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 Review by lolwhat 
member for 10.6 years, 4597 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 5 days ago
 Fishers,Hamilton,IN
 $5 per month "support is there for you; 911 works well" "faxing is problematic" "solid"
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
Our landline is merely for certain incoming calls, as well as 911. The line was with the Death Star for a long time; however, since VoIP (including VoIP 911) has matured to a significant extent, and since we wanted to stop giving the Death Star as much money, we decided to port the number to CallCentric.
The Evil Empire was not willing to relax its grip in the least. Their port-out system is utter crap, and I won't go into detail as to the shit they pulled to stall the port-out. I'll give credit to their Executive team for refunding the extra month or so of service charges, but that's it. While the process dragged on, however, CC kept me informed as to how things were going. In fact, they refunded the $25 porting fee, even though I'm sure they weren't at fault in the least.
CC promptly answers any questions I have. Their 911 service appears to work very well; at least, the correct PSAP answered my test calls, and the correct ALI/ANI info was provided to the operator each time. Also, the Empire and the alternative (Assfinity) will NEVER even TRY to beat the price. The only problem at this point is that faxing (incoming and outgoing) is being a pain, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.
Comments:
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Review by ab2844
member for 2.6 years, 4 visits, last login: 6 days ago
updated 6 days ago
- Staten Island,Richmond,NY
- $28 per month
 about 1 days- "Call Treatments and Voice Mail notification"
- "Convenient"
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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February 2012 - Still a customer of Callcentric. Have not had any problems with their service yet. Not sure if it is a feature of the service or not, but I almost never get any telemarketing calls on my private line. Also, I went out of country over the summer, and the company helped me setup a line abroad so that I could call it and be forwarded back to the States. Similarly, anyone who called my number in the States was forwarded to my cellphone number abroad, at no extra cost.
I'm still happy with Callcentric's features and available staff.
==
October 12- All is still great. I can always count on Callcentric to avoid telemarketers day or night with the call treatments. Never be bothered while sleeping again.
==
July 15 - on top of the below:
Using Callcentric from Island Seas hotel (Bahamas) directly from my iPhone with a help of SipPhone app. Still can't believe that all my calls are rated at the same rates as from home (zero)... It's like the rest of other "all inclusive" things I have here. Life is wonderful 
==
I've been using Callcentric for about 3 years now and they have been providing a very convenient service for my needs. I'm not a telecommunications whiz, but I was able to find everything I needed right from the home screen. My favorite feature is the call treatment. I set it when I don't want to be disturbed or when I go away. I use two settings. One that forwards all my calls straight to voicemail when I go to sleep and one that forwards all my calls to my cellphone when I'm not home. I also like being notified when I have new voice messages. My phone doesn't let me know unless I go into the messaging menu, so I often miss important messages. Having them on my Callcentric home screen allows me to see and hear all of my messages as soon as they're left, and I don't even have to be home for it. Overall, I think Callcentric is a great provider of the simple things that make life just a bit easier.
Comments:
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Review by natalykm
member for 2.6 years, 13 visits, last login: 6 days ago
updated 6 days ago
- Philadelphia,Philadelphia,PA
- $7 per month
- "High quality service and support, clear calls, great control panel, lots of features"
- "None"
- "Best provider, great service"
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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We use Callcentric service at home 4.5 years already.
We use it a lot for both domestic (USA) and international calling to Russia, Uzbekistan, Israel, etc.
The call quality is always excellent.
Their website is great and lets you control everything you'd need from it.
They have a lot of features and keep adding new ones all the time.
Excellent customer support.
Reliable and feature reach provider - I don't think there is anyone else who is more suitable to my needs (and in my budget range).
Edit:
June 12/11
I've discovered that a simul/multi-ring is now available - what a great feature!
Oct. 11/09
Still very happy user - so far so good; I'm using call treatments now - would be even
happier if they implemented simultaneous or multi-ring feature.
Feb. 05/12
Recently i had a home network problem and Callcentric customer support helped me to resolve it very quickly. Thank you Callcentric!
Comments:
 | | CallCentric Another reviewer said "I don't think there is anyone else who is more conscientious and reliable".
I guess that "grate" minds think alike.  | |
|
| |
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 Review by Sly
member for 7.9 years, 3877 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 7 days ago
- Johnson City,Washington,TN
- $8 per month
- about 1 days
- "Everything works, wonderful website, inexpensive, features"
- "unknown"
- "I can't say enough good about them"
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
I've been with Callcentric for a few months now after leaving Packet8. Been with VoIP since 2003 so I've been through a lot of growing pains... Of all the problems I thought were inherent with VoIP (missed calls, dropped packets, one way audio), I have NONE of them with Callcentric. I feel very comfortable using the service. I have not yet had a call that sounded bad or dropped out in the middle of the conversation. Simply put, it's as reliable as POTS if not more...
