[powderboy]

My wife and I are cell phone people, but we're expecting our first child and with my wife home after the baby, we'll finally need a LAN line phone. I don't really want to just get a Qwest line because they are overpriced for long distance on top of that (my wife calls her 10 siblings in Minnesota all the time).

So, I'm considering getting Vonage and piping it through our whole house. It's ncie because I've got my router, etc. in the utility room downstairs, so it would be super easy to put the VoIP device down there and light up the whole house.

Anyone using Vonage right now? Any comments on the quality of service? Any complaints?

 

[arboc!]

i like the song from the ad on tv, do do doo do doo

 

[Transcend]

I am marketing director for a startup that does the same thing, only better prices and plans. The flexibility is awesome if you travel, as are rates for IP telephony.

Vonage plans however have LOTS of stipulations, (minutes, hardware, local calling minutes..it isn't truly "unlimited").

Look into some smaller companies in your area, I am sure there are similiar guys to us there. If done right, the quality is actually better then POTS lines, you save a ton of cash and don't have to deal with the phone company.

 

[jacksonpt]

Some friends of mine are. I don't know much about it, except this: the local carrier (Time Warner) doesn't have access to local numbers yet, so their phone number is based out of a town 60miles away. So even though they live right around the corner from us, it's long distance to call them. If you go with it, make sure to find out if you are getting a local number.

 

[MtnBikerChk]

some friends at work have it - sorry I don't know much about it - except the online real time reports you can get. You log into your account and you can see the caller id (as well as other info, I'm sure) but I thought that was sweeet!!

 

[powderboy]

Kind of funny... there was a Vonage ad at the top of this thread.

They seem like they are the top VoIP service and their price is pretty good at $24.99/mo unlimited everything. They do have local numbers that wouldn't be long distance. Seems like a great service. I won't go for it until May or so... just looking at it still.

 

[bushwacker]

Don't forget, individual isp's can and supposedly have been blocking vonage traffic from their networks.

It's not against the law yet, but eventually the FCC will probably end up in charge of VoIP, which will ruin the whole deal anyway.

http://advancedippipeline.com/60400413

 

[JSB]

My neighbor loves his. He tries to get me to switch all the time. Once thing I don't like about his, and it might not be an issue, but he only has one phone in his house where his hardware is. Some times he doesn't hear the phone. So I end up calling his cell. One thing is cool though. He takes his hardware with him when he visits his parents. He hooks it up at his parents house, and gets all his local calls there like he was at home. The only other thing that makes me not want it is constant power. If the power goings out you loose your phone. That doesn't happen with a regular line.

 

[powderboy]

My neighbor loves his. He tries to get me to switch all the time. Once thing I don't like about his, and it might not be an issue, but he only has one phone in his house where his hardware is. Some times he doesn't hear the phone. So I end up calling his cell. One thing is cool though. He takes his hardware with him when he visits his parents. He hooks it up at his parents house, and gets all his local calls there like he was at home. The only other thing that makes me not want it is constant power. If the power goings out you loose your phone. That doesn't happen with a regular line.

I'd definitely put my VoIP device in my server room downstairs so I can light up my whole house. Also... the power thing isn't a HUGE deal. We have cell phones for the rare instances when the power goes out.

 

[berkshire_rider]

Can't speak for Vonage, but I'm using Packet8 $19.95 a month to anywhere in the USA, no limits. Free caller ID, voice mail, etc. I was interested in trying it, and after I moved to Mass. and found out the crooks at Verizon wanted $35 a month for just LOCAL service, no long distance, the decision was easy.

 

[powderboy]

Can't speak for Vonage, but I'm using Packet8 $19.95 a month to anywhere in the USA, no limits. Free caller ID, voice mail, etc. I was interested in trying it, and after I moved to Mass. and found out the crooks at Verizon wanted $35 a month for just LOCAL service, no long distance, the decision was easy.

I've heard more good reports from Vonage customers than Packet 8, but both are still in infancy, so hiccups are to be expected.

I see all kinds of VoIP devices for Vonage, but haven't seen any for Packet 8. Do they use the same devices? Vonage offers a $50 rebate for the Linksys adapter, so it's free. Does Packet 8 offer the same? What about contracts and setup fees?

 

[C.P.]

Been on Vonage for a couple months now. Made the switch, keeping my original tel number. The switch was seamless, and all I had to do was fax in a signed authorization. To start out, I went onto their website, ordered the kit, and set up my account, and when the adaptor arrived (free from vonage) I just hooked it up to the a spare port on my router and was off to the races...and it was literally PLUG & PLAY.

