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 Review by steve1111 
member for 2.3 years, 253 visits, last login: 3 days ago
updated 29 days ago
 New York,New York,NY
 Contract price not specified.  "Excellent Tech support" "website design is not the best" "Good for outgoing Voip calls"
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Callwithus provides outgoing Voip calls. There are no regular monthly costs and there is no contract. They charge one cent a minute in the US, ($0.00991) PAYG and BYOD. The service is reliable, the sound quality of the call is good and the tech support is competent and prompt.
They do not provide E911 (which I do not need as I have a PSTN phone) and they do not provide a US DID (I got my DID from Localphone). They take pride in the humbleness of their website: it looks like it was designed by kids - to keep things simple.
I have been a satisfied Callwithus customer for two years.
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Review by PX Eliezer
member for 3.5 years, 2037 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 49 days ago
- HuttRiver US
- $5 per month
- "Good quality service at great rates."
- "Website can be confusing to newcomers. No 911 service."
- "Excellent choice for the tech oriented customer."
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I have been using them for a few years now. Things work well, nothing much to say. Service is good, rates are very good, no monthly fees.
Many people use CWU specifically for international calls.
Note that 911 service is not provided, so you do need another arrangement for that! There is also a $ 1 monthly charge if you want voicemail.
CWU is not for those who want a turnkey solution. Folks do need to be intimate with their ATA and router devices. The website is functional but basic. (No call forwarding, for example, because you are expected to use your own ATA or Asterisk to arrange that).
For those who are experienced users, CWU can be an excellent part of a balanced Voip program.
UPDATE: 11 January 2011: One nice feature of the CWU webpage is configuration instructions or screenshots for many different devices. Many have been sent in by customers. It's not perfect, but is generally useful.
UPDATE: 27 February 2011: CWU no longer offers USA DID numbers. However, customers can direct 3rd party DID's into a CWU account at no charge from CWU.
UPDATE: 26 JUNE 2011: CWU now has a North America Number Lookup function, at a tiny fee, the best around at telling which CLEC controls a phone number. Often the caller ID name is available as well, again, very accurate.
UPDATE: 19 JULY 2011: CWU continues to be a solid service which I currently use as an additional line for outbound calls from my business.
COMMENT: 5 SEPTEMBER 2011: CWU offers a connection through VPN which can be very useful if you are in a country that tries to block VoIP.
UPDATE: 24 December 2011: CWU continues to work well as an additional provider for me. One person reported an issue with outbound Caller ID, but in my experience I have never seen a problem. Smooth sailing!
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Review by yahoo2003
member for 4.2 years, 1539 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 49 days ago
- Mclean,Fairfax,VA
- $8 per month
- "Great rates for US and international, great service and customer support"
- "None"
- "Must have PAYG provier for residential and business"
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My wife has been using CWU as main provider for international and business calls, she has made 2650 calls during the last 7 months and she has been very happy about the quality, reliability and cost. Caller Name/ID for her business have always been working.
Made over 1700 personal, business and international calls during the last 5 months with no issues, just added another $25. Technical support has been great.
No issues after 3 months for a small business and for international calls. Rates are great for both US and International calls.
My wife has been using CWU for a month for a small business, no voice quality or reliability issues.
The best PAYG rates for US and international calls.
Customer service is very knowledgeable, and very prompt (always within few minutes).
Web interface is excellent, you can configure almost anything desirable for VOIP, e.g., adding sub-accounts, change SIP password, set CID for every sub-account, set max rates, length and cost.
I highly recommend CWU as main or backup provider for US and international calls, for residential and business users.
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Review by Steeler Fan
member for 50 days, 0 visits, last login: 50 days ago
updated 50 days ago
- Wexford,Allegheny,PA
- $8 per month
- (month by month)
 about 3 days- "Great Prices, very responsive Tech Support..."
- "Audio on calls frequently dropped. Caller ID is almost NEVER correct..."
- "Budget plan for those not needing reliabiliity."
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Finally switched off CallWithUS,
The outgoing Caller ID is almost never correct. I tried using their premium rate plans, etc. and still people would tell me that my caller ID was something weird from many states away... I would get it fixed with Tech Support then the next week the people I call would tell me they don't answer my calls because they don't recognize the Caller ID. This is pretty poor.
Also, with increasing frequency, the audio on the other party's side would frequently go out, requiring me to call them back. I could hear them, but they couldn't hear me.
It would also frequently take 2 tries to get through.
Now, some of the audio issues and connectivity may be due to living in Asia and having sub-par internet service. Still, that should never affect the Caller ID.
Was a CallWithUs customer for maybe 2 years.
Tech support was very responsive and I could get an answer very quickly.
Something to note: CallWithUs apparently stopped providing USA DIS's?