I do wish they had call roaming or "follow me/ find me". I liked this feature with Packet8. If I was unavailable to get a call, then it would forward to my cell phone instead of voicemail.
I do love their call treatments section. You can do just about anything... I have mine set so that numbers I want to block get a "disconnected" message. I also send all anonymous calls to voice mail. If the network is down and my phone is unregistered, I have calls go to my cell... You can't get this kind of fall back with POTS.
I am extremely impressed with their web site. Very easy to use and self explanatory. I have had no problems with billing and the email notifications they send out to notify when you account balance is low is nice too.
I don't really like giving all 5 stars in a review but Callcentric gives me no choice. I really have to rate them a perfect 5 stars because they really haven't given me a reason not to... Just work on the call roaming guys....
[update] It's been awhile since I updated. Since my first posting Callcentric has added the features I wanted. I can now do call hunting and I have a fallback option to another number in case my VoIP line goes down. This is simply the most trouble free, flawless phone system I have ever had. It doesn't need any maintenance or periodic resets to keep working. It just works... I ported an old number in about 6 months ago when I dropped my cell phone service. So now I get to park my cell phone number with Callcentric for about $2/month and whenever I decide to get another cell phone, I will still have that number available for transfer.
I don't know when the last time I had to contact support. It's been a year or two... I just really don't have any problems with this service. A+.
Comments:
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Review by riparian
member for 242 days, 24 visits, last login: 11 days ago
updated 20 days ago
- Los Angeles,Los Angeles,CA
- Contract price not specified.
- "Reliable, Sounds Good"
- "Poky, Sub-par value for money"
- "Poky, Sub-par value for money"
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
Update January 22, 2012
No changes. Still reliable, still poky. Good as a backup.
Maybe somebody more knowledgeable would like to comment, but I was
wondering what it is that we should consider as a full-featured
voip provider.
On the one hand, you have Callwithus and Future9, which will sell
you a DID and a connection incoming and outgoing, and that is about
it.
And that is plenty if you do not need more.
On the other hand, there are a bunch of full-featured providers
such as Anveo, Voipo, Voip.ms, Callcentric, Vonage, etc.
I have checked out the websites of Anveo and Voipo and have some
idea of what you can do with their service, but have never used
them.
I have used Voip.ms and Callcentric, and in comparing Callcentric
with Voip.ms and with my idea of what Anveo and Voipo offer, I do
not see Callcentric as 'full-featured', at least by today's
standards.
And by "today's standards" I include having an IVR, and having a
flexible way to route incoming calls. Callcentric does not have an
IVR and its callerid filtering is clunky.
And an IVR should include any number of greeting messages,
depending on the caller, the time of day, DID being called, etc.
That is true of voip.ms and I think of Anveo and Voipo.
Routing calls should have an almost unlimited scope, and be simple
to do. That is also true of the three mentioned above.
Callcentric does have DISA and callback. Same for the other three.
Why should I pay Callcentric's prices - let us say they are about
the same as the other companies - while getting a poky service?
Compared to what else is out there, Callcentric does not have the
value.
#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------
I use callcentric as a second, outgoing line, and was considering switching to it as a main vosp, getting a DID with them etc.
My use of the voip phone is to whitelist: block everything except what I let through. Then I took a closer look at the call treatments to see how I would go about it.
What a disappointment it was: If I wanted to allow someone to ring through monday - friday from 8am to 5pm, and send him to voicemail at other times - and this is a real-life scenario - in order to do that, I would have to create 5 call treatments for that single callerid, one for each day of the week. Completely unworkable.
And it does not even have an IVR. You can live without one, but it is like going from a starter motor to hand-cranking your car to get it started.
CC provides a nice service, but its call-handling is relatively primitive; and at the prices they charge, they should be able to buy smaller yachts and put the savings into programming.
Comments:
PX EliezerPremium
join:2008-08-09
HuttRiver US
kudos:11 Reviews:
 ·callwithus
·voip.ms
·Vitelity VOIP
·Callcentric
·Optimum Voice
·Gizmo5
| Depends. I would have to create 5 call treatments for that single callerid, one for each day of the week. Completely unworkable.
They allow 30 call treatments. If you do need to whitelist lots of numbers, and/or use an IVR, then Voip.MS may currently be a better fit.
....and at the prices they charge, they should be able to buy smaller yachts and put the savings into programming.
But as to prices---I can argue that both ways.
