Has anyone out there used the vonage http://www.vonage.com telephone service($15.00/month). I'm about to move and was thinking about giving it a try rather than my local ATT phone ($50/month).

Thanks

erichar11 wrote:

Has anyone out there used the vonage http://www.vonage.com telephone service($15.00/month). I'm about to move and was thinking about giving it a try rather than my local ATT phone ($50/month).

I have been using Vonage for about 6 months now and really do like it. I have a $25 plan that includes unlimited long distance, voicemail, three-way, and a lot more and have actually gotten two of those months for free for a new referral. The quality is good, better than my Verizon cell service, but I do notice that when I am really heavy on my inbound line, I get an occasional break (a second or two)... but this is probably just because I haven't figured out how to priorities VOIP on my Linksys router/firewall. Not a big deal.

I also have installed and started using Skype (Skype.com) and actually like the voice quality much better - probably more the fact that it is going through my sound card and not my V-Tech cordless - but it has really clear and deep base tones. Once their SkypeIn service is out of beta (which allows you to get an inbound phone number) I may drop Vonage and switch, but just from a cost standpoint.

Thanks for the feedback.

but I do notice that when I am really heavy on my inbound line

Since vonage works over a broadband connection, are you saying the quality suffers a bit when doing something like listening to internet radio or doing something relatively intesnse on the web? That hits to the heart of my initial concern. Also when using a voip service, is the quality of the line really as good as a landline? Or is it more of a cell phone quality? Lastly, I assume it works fine with a regular wireless phone. In other words, I can, for example, hit a button on my phone to dial my voice mail system.

Lastly, I will take a look at Skype as well. Once again thanks for the info.

erichar11 wrote:

Thanks for the feedback.

but I do notice that when I am really heavy on my inbound line

Since vonage works over a broadband connection, are you saying the quality suffers a bit when doing something like listening to internet radio or doing something relatively intesnse on the web? That hits to the heart of my initial concern. Also when using a voip service, is the quality of the line really as good as a landline? Or is it more of a cell phone quality? Lastly, I assume it works fine with a regular wireless phone. In other words, I can, for example, hit a button on my phone to dial my voice mail system.

Lastly, I will take a look at Skype as well. Once again thanks for the info.

I would say that the quality is comparable to a landline, but with occasionally problems with full pipes. I've never had any problems while streaming internet radio, but have had problems with large file downloads... Actually though, I think ALL of those problem could be avoided by making sure that you use a router that can prioritize VOIP traffic...

It does work perfectly with a cordless phone - we have a two line v-Tech cordless system set in our house, 1 line a landline and line 2 is our VOIP - both show message waiting indications, caller id works great, and I can press *123 and check my voicemail.

One of the neatest things about it is that if I take the little adapter brick to another LAN, my telephone number follows me there. I may spend a week or two on the road, and can keep my local phone number, whereever I am - as long as I have an Rj45 - I think that they also make a wireless bridge, but don't quote me on that.

One other cool vonage feature is the click to call program that you can download - I highlight a phone number and press f6 - and am immidiately connected. Great when calling a roster or something from an excel spreadsheet.

Great, I think I will give it a try. Thanks for your help.

erichar11 wrote:

Great, I think I will give it a try. Thanks for your help.

The problems I'm having with Vonage are:

1. I want to get the Delux business plan, but did you know that you can only transfer your main phone number even if you have a fax line that you want to transfer as well? The only way I can transfer my fax number is to purchase a SECOND Vonage account. I'll have 4 lines coming into my house, but I only need two..

2. There's only one voicemail box. No option to create multiple mailboxes.

Until they fix those issues, I probably won't sign up.