Ultimately, the inability to keep CallerID correct caused me to switch carriers. Since switching, I have
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Review by gbh2o
member for 11.1 years, 3730 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 65 days ago
- Greenville,Pitt,NC
- $3 per month
- "Variety of services. Simple management. Good Prices and Availability of DIDs"
- "No 'plans'? Naw, that doesn't count!"
- "Great for BYOD and asterisk-type users."
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20111209 - UPDATE - Hmm, just see my previous comments. I expect to keep using CWU for many years to come!
20110604 - UPDATE - What a GREAT way to do business. Simple terms, rock-solid service and flexibility.
20110131 UPDATE - The real no BS deal. Even more features and flexibility as time passes, while maintaining the same GREAT service and reliability.
20101112 UPDATE - Still no BS, just great rock-solid service.
20100310 UPDATE - CallWithUs is dedicated to providing the best service that they choose to offer!  Unique for their simplicity of web view, backed with solid performance. Perfect for those that like to roll-their-own systems and understand a little bit of what they are doing. Don't expect any BS or small talk. GREAT!
20091101 UPDATE - CallWithUs just gets better with age. Better prices and features.
20090407 UPDATE - The best Terms of Service and philosophy, without a doubt, for BYOD users. Robust feature support. Well-designed web site, with lots of good information and examples. Value and reliability together.
20090109 UPDATE - CWU just keeps getting better!
20080617 UPDATE - Still getting everything I expect! Great reliability, service and quality with reasonable prices. I am amazed at just how flexible they have made the services offered.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
CallWithUs (CWU) is not for those seeking a standard' or flat-rate service plan. It is oriented to those who would use bring-your-own-devices [BYOD] or centralized PBX software like asterisk.
Personally, I found the CallWithUs website refreshingly simple and wonderfully usable and functional! Tech support knows their business and provided insightful assistance when requested. On-line setup instructions and generous examples are great.
I really appreciate the ability to choose the amount of 'risk' acceptable by using different levels of VoIP vendors supplying them with numbers. I have found that the numerical rating assigned by CWU may also reflect the expected quality and reliability of service from that 'level' of vendor. I have had no service problems since signing with them.
There are no hidden government taxes or BS fees to boost their bottom line. What you see is what you pay. I find their rates quite reasonable.
Their services just work reliably.
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Review by kentoc
member for 6.6 years, 215 visits, last login: 167 days ago
lodged 182 days ago
- Schaumburg,Cook,IL
- $4 per month
- "Low Cost, E911 Not Required"
- "Reliable provider of the absolutely lowest cost outbound VOIP service"
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So far, I have found CallWithUs to be a reliable low cost provider that fits my need for outbound VOIP services. I haven't found any SIP providers who charge less than 1 cent per minute for US calls. Since I maintain a basic PSTN phone connection for inbound and local calls, I have no need for the redundant cost of E911 service that some service providers are forced by the US Guberment to provide for some reason (Provisioning of US DID numbers?) without regard for those of us that still have a basic PSTN service. While CallWithUs may not have all the bells and whistles that some service providers offer, the services they offer are sufficient for my needs.
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 Review by signmeuptoo
member for 10.2 years, 4938 visits, last login: a few hours ago
lodged 192 days ago
- NanoParticle
- Contract price not specified.
- about 3 days
- "Fantastic rates, fast tech support response, great service"
- "website lacks neophyte friendliness, serivce is oriented towards more knowledgable people."
- "My gateway was giving problems with the service, had to figure it out on my own but service is great once you've got it working."
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I live on a VERY sparse budget. For me, mere pennies are a big deal, no kidding! There are some terrific VOIP outfits, and they each have their pluses and minuses. CWU has excellent rates, better than just about anybody for where I call, and you have the choice of grade of service and which trunks you will allow.
HOWEVER: I haven't found on their site HOW to figure out how to identify each trunk so that I can enter it into my settings. They pronounce the fact that they keep a simple site, and that is true, in my humble opinion, to a fault. They need to hire someone to work with them to make the site easier to use and give better instructions on how to set up an ATA. My ATA is a very common one and their instructions didn't tell me I had to set up a couple settings I needed.
I would have given them a 100% A+ if setup was easier with more detail and better help getting my particular gateway to work with them (crappy ATT 2wire). After a great deal of searching I found out there is a way to get into the 2wire and change settings ATT people can do and I resolved the issue, and then I asked them how things were then and they said all was good now.
The cheapest tier trunk did not work for me to the country I call, but then I set my settings for premium and all was good. I still would love it if they included instructions on some easy to find link on how to find and set trunks.
IF you have the skills and patience to use their service, it is about as good as it gets, rates are great, call quality is decent. But not a service for someone new to VOIP, not until they improve their website.
No US DIDs provided, just something to note.
I would love to know how to set what trunks I use, embarrassingly, I don't know that stuff.