For example:
Flat-rate inbound: CallCentric offers flat-rate inbound plans for both residential and business users. The residential plans are pretty comparable (CC vs. VMS). The business plan ("Office Unlimited") is not available on VMS.
Discounted inbound calling: CallCentric has "DirtCheap" numbers in many states (especially yours) at 2.95 a month for unlimited incoming residential calls, 2 channels.
Outbound calling (Light or Moderate users): Yes, I've said myself I'd like CC to be a little less on this. But lets look at numbers. The per-minute difference (CallCentric vs. VMS Premium) is $ 0.0073 so for 400 minutes a month the difference is $ 2.92. This is not yachtworthy.
Outbound calling (Heavy users): CallCentric has an unlimited outbound plan to US/Canada. Yes, at 19.95 it's only appropriate for heavy users, BUT unlike plans at other companies it has no numerical cap on minutes. VMS does not offer any flat-rate outbound plan at all.
So it all depends.
----------------------------------
There's no doubt that all of the major quality VoIP providers have strengths and weaknesses. I think that we will see all of them innovate as needed for the marketplace. | |
| | Reviews:
·voip.ms
| Re: Depends. The beauty of VOIP.MS is that it's very highly customizable and completely pay as you go, no fine print. It's unique. There is no other company like that. When CC is something like a generic voip provider out there, with it's "unlimited" monthly plans, housewife-friendly interface, 911 recovery bull**** and other "fees".
I don't want any plans, fees or other crap. That's why I am with VOIP.MS, they changed my life for better. | |
| | | PX EliezerPremium
join:2008-08-09
HuttRiver US
kudos:11 Reviews:
·callwithus
·voip.ms
·Vitelity VOIP
·Callcentric
·Optimum Voice
·Gizmo5
| Re: Depends. said by StaticJitter:The beauty of VOIP.MS is that it's very highly customizable and completely pay as you go, no fine print. It's unique. There is no other company like that. When CC is something like a generic voip provider out there, with it's "unlimited" monthly plans, housewife-friendly interface, 911 recovery bull**** and other "fees".
I don't want any plans, fees or other crap. That's why I am with VOIP.MS, they changed my life for better.
Quite confused by your comments.
CC and VMS charge the same 911 fee. If VMS currently lets you skip 911, those days are numbered.
CC has no extra ongoing fees otherwise (nor does VMS) so I don't know what you are referring to.
----------------------------------------
Inbound:
CC offers PAYG or flat-rate.
VMS offers PAYG or flat-rate.
Outbound:
CC offers PAYG or flat-rate, most choose PAYG.
VMS offers PAYG only.
So I really don't see your point. I'm sorry if those options are confusing for you.
[I will say that for Canadian calls, VMS outbound PAYG rates are certainly a good value].
An interesting description.
Well, I view CC interface as crisp, elegant, and very user-friendly, and that's a GOOD thing for a company.
VMS is more difficult to muddle through.
I certainly respect VMS as a provider (and I use them).
By contrast, I don't know why VMS users feel the need to use words like "crap" and "bull****" to describe CC. | |
| | | | Reviews:
·voip.ms
| Re: Depends. said by PX Eliezer:I don't know why VMS users feel the need to use words like "crap" and "bull****" to describe CC. Because it's bull, AT&T style bull, just like paying for incoming SMS messages and per-minute billing. Rogers charges me 75 cents for 911, 50% less than CC. And that's Rogers, also known as Robbers. I think that if they absolutely HAVE to charge it, then include it in the price, not hidden in the fine print somewhere.
So I really don't see your point.
If you like plans, then CC may be good for you, but for pay-go their product has little value for money. | |
| | | | | PX EliezerPremium
join:2008-08-09
HuttRiver US
kudos:11 Reviews:
·callwithus
·voip.ms
·Vitelity VOIP
·Callcentric
·Optimum Voice
·Gizmo5
| Re: Depends. said by StaticJitter:My point is that CC is overpriced, plan-centric company that wants to collect money from you every month no matter what. 1.95 for DID, 911 fee, taxes - that's like already almost 5 dollars right there. Plus their per-minute billing and more expensive rates.
If you like plans, then CC may be good for you, but for pay-go their product has little value for money.
I remain quite puzzled.
1) Voip.MS has just introduced many new DID's in Ontario, and they are charging the exact same $ 1.95 that CC charges.
2) Also, those new Voip.MS DID's in Ontario have the exact same 1.5 cents PAYG per minute rate as CC.
3) Both companies charge the exact same 911 fee. (What you may pay Rogers Wireless for 911 is irrelevant.)
4) The current Voip.MS opting-out of 911 is not going to survive for much longer.
