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Review by triumph 
UPDATED: 1.9 years ago
member for 2.9 years, 152 visits, last login: 249 days ago
 Austin,Travis,TX
 $5 per month
 "Great support, great reliability, good pricing"
 "No simul-ring feature yet"
 "The best value for your dollar VoIP provider"
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I tried exgn, vitelity, vonage, time-warner digital-phone, and voxee. I had call quality and reliability problems with exgn, vitelity, and voxee, and I had issues with the cost of vonage and time-warner digital phone. I learned about callcentric, and gave their free service a try. I have now been a happy customer since December 2006.
I started with their free service, and the web site is great for configuring popular ATA adapters. I have used a Linksys PAP2 as well as a Sipura 3102 with Callcentric. I soon added money so that I could make international calls, and calls to India, England, Germany, and Taiwan all sound great, and always go through. The service has been so reliable that I set up my technologically-challenged aunt and uncle with Callcentric and they have never had any problems with it in about 8 months.
About the only criticism of the service I have is the surprising lack of a simul-ring feature, although they tell me it is in the works. I get around this by using GrandCentral to simultaneously ring my landlines and cell phones. My main usage however is for international phone calls. The rates aren't the absolute cheapest, but the phone call connections are very reliable, and in my opinion that is worth paying a fraction of a cent/minute more.
Their tech support is amazing - I've opened 3 tickets in about a year, and all of them have been answered within an hour, even when the ticket has been opened at 11:00pm at night! Even on the pay-per-minute plan, they allow you to force the caller ID to display one of your own "real" phone numbers whenever you make an outgoing call (I did not want to pay for a DID). It's probably not something most people will use, but for me it's really a great feature to have.
I'd tell most prospective VoIP users to start with Callcentric. You can try out their free plan. If that goes well, try the pay-per-minute plan. After that, you can decide whether you want to upgrade to an unlimited calling plan. Best of all, there is no set-up fee, contract, or cancellation fee.
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Review by bobt100
Posted: 1.9 years ago
member for 2.3 years, 68 visits, last login: 46 days ago
Kyle,Hays,TX
$24 per month
"Fast Response, good tech help"
"none"
"Been with them 2 weeks so far so good."
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Ordered online, had instant sip info to configure my adapter.
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Review by mrtomesh
Posted: 1.9 years ago
member for 5.2 years, 8 visits, last login: 1.9 years ago
Syracuse,Onondaga,NY
$8 per month
 about 1 days
"Fast Trouble Tickets, Clear sound, works as promised"
"have to set up own equipment - not hard for me"
"Best Value"
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I have the unlimited incoming personal line which lets out of area code callers dial a local number. I also like the voicemail to pager alert and email alert. I can also dial out for .0198 cents/min. Since I have TWC VOIP as the main line, all I need is the incoming personal line. You can also do forwarding to other numbers at .0198 cents/min.
Presales and post sale tech support via web is excellent. I choose a number that took one day to get, although I knew it would. The website is good, but just ask any question you are unsure about and they get right back to you.
If you use the softphone with a pc/laptop, install is a breeze. But, I used a Grandstream 496 adapter and just followed the screens on the web to set up. Worked correctly first try. You need to use the adapters they recommend, configure them as shown on the support page and be able to access the adapter you choose via LAN. If you are not tech savy, configuring an adapter might be an issue.
There is a 911 surcharge, in addition to the $5.95 monthly, and tax for a total of $8.82. Any VOIP provider charges the 911 fee.
I think compared to other VOIPs at 2x the price, Callcentric is a great value. They don't offer a mid package between just the incoming and unlimited @ $19.95. Vonage does offer the unlimited incoming and 500 outgoing for $14.95 (+ the 911). I don't need it though.
I picked up a free after rebate Uniden WIN100 Live Messenger phone and use it with Callcentric with all the bells and whistles.
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 Review by nba30
Posted: 1.9 years ago
member for 5.4 years, 28 visits, last login: 1.7 years ago
Rockford,Winnebago,IL
$12 per month (month by month)
"Affordable Rates, Great Support Website"
"Manditory 911 Fees (not that CallCentric probably controls this)"
"Great for people who know VOIP and understand how to setup SIP"
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I was a 2 year Sunrocket customer who was forced to switch to a new service provider. I chose Vonics at the time but recently we have experienced numerous dropped calls and no service for days on end. I decided it was time to try something new and so far so good! No dropped calls, good sound quality, great price. Can't complain. I just hope they can hang in there unlike some of the other providers that are slipping or already gone.
