, EyeMWing's post seems to say they can get your address automatically, so I guess I'm wrong.... I need to check into this.

Also, I use dialup as a backup to my cable modem (it dials on demand if the broadband connection goes down). If I go VoIP then all of my electronic communications are going through one non-redundant pipe (our cable company uses fiber but most of it isn't SONET)... single point of failure. In the event of a prolonged power outage, my UPS may not have enough voltage to power the ATA, cable modem, router, and phone system before power is restored. In the US, we take an ever-present dial tone for granted.

Like, I said, those reasons are basically not very good reasons since I'm a home user, in good health, and I do have a few pretty capable UPS units. Plus, there is always my cell phone as a backup.

However, like I said, if the cost savings isn't significant (>$10 a month) then I don't really want the hassle of switching. Can any Vonage users confirm what their monthly bills run?

Thanks

l2c

 

[StageLeft]

Also, I use dialup as a backup to my cable modem (it dials on demand if the broadband connection goes down). If I go VoIP then all of my electronic communications are going through one non-redundant pipe (our cable company uses fiber but most of it isn't SONET)... single point of failure. In the event of a prolonged power outage, my UPS may not have enough voltage to power the ATA, cable modem, router, and phone system before power is restored. In the US, we take an ever-present dial tone for granted.

That's really my problem too. I just don't think broadband is reliable enough to put all my eggs in one basket yet.

 

[DaveJ]

I've had Vonage since June and it's great... The $24.99/mo plan works out to about $27 with taxes, way less than the $10-15 in tax that the telcos tack on. I haven't had a single problem with reliability, but my Net connection is rock solid, so YMMV. You can set the system up to route calls to a secondary # if your primary is unavailable. I had a 4 hour power outage a few months ago and got to test that feature, it works great! I have absolutely zero problems with the service, and won't be switching back to a landline any time soon...

Dave

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: luv2chill
Is it truly $24.99 a month? Or do taxes, surcharges, and fees end up pushing it higher? I'm trying to decide whether or not to switch over... my current local phone bill runs $40 a month with 100 long distance minutes included (which I never use since LD is free on my mobile phone). If Vonage's $24.99 actually means $30 after taxes then I'm less inclined to switch over (Vonage doesn't have my area code yet so I couldn't port my number).

To be honest, the main reasons I've kept my home phone stem from paranoia... . First is 911. Until e911 is completely up and running for cell phone 911 calls, I just feel more comfortable knowing that on a wireline your address and phone number is transmitted automatically to the dispatcher. I realize Vonage has gone farther than most VoIP carriers in that they will connect you to your local 911 dispatch (assuming you set it up correctly), but they have absolutely no idea where you are unless you tell them. EDIT: Hmm, EyeMWing's post seems to say they can get your address automatically, so I guess I'm wrong.... I need to check into this.

Also, I use dialup as a backup to my cable modem (it dials on demand if the broadband connection goes down). If I go VoIP then all of my electronic communications are going through one non-redundant pipe (our cable company uses fiber but most of it isn't SONET)... single point of failure. In the event of a prolonged power outage, my UPS may not have enough voltage to power the ATA, cable modem, router, and phone system before power is restored. In the US, we take an ever-present dial tone for granted.

Like, I said, those reasons are basically not very good reasons since I'm a home user, in good health, and I do have a few pretty capable UPS units. Plus, there is always my cell phone as a backup.

However, like I said, if the cost savings isn't significant (>$10 a month) then I don't really want the hassle of switching. Can any Vonage users confirm what their monthly bills run?

Thanks

l2c

Yeah there are those miscellaneous, fees, taxes, surcharges and more crap!

That's why I signed up for SunRocket.com at $199/yr with FREE Uniden cordless phones.

$16/mo VOIP with free unlimited domestic long distance :thumbsup:

 

[gabemcg]

<--------Vonage = teh b0mb If you want a refferal link, PM me

 

[CaffeineAndStuff]

I'm with broadvoice. Service was great to start but has been spotty lately - occasional busy tones when dialing out and non existant customer service. It sure is cheap though $11.50 after tax for unlimited in-state calls. $0.02 per min to UK and France, $0.03 a min to Japan

IMO - If you have a cellphone for backup then there is no need for a POTS line

 

[Aztech]

What are the upfront costs and where's the best place to buy/signup?

 

[luv2chill]

Thanks for the info all... sounds like a switch to VoIP is in my future! Ross, I hadn't heard of SunRocket and they seem pretty comparable to Vonage feature-wise. I don't mind paying for a year up-front (I do that with my alarm monitoring service and get a huge discount), but SunRocket doesn't have my area code either. Hmmm... I've had this landline number for eight years and I'm kind of attached to it.

l2c

 

[LuNoTiCK]

I don't know about sunrocket, so I can't say much about how it compares but their price is great. At home we use Broadvoice and it's pretty good. Other good ones that I've seen are Voicepulse, and lingo.

dslreports has a voip forum, you can find out a lot their as well.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: luv2chill
Thanks for the info all... sounds like a switch to VoIP is in my future! Ross, I hadn't heard of SunRocket and they seem pretty comparable to Vonage feature-wise. I don't mind paying for a year up-front (I do that with my alarm monitoring service and get a huge discount), but SunRocket doesn't have my area code either. Hmmm... I've had this landline number for eight years and I'm kind of attached to it.

l2c

I believe both Vonage and SunRocket port numbers. I'm sure you would discover this on your own but SunRocket is a relatively new company (in business since September 2004). But for $16/mo with free Uniden cordless phones I think it's worth the risk.