5) There are no other ongoing taxes or fees on CC other than NY State sales tax for NY State residents. For that matter, I understand that Voip.MS collects HST in some provinces.
said by StaticJitter:My point is that CC is overpriced, plan-centric company that wants to collect money from you every month no matter what. 1.95 for DID, 911 fee, taxes - that's like already almost 5 dollars right there.
In my book, 1.95 plus 1.50 equals 3.45, not close to 5 dollars. In any event, if I get one of those new Ontario DID's from Voip.MS, it comes to the same.
------------------------------
Now, I certainly agree (as I have consistently said) that Voip.MS outbound rates are a bargain when calling Canadian numbers. | |
|
IscreamPremium
join:2009-02-17
kudos:2 Reviews:
 ·Verizon FiOS
| I'm trying to comprehend it by my little brains... Something doesn't work out for me here:
- regarding call treatments - it's an arguable thing to say what is complex there, the call treatments were designed with a main idea in mind to provide DAILY programming schedule. In order to set a call treatment one may need to make a few mouse clicks therefore saying that it's "unworkable" - it's quite a stretch... Moreover - one call treatment may serve MULTIPLE phone numbers simultaneously, either as a group or as wildcard... - the call treatments can act together with one's address book entry - thus allowing a very broad group of numbers be treated under one rule - quite an unique feature, not available or partially available with most competitors.
So, what's a problem in setting up 5 similar rules for 5 working days, especially if/when one need to have those rules behave slightly different each day?
The OP valued 100% all available qualities of Callcentric, namely - support, reliability, call quality, ease of installation; 75% for WEB site - arguable, a question of taste, but I'm fine with that.
Were those given from skies or that costs [the provider] some money and the personnel to provide the above listed characteristics at high [as admitted] values?
BUT - _what_ I actually cannot comprehend was - why off all the above listed values - the value for money was listed as 25% and MOST IMPORTANT - _why_ was the review left as a "NEGATIVE" one? - the subscriber doesn't like the provider? - perfect, but _WHAT_ was their real complaint about to make the review a negative one? It lasts already two or three years (on these very boards) - the argument who is cheaper and who is more expensive (similar to which "end" an egg should be open from) - that simply turns out to be a subject of preference for most people. Moreover - many customers really share, combine and equally use several providers to get most out their combined feature-set. Why, all of a sudden such a negative extreme? - or are you one of my old "friends" who's just changed the nick-name in order to place more "positive" reviews for one company and a negative ones for Callcentric? - then welcome back to that same [sad] game...
To add to the above - I may also say that I don't like the fact that with most features being the same as many other cars, moreover - sometimes even lacking some features vs. other cars - the Mercedes' still cost more than most competition. Yet - no one (from BMW's camp ) would say that that MB's value is 25%...
Guys - come on, be reasonable! I'm saying that because I might not have an yacht, but I do enjoy MB's one today yet I used to have in past the BMW's one as well as I may have it in future again and even [may happen] may have them both at the same time... Yes, I hate the fact that BMW sets two its exhaust pipe-tails together in left rear corner, I like it more when MB has them symmetrically on both sides of its rear side [b/w - in recently manufactured cars, BMW has also began setting pipe-tails symmetrically on both sides of car's rear]
Speaking of features, programmers and yachts - to my knowledge Callcentric is the only provider today who has built-in iPhone, iPod and iPad application allowing make long-distance and international calls to/from ANY phone at Callcentric's rates WHILE not using SIP nor requiring broadband IP bandwidth at all while ALSO NOT utilizing mobile phone subscriber's minutes! Is there anyone else who can make a MOBILE call from one of remote Caribbean beaches to USA (or anywhere else) at a cost of few pennies per minute instead of $3.00/min charged by AT&T or most other providers?
I must stress it again - the credibility of the above review sounds very low to me because it has been lodged as a "NEGATIVE" (in its physical meaning] review/PR on behalf of competition, whether made on purpose or because of "a minute feeling"... The "agenda" of this review appears to simply deter people from one provider while hinting about others... | |
| | Reviews:
·voip.ms
·Callcentric
| Re: I'm trying to comprehend it by my little brains... The low value for money despite the other high marks was because of the unworkable - for me - call treatments, and because of the lack of an ivr. As good as the service is in general, those lacks make it a deal-killer for me.
I whitelist, and allow a couple dozen numbers that can call during the day, some m-f, some all week, and a few numbers that can call 24 hours all week.
That would mean 5 (or 7) entries for each of the couple dozen numbers - I havent got the strength for it. | |
| | | IscreamPremium
join:2009-02-17
kudos:2 Reviews:
·Verizon FiOS
1 edit | Re: I'm trying to comprehend it by my little brains... Here you are - welcome back, Bogtrotter...