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 Review by buckeyered
Posted: 2 years ago
member for 4.5 years, 2099 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Hamilton,Butler,OH
$8 per month
about 1 days
"Outstanding Support, Great Sound, Reliable, Cheap"
"No inbound CID "Name" unless the number is in your contacts"
"I have been using Callcentric some time now and would highly recommend them"
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If you are doing BYOD then CC is for you, setup fee is nominal and the DID's are cheap.
You can opt out of 911 and save the fee if you select you are going to use the service outside the US.
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 Review by mjpoetic
Posted: 2.1 years ago
member for 2.3 years, 106 visits, last login: 277 days ago
Fort Lauderdale,Broward,FL
$10 per month (month by month)
about 1 days
"EXCELLENT Customer Service...Quick setup...clear instructions...no nonsense business"
"none so far :)....well number porting costs $25 but they have to charge you for something"
"Best VoIP service for my needs and probably yours"
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I have been with Callcentric for a month now. They have provided the best customer service experience I have ever had with any company....I really mean EVER! Even though it's only via email...they are one the few companies that have responded with real results (and much faster than expected). This caught me off guard a few times. It almost keeps you on your toes to respond back to THEM in a timely manner!
I have been with both Vonage and SR (and was about to switch to ViaTalk) until I found out about Callcentric. I am so glad I did because it's like a breath of fresh air being able to configure your own inbound/outbound calling needs. Best part is the service is still a SIP capable service which means you can still accept calls on your PC overseas with any softphone (I am pretty sure you can configure GizmoProject to use Callcentric). It may not have all the "bells and whistles" of other VoIP companies, but for the price...you can't ask for much more.
The only thing I miss is having a real incoming caller ID...but then again, I don't miss it because the only people I really care to see on my caller ID can easily be inserted into the Callcentric addressbook for seeing a custom name next time they call.
Anyway...I would recommend this service to anybody reading this.
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 Review by Brian Grif_n
Posted: 2.1 years ago
member for 8.8 years, 1427 visits, last login: 46 days ago
Reno,Washoe,NV
$10 per month
about 1 days
"Web/Email support is fantastic. Web interface is feature-filled. Calls connect every time."
"No simulring or CallerID name unless you put the name in your address book. 11-digit dialing."
"Nearly perfect."
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I've had CallCentric for about 2 months now. I had been with SunRocket for 1-1/2 years previous, then about a month with Packet8.
The main "must have" features that I need and CallCentric has include:
• Local Numbers (though I still have to dial 11-digits to place calls - not sure if I had an ATA other than a AC-211-SR would let me use 7-digit dialing for local numbers).
• Flexible call forwarding and logging features (though Simulring is not an option)
• Number porting - I was able 2 port my 3 SunRocket numbers to CallCentric within about 10-days. $25 per line was a bit expensive, but at least they accomplished it - where Packet8 did not.
Call quality is good. After some testing and research I'm using G711U codec, which is supposed to be better than the recommended G729 codec. The codec requires more bandwidth, but that's not an issue on my 3000/512 DSL line. Calls will cut-out if I'm using the internet to download at the same time, but that's not a fault of CallCentric. After previous call connection and quality issues with Packet8 and SunRocket, CallCentric is a refreshing change.
Looking forward to more features in the future.
Followup comments:  
esc0
@rr.com
| CallCentric I have only been with them for about 2 weeks now. I have been mostly impressed with the tech support. Even thought it's only through emails there response time during normal working hours have been very impressive. Their response has been fast and they know their stuff. All my issues were resolved the first time. I have not even seen the same result with P8 tech support via phone.
I enjoy the BYOD option. I can play with the settings and see how everything works. I have past my trial period with P8 and will not hesitate to pay the cancellation fee they charge. I will port my number over as well to CC.
About your local calls. If you send them a ticket about that they will configure a dial plan so you can dial 7 digits for your local calling area. They did one for me.
About the codecs, Yes G7.11u is said to be better quality and uses less bandwidth. But for reason I have used it along side G7.29a and this one seems to sound cleaner and with my bandwidth I should have no issues granted I am only surfing the web at the same time.
Ask them about the dial plan, you'll see how knowledgeable they are with this. Good luck.
Please post back your experience for others.