Vonage claims their adaptor when connected to your household tel wiring, will work fine with up to 5 hardwired handsets. I have three, base station (for two wireless handsets), a basement shop phone, and a phone up in the guest BR. They all ring no prob, and multiple handsets have been off the hook while in conversation, and worked fine.

Many features worked right away that I've never had before. Like the caller ID started getting pushed through to the basestation/handsets whenever the phone rings. It also shows up on your "dashboard" which is vonage speak for your account online (SSL login). You have a bunch of nice features with the VM - EG: it can be emailed as an audio file to any email address. Also, when the power does go out, (or even the internet) there's a setting in vonage where you can choose to route incoming calls to any cell phone. I took my cablemodem offline, and tested it with my neighbor's phone, and immediately my cell phone rang. I regard this as a pretty decent backup system, and with my car in the driveway, I suppose I could charge my cell phone if the power were gone long enough to warrant it. Also, if you travel, yeah, you could bring the adaptor with you, but you can also forward all your calls to your cellphone if that's the way you want it to work. If you have good cell phone coverage at home, I suppose this is the best insurance for folks concerned about loss of phone service.

I'm surte there are other things I forgot, but so far I'm sold. We left a 77/month "Verizon Freedom" (unlimited local/long dist) package my wife signed us up for when we purchased our home a few years ago, and this was a huge savings.

 

[JSB]

Dang it...You're selling me on it again. My big hang up so to speak was just having one phone. If you can setup three phones I'm in. I've already got a phone that has a base and some satelites. Is that what you're talking about. I'm paying $46.00 a month right now with verizon, and that's with out LD. Doesn't Vonage have a few packages where you're limited to so many minutes?

 

[C.P.]

Dang it...You're selling me on it again. My big hang up so to speak was just having one phone. If you can setup three phones I'm in. I've already got a phone that has a base and some satelites. Is that what you're talking about. I'm paying $46.00 a month right now with verizon, and that's with out LD. Doesn't Vonage have a few packages where you're limited to so many minutes?

We looked at the base package - which is 500 Anywhere Minutes for 14.99/mo with 3 cent/min after that, but my wife uses the phone way more then that. The next one up is the "standard offering" 24.99 unlimited local/LD(which is what we have. As far as I know, I never signed a contract. The authorization only "released" my telephone number from Verizon to Vonage.
And when I mean seamless, basically, I set the vonage adaptor up with one old phone connected to it(vonage gave us a temporary phone number so we could use it right away. (I left the rest of the house phones connected to the Verizon POTS.) ...(We had to wait for Vonage to get our number from Verizon)...Then one day, just like magic - instead of the house phones ringing, the phone hooked up to the Vonage adaptor started rining. I then connected the adaptor to the rest of the house. It took vonage about 17 days - almost one billing cycle - to get the number switched over.

Oh yeah, if you have relatives that CALL YOU a LOT, you can save them a ton of money for cheap - for an additional 4. /mo you can set a second "Virtual"telephone number that rings your main number whenever it is called. It is basically a tel number in THEIR area code, that whenever they call you will end up being a LOCAL call for them. I forsee setting something like this up, when my parents retire & move...

 

[berkshire_rider]

I've heard more good reports from Vonage customers than Packet 8, but both are still in infancy, so hiccups are to be expected.

I see all kinds of VoIP devices for Vonage, but haven't seen any for Packet 8. Do they use the same devices? Vonage offers a $50 rebate for the Linksys adapter, so it's free. Does Packet 8 offer the same? What about contracts and setup fees?

When I signed up for Packet8, they had a $19.95 signup fee, but an instant rebate for the same. The only drawback is the 1-year contract. If you sort through some of these there's similar offers.

 

[C.P.]

"The first difference is that the Packet 8 interface box has a light on it that lights up when there is voicemail waiting for you"

Well, now that is something the Vonage box is missing, and my vonage box is in view (Rather then tucked away in the basement) so it would be nice to have. But alas, we also have an IMAC G5 that's ALWAYS on in the LR, so emailed VM shows up there, and can be seen at a glance, just like a VM light on traditional phone.

 

[2piece]

Some friends of mine are. I don't know much about it, except this: the local carrier (Time Warner) doesn't have access to local numbers yet, so their phone number is based out of a town 60miles away. So even though they live right around the corner from us, it's long distance to call them. If you go with it, make sure to find out if you are getting a local number.

Boycott TWC, just because MCI is their backhauls/backbone.

 

[H8R]

Just foound out that cable internet is available where I am, so this is a new option for me.

I added it up and I'll save about $800 year.

! ! !

 

[binary visions]

I was going to post a thread about Vonage now that I've had it for a couple months. PM me if you want some feedback about it - I've got nothing bad to say about the service.