You know, MB, Jaguar and Infinity all have a rear-view monitor, but MB is the only one (today) who doesn't show would be rear-move "tracks" on top of a picture... Does that make MB not worthy contender there? or its value is somehow lower? Or, all of a sudden, the one who drives a Jag doesn't know how to park a car in reverse that he/she would consider that "track view' picture as a "must" there thus reviewing MB on a negative scale?
How come an absence of a certain feature (alleged "IVR"; while there are MANY others, unique, not present with other providers) makes the whole value a NEGATIVE review?
How come a very specific configuration scenario (the one you consider important to your needs) is a reason to leave a NEGATIVE review in general? - to date that is a 2nd NEGATIVE review in history of Callcentric while it's left with absolutely NO explanation.
The previous one was left by the one whom I welcomed on top of this comment... whose account was deactivated by DSLRs back in March... Then you suddenly re-appeared under "riparian" name in June... to leave applauds to one provider while blackmailing us by a negative review now... yup, the history repeats itself over and over again...
You like that specific provider - my blessings to you and to them, stay there, but why should you leave negative and not relevant comments to another one?
...
P.S.
Somehow I feel this whole review combined with comments left behind as a "good" crafted attack... (one may find similar, also made by a group of 2 or 3 "members", "reviews" and discussions about one, two and even three years ago - during the whole time that other provider is being mentioned on DSLRs). The only thing I can't understand is - 'why"? what's a purpose? Is it a way to make one provider appear better when the other one is darkened? Neither provider has a global market share, neither caters to everybody, neither has "absolute" feature set... yet we all (even each on its own) help people withstand pressure of monopolies - why such a poor and egocentric understanding of real world out there? In whose interest would that be to cause any smaller provider to disappear?
Do you know the "real" cost of providing E911 ? or do you really know how it feels to be obligated to provide certain services that most people don't appreciate at all? Where do you see all those "small footprints" on Callcentric site? Can you point at least one thing not mentioned upfront or listed in what you call that "small footprint"?
Come on guys! You're just wrong-doing to yourself and the whole community of VoIP customers out there! | |
| | | | | | Re: I'm trying to comprehend it by my little brains... Your English is so fractured, maybe because you are worked up, that it is hard to understand you. I think CC does a very good job, so even if it doesn't quite work for me, I still appreciate that it is a high-quality company. | |
| | | | Reviews:
·voip.ms
| What crafted attack? What are you talking about?
It's CC users who mislead everybody else. Every not-so-good review of CC is immediately followed by a user who is telling how CC has unlimited plans and VMS doesn't. Well it's no secret, VMS is pay-go, that's why we like it, they don't charge for you breathing air and such. I am not going to write anymore regarding this, if you like your "unlimited" $20+fees plan, I am happy for you.
Regarding 911, I don't care how much it costs to provide it, although I appreciate it being available as an add-on, but not mandatory. I already have another phone that has 911, and I don't mind paying it there, because that phone is going to be used in case of emergency (i.e. I am not going to power on my computer to call 911 using X-Lite).
You say most people don't appreciate it. They do, it's just that sometimes they don't want it on their VoIP line. Magic Jack doesn't require you to have 911 and if you put together annual Callcentric 911 charges $1.50 x 12 months, comes to $18, when for $19.95 you can get Magic Jack with unlimited US/Canada calling for a year.
People don't go VoIP to pay for 911, they go for it's value. You asked about fine print, it's on the bottom of their website "prices exclude taxes and 911 recovery fee". LOL, they make it sound as if prices ever included taxes. That section is specifically made to hide 911 fee, and not put it up front with the price in bold.
I like CC, competition is always good for consumers, I guess I could live with their rates and may be with per-minute billing, but NOT their mandatory 911 fee. Peace. | |
| | | | | | | Re: I'm trying to comprehend it by my little brains... said by StaticJitter:What crafted attack? What are you talking about?
It's CC users who mislead everybody else. Every not-so-good review of CC is immediately followed by a user who is telling how CC has unlimited plans and VMS doesn't. Well it's no secret, VMS is pay-go, that's why we like it, they don't charge for you breathing air and such. I am not going to write anymore regarding this, if you like your "unlimited" $20+fees plan, I am happy for you. I don't get it. Their pay-go are very similar. The only difference is that VMS has 1.05-1.25 cents/min while CC has 1.98
Dirt cheap DIDs with unlimited incoming, if there are any in your area, are $2.95/month for CC and 4.95 for USA $4.95 to 6.95 for VMS.
so where is this big savings? | |
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| | |
PX EliezerPremium
join:2008-08-09
HuttRiver US
kudos:11 Reviews:
·callwithus
·voip.ms
·Vitelity VOIP
·Callcentric
·Optimum Voice
·Gizmo5
1 edit | Still puzzled--- You have named several good companies that have many good features, not identical among the companies.
