 Review by N9MD 
UPDATED: 31 days ago
member for 2.8 years, 1156 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 Wayne,Passaic,NJ
 Contract price not specified.
 "None, now"
 "The people who ran SR ran away"
 "Farewell!"
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
-------------------------
UPDATE 7/29/08
-------------------------
I am modifying my Review just a bit since, as memory serves me ('cause it was a long time ago), the Ease of Installation was "easy".
-------------------------
UPDATE 6/24/08
-------------------------
I am just bumping my Review to keep SR on the GBU list ... and to change my 100% across the board ratings to 0%.
-------------------------
UPDATE 7/13/07
-------------------------
Friday the 13th. SunRocket is no more! Out of a sense of compassion and sympathy, I am raising my Review Criteria to 100% across the board.
Farewell shrill warbler, choral chirper, bird of my youth.
Note: Answer to "I've learned to appreciate what I'm missing" is NOTHING!
-------------------------
UPDATE 7/2/07
-------------------------
The SunRocket pilot light has gone out.
Billing has unimproved --- I was double billed for my Annual Plan renewals on two SR accounts. Two trouble tickets to call attention to this situation were answered by two different reps --- and the answers to the same issue were diametrically opposed. One rep said "Yes, you're right. We'll issue a credit." The other rep replied "I do not see any problem with your account!"
The voice quality with the original SR Telco AC211 gizmos on these accounts has continued to be terrible --- with a moderately loud background white noise (hissing) that sounds like a Fisher-Price Walkie Talkie. Calls only go thru about 75% of the time, which does not happen using my PAP2s with other providers with the same router and cablemodem.
At least, I've not gotten any recent phantom calls.
There is no apparent forward movement in the technological arena --- "failover", softphone, BYOD.
I suspect SR will not be in business as SunRocket within the next 4 to 6 months, based on their failure to obtain additional funding to pay their bills --- even though they've just recently shed 25% of their employees (from just below the CEO to just above the office cleaning staff). I've just started porting over my remaining SR HH#s and Sig#s to other providers --- no longer putting all my eggs ("numbers") in one basket.
-------------------------
UPDATE 3/25/07
-------------------------
Well, the glow is fading with SunRocket.
The Billing has improved, but I still cannot tell when my accounts are up for renewal. And I still have no way of knowing if some accounts were given the one-year free extension as promised by SR-CSRs.
I’ve not had any recent Customer Service contact, so I can’t update my opinions in this area.
The voice quality with the original SR Telco AC211 gizmos on six of my earlier accounts has deteriorated dramatically. --- The constant popping noises have been there from the get-go, but now the other side’s voices are fuzzy, gurgly, and sometimes even unintelligible --- and that’s if my calls even go thru on the first try. Using my PAP2 adapter with other VOIP providers (ViaTalk, VOIPo, VoiceStick, GizmoProject, StanaPhone) on the same network lines with the same ISPs and CableModems and Routers gives me excellent audio.
The absence of long overdue "failover" and the historical unavailability of Nomadic E911 continues to bug me --- as does the conscious decision on the part of SR to forbid the use of softphone/BYOD connectivity.
More recently, I’ve been frustrated by the middle of the night phantom calls from unknown sources --- and the calls I get from people who claim I have just called them (my CID info appears on their phone), but I haven’t.
The recent departure of just about every one of the founding fathers (and mothers) bodes poorly for the future of SunRocket. The remaining execs and department heads are stuck in the same mold --- stalling, making excuses, ignoring input from end-users, and (worst of all) taking away features that were already available to SR customers. I suspect that the Venture Capitalists behind SR are starting to sniff the air --- and the smell ain’t sweet.
I have now begun reviewing my multiple SR accounts to determine what my actual needs are for each individual account --- which calls for judging each of the myriad of "full feature" and "lesser" VOIP providers by what services and features I would really use. Of course, I am looking for value --- but value doesn't equate to cheap. I’ll be porting some SR numbers to other providers; keeping a few SR accounts that still meet my needs for some locations; and canceling the remaining accounts outright.
The moral of this saga, for VOIP customers, is to forget the techie stuff and don't "overbuy" services you don't really need. Analyze your anticipated monthly usage (free plans, per minute plans, fixed monthly or annual plans) and determine which features are important to you (BYOD/SoftPhone use, Nomadic E911, "failover", virtual numbers, caller ID, etc.). And most importantly, as I have learned after almost two years of VOIP-involvement, don't always go for the cheap stuff.
-----------------------
UPDATE 1/24/07
-----------------------
I'm up to nine SR accounts (using a mix of all three Gizmos: Telco AC211, Innomedia, LinkSys) --- two homes, two businesses, and three married kids with their own kids. (The unrequested cancellations problem reported in my last update were resolved quickly by the folks in Provisioning who took the time to keep me informed with follow-up phone calls.)
