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Topic: OT: VOIP Phone Service Reviews? (Topic Closed Topic Closed) Post ReplyPost New Topic
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Bryan Eacret
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Joined: 08 February 2007
Location: United States
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Posted: 17 April 2015 at 4:50pm | IP Logged | 1  

Anyone here using a voip phone service such as Ooma or Vonage?
I'm looking into getting rid of my land line, but I am loath to lose my phone #, due to all the accounts I have tied into it.
Any recommendations would be appreciated.
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John Byrne
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Joined: 11 May 2005
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Posted: 17 April 2015 at 5:27pm | IP Logged | 2  

I'm looking into getting rid of my land line…

••

Do you live somewhere that never, ever has power outages?

After Hurricane Sandy, I lost power for six days. But I have a land line, and it continued to work.

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Glen Keith
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Joined: 04 July 2010
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Posted: 17 April 2015 at 6:19pm | IP Logged | 3  

While JB has a point about power outages, I ditched AT&T for an Ooma about 10 year ago and have never regretted the decision. Considering what my phone bill was back then, the Ooma paid for itself in about 4 months, and all my call on it have been free since then. Honestly, it's great, though I still can't understand how they manage to keep the calls free for just the cost of the hardware. Crazy.

I've been so happy with my Ooma that it's a constant disappointment that, because of how much I travel, I now need to have a monthly cell phone bill. Although, that's only because you can't find phone booths anywhere anymore.


Edited by Glen Keith on 18 April 2015 at 12:52am
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Josh Goldberg
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Joined: 25 October 2005
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Posted: 17 April 2015 at 6:21pm | IP Logged | 4  

At present, I only have my cell phone and see no need for anything else.
When I did have a home phone, I used Vonage and was very happy with them.
I have relatives here in Jersey who, like JB, really appreciate that old fashioned land line when Mother Nature deprives the neighborhood of electricity.


Edited by Josh Goldberg on 17 April 2015 at 6:22pm
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Wilson Mui
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Posted: 17 April 2015 at 8:32pm | IP Logged | 5  

How is the voice quality of VoIP?
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Glen Keith
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Posted: 18 April 2015 at 12:56am | IP Logged | 6  

The sound quality on my Ooma is as good, or better, than my land lines were, and definitely better than the phones at my office.
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Josh Goldberg
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Posted: 18 April 2015 at 6:58am | IP Logged | 7  

I never noticed a difference between Vonage and my old fashioned land line.
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Jean-Francois Joutel
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Joined: 06 November 2008
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Posted: 18 April 2015 at 7:09am | IP Logged | 8  

I do VOIP support for one of Canada's largest telecommunications company. Here are the biggest advantages to going VOIP:
  • Long distance (You can relay many different PSTN connections to your voice gateway. The cost benefits depend on how many long distance calls you expect to make or get)
  • Portability (with a softphone installed, get and make calls anywhere you get internet access, even abroad)
  • Unification of sub-sites and satellite offices


Some things to keep in mind:

  • Power (as JB noted)
  • Your internet speeds and monthly download maximums
  • QOS (Quality of Service): you should configure your internet access to give voice traffic priority over regular data.


How is the voice quality of VoIP?

-----------------------------------------------------------

Potentially, CD quality (depending on the codec and the quality of the line on the other end). Could havemuch higher fidelity than regular land lines. However, not something you're likely to notice on local calls.

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Wilson Mui
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Posted: 18 April 2015 at 8:58am | IP Logged | 9  

I have the Verizon Triple Play package. Called to inquire how much it would cost for just Internet and TV. They said they would charge me the same price or slightly higher.
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Jason Stephens
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Joined: 02 August 2007
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Posted: 18 April 2015 at 1:13pm | IP Logged | 10  

I was thinking of switching our business line over to VoIP.  We are out in the desert though so we have broadband for our internet as opposed to cable or DSL.  The phone lines in this area are very old and go out every time it rains.  Lucky for us that's only a dozen times a year! :)

Has anyone had VoIP experience as a business line?
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Mark Tillson
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Joined: 17 February 2005
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Posted: 18 April 2015 at 7:17pm | IP Logged | 11  

I use Ooma and love it.  I got rid of my Triple pay with Verizon, kept the internet, and have cut my cost dramatically. 
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Wilson Mui
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Posted: 18 April 2015 at 8:50pm | IP Logged | 12  

What do you do for TV?
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