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Review by garys_2k  - Location: Farmington,Oakland,MI
- Cost: $12 per month (month by month)
- Install: about 1 days
Good "Call quality, service response, prices, call treatments"
Bad "None so far"
Overall "Way to go! Still thumbs up after DDoS and Sandy."
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Update Sep-2013
Excellent service, as expected, ever since the Hurricane Sandy incident. They've added some major new features, no cost increases, and reliability has been back to 100%. It's been many months since they've had problems and I don't even give my phone service a second thought. I still continue to HIGHLY recommend them!
Update Nov-2012:
Callcentric withstood some major challenges over the past 60 days, a blistering DDoS attack on their border controllers and a complete loss of power at their data center as a result of hurricane Sandy's flooding.
They managed the DDoS attack by adding hardware and new gateways (based on ports communicated via SRV records) as the attack proceeded. I was able to maintain service by registering with Callwithus, a competitor, and having inbound calls sip-forwarded there. I used Callwithus as an outbound provider during that time, as they allow the user to set their outbound CID. I set mine to my number registered as my DID line at Callcentric and inbound and outbound calling was back to normal.
The data center power outage was more problematic. Service and their websites were down for about four days -- I could still make calls via Callwithus but no incoming calls could be received. I'm willing to cut them slack from this 100 year event (more likely a 200+ year event), so while inconvenient (this is a home phone, backed up with cell phones) it didn't cause any lasting issues.
Update May-2012:
Still the very best choice (IMHO) for home VOIP I've heard of. I wish I'd started with CC to begin with, no regrets at all. Crystal clear, totally reliable and plenty of flexibility.
Update 1-Aug-2011:
This is getting boring, but that's in a really good way! I recently used the call treatments (sort of a small scale PBX-ish thing) to reroute some incoming calls from a particular number -- it worked great! This also diverts all incoming toll-free calls to voice mail.
So, another bunch of months and still nothing ugly. The 5/5 rating remains...
Update 10-March-2011:
Awesome provider, that's all I can say. NO issues,ever, improved features and totally reliable. Again, the wife no longer has to wonder how the calls will go through, they just DO. I have honestly forgotten that, when the phone rings, that the Internet is involved.
Still impressed with their almost complete lack of "issues" entries in the VOIP Tech Chat forum. Some providers seem to make up most of the posts dealing with "Incoming Calls Ring Busy" or "Which Server Should I Use Now?" type of issues. We needed a no-drama, will work like a telephone provider and absolutely have that with Callcentric.
Update 9-Dec-2010:
Still no issues, Wife Acceptance Factor is high. She has reported OCCASIONAL audio glitches but nothing that has interrupted a conversation. The phone just works, no drama, and we're enjoying the quality. I did drop the Dirt Cheap DID I'd kept as a backup incoming number, but not because of service issues. It's still GREAT!
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My port out from Future Nine was scheduled for 1-Nov-10 and it took place right on schedule. Call treatments have been great to cut out most all of the political BS calls we've been getting, and the phone book feature allows me to CNAM to the cell phone calls we get.
CC's reputation is about the best there is, it's not THE least expensive but certainly in the running (top few). For my use, about 400 minutes in and out per month, it's a wonderful deal.
I'll be back with an update after a few more weeks, but having seen all of the other reviews and forum posts about CC I strongly suspect I'll have a very smooth ride.
member for 9.4 years, 3307 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated a few hours ago
Comments:
| 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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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
Comments:
| Review by Mango - Location: Alberta
- Cost Contract price not specified.
Overall "Callcentric's support and dependable service gives them an excellent reputation."
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Callcentric is one of the more popular VoIP providers on this forum, in part due to their technical support which is arguably the best in the industry. Their techs are famous for responding to questions in minutes.
I would like to mention some of Callcentric's features rarely found on other VoIP providers. (This is not an exhaustive list of all of their features, just the ones I find particularly useful.)
Extensions - Callcentric now offers extensions which makes it very easy to use multiple devices with their service.