I am still pleased overall with SunRocket's service and features, considering the truly inexpensive pricing when compared to Ma Bell. Most of my accounts are currently running on the "2nd year free" Annual Plan. Yes, I still experience occasional short-lived outages - and - failures to connect on first dialup to a number - and - surprise when the called party picks up the phone even though I did not hear the ring-signal at my end. And I continue to feel that one should always have a PSTN or Cellular backup available.
The reason for this update is to report that, in my opinion, SR has improved nicely in the two areas where up to now they have been notoriously lacking. First, the long-standing horrendous billing system seems to be on its way to becoming a smooth operation. Incorrect charges, inability to determine renewal dates, fouled up invoices, etc. are about to become things of the past --- I hope. Second, the "scary" Level 1 Customer Service center has been moved from off shore to Missouri. Keeping in mind that all call centers for all types of businesses (credit cards, retail sales, cell phone service, POTS support, etc.) are prone to problems in successfully resolving issues on the first try --- and understanding the difficulty in fixing technical issues for non-technical customers with hundreds if not thousands of setup permutations (modems, routers, ISPs, adapters, wireless phones, etc.) --- my more recent contacts with SR CS1 have, in general, yielded reasonable results, even when they must escalate issues to a higher level or specialized department. And Customer Service email responses are starting to make more sense --- with messages that are actually addressing the problems, rather than "canned" responses.
At this point, my remaining frustration relates to the continuing absence of "failover" --- that is, having the SR server immediately recognize that my connection is down (modem, router, gizmo) for whatever reason (power outage, ISP problem, etc.) and forward incoming calls to a number pre-designated by me. This is a long-overdue promise that, thus far, has not been kept by SunRocket.
I've upgraded my Technical Support rating by two notches.
-----------------------
UPDATE 5/9/06
-----------------------
With eight current SR accounts (and numerous Signature Numbers), I am still a huge SR booster with regard to the features and pricing structure and, lately, decent reliability. SunRocket Level 1 Customer Service, currently located at a call center in the Philippines, was bad when I posted my first review --- and has become even worse as time has gone by. During a call today to Level 1 CS for a simple request regarding my most recent account activation, I indicated that I had a total of eight accounts in an effort to leverage my request. The request was turned down, which I had fully expected. I was asking to extend my newest account an additional year --- for free, based on my missing the recent 2-day special offer --- and to keep the pair of phones they had sent. The SR response was either keep the phones with no extension of my subscription or return the phones and get the one-year extension. I considered this a reasonable and said so, thanking the CSR and hanging up. (I was at no time facetious, demanding or argumentative.)
On checking my email 30 minutes later, I encountered three separate emails, each one reporting cancellation of an account "at your request" --- which I never requested --- that's three cancelled accounts! Fortunately, I was able to reach Customer Service in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada --- a very helpful and understanding CSR named Jared spent 30 minutes on the phone checking each of my accounts, confirming the three cancellations with absolutely no indication from the original CSR as why the accounts were cancelled. Jared noted that this is most unusual since CSRs are required to note the reason for cancellation on the account screen. I have just received a confirmatory email indicating that the matter has been elevated to Level 3 Tech Support for action. (And to play it safe, I emailed a report of the situation to the head of Provisioning at SR, hoping that he can get one of the higher ups to promptly restore my service and save my phone numbers.)
Bottom line! I really like the SR product. I hope that their plans to move most Customer Service to Ottawa (and some to their home base in Virginia) comes to pass ---- quickly! The current Level 1 CS is abominable.
-----------------------------
ORIGINAL REVIEW
-----------------------------
I've had SR since January 2005 and am now up to six individual accounts with them (some for personal at two homes, others for two small businesses) along with a host of Signature numbers (some of which are forwarded to K7 for incoming faxes). Each home and business has a bare bones POTS on which we receive most incoming calls. And my wife and I each have a cell phone.
Thus, for my personal and small business needs (understanding that others may have differing criteria by which they judge SR), we are getting excellent service and features for the annual $199 cost. We are enjoying significant savings on our out-going calls and incoming faxes --- thereby freeing up the POTS lines for incoming calls. I do not believe that any business should depend entirely on VOIP until the technology has advanced beyond the current standards. But this is no different from when I was a youngster where we picked up a 4-family party line (in a major urban city, not out in the boondocks) and asked an operator to connect us (pre-pulse dialing). Nor is it different from the Radio Shack Model 1 computer with one single sided, single density floppy drive for storage in the 1970s. Not to mention my first "cell phone" which was a bulky setup between the front seats in my car, with the transceiver located in the trunk. We've come a long way in those technologies and I suspect that VOIP will eventually escalate to a level of "high reliability."
My dislikes regarding SR include the poor responses from Level 1 CSRs (which so far have been provided by another company CALLTECH). When I am finally able to reach Level 2 or Level 3 or Provisioning directly, my issues have always been resolved promptly.
And finally (because my fingers are starting to go numb), I really wish SR would activate the failover mechanism whereby incoming calls will automatically be diverted to a specified number when the ISP or Modem or SR itself is down.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of SUNROCKET |
|
SUNROCKET
(55)
(36)
(84)
(115)
