Vonage: any good?

[UstadKhanAli]

Just wondering. Toying around with the idea of separating the package deal I have right now with the cable company. If not Vonage, what do you recommend for inexpensive land line service?

[Jimbroni]

I have been using Vonage since about 2004. Bill is always the same, no questions, or concerns. I have never had any issues with drop outs or audio quality. There are real people behind the customer service desk, though I maybe called about 3 times total, so I really don't know. The only problem is if you lose your internet for whatever reason you can't make a call to get it reconnected.

[blue2blue]

It has the same net-based downside, but since I use my mobile as my primary, it's really not been a problem: I use Skype.

 

Voice and video calls to other Skype accounts are free, of course. But I pay for two add-ons: a telephone number (so I can receive/record incoming calls from the plain old telephone system [POTS] and so that I have a separate business number which seems to make people think you have more substance -- even though I have it set to simply forward to my mobile) and then free US+Canada.

 

The whole thing comes out to around $60 a year.

 

(I also keep a small balance for POTS calls to foreign countries, which are rare for me. The charges vary from country to country but are generally quite low, as I recall.)

 

I recently got a Google Nexus 7 tablet and did my first 'proper' video call ever -- it worked great but I'm not sure how much I really go for the video call thing. Maybe if I was still young and pretty.

[daklander]

Ken, I used Vonage for a number of years some time ago. I made the mistake of dropping it when I switched to FIOS with their package deal.

When we came back out here I tried VOIPo and though the voice quality was good and it was very quick to get their adapter and get set up there started to be issues where we could hear people on the other end but they couldn't hear us. There were also issues when it wouldn't dial out so we'd have to stop and redial, some times more than once or twice.

When I used Vonage back then for VOIP I really could not tell if there was any difference in voice quality on my end and I was told it was also very good on the other end. I never had echo issues with it either. There was only one issue that I can recall that had something to do with, I believe, conference calls and that was a setting on my end that had to be changed. I also ran through my house telephone wiring. I did have to disconnect the outside lines at the box but that was no big deal so I ran hard wired phones as well as wireless without any real issues. The only real disadvantage to Vonage, or any VOIP for that matter, is when electric power is out or when the net's down so is VOIP but most people have a cell phone to cover for that so it's not the issue it once was. Also, you'll have to set it up for 911.

 

I just received a special offer from Vonage for returning customers I think I'll accept so I guess I'm recommending them as a land line alternative.

 

[EDIT] Vonage now has a work around for power.internet outages;

All you have to do is set up a Network Availability Number when you sign up. Then, during a power outage, your calls will be forwarded to the mobile phone number or landline you provided.

[deanmass]

Had Vonage for years, not a single problem. But, we all have cells now. You might want to look into an ip phone and google voice though.

[Hush]

Been using Vonage for at least 5 years now, no issues. As long as my internet connection is working they've been working. When TWC goes down, calls get automatically forwarded to my cell.

[algernon7]

The only thing I'd be wary of is the agreement term and early cancellation fees. I was a vonage salesmen for about two years, and it had shifted from two years to one year when I left. Other than that, I never used it as I had a cell phone.