Free Phone Number - Callcentric's free New York phone numbers fall into the category of "too good to be true", but it's true. I'm delighted to say that as per Callcentric's usual excellence, the Free phone number works just as well as a non-free phone number.
Calling Card - you may route a DID to the Calling Card feature or use one of Callcentric's local access numbers and make calls at Callcentric rates. You may set up multiple passwords of up to 10 digits and view reports of DISA usage for each password.
Call treatments - you may route specific calls to a variety of locations based on incoming Caller ID (wildcards are accepted), called number, or status. What is especially useful is that you may adjust the order with which treatments are applied. If a number could match a couple of rules, you can specify which rule should take priority.
Outgoing caller id number - Callcentric allows you to configure outgoing Caller ID to be some number not in your Callcentric account, but only if they have already verified that you are the owner of this number. While this no doubt requires extra staff time, I applaud them for preventing Caller ID spoofing.
IP Freedom account - Callcentric very kindly offers their "IP Freedom" account at no charge. It allows you to place calls to SIP URIs or other Callcentric customers, for free. One reason this is very useful is that it can be difficult to set up SIP-to-SIP calls if both users are behind NAT. Placing Callcentric in the middle makes it much easier.
SIP 486 "Busy Here" - Callcentric correctly reports this when you call a number that is busy. Many other VoIP providers I have tried do not. I find this useful in making my PBX respond correctly to such calls.
T.38 - Callcentric is one of the few VoIP providers that support T.38, which allows you to send and receive faxes with great reliability. T.38 is not always available on all of their routes, so you should configure G.711 fallback just in case. I wish that one day I could pay an extra fee for guaranteed T.38 support.
Callcentric has a feature that will convert incoming faxes to PDF. They will email you the PDF, or for higher security, email you a notification and you may download it from their website over SSL. Of all the (many!) fax-to-PDF services I've tried, Callcentric has my favourite user interface. This feature supports ECM.
member for 4.7 years, 2825 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 41 days ago
Comments:
| Review by Gershom 1624 - Location: BriscoCounty
- Cost: $10 per month
- Install: about 1 days
Good "Great reliability, usability, flexibility, quality, and value."
Bad "Some Voip.MS users are obsessed with hating CallCentric, and will probably post in a couple minutes."
Overall "Nobody does it better...."
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I've been using CallCentric for both my home and business for several years.
The darn thing just works, I never have to think about it.
It is very easy to set up, has great customer support, highly usable website with extensive documentation, excellent billing software, and good customer security.
I use one line with their inbound fax server, and that works very well too.
Security measures include (among others) the ability to enable/disable outbound calls by country (they were first with that), and the option of IP address whitelist verification for your equipment.
There is a wide variety of inbound and outbound calling options (chosen individually) including both flat-rate and PAYG plans each way. Free unlimited DID's are even available for metro NY areas.
There are no extra fees other than NY sales tax for NY residents, and 911 fee (but with a flat-rate outbound calling plan 911 is bundled in)
Extensive support is provided for SIP URI calling, iNum, and SipBroker.
Call Treatments are easy to use and very flexible.
One limiting factor had been the lack of subaccounts, but CallCentric introduced this functionality (which they call Extensions) in May 2013. This will be useful for many subscribers.
Multiple mailboxes per account were introduced in August 2013, and automated attendant functions ("IVR") are under active development now for later this year.
CallCentric has extensive switches and interconnect facilities which they own and manage, based in New York. That's why they are so good and so reliable over the long term. However, this did lead to a series of events which caused 2 days of failure in the 2012 Hurricane Sandy disaster as multiple backup measures did not work. There are some customers who prefer good providers with multi-city remote servers instead, and certainly those customers will likely choose such providers.
My experience with CallCentric has been excellent and I highly recommend them.
member for 208 days, 348 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 41 days ago
Comments:
| Review by Nightfall - Location: Grand Rapids,Kent,MI
- Cost: $12 per month
- Install: about 1 days
Good "Superior call quality, uptime, web portal, and customer service."