Voip.MS does have very good IVR, that is a great feature.
But I am still puzzled what you mean when you say that CallCentric is "poky". What does that mean? I use it at home and also for my main business line, and it works great.
That includes CallCentric's Call Treatments (caller ID filtering, forwards, and more) which in my view are very easy to use. In fact, on the main page of the dashboard, just by clicking on Calls Received, you can click on any recent call and instantly be taken to the appropriate Call Treatment page pre-populated with that number. That's very useful for CID filtering.
I am also a current customer of Voip.MS, VOIPo, and some other providers.
I often recommend VOIPo to people who do not want a BYOD option. VOIPo is fine. But I am puzzled again as to why you would say that VOIPo has better services than CallCentric when the opposite is true. And CallCentric's website is far easier to use than VOIPo's.
Likewise, Voip.MS is great with their IVR. But for basic tasks such as CID filtering, forwarding, etc., I find CallCentric's site to be much easier to use.
I'd estimate that I have extensively tried about 10 providers, and at least for me, CallCentric works the best, is reliable, and is the easiest to use. The only thing they lack is an IVR and if folks need that, then they should look elsewhere....
CallCentric by the way has some things that other companies sometimes don't, such as email or text notification of voicemail messages. And their inbound fax server works great at my business. | |
| nitzanPremium,VIP
join:2008-02-27
kudos:2 | ? On the one hand, you have Callwithus and Future9, which will sell you a DID and a connection incoming and outgoing, and that is about it.
We also offer global call forwarding, SIP forwarding, ringing multiple SIP devices, sequential "follow-me" up to 5 SIP or PSTN destinations, local and toll-free calling card gateways, SIPBroker integration, DID/CID/Web callback, etc. etc. etc.
Maybe we don't offer the features you want, but we do offer more features than most providers including some you've mentioned as full-featured. | |
| | PX EliezerPremium
join:2008-08-09
HuttRiver US
kudos:11 | Re: ? I agree with Nitzan.
Future Nine offers great services at very attractive prices. | |
| | Reviews:
·voip.ms
·Callcentric
| Yes, sorry for still thinking of Future 9 as it was at the start, and overlooking all the things you have added over the past few years.
My own definition of full-featured would include an IVR, and inbound call handling as slick as Voip.Ms's (and, I am guessing, Voipo's and Anveo's). My rationale, such as it is, is that after 5 years? more? of voip being a real alternative to pots, standards have changed, and what was full-featured a few years ago isn't full-featured today. | |
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Review by beachnik
member for 8.1 years, 71 visits, last login: 35 days ago
lodged 37 days ago
- Manhattan Beach,Los Angeles,CA
- $12 per month
- about 15 days
- "Reliable, good call quality, good feature set"
- "A little more work to set up vs. something like Vonage"
- "Worth a try if you are willing to do a little tech work"
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I'm not a heavy phone user. I presently have both Google Voice (for years) and Callcentric (about 3 years). I had Vonage for numerous years.
My package includes unlimited incoming for $5.95/mo and outgoing calls billed at $0.0198/minute. I probably spend about $12-$13 / mo on Callcentric.
Callcentric now has a feature set that makes it a little more equivalent to Vonage and Google Voice (Callcentric has added simultaneous ring and hunt).
Callcentric call quality and reliability are about equal to Vonage. Both are good. I use 'simultaneous ring' on Callcentric - if I pick up an incoming call forwarded from Callcentric to my mobile phone, the call quality has been very good (no significant latency).
Initial setup attempt was a hassle. I bought a recommended 'Handytone 486' - it was junk. A lot of wasted time. The Handytone had to be returned. I next bought a Linksys ATA and setup went much smoother. Spent a L-O-T of time going back-and-forth with tech support via email. They were pretty patient and didn't give up. Once it's set up, it's great, but many people would not want to put up with the technical issues of getting set up.
Any ongoing tech questions that I submit to Callcentric are answered very quickly.
Making calls with a soft-phone...
I mostly work on my Mac. For me, soft-phones on the Mac have not been reliable. I occasionally run a PC soft-phone on my Mac under Fusion VMware - it's better than running in the Mac OS. Running a soft-phone on my Dell Netbook is pretty taxing on the netbook - but doable. If I'm out of the country calling the States, the soft-phone and Callcentric on my netbook is less taxing of my cheesy computer than running Skype. If I were using a decent notebook computer, Callcentric and Skype from outside the States would be nearly equivalent.
Callcentric is a good service at a good price. I'll be sticking with them.
