Thinking about VoIP

[Mark_King]

Thinking about VoIP - have heard good stories and bad. Any suggestions? I call mostly in the states but occassionally to Europe.

thanks

[RRNetEng]

VOIP is great. If you are looking for the common features you are accustomed to with a traditional telco then I would suggest getting VOIP service from your cable provider. Most offer unlimited long distance for a flat monthly fee - a great deal if you do much calling. If you currently have high speed internet service from your cable provider, that should offer you some pretty decent insight as to what you can expect with VOIP. If your internet connection has been reliable, then you can expect your VOIP to be reliable for the most part.

I hope this helps you make a decision

[Mark_King]

Originally Posted by RRNetEng

VOIP is great. If you are looking for the common features you are accustomed to with a traditional telco then I would suggest getting VOIP service from your cable provider. Most offer unlimited long distance for a flat monthly fee - a great deal if you do much calling. If you currently have high speed internet service from your cable provider, that should offer you some pretty decent insight as to what you can expect with VOIP. If your internet connection has been reliable, then you can expect your VOIP to be reliable for the most part.

I hope this helps you make a decision

Thanks for the advice. I do have cable - I will have to check them out.

Best,

Mark

[mrtool]

I Want To Switch To, Say Cox Digital Phone Service, But I Really Want To Speak With Users Who Are Having Good Experiences With It. I Have Found Very Little Duscussion Of This. Some People Say The Line Rings As Busy When It Isn't. And If I Switch They Want A 3 Year Commitment. I Want A Trial Period. Thank You!

[dent]

Time Warner (cable service provider) offers digital phone services here in Austin. $40/m flat rate for unlimited local and long distance phone service. Not the most popular thing around, but I haven't heard anything bad about it first hand from acquaintances.

A few other forum buddies have Vonage for VoIP, and have said some pretty good things about it. But with net neutrality and possibly tiered internet access looming on the horizon, things may change, and companies like VoIP may get the short end of the stick.

On a side note, I find cell phones just as easy, and haven't used a land line in some time.

[Shelby]

We also have time warner digital phone. It's been wonderful except for an echo problem that was pretty bad in the beginning, but doesn't happen as often now. The flat rate is something we really needed since we have a lot of friends and family that live out of state. Having the ability to call them at no additional charge has also given us the ability to choose a cheaper cell plan with less minutes since we can now make the calls from our home phone. I think all digital phone services are pretty much the same. So I'd recommend any of them. They'll save you money in the long run.

[The Nix Hex]

I've heard some mixed opinions about VoIP, some people love it

Myf riend has it, but any time the cable goes out they have to re-set it up or something like that (I'm not sure how true that is, my friend's family is pretty computer illiterate )

And people have probably read that story about the persons house who burned down becuase they were on hold for 911 while using Vonage.

My family's been lulling the idea of getting rid of the land line, since we all have cellphones. Most cell contracts have free nights and weekends, so you can call out like that.

Have you tried Skype, too? That has free calling (if I recall correctly)

[dent]

Free calling other skype users, gotta pay to use SkypeOut to call landlines and such.

[alexis]

Sunrocket - evil, I will get around to making a thread about that.
Charter VOIP - evil, the rep actually fell asleep at my house!!!

Vonage - so far so good.