OT: Anyone using Vonage or similiar VOIP phone services?

[where02190]

If so, tell us your experience and who you are with. I'm considering a change, it''s certainly a savings, but I don't want to compromise service for a few bucks.

[philbo]

I've thought about it, but Qwest is set up so it is virtually impossible to talk to a human to drop the home voice line but still keep the line for DSL - - there's an infinitely deep sea of voice menus to wade through, with no human at the end of any of the blind alleys.

[deanmass]

I have had Wide Open West cable modem and Vonage for 3 years.....No complaints....saves money, but, I am not a big home phone user...The ability to hit a web sit to hear your messages to home from anywhere via your pc is really cool, plus it keeps an excel spreadsheet liek record of inbound and outbound calls.

[doug osborne]

I've had Vonage with my cable internet syervice since December of 2003.

 

Aside from a few initial hardware issues, I've found that if the internet connection is working, Vonage is perfect. I don't use my home phone that much (I spend around $17/mo for 500 US/Canada minutes), but it allowed me to keep my long-term number. And, the Simulring feature rings my cell phone at the same time, integrating it with the home phone perfectly.

[Hush]

Been using Vonage for almost 2 years. No complaints. Works as advertised. All the extra features the phone companies charge for are included. As long as your high speed internet connection is stable you should have no problems.

 

My only complaint is that they charge a dollar when you call information for a number. I had to break my wife of that habbit.

 

Marc

[where02190]

 

Originally posted by Hush My only complaint is that they charge a dollar when you call information for a number.

 

 

Your wife's new habit.

 

I find them to be more accurate than 411, and just as fast if you have it bookmarked.

[Rabid]

I've considered this but right now my cabel company charges about $15 a month more for Internet than the cost of DSL from my phone company. Plus, they want you to get Digital cable which requires a digital box. Maybe things will get better now that Time-Warner has taken over. Or maybe not.

[blue2blue]

I've had mostly really good luck with Skype.

 

It's a little different, of course, than outfits like Vonage or your cable carrier's telephone offerings.

 

Since I don't have a landline, I'm cell-dependent, which is normally just fine. I have a decent plan with a 1000 monthly minutes. Since I hate to talk on the phone and try to do as much as possible over email, this normally works out fine with typically half or more of my minutes unused.

 

But, every once in a while, stuff stacks up, phone calls mount, and I end up running low on minutes.

 

That's where Skype comes in.

 

(I don't use the Skype-to-Skype free calling but I would if I KNEW some of my mates were also on it.)

 

I use "Skype-out" -- free in the US til the end of the year, I think but normally about 2 cents a minute -- MUCH cheaper than the 25 or 30 cents a minute my cell co. charges once I'm over my monthly. And calls outside the country are cheaper. You can call Bangladesh for almost nothing. (And since I remember paying $1 a minute back in the 70s to talk to Germany when the min. wage was only about $1.50/hr... being able to call halfway round the world for (a lot) less than a penny a minute is really something.)

 

Anyhow, Skype is normally a modified pay-as-you-go... you buy a minimum of 10 Euros (maybe around 11 or 12 bucks?) and unused time carries more or less forever (as long as you keep using the system every once in a great while).

 

 

I don't know how it would be for everyday use but over the last year or two I've found it quite useful. (And I'm still working on my first 10 E payment.)

[Hush]

 

Originally posted by where02190 Your wife's new habit. I find them to be more accurate than 411, and just as fast if you have it bookmarked.

 

 

Yeah I kept bugging her to use the net. She's gotten better now. She's got no excuse since the computer is on 24/7

[daklander]

I too am using Vonage. I'm into it for about a year now. It has been excellent and calls to some our of US countries are free, or very in-expensive. The sound quality is as good as the phone you have and the only disadvantage I've seen so far is the lack of multiple phones being an option though I've been able to get two phones working on the system. I would, however, like to have all the phone jacks available. So far, no go, even though the outside lines are disconnected.

 

If your broadband is solid and dependable you will like what you get with VOIP and Vonage in particular. If your broadband is suspect stay with your current land line or go cellular.

 

Skype and the others of that ilk are also an option though i believe you're locked into using your computer to make or receive calls.

[Rabid]

Have you tried using wireless phones where only the main base would be connected to Vonage? My parents' only have one phone jack in their house so I bought them a Panasonic chordless phone system that has one bass and 4 phones.