Comments:
PX EliezerPremium
join:2008-08-09
HuttRiver US
kudos:11 Reviews:
·callwithus
·voip.ms
·Vitelity VOIP
·Callcentric
·Optimum Voice
·Gizmo5
| Common to any BYOD VoIP provider. Thanks for thoughtful review.
Like yourself, I have always found CC to have great service and reliability.
I did want to comment on your thoughts regarding installation.
CallCentric is a BYOD (bring-your-own-device) company, just like many others such as Voip.MS, Vitelity, Anveo, CallWithUs, FutureNine....
Comparing that to a plug-and-play company like Vonage or VOIPO (where you basically just plug in the box they give you) is really comparing apples and oranges. It's like dissing a self-serve cafeteria because they don't have waiters. It is what it is.
The whole thing about VoIP is having the freedom to choose between these types of companies.
The great thing about CallCentric (and yes, competitors too such as Voip.MS and others) is they they have lots of features that are not available on Vonage. Selective call blocking is a prime example.
I'm just kind of concerned that you may scare people away from trying a BYOD company, based on your comments on installation.
CallCentric (and its main competitors) have good installation instructions for common ATA's such as the Linksys PAP2T. CallCentric's instructions are some of the best out there.
I'm not doubting that you may have had an unusual experience, but for most folks, installation is not a big deal unless they have a VoIP-unfriendly Router in their network setup.
I am a middle-aged guy with no pre-existing tech background. I have hooked up devices like Linksys PAP2T (as well as other ATA's) with providers like CallCentric, Voip.MS, CallWithUs, and many others, in about 10 minutes each time. Unless there are unusual factors present, I think that installation is just not an issue for the large majority of customers. | |
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Review by gehre
member for 1 year, 13 visits, last login: 37 days ago
lodged 37 days ago
- Malden,Middlesex,MA
- $5 per month
- about 14 days
- "easy to follow directions, no hidden charges, low cost"
- "none so far"
- "worth trying as a low cost alternative to land-line"
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My experience in the Boston region has been good. I had one report of slight echo while using a portable home phone. I use a gnu-linux ubuntu system behind a Fios router. I do not appear to be having any problems associated with being behind 2 NATs, the router and the ATA. I am using a Grandstream 402. So far there is no sales pressure, contracts, extra charges, or anything that would signal a problem with the service. I ported my landline number within 7 working days.
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Review by nonamesleft
member for 96 days, 81 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 61 days ago
- Manitowoc,Manitowoc,WI
- $27 per month
- about 10 days
- "Sound quality much better, more features and cheaper then landline"
- "None"
- "Can't get any better then this."
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Decided to go back to callcentric from att, Other then that the number port happened on the day they said it would happen. The tech support is still excellent. Oh yeah I recommend a separate ups for your router and voip device and modem so your call doesn't get dropped during a power blip or something like that.
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 Review by Nightfall
member for 10.5 years, 4722 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 73 days ago
- Grand Rapids,Kent,MI
- $12 per month
- about 1 days
- "Superior call quality, uptime, web portal, and customer service."
- "A little expensive. Would be nice to see a few different price plans."
- "For my first VOIP provider, I think I chose the best one out there."
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I was using a POTS line like every other basic home owner. The pain of it was that I was spending $46 a month for a landline + features + taxes. That was only for about 300 minutes outbound and 100 inbound per month, at the most. After hearing about VOIP, I decided to look into it further.
Overall, I wanted something that was going to be easy to use, very reliable, excellent customer service, and that had an excellent online presence. I am a self-starter kind of person, and I don't need a lot of hand holding. If the website has all the information, I will find it and do it myself. At the same time though, I want a customer service team on the other end that is fast to respond and eager to help.
At first, I investigated Viatalk but I was turned off by the monthly plan. I wanted something I could pay as you go (PAYG). I looked at a lot of VOIP providers but I just didn't know which one to try. After posting some questions in the VOIP forum here, I was contacted by a few people who said to try out CallCentric. I never heard of them before, but a visit to their website quickly answered all my questions.
I signed up for an account on CallCentric and hooked up my Linksys PAP2T. Within 5 minutes of reading the instructions, I was up and running. I was making outgoing calls and everything was working fine. The voice quality was awesome to say the least. Just as good as a landline, but I know a lot of that has to do with the quality of my ISP which is through Comcast. For those who haven't read my Comcast review, its a great ISP in my area.
After running with CallCentric for a few weeks using it for all my outgoing calls, I made the decision to port my landline number over for $25. I filed the request to port my number over, filled out all the forms, and in about 3 weeks my number came over. Customer care was filling me in on all the details through the porting process. They even got me a date when I could expect my port. After the port was completed, I updated the ticket because the number wasn't working properly on the CallCentric network. Within an hour of me updating the help desk ticket, they had everything working.