Bad "A little expensive."
Overall "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.
7/9/2012 - Callcentric is still rock solid for me. No problems with the service at all. Callcentric did listen to my request and add some lower tier price points for outgoing minutes. It still isn't worth it to me to get them yet. According to my reports, we have more calls coming in than going out. I am on the unlimited plan for incoming calls already. It just makes sense to pay as I go for outgoing calls. The total cost is still around $10-$11 a month on average, which is great for me. Could I spend less and go with another provider? Probably, but there comes a point when I could spend $6 a month and get a provider like VOIPO, and then have more issues. The money I spend with Callcentric is great because I get what I pay for, have ZERO issues, and superior customer service for all those questions I want to ask. Go Callcentric!
12/24/12 - Callcentric went through a very hard time in Q3 of 2012. They had a very serious DDOS attack put on them that really affected their service. Thankfully, I only have a home phone line with them so the effect on me was very minor. Still, there were periods of time where my service was not working. I have adjusted my review down a little bit on reliability as a result. While all these problems were really annoying, I can tell you that they stepped up to the plate to make things right with their customers. They offered credits for affected clients, which I applied to get. They also kept me informed during the whole ordeal. I can say that their customer service is probably the best I have seen from a VOIP provider. The only way they could improve is by offering some kind of reliability measure. Either another hot site so if a natural disaster tears up their facility again, then they can come up quickly or if someone DDOS' them again, then they can bring up the secondary site and keep on working.
8/24/12 - After a great run with Callcentric, I have decided to move to Ooma. For the same price I am paying Callcentric, I will get a 2nd phone number, unlimited minutes, and other capabilities with Ooma. Callcentric remains one of the best VOIP providers that I have used. I got a refund for the funds left in my account shortly after porting my number. Thanks again Callcentric, you guys have been great!
member for 12.1 years, 5433 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 42 days ago
Comments:
| Review by adibazz - Location: Jacksonville,Duval,FL
- Cost Contract price not specified.
Good "Good Rates, Good Tech Support"
Bad "Nothing that I came across"
Overall "Value for money"
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I've been using CC for almost three years now for all my calling needs. I used it on trial basis for few months first and then once satisfied I got my DID ported over to CC. The setup experience was a breeze and so was Line portability.
Initially, I had couple of issues with something related to configuration (that I don't remember now) with my PAP2T device but customer support was very quick and helpful resolving the issue through their online support system. After that there is no single issue with either call quality or service in any way except of course those DoS attacks and hurricane Sandy last year. IMO CC handled both the situation well but there is definitely a scope of improvement re:Sandy like situation and that's where I knocked off one star from reliability. Otherwise its rock solid. 5 star.
I've decided to go with CC three years back, based on this forum and now realized I didn't review the service until I came back to this forum to search for some help. That shows how good their service is.
Update - 08/09/2013
Used CallCentric service with SIP client on my iPhone throughout Europe without any issue. This was good compare to my experience few years back when at&t screwed me with international roaming.
member for 12 years, 277 visits, last login: 29 days ago
updated 57 days ago
Comments:
| Review by N9MD - Location: Boca Raton,Palm Beach,FL
- Cost Contract price not specified.
- Install: about 1 days
Good "Good features, good pricing, good support, works great!"
Bad "None"
Overall "Excellent product for those wish to provide their own ATA/SoftPhone."
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7/9/13---
CC continues to be among the best of the best ... especially with the recent additions (e.g., sub-accounts) to its service. The website is one of the easiest to negotiate. The day to day service is rock solid. I'm eagerly awaiting an SMS texting feature (not everyone wants or uses SMS over VoIP ... but I do, constantly..
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11/30/12---
Wow!!! CC has been through hell ... and back ... back with a vengeance. The recent double-trouble events ... overwhelming DDoS attacks almost immediately admixed with the devastating results of Hurricane Sandy ... created chaos and a bit of doubt (and hand wringing) among some of CC's users (and posters in the BBR Forums). However, CC has come through with flying colors ... including a very comprehensive albeit highly technical diary of events and responses to these events posted by Iscream (a CC insider).
