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Does anyone here use Vonage?

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BigMike

BigMike

BrokenbikeMike
Jul 29, 2003
8,931
0
Montgomery county MD
My New Apartment is giving me some trouble with phone service. I was previously paying $24 for free incoming calls and $0.10 for each outgoing call (I don't make many calls) through Verizon. No other special features.

Vonage has a plan for $14.99 for 500 minutes of phone service and $0.4 for every minute over that, and includes Caller ID, Call waiting, forewarding, and a plethera of other features. So whats the catch?
 
Toshi

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
39,767
8,762
try searching for "vonage" in the magic "search" box in the upper left of this "interweb page"
 
Chunky Munkey

Chunky Munkey

Herpes!
May 10, 2006
447
0
is ALWAYS key I say...
If you got a family member with a cell phone just use there plan and add on for a few bucks. I have one with my brother and get free long distance anywhere in the country for like 25 bucks a month and I get 500 minutes. If you are using Vonage for long distance reasons. But personally I heard one bad thing about Vonage. I think they fixed it though. Some lady had an emergency and the power was out in a storm and she couldn't dial 911 and someone died. I think she's suing Vonage. Am I wrong on that regard? Vonage IS phone over the inna net right?
 
binary visions

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,165
1,261
NC
Chunky Munkey said:
But personally I heard one bad thing about Vonage. I think they fixed it though. Some lady had an emergency and the power was out in a storm and she couldn't dial 911 and someone died. I think she's suing Vonage. Am I wrong on that regard? Vonage IS phone over the inna net right?
Click to expand...
That's not really a "bad thing about Vonage". That's this lady being a dumbass and not reading the literature that comes with the service, not to mention not thinking.

If the power goes out, the little VoIP router that you need to make the service work, and the broadband modem you're using, will be switched off. Hence, no phone. If you plugged both of these devices into a UPS, you'd be able to make phone calls. But it has nothing to do with Vonage. Kinda like suing AT&T because the power went out, and your cordless phone wasn't charged so you couldn't make a phone call.

I hate people :rolleyes:.

Anyway, do a search, Mike. Vonage has been discussed many times ;). I'm happy with my service. Jenn and I have two cell phones in the apartment (she has full service, I just have a phone - even non-serviced phones can dial 911) to solve the power outage problem.
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

Monkey
Jan 8, 2002
623
0
Naperville, IL
I have a question abou this. Right now I'm paying about $60 a month for Comcast Digital phone. and then $100 for premium cable & Internet with Comcast also.

I am thinking of going to Vonage for the $15 plan but here is my question:

We have one phone in the house in the kitchen and it's one of those expandible cordless jobs so we have a couple of handsets throughout the house. Now if I get Vonage I hook it up after my cable Moden then does the line have to go right into the phone?
 
bballe336

bballe336

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2005
1,757
0
MA
I have vonage unlimited plan. It works well. I have no gripes. It's well worth the 25 a month.
 
jimmydean

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
43,104
15,184
Portland, OR
Hawkeye said:
I have a question abou this. Right now I'm paying about $60 a month for Comcast Digital phone. and then $100 for premium cable & Internet with Comcast also.

I am thinking of going to Vonage for the $15 plan but here is my question:

We have one phone in the house in the kitchen and it's one of those expandible cordless jobs so we have a couple of handsets throughout the house. Now if I get Vonage I hook it up after my cable Moden then does the line have to go right into the phone?
Click to expand...
The line goes into the phone from the box. I bought a panasonic phone that has a base unit in the bedroom next to the box, then has a phone in the livig room that just has a charging base. It works great and I have never been happier.

I was spending $75 a month for phone service before I switched. I've been using Vonage without issue for a while now and love it.
 
BigMike

BigMike

BrokenbikeMike
Jul 29, 2003
8,931
0
Montgomery county MD
I got mine all hooked up, and it seems to be working well. My girlfriend is actually on the phone right now....... lets see how far this 500 minutes gets us! ;)

I'm just waiting for the first months bill to see how expensive it REALLY is.....
 
SK6

SK6

Turbo Monkey
Jul 10, 2001
7,586
0
Shut up and ride...
Well, the pricing becomes an issue if you have two lines in the house (I think). I have a fax line. The other thing that becomes a concern is the fact I have 5 computers running through my cable modem, so I'm concerned about bandwidth.

So its been a generic discussion, but whats the nitty gritty?

(And yes I did do a search and found this thread! :p )
 
binary visions

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,165
1,261
NC
You have 5 computers running, but how often are they actually all accessing the internet?

The fact is, your phone is only as good as your bandwidth. But with a proper Quality of Service enabled router or device (and actually, Hawking sells a stand-alone device that seems to get pretty good reviews), you can give top priority to the VoIP packets, so your computer's bandwidth will get slowed down before your VoIP gets screwy.

Two lines is no problem.
 
nikwho

nikwho

Monkey
Jun 16, 2006
117
0
Flagstaff, Az
ok, not to hijack, but a quick question if i may.... i have been wanting the vonage "theme song" as my cell phone ring tone for months!! if anyone knows where to get it, i would be incredibly happy!!
 
SK6

SK6

Turbo Monkey
Jul 10, 2001
7,586
0
Shut up and ride...
binary visions said:
You have 5 computers running, but how often are they actually all accessing the internet?

The fact is, your phone is only as good as your bandwidth. But with a proper Quality of Service enabled router or device (and actually, Hawking sells a stand-alone device that seems to get pretty good reviews), you can give top priority to the VoIP packets, so your computer's bandwidth will get slowed down before your VoIP gets screwy.

Two lines is no problem.
Click to expand...
well the two lines is a cost issue. And at night, the computers are used, for school, gaming, email, research...
 
binary visions

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,165
1,261
NC
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