My only complaint is that I wish I could get a outbound calling plan that was a little cheaper. The PAYG option is the best for me for outgoing calls, but the next option up is a $20 a month unlimited plan. I would have to talk for about 1000 minutes at .0198 cents a minute to just break even on that kind of plan. I wish they would offer like $5 for 600 minutes or something. In the end though, I don't mind paying more for quality service which is why I assume that they don't make changes to their pricing structure. Their incoming plan is excellent. For $1.95 a month you can pay as you go at .015 cents per minute or you can get unlimited for $5.95 a month. With a difference of $4, you can take about 265 minutes of incoming calls through PAYG before it gets cheaper to just get the unlimited. If you don't have your own number you are porting over, look into their dirt cheap DID. Its $3 a month for unlimited with no setup fee if there is a number in your area.
Here I am a few days after the port is complete reporting in on a very happy converted customer. Before this whole process started, I was very hesitant about moving away from my landline. In the end though, I will be saving $30-$35 a month by using CallCentric PAYG and I will be getting more features than I had before.
Overall, I am extremely satisfied with the service and support.
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EDIT 12/29/2009 - I have went the extra mile and added a bunch of numbers to my call treatments list. It seems that everyone that calls me from a 800, 888, 877, or 866 toll free number is a solicitor. So I set those up to go straight to voicemail. I also setup a few other numbers from companies that call us to go straight to voicemail. The phone doesn't even ring now when someone from those numbers call. I love it! I still have some work to do on this, but I anticipate that my new service will be better than the "AT&T Privacy Manager" in no time. AT&T Privacy Manager is a service that blocks telemarketer calls and did a good job of it, but the rates on it were rather expensive.
I have also started adding phone numbers to my phonebook so they come up automatically on the caller ID.
EDIT 10/21/2010 - I have now been on Callcentric for about 11 months. Quite simply, it is awesome. Yes, its not the cheapest, but I am willing to pay for some quality and Callcentric brings it. At $12 per month on average, its a heck of a lot better than my POTS line was priced and with more features. No down time, excellent support, excellent self-help guides, and crystal clear call quality are all reasons why I am still with Callcentric. Solicitors have fun hitting my voicemail without the phone even ringing. I love the call treatments that Callcentric has. Quite simply, if you don't mind paying a little more for quality and feature rich VOIP service, get Callcentric.
4/14/2011 - Callcentric continues to work like a champ. No downtime and the service is rock solid. New features are released a couple times a year, but so far I am just happy with what I got. The voicemail to email service is great. The call treatments stop telemarketer calls so they hit voice mail directly. Callcentric is getting my business for a long time to come.
11/30/2011 - I can't say enough great things about Callcentric. The service is always up and running. I haven't had to contact tech support in a long time. I pretty much have had my service setup with all the call treatments and I haven't had to touch it since. This is what hassle free VOIP service is all about. My phone bill has unlimited incoming and pay as you go outgoing. We pay about $10-$12 a month depending on the amount of calling we do. I have been tempted to go with Ooma and buy a core for $150 on sale, then I could save $7-$9 a month. At the same time though, Callcentric has features you can't get with the Ooma without paying for the "Premier" tier. I have no plans to move away from Callcentric anytime soon.
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 Review by UHF
member for 9.7 years, 4119 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 73 days ago
- Independence,Buchanan,IA
- $6 per month
- "Low cost DIDs, pay as you go calling, bring your own device"
- "none"
- "Excellent quality, reliabilty, and value"
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I've been using Callcentric for long distance for around four years, and I have not had any issues.
Reliability has been great. If there has been any downtime I haven't noticed it. And people I call haven't noticed any difference in call quality.
I recently switched all of my phone service to Callcentric, and ported my Qwest DID to them. It's working exactly as expected.
The cost is $3.45 per month for a local number with E911. Outgoing domestic calls are 1.9 cents per minute and incoming is around 1.5 cents. They do have unlimited incoming plans, but for me the per minute plan is cheaper.
Tech support has been top notch. When I have a question it gets answered in 15 - 20 minutes in a professional manner. Requested a local DID that wasn't even listed on their website as an available area and they got it ordered and provisioned in one business day.
Overall, I'm impressed with Callcentric and highly recommend their service.
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| | Callcentric Comment on Inbound I'm using Callcentric also, for both inbound and outbound. They assigned me a DID(Phone Number) for my local area, and everyone can call it. I also have my family installing Express Talk softphones on their computers, and getting a SIP number from Callcentric(for free), to call me over the internet. It works flawlessly, and is easy to set up, even behind firewalls. | |
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