There is no sign up fee, no monthly charge, no contract, no commitment past what you purchase, which is fantastic.
Note that there is a purchasing service fee for orders under 25 dollars (and within a time period), but this is the case with some other competitive services, and if you order 25 bucks after 24 hours of not ordering, it is waived. They use both google and paypal as ways to pay, google is faster, but there is some wait time before the funds are updated.
If you are tech savvy and patient, and have the right hardware, this is just about the best there is from what I can find.
I would love it if they would improve their website and add better tutorials and more detailed instructions on setting up the ATA (analogue telephone adapter). Be aware that this is a bring your own and set up your own, ATA service.
My settings issues were:
Set up STUN properly
and more important:
SIP ALG in the ATT Gateway.
They could explain that better, when I needed help on it they set me to a link on a webpage using tech terms and it didn't help me figure out how to set up the 2wire, but after a bunch of searching online I found out how to fix it.
One service with lower rates is EasyVoip, but they offer a lot less help with setup, have large purchase fees, and calls aren't as good.
Future 9 is easier to set up, didn't have an SP ALG or STUN issue, and rates for me are just a few cents more a minute, and they offer a phone number/incoming calls (for a monthly fee).
But I want to be clear: callwithus is excellent, you just have to put in some effort to use it.
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Review by OmagicQ
member for 8.3 years, 779 visits, last login: 8 days ago
updated 266 days ago
- Bakersfield,Kern,CA
- Contract price not specified.
- about 1 days
- "Great per minute rates, Multiple routing choices, Ability to set CID"
- "No inbound INum maybe"
- "One of the best PayG providers available"
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Update 05/21/2011: Still using CWU occasionally for outbound calls with no issues. It just works. As long as I make a call every once in a while to keep it from going dormant, I expect it will keep working great.
I've been using Callwithus for outbound calling for a few weeks now and so far its been great. I have not had any call quality issues that were not due to my dsl line. I like the ability to set the outbound caller id to my google voice number or another number I control. Although I have not made or used sub accounts, I like that the capability is there, so if in the future I need to, its there.
I didn't see a way to get an INum did for free incoming calls, regular dids are available however. If I had to name one bad point that would be it but it's not a dealbreaker though.
I would not hesitate to recommend Callwithus to anyone who needs an alternative or standalone outbound provider for their PSTN calls. With no monthly charges or fees like "Regulatory Recovery Fee" or "Federal Excise Tax" or whatever. You just pay for what you use, plain and simple.
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Review by thegreatfixe
member for 2.4 years, 32 visits, last login: 47 days ago
updated 279 days ago
- Los Angeles,Los Angeles,CA
- Contract price not specified.
- "Great no nonsense Voip"
- "None"
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i use this overseas and its been great i use it on my PAP2 and desktop (X-Lite 4.0)
i am a basic PAYG user and i like the simplicity of everything
CWU offers everything i want in a voip provider
GREAT rates:
Free (USA 800) calling:
works well with IP-Kall
and good customer service through email
i only wish they would have some OEM soft-phone so i can use X-Lite for another account
i was with F9 but they started to get gimmicky and CWU has lower rates
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Review by Mango
member for 3.1 years, 1804 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 347 days ago
- Alberta
- Contract price not specified.
- "Configurable routing, Direct Media, LRN Lookup, SMS, VPN"
- "Part of a complete dial plan(TM)!"
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If I ran a VoIP provider, I would run one just like CallWithUs. Fortunately, this has already been done - by CallWithUs - so I don't have to.
CallWithUs has several features that I haven't found from any other provider I like:
- Configurable routing: Many VoIP providers let you choose between a couple of routes, but when I entered my phone number into the simulator, it came up with a dozen or more! Being more than slightly obsessive, I evaluated all of them. All but two had excellent audio quality. I tested further and discovered that two of them correctly passed Caller ID Name to Canadian destinations.
- Direct media: CallWithUs gives you the option to have their media gateway proxy audio, or, if you're not behind NAT, set up a direct media path between their carrier and you. In some cases, this can lower latency.
- LRN Lookup: This is their newest feature, and my absolute favourite one. Now I can look up the carrier of any North American number. This will be especially useful in troubleshooting DIDs. I know of no other inexpensive source to look up LRN of Canadian numbers.
- SMS and VPN: Since CallWithUs is the only provider I know that offers these, I mention them here. I have never used them but it's nice to know I can if I need to.
CallWithUs's technical support is very very fast. I wonder, does Sokhapkin WEAR his computer?
CallWithUs is not a full service VoIP provider - for example, they do not offer e911. They also do not provide DIDs. This last point is actually a good thing; from what I understand this is a very labour-intensive process. So this helps keeps their staffing cost low - in fact, the company is run entirely by its owner.
Conclusion: CallWithUs is highly recommended and Part of a Complete Dial Plan(TM).
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