Vonage
- Thread starter oceanists
- Start date
nw2sltfsh
Member
I only have experience with AT&T CallVantage services but I can tell you when it comes to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services the main complaint that people have is there appears to be a lag time between the time you say something and the person on the other end can hear you. This is normally attributed to the internet connection speed. While you may have broadband every broadband carrier has different levels of conection speed - you may need to call them to put the speed which will mean higher cost.
Also from experience if you are downloading items via email and other internet items while on the phone you may experience phone problems.
Also if you can recieving incoming calls but not make calls this can be caused by several problems - if you have ported your existing land line account to a VoIP service the switch may not be 100% complete or you may need to reset your modem
And I am assuming you already know the obvious that if you lose internet connection you also have no phone - just like if you lose power
Also from experience if you are downloading items via email and other internet items while on the phone you may experience phone problems.
Also if you can recieving incoming calls but not make calls this can be caused by several problems - if you have ported your existing land line account to a VoIP service the switch may not be 100% complete or you may need to reset your modem
And I am assuming you already know the obvious that if you lose internet connection you also have no phone - just like if you lose power
michelle l
Member
I've had it now for about a month. I absolutely LOVE it. I've had no problems whatsoever. Quality of sound is great.....every bit as good as my regular phone service was.... and has always been reliable. Every now and then I will catch what sounds like a slight echo in my voice during a call if I raise my voice loudly on the phone, but it also may be due to my antique phone. Also, your cable connection can affect performance, so if yours has glitches then that may affect it, but personally I've had no noticeable issues. My sister has had it for about 6 months as well and has had no trouble at all. I notice no "lag time" and no issues even while downloading e-mail attachments as mentioned above. It performs exactly like my old, overpriced phone service.
I got the $24.99 a month plan with all of the bells and whistles. We have lots of family that used to cost us a lot of $$ in long distance charges and we have eliminated that. I couldn't be happier. This service very well may put a big dent in the phone companies profits.
I got the $24.99 a month plan with all of the bells and whistles. We have lots of family that used to cost us a lot of $$ in long distance charges and we have eliminated that. I couldn't be happier. This service very well may put a big dent in the phone companies profits.
nw2sltfsh
Member
Originally Posted by Michelle L
This service very well may put a big dent in the phone companies profits.
Not really - believe it or not they are still making a nice profit on that service - there are a lot of other cost - Like the TA and disconnect fees and so on - plus not many customers ever make enough calls that would be over 24.99 at the real cost to complete calls
trust me on this one
This service very well may put a big dent in the phone companies profits.
Not really - believe it or not they are still making a nice profit on that service - there are a lot of other cost - Like the TA and disconnect fees and so on - plus not many customers ever make enough calls that would be over 24.99 at the real cost to complete calls
trust me on this one
michelle l
Member
Trust me on this one, at $25 a month with no hidden fees, I'd say that eventually a good percentage of people who have cable internet will make the switch. Bottom line is that adds up to money reduced from telephone companies who charge way too much for lousy service. 
Any customers lost is still money taken away from their bottom line. They'll have to keep jacking rates to keep the profit margin the same. That it turn will tick off more customers who will switch as a result...and on and on and on.
Add that to cell phone users who cancel their land lines (which many people are doing now) and phone companies are losing customers that they used to have in their back pocket 5 years ago.
Any customers lost is still money taken away from their bottom line. They'll have to keep jacking rates to keep the profit margin the same. That it turn will tick off more customers who will switch as a result...and on and on and on.Add that to cell phone users who cancel their land lines (which many people are doing now) and phone companies are losing customers that they used to have in their back pocket 5 years ago.
I dont have Vonage but I do have an IP phone at my house that my cable company provides. I've had ZERO problems with sound quality or with my internet connection speed while on the phone. I"ve also just rolled out a full IP based phone system in my office. Its a Cisco system running over an internet T1. After the initial layout of money for the equipment (about 45K) it is going to save us over $2500 a month on our phone bills.
I am the IT Manager for my company so I have lots of experience with this stuff if anyone has any questions.
I am the IT Manager for my company so I have lots of experience with this stuff if anyone has any questions.
