Vonage Internet Phone?

[SweetErika]

We're considering ditching Qwest and switching to Vonage (uses Voice Over IP through you broadband connection) because it appears to be a much better deal financially.

I'd like to know if anyone has experience with Vonage (good, bad, so-so)? Or, if you've considered this option and rejected it, why? Please share whatever you know!

Thanks in advance!

 

[izod]

Before you do the switch, look at www.broadvoice.com. They have even better rates!

 

[midwestyankee]

The one concern I would have is that the integrity of your phone call's connection is dependent on the stability of your ISP and your broadband connection. In my own case, I would not consider a VOIP service for anything but the most casual conversations because my cable service regularly hiccups and I have to reboot my modem. Imagine that happening during a crucial moment of an important call.....like some hot phone sex, for example.

 

[SweetErika]

Before you do the switch, look at www.broadvoice.com. They have even better rates!

Very true. Thanks! I'm still really interested in personal experiences with any of these companies.

 

[SweetErika]

The one concern I would have is that the integrity of your phone call's connection is dependent on the stability of your ISP and your broadband connection. In my own case, I would not consider a VOIP service for anything but the most casual conversations because my cable service regularly hiccups and I have to reboot my modem. Imagine that happening during a crucial moment of an important call.....like some hot phone sex, for example.

Yes, this is a concern for me too...God knows "ComQuack" has it's problems. We don't use the phone a whole bunch though, so it seems like paying $10 or $15 per month instead of $27 might be a good trade-off. Just don't want to jump into it without hearing some real feedback though.

 

[Monazwx]

Dang! And I just ordered from Vonage too.

After I use it for a while, when it gets here, I'll update this thread.

What's the deal with this WiSip phone that they are advertising, anyone know?

 

[izod]

I loved broadvoice. Call quality is great, awesome features, and for the price, you can't beat it. I've got Comcast here and a Linksys router and it works wonders! $10 - local phone service, $20-long distance, too. Awesome.

 

[SweetErika]

Thanks, izod!

 

[Noor]

I have used Dialpad. It worked really nicely, but not on a mac. I have been a recipient of pc to cell phone and I was pleasantly surprised. I think it was 3.9 cent a minute UK to US. You can do it as a prepay or a monthly service.

call waiting, call alert seems to interrupt it, so you need to turn that off if you are using Dial up and you have it.

 

[ny11011]

The main problem with the whole VOIP thing is the quality of the connection and the compression rates used, get it wrong and you either get a broken con..ver...sa..tion or it sounds like your at the bottom of a well. Therefore minimal compression on a clean line.

Basically voice is a continuous signal (a wave) and VOIP is packets (data broken into even sized bits and sent out) so if the connection isn't good the bits either arrive brocken, not at all or potentially in the wrong order.

NY