All aspects of CallCentric's VoIP product and service continue to shine.
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5/25/12---
Semi-annual update: CC continue to deserve its position at the top of the review list ... continuing to provide excellent service and features and support ... and total stability in every way ... including its longevity in the "here today, gone tomorrow" world of VoIP.
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11/27/11---
Time for a semi-annual update to report that my appraisal of the CC product and service continues to score 100% across the board.
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4/29/11---
CC has continues to maintain its position at the top of the review list. It certainly deserves that rating ... continuing to provide magnificent service and features and support ... and total stability in every way ... including its longevity in the "here today, gone tomorrow" world of VoIP.
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1/30/11 ---
Quick update ... maintaining by ongoing ratings across the board. A host of new and improved features have recently been implemented by CC.
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12/15/10 ---
End of year update: CallCentric continues to perform perfectly in all areas ... as one of my two PAYG providers*. I've not experienced a single hiccough since early 2009 (an incoming fax issue that apparently affected all customers and the problem was fixed in under two hours).
Although my monthly costs are a tad higher than my other PAYG provider, I am still getting full value. I maintain a CC account (and the "other" PAYG service) on each of my several 2-line PAP2T-NAs at various locations ... essentially protecting against server or connection downtime not to mention a catastrophic event (i.e., bankruptcy ala SunRocket).
If I were forced to select my choice for the most fiscally stable VoIP provider that will survive well into the future, it would have to be CC ... by a gnat's whisker over a few others.
* Note: I do have other barely used PAYG providers ... but these are just for fun and experimentation.
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3/28/2010 ---
This update is sort of mandated by my recent updates to (and an addtion of) my three other main VoIP providers. I continue to delight in every aspect of the CallCentric product offering ... reliability, quality, support, features and value. Nothing has changed. There may be a feature or two that might be required by others ... but my needs are being met.
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12/31/2009 ---
End of year update. I've not had a single issue since my last update, still using multiple CC accounts for a variety of end uses.
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3/5/2009 ---
CallCentric continues to work perfectly ... and amaze me. I recently ported in a DID to an additional CC account (one of several), this one specifically for use as a dedicated incoming fax line which delivers faxes as email attachments. I found that wrong numbers or hang-ups to my fax-DID resulted in an automated email sent with an essentially empty attachment. This was annoying because, with my BlackBerry, I needed to open the email and then click thru to see the faxed attachment ... a waste of time when the fax document was blank.
On the urging of another BBR poster around dinnertime today, I opened a ticket with CC's support people. Within 9 ... yes 9 ... minutes I received an initial response reporting that they were able to duplicate/confirm the "problem" ... and 1 hour 22 minutes later I received a follow-up message indicating the problem has been rectified.
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06/17/2008 ---
This is my first review of the CallCentric offering -- even though I've had three accounts at three different locations for well over 6 months. Here's my take on each of the rated categories:
1) Easy to negotiate website --- with all the bells and whistles seen with more expensive providers.
2) Excellent tutorials on the website to help noobies setup SoftPhone or BYOD (ATA).
3) Good call quality (which, frankly, is more a mark of a good connection from my cablemodem to my ISP). I've not experienced any inbound or outbound audio issues.
4) I don't recall ever having a dropped call or connection failure that I could blame on CallCentric. And it works every time with no downtime, thus far.
5) Awesome tech support via Trouble Tickets. All my questions and issues were responded to (and resolved) within 24 hours --- often within an hour or two, even on weekends. Each response displayed a total understanding of my issue by the responder -- with a spot on resolution. Some might complain about the lack of telephone support -- but I believe that a TT system allows the CC rep to ponder the issue, ask higher ups for help (if necessary), and then compose a reasonable and accurate response --- as opposed to the usual telephone support that says: "Unplug everything".. "Reboot" .. "It's your ISP!" .. "You're hard of hearing."