PS: For anyone else reading this post. CallCentric's services are independent of each other. Make sure you read about their services prior to signing up. And all their services are pre-paid, i.e, international calling. | |
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Brian Grif_n
Wireless Guru
join:2001-01-17
Reno, NV
| Re: CallCentric Would you mind PM'ing me the dialplan they provided to you? We did swap several support emails back and forth, but none of the dial plans they provided would allow local-number 7-digit dialing and long distance dialing all in one dial-plan. They mentioned the didn't have an AC-211-SR in their labs for testing, so they were doing their best. Maybe it's a limitation of their service and my adapter - though when I was using SunRocket the dial-plan would do both.
Thanks.
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Check out my website: www.renowirelessinfo.com | |
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Heat305
join:2007-01-11
El Paso, TX
 ·AT&T Southeast
| Re: CallCentric Just in case the pm I sent you was incomplete. I posted it in here again for you.
(*xx.|*xxx|*75xx|[3469]11|0|00|[2-9]xxxxxx|[2-9]xxxxxxxxx|1[2-9]xxxxxxxxxS0|011[2-9]x.|**275*x.)
The part that does 7 digit dialing there is:
[2-9]xxxxxx
which prefixes 1212 (1 + area code 212) onto any 7 digit number you dial. You of course would need to change the "1212" part to "1xxx" where the xxx is your local area code. The plan above supports 7, 10, and 11 digit dialing. | |
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Heat305
join:2007-01-11
El Paso, TX
·AT&T Southeast
| Just in case the pm I sent you was incomplete I posted the dial plan here for you in the jpeg. | |
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Brian Grif_n
Wireless Guru
join:2001-01-17
Reno, NV
| Re: CallCentric Thanks for posting the screenshot. I see that the greater-than/less-than symbols and everything in-between get deleted when you post - an HTML thing.
I tried your plan which did not work - I don't think my AC-211-SR recognizes those symbols in a dialplan.
When corresponding with Callcentric, to get 7-digit dialing they had me use "p(xxxxxxx)1ACO" as part of my dialplan string. ACO=Area Code. That worked for 7 digit dialing, but I could not dial 10- or 11-digit numbers - I would get a fast busy as soon as I started dialing over 7 digits.
After some experimenting this morning, I tried putting a "T" at the end of the numbers, resulting in ""p(xxxxxxxT)1ACO" - which allowed me 7- and 11-digit dialing, but not 10-digits.
I finally came up with the following dialplan which allows 7, 10 and 11-digit dialing on my AC-211-SR:
(>#|[3469]11|00|p(xxxxxxxT)1775|p(xxxxxxxxxxT)1|1[2-9]xxxxxxxxx|**275*x.T|*x.T)
I don't dialing internationally, so that part was removed from my dialplan.
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Check out my website: www.renowirelessinfo.com | |
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Heat305
join:2007-01-11
El Paso, TX
·AT&T Southeast
| Re: CallCentric I am glad you finally got it working. Like I said with SR Gizmos many will need to do some more research on how to get these dial plans to work. But if you like the ATA then I don't see why you can't use it.
I haven't seen any other ( BYOD ) provider being as helpful as CC when it comes to non generic SIP ATAs. I have had great call quality with them. Please come back and post whenever you had time or an update about them. Have a good one!!! | |
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 Review by Prayer
UPDATED: 2.1 years ago
member for 7.9 years, 1181 visits, last login: 3 days ago
Warminster,Bucks,PA
Contract price not specified.
about 4 days
"Fast email response to help inquiries"
"$25 porting fee, fair but many others offer $0 to entice one in"
"Fantastic deal for low volume calling"
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No monthly cost, no term, etc. Also no calling public numbers either. I may setup outgoing later if I need it then.
I set up with CallCentric after SR died. Then I found out that there was more fee for 911 service and was mandatory. So having a DID @ $3 shot up to over $5.50 monthly. So I am a "quiet" customer. No calls since I can only call other subscribers.
They were fantastic at helping me out to get started. The test call would not work for the longest time until an email clued me into seeing that may extensions.conf file had an error in it. They officially don't support asterisk but helped me a bunch getting started.
4.9 stars for customer support. Hardly miss calling to wait on hold to speak to a CS person.
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Review by sailor279
UPDATED: 2.1 years ago
member for 7.9 years, 21 visits, last login: 2.1 years ago
Manhattan Beach,Los Angeles,CA
$10 per month
about 1 days
"Inexpensive, great quality, suprisingly responsive tech support & NO CONTRACT!!"
"BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) and lack of phone support is not for most novices,"
"The best bang for your buck of all VOIP providers -- Honest, upfront and helpful"
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First off, I've been a long time Sunrocket user (2+yrs) until they fizzled out in July. Then I tried the scammers at Packet 8 and realized that I was paying alot for mediocre call quality, pathetic tech support and generally dishonest and uncaring customer support. I knew there had to be a better way so I researched other providers on this website and came across Callcentric.
After checking out their no-contract, cancel any time pricing and reading several very positive reviews here, I figured I should give them a try. For $7.95 including setup fees, I got myself a "dirt cheap" (their words) DID, Voicemail, and even 911 service. If I wasn't satisfied, I could cancel at any time without spending another penny so that was the clincher. Since I don't make alot of calls from my home line, I decided to go with the pay-per-call plan ($.02/min North America).
It took me a while to figure out that I had to BYOD (bring your own device) in order to get service. Luckily, their Support section on their website is pretty clear about which devices work best and has really specific instructions about how to setup. A quick search on eBay scored me a Linksys PAP-NA for $31 including shipping but because I was so eager to try it out, I also went to my local Best Buy for a PAP2 V2 (vonage version) which I read that I could unlock. Unlocking was a pain in the a$$ but I got it to work. Callcentric hasn't tested nor supports the PAP2 V2 (unlocked) directly, but their tech support was very helpful regardless, reviewing my settings and making recommendations. The PAPV2 contains a slew of settings that either don't matter to Callcentric and/or were designed to work w/Vonage so it was a bit of trial & error before everything worked. My preference was to have a supported device so once the PAP-NA arrived today, I switched over to the -NA device and all features are working perfectly!
Tech/Cust Support -- Imagine this: Opening an online trouble ticket at 10:50am on SUNDAY and getting a response 20m later!!!! Now THAT'S service! I am very pleased with both the quality of the answers and the response time. Novice VOIP users may be uncomfortable without being able to reach someone live, but in from my experience(s) -- a good quality email/online support is far better than some dummy agent who does little more than reading from a script (as was the case w/my previous providers). It does take a bit of faith that they'll respond, but they do!
Call quality -- very clear, no hiss/static as I had w/previous VOIP services. I have even been able to successfully Fax several times. Fax over VoIP is sketchy at best, but if I'm able to send a 1-2p fax every once in a while, I'm happy.
Pricing -- Can't be beat!! It's inexpensive and you pay for what you use, or go all out and get the unlimited service. Either way, you're not locked in to a contract.
Overall, I've been using Callcentric for about 2 weeks and I'm thrilled that I found them. So far, they are 100% UPOD (Under Promise Over Deliver). EVERY interaction I've had, whether it was the order I placed thru the website, or the numerous questions I had for Tech Support exceeded my expectations.
I've yet to explore the Call Treatments feature (customize routing/answering depending on who is calling) or have a number ported over. They charge $25 for porting which I think is fair, and I may still do. The only thing I think they could improve is to make the BYOD/setup process a little more user-friendly and idiot-proof. Of course, if I were them, I'd prefer have a slightly more technically-able customers who can self-serve than ones who requires extensive support.
I was seriously debating whether I should even write a review since I'd hate to see them get overwhelmed with new customers and the have the service suffer  Obviously, I decided that I couldn't keep them to myself any longer---that would be waay to selfish considering the great help I've received from DSLR/BBR members.
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Update 10/5/07 -- I swapped out the unsupported PAP2v2 for the supported PAP2 NA. Everything working smoothly. Call quality is excellent with a minimal amount of dead air (I've determined this is a "feature" of cable ISP and will switch to FIOS when it becomes avail in my area). I've also been able to send faxes w/o too much issue. I've been able to force the device into G711 codec mode by hitting *027110 before dialing, so I think that adds to the fax success. Still very happy.
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Review by babalu
Posted: 2.1 years ago
member for 2.2 years, 5 visits, last login: 2 years ago
Paducah,Mccracken,KY
$14 per month
about 1 days
"dialtone two hours after ordering; low prices"
"No instructions for my specific ATA"
"will test a month to see if I will port, seems reasonable"
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Used a BYOD Linksys 2102-NA. Got unlimited incoming on a local DID, pay per minute outgoing @ ~ $14. No contract. They did not have config docs for the SPA-2102 so I used their PAP2 instructions and registered it without contacting tech support. Calls seem clear but I have only had service for a day so the reliability jury is still out. Confirmatory emails were sent promptly. This is one VOIP provider to at least consider given their ease of signup and ability to get you up and going. This is my first posted review here. I have no connection with the company and I will update my experiences with them, good or bad.
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