Review by slyphoxj  - Location: Brook Park,Cuyahoga,OH
- Cost: $13 per month (month by month)
- Install: about 1 days
Good "Lots of call routing/blocking and calling features, easy website, responsive support, no tax & fees BS, OK call quality"
Bad "Unlimited calling is pricey (for VoIP anyways), setup fees to switch plans, porting process kind of a pain"
Overall "OK so far. Better deal than a $28-$29/month AT&T landline"
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(ratings match consensus)
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Back in May 2013, I got an Obihai Obi110 device with the thought of using Google Voice to replace our AT&T landline. We were getting fed up with the spam calls, sometimes 2 or 3 a day, and wanted some means to filter them out. A couple months later, I finally got around to setting it up and rearranging my phone wiring. I initially set it up to use Google Voice for outgoing calls and the landline for incoming calls, but there were complaints about the call quality on GV. So I setup a Callcentric account on my Obi110 (I'd need to anyway, even I used GV for all my calls, since GV doesn't provide E911 service) and started using Callcentric for outgoing calls.
I opted to port my decades-old home number to Callcentric and use Callcentric instead of Google Voice for all my calling because:
- Callcentric's Personal Unlimited plan is only $5.95/month (plus $1.50 E911 fee if you don't have one of the North America 500/1000/Residential plans).
- Almost total lack of customer support with Google Voice. If you run into any issues porting into GV or other issues, good luck! I had no issues porting in my cell phone, but I got lucky I guess.
- Google Voice seems like it's about to be orphaned by Google. They haven't added any new features or improved anything in a while and still haven't added direct porting to POTS or VoIP lines
- Privacy concerns with Google Voice. I believe that Google listens in on GV calls (or at least GV voicemails?). I think I can trust Callcentric more than Google.
Porting the AT&T landline at my house to Callcentric took 13 days and cost $25. The submission of the initial porting info was a pain, compared to starting the porting process with a cellular carrier/MVNO. I had to scan and upload a copy of the last AT&T bill and some other paperwork, then mess with converting the scanned files to PDF (1 MB limit on attachments to Callcentric tickets). But it went through without any issues to speak of on the promised date with good communication from Callcentric during that time. Even porting a landline to Google Voice is faster, but there would be a service disruption since porting a POTS or VoIP line to GV is a two-stage process requiring activation of a cell phone and having to mess with using a cell phone for a day.
I'm currently on the Personal Unlimited for incoming calls and North America 500 for outgoing calls for a total of $12.90/month.
Since I ported my number to Callcentric about a month ago, the spam calls have really dropped off, thanks to the caller ID (I can report them to donotcall.gov) and Call Treatments.
The only real downer with Callcentric is that unlimited calling (Personal Unlimited + North America Residential plan) is $25.90 (combined cost of these two plans), which is only a couple bucks less than what my landline cost. I still have my Obi110 setup to use Google Voice if we ever run out of the 500 outgoing minutes.
member for 11.2 years, 3612 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 1 days ago
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