6) Value for the money is in the "pocketbook of the beholder". Depending on one's personal needs and uses of a VoIP service, CC is probably one of the best valued providers for the features and included minutes (or PAYG) within their various product offerings.
By the way, CC has made it very easy to port numbers in --- although they do charge a one-time $25 fee.
Lastly, CC is the only one of the many providers to whom I subscribe that works flawlessly with my PAP2T-NA and Comcast Cablemodem in my Boca Raton FL home.
member for 7.9 years, 3076 visits, last login: 1 days ago
updated 87 days ago
Comments:
| Review by Ole Juul - Location: Coalmont,BC
- Cost: $7 per month
Good "Sound and service"
Bad "nothing yet"
Overall "I've got first class telephone service"
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While researching about how to get a free phone number and what device and service to buy, this forum kept coming up in my results. I quickly became clear that Callcentric had a good reputation and was generally recommended by people here, who I could tell were mostly very knowledgeable about VoIP. Reading around some more, it also became clear that the PAP2 was an old reliable standby. So, I went to the Callcentric site and signed up for a free number. That cost nothing. Then I went on eBay and ordered a PAP2 for $24 including shipping. I got the genuine device, but see note below. It arrived about three weeks later.
In the meanwhile, I was trying to set up my e911 address on Callcentric. I was so green that I didn't yet realize that I had to purchase an outgoing service before that would be relevant, so it would not work on the web site yet. I opened a trouble ticket to sort it out, and within a short while got a response saying that they had put in the address by hand and all should be good now. I still hadn't paid them a penny! I thought that was pretty good service for free. Anyway, my ATA eventually arrived, and all I had to do was pick the appropriate device on the Callcentric device support page and fill in the corresponding fields on the PAP2. To my utter delight, less that fifteen minutes later I could make a call. I still remember the feeling of excitement when I first herd the dial tone on the phone I had plugged in. My first VoIP dial tone!
The reason I wanted a free number was basically so that I could check out VoIP and see what it could do for me, as well as (hopefully) have a number in my name. I'm currently not the account holder of the landline in this house. After a little while it became clear that the sound and reliability of my Callcentric phone was as good, or better than, my landline. In fact my landline has had several years of background noise and poor sound quality, as well as some weeks out of service here and there. I am extremely pleased that for me VoIP is superior. Before trying it, I had no faith that it would be much good because I am on a rural wireless connection.
Having not yet seen even the slightest glitch, I then purchased a DID (phone number) in the city of my choice. Now I have the "pay per call" plan which charges me just under 2 cents per minute within North America and most of western Europe. A little arithmetic made it clear that no incumbent Telco offers anything near that. With the landline, if you don't make a single call, you still get a big bill - you do the math. Anyway, the DID costs me $5.95 per month, and the mandatory e911 charge is $1.50. Total $7.45 with as yet an unknown amount of minutes. We'll see how it goes. I don't have a reason to use this very much yet (the landline isn't going away) but all out-of-town calls are going to be cheaper so I will be using it more and more. I calculate that if this replaced the landline, it would cost around $15 to $20 per month. Callcentric however, does not provide numbers in my area, and so those poor souls who have to pay extra for calling that mythical "long distance" because they have POTS accounts, would not like it. This is absolutely no problem for my goal of having a second number in my own name. For city folks in North America, Callcentric probably does have a local number for you.
The experience has been very positive. Callcentric service is very good, so I expect that any problem I could possibly have in the future will get sorted out in a timely manner. The sound and reliability has also been flawless - and I'm in Canada and on the opposite coast from them too. Perhaps someone less adventurous than me will not like all the options that Callcentric offers, but I can tell you that the setup is quick and easy. There is no need to do anything after that in order to keep the service going - except of course, pay for it.
In case anybody is interested, here is what I now have set up with them.
1/ One phone number as my regular, personal, number. It rings a phone by my computer for 20 seconds, if I don't get it, it then rings the landline and I can get it on any of the phones in the house.
