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Questions about switching to VOIP - Printable Version

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Questions about switching to VOIP - M A V I C - 12-05-2006

I'm officially tired of Qwest. I pay for their Call Rejection service, but it doesn't work for toll free numbers. They tell me I can use their Call Trace feature at a charge of $1 per use, and after three successful traces they will start an investigation into the callers. That may lead to them being able to block individual numbers. In an email conversation, I said I'm already paying $70+/mo for my phone lines, and it's an insult to ask me to pay more for call rejection when I'm already paying for it. (There's only one # that makes calls like this, and I googled the number and it seems to be a telemarketing company that has a messed up system which just leaves blank messages or doesn't say anything when answered.)

Today I got another call from an 888# and I googled it. It was Network Solutions. Apparently since I registered a domain name with them ten years ago, they have an "existing business relationship" so they can call me even though I'm on the Do Not Call list. I read others experiences with calls from that number, and it appears to be some outsource company that has really bad customer service.

Right now I basically let them call five times without leaving an intelligible message and then I block the number. Well, that's what I want to do. Qwest wont block toll-free numbers, and has no plans to.

I currently have Comcast cable internet. I do not subscribe to their TV service, though I was thinking of getting the basic cable for $8/mo since they started charging me $10/mo extra for not having TV. They offer a digital phone service in this area. What are the advantages of it over the other providers?

Also, what are all of the other providers? Sun Rocket, Vonage... and what else? Where can I learn more about the pros and cons of each?

Thanks.

Re: Questions about switching to VOIP - Maddog - 12-05-2006

Comcast is way overpriced, don't know about their service, would have doubts based on their other service lines. I have sunrocket, a bit unhappy of late with frequent outages. Vonage has a lot of underhanded fees that you have to ferret out. There are sign-up fees, disconnect fees, etc. that I am generally opposed to and thus I elected to go with another provider. Unless Sunrocket cleans up their act soon, I may be in the market myself for a more reliable partner.

Re: Questions about switching to VOIP - Jem - 12-05-2006

As a FULL replacement I don't think any VOIP service is up to par yet with standard POTS telephone service (Verizon, Ma Bell, etc.)

I use Sunrocket and MOST of the time it is okay. Lot of echoes and clicks, etc, but it works. Yesterday I had my first "outage" of about an hour or so.

My sunrocket deal was $99/year plus $40 for the gizmo (VOIP box) that allows you to attach regular phone handsets. So in my case $8.50/month isn't so bad for unlimited national long distance and local calls.

Haven't canceled my Verizon line yet, because of my business, may wait another month or so to see if in fact I have more problems with SR that would prevent a complete switch. BTW, I use Comcast for my internet and $12 basic cable.

Re: Questions about switching to VOIP - mattkime - 12-05-2006

>>I do not subscribe to their TV service

Have you tried hooking up your TV? Its probably turned on anyway.

Some people here have had problems with SunRocket but I've had a very good experience. I suspect that it has to do with the quality of internet connection and router that you have.

Also, SunRocket has a nice interface for blocking calls.

You can give a VoIP solution a try without committing right away. I see no reason why you shouldn't try it out.

Re: Questions about switching to VOIP - M A V I C - 12-05-2006

[quote mattkime]>>I do not subscribe to their TV service

Have you tried hooking up your TV? Its probably turned on anyway.
But of course! I've had cable internet since '99, and had cable TV for the first couple years of that. The local provider at the time changed their name and info when I moved, and all the numbers were wrong. So I was never able to connect it. They shut it off, but then I went without and never missed it.

You can give a VoIP solution a try without committing right away. I see no reason why you shouldn't try it out.

Can I transfer my POTS # to VOIP?

Re: Questions about switching to VOIP - mattkime - 12-05-2006

>>Can I transfer my POTS # to VOIP?

Yes. Before getting that far we forwarded the calls from our old number to the new one. The only way people could tell the difference is with caller ID when we called out.

Re: Questions about switching to VOIP - John B. - 12-05-2006

I've had Vonage for just over two years. It works fine technically over a cable modem. I can use it to send faxes from a standalone fax machine, and my two DirecTiVo boxes dial out OK (an occasional failure, but well within the acceptable limits). I pulled the local phone company's connections at the demarc box on the outside of the house, and Vonage feeds all of my wall jacks.

I think most VoIP users will tell you to expect phone sound quality similar to that of a cell phone. That has been my experience. My parents switched to Vonage and have more sound quality problems than I do...I attribute that to the age of the cable network in their area and possible oversubscription (I believe they have a higher percentage of cable modem-using households in their neighborhood than I do in mine).

I don't know about the comment above about Vonage having hidden fees. I didn't pay a startup fee (bought a retail kit at Best Buy that was free after rebate), and I haven't dropped them, so I don't know if/what they would charge to disconnect. My monthly rate just went up $2.00 due to some new regulatory fee being imposed on VoIP carriers.

My parents ported their old Qwest number to Vonage. I started with a new Vonage-issued number. If you start with a new Vonage-issued number, you essentially have a 'nonpublished' number.

If call rejection is important to you, I'd use that as my number one screening mechanism among carriers. Since I'm nonpublished, I get very few inbound calls, so it hasn't been something I've looked at very much.

Re: Questions about switching to VOIP - M A V I C - 12-05-2006

[quote John B.]I think most VoIP users will tell you to expect phone sound quality similar to that of a cell phone.
Can you explain that a bit more? I usually have pretty decent cell phones, so the quality sounds really good providing the other person is on a cell phone and not a cheap one. For example, T-Mobile users typically sound about the same as a POTS line, or worse. But Sprint users (which I am one of) sound much better than T-Mobile and always better than POTS.

Re: Questions about switching to VOIP - Ombligo - 12-05-2006

Forget Vonage...

Try Voicepulse.

I've had them for a couple years and have no issues or complaints at all. I pay $15 a month and that takes care of all my calling needs.

the main issue I've been told with the quality of VoIP is not the VoIP provider but rather the quality of your broadband service. Some are fine for data but noisy if you try to use them for voice or video. I have no idea if that is true or not.

Re: Questions about switching to VOIP - M A V I C - 12-05-2006

The coax in my house is not good. For internet, I have a new line run to my house, and then a new line from there to my modem.

How tough is it to get two VOIP lines?