Vonage internet phone service

[fabsroman]

I just bought the Linksys Vonage router and subscribed to the service on Sunday for my home line. It has been working pretty good over the past 4 days, but making calls today has been pretty tough because they are having some type of issue.

It is $20 cheaper than Verizon a month and I love the free unlimited long distance (i.e., I don't have to worry about burning up my cell phone minutes for long distance calling), but I am worrying about the reliability of the system. Anybody have any experience with VOIP/Vonage/internet telephone systems?

I would like to get their business plan for $49.99 a month with unlimited calling and a separate fax line, but I cannot afford to have reliability issues with the business line. Now, that isn't to say that I haven't had reliability issues with Verizon in the past (i.e., 3 days without phone service at a time). I just don't want to end up with something worse.

[denton]

I have some friends who use the system, and love it. In addition to lower visible costs, there are about $15-20 worth of taxes that will quit appearing on your bill.

You can register in a database, so, like a standard phone, 911 gets your name and address if you call in an emergency.

The one issue is that if the power goes out, your modem goes down, and you have no phone. If that's a concern, you need some kind of cheap uninterruptible power supply to run the modem and your phone interface.

My cable broadband has been dead reliable since I got it, months ago. No problems whatever, and I'm on it constantly.

[TreeDoc]

All I know is..............

Woo Hoo, Hoo hoo hoo! Woo Hoo, hoo hoo hoo! Woo Hoo, hoo hoo hoo? Woo Hoo, hoo hoo hoo.

:p

[fabsroman]

TD,

Can I take it that you have been using the system and you like it, or are you just over joyed to hear about the system?

Truthfully, I am looking forward to using it. I just cannot believe the rate that technology is developing. I was just leafing through the Office Depot catalog and they make a wireless ear piece that will allow me to use the VOIP system 100 feet away from the base (i.e., anywhere in the office and probably the upper floor) and I can answer calls from it.

There are a bunch of other things I love about the system. They give me free voice mail so I won't have to worry about being on the phone when another call comes in and my answering machine not being able to answer the incoming call. The system keeps a complete log of all my calls in case there is ever a billing dispute. Voice mail can be e-mailed to me as a .wav file attached to the e-mail and I can save the file forever. Not only that, but if I get a cell phone plan that will allow me to receive e-mail, I can essentially run my entire office from a laptop and my cell phone. That will be great for trips. Heck, I might even be able to get some billable time in the duck blind this year with all this new technology.

I am still waiting to hear from others about the reliability. My issue today isn't with the broadband service, but with Vonage specifically.

[TreeDoc]

Fabs, please tell me you have seen their somewhat annoying but entertaining commercials. ;)

I know nothing of the service other than what was said about thye 9-1-1 service issue.

[Cal Sibley]

I know nothing of Vonage besides their incredibly irritating commercials. I must be setting a record for reaching for my "mute" button. Gawd, they'll drive you right up a wall. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

[TreeDoc]

Cal,
Trust me on this....if you just sing along whilst sporting only a pair of tight whites and dance wildly while flailing your arms you'll find the commercials quite fun!

;)

[TheeBadOne]

Good topic. :cool:

[Skinny Shooter]

Originally posted by TreeDoc
Cal,
Trust me on this....if you just sing along whilst sporting only a pair of tight whites and dance wildly while flailing your arms you'll find the commercials quite fun!

;)

White???

;)

[fabsroman]

TD,

I watch barely any TV at all, and when I do it is usually a DVD movie so there aren't any commercials.

So, I haven't seen any of their commercials.

As far as the 911 issue goes, they have sent me two mailers about it. I guess they want to make sure that everybody knows about the issue. If I didn't have a cell phone already, I definitely would not get this service.

[TreeDoc]

Your right Skinny, all my dancing attire is PINK! ;)

Fabs, keep in mind that 911 calls processed through cell phones go through most state's Highway Patrol or whatever they call it in your state, and they are sent down the line to the respective responding agency which takes time and comes without the ability to determine your whereabouts where your landline would give your address automatically. Not sure what Vonage's 911 limitations are in that respect.

[fabsroman]

Essentially, we would have to give our address if we decided to use the Vonage phone or the cell phone. That's okay though because I usually give my address anyway.

I haven't had to call 911 in years and lets just hope it stays that way.

[Nulle]

We have two systems in Western SD and that is Verizon or Cell One
I get into some remote areas and so I have both but still got problems at times getting service.

[fabsroman]

Nulle,

This Vonage phone system is for the house and it uses our internet connection. I have Verizon Wireless and will probably stick with them because they have been pretty good over the past year and I haven't had many signal issues with them where I live.

[Andy L]

Fabs,
I was checkin out all I could about Vonage. My cable connection is actually more reliable than the phone company, so it seems...

My question is, can you receive collect calls with Vonage? All our business is via collect calls from jails. So, it sure wont work if I cant accept them.

If they ever work it out where you can accept them on a cell phone, which I dont understand why you cant, I wont ever have a land line again.

Andy

[fabsroman]

Andy,

For an extra $10 a month, you can get a 1-800 number. I am seriously debating getting a 1-800 number now because it is so cheap.

As far as collect calls are concerned, I have no idea how that would work, but I would think the 1-800 number would essentially solve that problem.

[Andy L]

Fabs,

Unfortunately, it doesnt solve it. The jails all use a correctional billing service type phone. Collect only. No 800s or anything. And they are flat rate, $4-$10 per call, all jails are different, up to 15 minutes. Doesnt matter if you talk 1 or 15 minutes, same price.

Somthing else that sucks is, in order to get more calls from different jails, I have 4 different "local" numbers from 4 different counties, permanently forwarded to my main line. So, when someone calls collect from one of the other counties, I get the flat rate for collect, plus a by minute rate for long distance for how ever long we talk.

I spend about $800 per month on phone bills and I have shaved it to the bone. But, thats how I get business. Thats why I am wishing they could let us take collect calls from a cell phone. I could do away with everything but a cell phone and probably cut it in more than half.

Im afraid Vonage wont work for me.

Thanks

Andy

[fabsroman]

I didn't spend the time to see if Vonage allows collect calls. I don't have the time right now, or I would do the research for you. Since it provides unlimited long distance, it might behoove you to spend a little time and send them an e-mail about the collect call issue.

They can even give you virtual phone numbers for anywhere in the United States. In essence, I could get a California exchange here in Maryland so that my cousins wouldn't incur long distance charges when they call from there.

[Andy L]

I didnt expect you to do any research for me. Just appreciated all you knew off the top of your head.

I checked it out before I posted here. I couldnt find where it adressed the the question directly. It did about some features not taking collect calls, but not directly.

I will email or call and do thank you for what you have told me. I cant help but think that the cell phone companies will allow collect calls someday soon. I dont know what the problem is.

Andy