 Review by christcorp 
UPDATED: 2.3 years ago
member for 7.3 years, 2077 visits, last login: 1 days ago
 Cheyenne,Laramie,WY
 $17 per month (12 month contract)
 about 5 days
 "Reliability , Dependability, Service, Voice Quality, , E911"
 "None to speak of"
 "You get what you pay for, and they are worth the extra couple of dollars"
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings above consensus)
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UPDAYE: May 21st, 2006. OK, now that they have caller ID With Name working, there isn't much more to say. I know there are cheaper services out there, but that's the problem. They are cheaper. They don't have the uptime rate, reliability, service, or quality that Packet8 has. I don't mind paying an extra few dollars a month for that. All the features I want are there. If my internet connection goes down, or if Packet8 has a problem (Which they haven't had except for an hour and a half in the last 9 months), then their failover will reroute the calls to my cell phone.
Personally, I don't think that any provider should rate 100 across the board. I think that all providers have room to grow and get better. Unfortunately, most people don't see it that way and rate based on comparison to other providers and their own expectations. So, in the same spirit, to retain accuracy among the other providers, and based on my expectation of voip and compared to other voip providers, I have no problem rating them 100 across the board. In reality, the web site could use a little work. In reality, hold times could be lower at customer service. (Although using their online chat help is almost instant). In reality there are definately things that Packet8 could do to get even better, but they are so much better than many other providers, that this is why they rate the 100.
UPDATE: March 16, 2006. All I can say is each day Packet8 seems to get better. 1 Feb they did indeed crank out the new features that promised. 7 digit dialing, failover in case your broadband goes down, voicemail sent to email, etc... I guess the only feature they don't have which to me is not a big thing is their Caller ID doesn't show name. Oh well, not a big deal. Especially when I see all the posts in the VOIP forum about the providers that whole bragging rights boil down to their "FEATURES". Well, I guess I'd rather have a VOIP provider that has quality and reliable service with one or two missing features, than a provider that has every imaginable feature but has calling issues every other post.
Packet8 has also stepped up their customer service. Emails and calls are getting through and answered much quicker now. They have live online Chat Support. Anyway, it's been 6 months without 1 minute of down time. There was a 1-2 hour period a couple of months ago with a voicemail issue, but I don't count that against my phone service not working. Packet8 is making deals with some very large industry leaders now, and they are now selling their products in retail outlets like OfficeMax and Home Depot. They consistantly seem to be getting better every day.
UPDATE: January 27, 2006 . It's now been 4 month+. NO outages, NO Quality issues, Still waiting on some new features to be included. Most recent firmware upgrade for the 410 adapter seems to be an improvement in sound quality. Of course it always helps to use the g.711 codec version. Still no problems whatsoever. Seems that most people who have had problems signed up right in the middle of Packet8 upgrading their servers and had equipment and tech support issues, or they didn't have a very good setup with their broadband. People have to realise that while technical support and such should be expected, VOIP is still a somewhat new technology that requires a lot more customer knowledge and intervention. If people can't handle this then VOIP is definately not for them.
UPDATE: November 17, 2005. Well it's been just about 2 months now with no outages, no dropped calls, no quality issues, not problems whatsoever. Well, that's not totally accurate.
Before, with my traditional phone, there were always occassions with some minor static or other sound quality issues. Probably due to old cable and drops in the neighborhood. The good thing was the wife and kids would get annoyed and make relatively short 10-15 minute phone calls. Now with the phone being VOIP, there's no chance of static and similar issues. The family is a lot happier and unfortunately are staying on the phone longer. My wife just did an hour and a half conversation with her dad in another state. I might have to up my plan to the $19.99 unlimited plan. LOL!!!
Anyway, no problems whatsoever to report with Packet8. Later... Mike...
October 16, 2005: It's been a month now since getting Packet8. Quality and reliability have been perfect. Their Freedom Choice 500 minute outgoing/unlimited incoming for $13.95 is the perfect plan. What good is an unlimited plan for someone who doesn't need unlimited minutes. Saves me $6 this way.
Their E911 and reliability has been top notch. Their default codec is g.729 which isn't bad, but they are capable of using g.711 for fax and analog data, so with a simple firmware replacement voice calls can also use g.711. Definate improvement.
The only problem I've had, which is TRULY my problem, is connecting MORE than 10 phones to the packet8 adapter. I have the packet8 wired into the rest of the house phone wiring, BUT if I go for an 11th phone, the incoming ring only rings once and disconnects the phone. Probably too much on the circuit. 10 phone/Directv receivers is fine, just not more than 10. I'll experiment with more than 10 but NOT having ALL the ringers turned on. Other than this, really who needs 12 phones connected, Packet8 has been fantastic.
A lot of people say to NOT use Packet8 or that they are Leaving Packet8, YET I am unable to find documented problems posted abour them. I hear people say they suck, yet I can't find on the forums where they have been donw for service or anything similar. I think there are a lot of people who are NEVER satisfied with what they have so I don't pay attention to them anyway. There's also a lot of people who just like to be part of the bandwagon and their opinions have no validity.
I suggest TRYING to find legitimate reasons why NOT to use Packet8. If you can find these reasons, then by all means stay away. I COULDN'T! They have E911, All the standard features, Good quality, EXCEPTIONAL Uptime Rate. Decent Customer service. and a EXCEPTIONAL price. They are definately worth it. They do have a disconnect fee of $59 if you get out before 1 year, but they have NO STARTUP costs, so that's almost a wash with many who charge for the adapter and starting up. Later... Mike....
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