VONAGE - does anybody here use Vonage VoIP service?

Doody- I haven't had a voice land line in over a year. I'd like to Cell-ise the fax too actually. Why bother when cell calls are unlimited LD with my corp plan? (of course, I pay $160/mo... but I get 'em in the end.)

34/mo looks good for the same thing from VoIP. Grab one of the Cisco phones and go nuts. (they work rather well actually.)

Best!
Ben.

 

One year after this original thread, I just installed Vonage. Anyone else using it for VoIP?

So far, the sound quality is perfect --- and for unlimited telephone anywhere in the US for 24/month, it seems like a GREAT deal. I'll be wiring it into my security system today, and working though some 802.11b kinks... but so far, THUMBS UP.


-Daniel

 

Doody -

Funny you should mention Skype. I use SKYPE all day long at the office. My consultants are scattered all over the place -- and often times in Data Centers where there's no good cellular service. But just about everybody has a broadband connection!

Skype absolutely rules for VOIP - PC-to-PC communications. I'm using a dinkly little Labtec headset, and it works flawlessly.

-Daniel


p.s. I'll keep folks posted on Vonage. Maybe since it's a year more "advanced" since you tried it, some of the kinks have been worked out. I'm on a Linksys PAP2 VoIP module, FWIW.

 

YES. Ive been using vonage for the last 4 months. Here are my pros
and cons:

Pros:
Cheap.
-Easy to install.
-All features work as advertised.
-Most of the time really good phone quality.
-Voicemails are forwarded to my email box.
-I can plug my box into any broadband connection, and my
phone rings, even out of state.

Cons:
-During busy internet times, over my cable modem, the quality sucks,
its just about impossible to send a fax after 5pm.
-The message waiting indicator doesnt work right.
-Customer service? Huh? Ive waited over an hour to get a dumb
response from these retards.
-Some people compain of really low volume from me, yet i can hear
them just fine.
-Cant do squat on the internet while your on the phone, even checking
email kills the quality of the call. Do nothing, and the quality is fine.

Im actually fixing to switch back to regular phone service in the next
couple of months just due to the fax issue.

 

I use Vonage for a business line. It was my only option to get the number that I requested. I have noticed that I have a problem w/international dialing and sometimes the quality isn't as good as POTS. Other then that it's been good. I imagine these issues will be addressed in the near future. Further, I want to support competition in voice technology.

 

Wow. My experience couldn't be more different. I'm sucking down huge bandwidth surfing the web and still having crystal clear Vonage calls. I'm on TWC RoadRunner, and usually clock about 1.5 megabits.

 

I have considered Vonage as well. Going to school in Rochester, with my cellphone number based in New Jersey, I would like a local number and an actual phone rather than cell. I have toyed with the idea, but decided that it was not worth it for me. I really wish that T-Mobile had service that was good, because they have the plug your phone in at home thing that allows your cell phone to ring on a land line. Oh well.

As far as the varying quality with cable modem, that has to do with the way that cable works. It is a shared line, and if more people are in your area, your bandwidth will decrease and so will your VO-IP phone service.

Thats just my .02

Craig

 

I had looked for a device like this several years ago, and the only one who offered it was T-Mobile. I guess that this would work. Now I have to look into it further. Thanks Doody

Craig