J
jdragunas
Guest
i have cingular, and i love it... and i don't have a landline because, well basically i don't need it... i know this doesn't answer your question, ben... sorry.
nw2sltfsh
Member
You may also want to look at this website for alot of good information on VoIP services
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/voip
I can also answer many questions based on my IT job function as well at one of the Phone Companies
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/voip
I can also answer many questions based on my IT job function as well at one of the Phone Companies
oceanists
Active Member
Thank you for all of your replies , everything seems fine , i got it set up last night ........ the only thing that bothers me is it doesnt have traditional 911 services ...... but everything else seems fine ........ i am another person that is so FED UP with SBC that they lost me to VOip .... there cust service is AWFULL ...... even if VOip had some slight qaulity problems i beleive it is going to outway traditional phone service
Originally Posted by Oceanists
Thank you for all of your replies , everything seems fine , i got it set up last night ........ the only thing that bothers me is it doesnt have traditional 911 services ...... but everything else seems fine ........ i am another person that is so FED UP with SBC that they lost me to VOip .... there cust service is AWFULL ...... even if VOip had some slight qaulity problems i beleive it is going to outway traditional phone service
ALL voip providers are required by law to have 911 services.
Thank you for all of your replies , everything seems fine , i got it set up last night ........ the only thing that bothers me is it doesnt have traditional 911 services ...... but everything else seems fine ........ i am another person that is so FED UP with SBC that they lost me to VOip .... there cust service is AWFULL ...... even if VOip had some slight qaulity problems i beleive it is going to outway traditional phone service
ALL voip providers are required by law to have 911 services.
nw2sltfsh
Member
Originally Posted by DragonZim
ALL voip providers are required by law to have 911 services.
All Carrier do offer 911 - but the issue is not as easy as that
there are two types of 911 service that can be provided by a VoIP provider
a911 - When the A-911 customer calls 911, the first information they should provide is their location, followed by their name and telephone number, this information may not automatically be available to the PSAP operator
e911 When customer's with E-911 dial 911, the call may be routed to the dispatcher used for traditional wireline E911 calls, and the dispatcher may automatically have access to the customer's location, name and telephone number
the most important thing about 911 with VoIP is that if you chose to take the TA with you to an alternate location for short term like a temporary relocation you must contact your VoIP provider and notify them.
ALL voip providers are required by law to have 911 services.
All Carrier do offer 911 - but the issue is not as easy as that
there are two types of 911 service that can be provided by a VoIP provider
a911 - When the A-911 customer calls 911, the first information they should provide is their location, followed by their name and telephone number, this information may not automatically be available to the PSAP operator
e911 When customer's with E-911 dial 911, the call may be routed to the dispatcher used for traditional wireline E911 calls, and the dispatcher may automatically have access to the customer's location, name and telephone number
the most important thing about 911 with VoIP is that if you chose to take the TA with you to an alternate location for short term like a temporary relocation you must contact your VoIP provider and notify them.
oceanists
Active Member
yeah this doesnt bother me so much , I got so fed up with SBC I terminated my Internet and opted to take the early 200 dollar Termination fee get comcast at a much higher price , cancel my SBC phone and take Vonage at a higher price ....... and all of this is because of there Extremely Distastefull imcompitent rude Customer Service
nw2sltfsh
Member
Originally Posted by Oceanists
yeah this doesnt bother me so much , I got so fed up with SBC I terminated my Internet and opted to take the early 200 dollar Termination fee get comcast at a much higher price , cancel my SBC phone and take Vonage at a higher price ....... and all of this is because of there Extremely Distastefull imcompitent rude Customer Service
Well hopefully now that they are officially combined with AT&T and the full transitions are taking place now the customer service difference will be seen. AT&T is world famous for their service
yeah this doesnt bother me so much , I got so fed up with SBC I terminated my Internet and opted to take the early 200 dollar Termination fee get comcast at a much higher price , cancel my SBC phone and take Vonage at a higher price ....... and all of this is because of there Extremely Distastefull imcompitent rude Customer Service
Well hopefully now that they are officially combined with AT&T and the full transitions are taking place now the customer service difference will be seen. AT&T is world famous for their service