2/ One free phone number. That rings for 30 seconds, then goes to voice mail. I use that one for official places where I don't really want to talk with them, but want to know if they called. (eg. WHOIS records)
3/ One other free phone number. That goes directly to voice mail, so someone can leave a message night or day, and I will see the light blinking on the phone when I get there.
I would like to point out that there are a lot of free services from CC. Basically, they don't charge for anything other than making calls. They also don't have "bundles" and "plans" and "marketing games" and things to obscure the real value and price. What you see is what you get. I'd also like to point out that this forum is a tremendous resource, and that people here know a lot about CC, and that CC also has a presence here. You can't go wrong.
PS: If someone wants a PAP2, please do a web search to figure out how to get the genuine device. I suspect though, that it is getting a bit old and that there are probably better choices out there for only a few more dollars.
PPS: I am new to VoIP, so I cannot compare related services. That is why I had to vote CC "best" in all categories. I would have uses a lower rating if there had been any problem or fault in any way, but there hasn't been after a month and a half. I can only say that in my case, the sound quality, support, and reliability, is superior to the POTS service offered in my area.
member for 160 days, 164 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 110 days ago
Comments:
 IscreamPremium
join:2009-02-17
New York, NY
kudos:5 Reviews:
 ·Verizon FiOS
1 edit | Please check again CC coverage of Canada soon Thank you for the exciting and detailed feedback!
Regarding your local [rural] coverage - please check in again within a few days (literally). Callcentric will be greatly expanding its coverage of Canadian rural and northern territories. I have good basis to believe that your local village will be covered too.
Speaking of PAP2 - it's sure a good device, but unfortunately, Cisco has dropped its support of PAP2 many years ago. The firmware lacks many important features compared to newer devices (T.38 fax support is one of them, but there are many more related to registration and stability).
On another hand - even a genuine, OEM hardware gets older even when not in use, totally new, while waiting on shelves to be sold.
Electronic equipment may go out of order without regard of being used or not (on occasions - especially, when was not used at all) - because printed boards may have hidden tensions which may break tiny soldered connections, electrolytic capacitors get dry thus lose their characteristics, etc. As of today - PAP2 is 10 years old device. It used to be a great device, but today it often causes "unexpected" jokes to its owners. It may lose registration by itself. It may drop a call in the middle. It may induce static to conversations. A power cycling may help, but not for long.
I'm aware of 100s cases when [aging] PAP2 was a cause of major frustrations for its owners (including myself). It may even be a cause of changing service provider with negative feelings toward former one. My recommendation - when/if time and budget permit, please get something newer.
B/w - the same disclaimer goes toward another great legacy device - Grandstream's HTx86/HTx87. Just beware.
Thank you! | |
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| Review by batfell - Location: Ann Arbor,Washtenaw,MI
- Cost Contract price not specified.
Good "Improving"
Bad "Simplistic"
Overall "Improving"
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
2013 05 31
I am glad to say that CC is getting out of the doldrums and has put in sub-accounts, and they say they are working on an IVR of some sort. Good for them.
If they keep this up, I may consider using them for more than a backup.
Update 2012 12 24
Callcentric continues to be reliable and to sound good. I use it for
occasional outgoing calls, and as a backup if my main vosp, voip.ms,
should fail, which hasn't yet happened.
But every year that goes by shows Callcentric looking clunkier and
stodgier, with its poor call-handling, and that it is unlikely to
change any time soon.
Update 2012 05 23
Callcentric continues to be a decent service, but one that is kind
of clunky and simple-minded. The website has gotten better, though.
I use it for a backup, which I never need, but I have a few dollars
in it so might as well keep the credentials.
Original Review
I have been trying Callcentric as a second line for a few months and
it is not bad but nothing to write home about.
It is like a slightly shabby corner store that has the basic food -
the milk, bread, etc., but that you do not go to unless you ran
out of something at the last minute and can not get to the super
market.
The website is pretty good, and suited to the features it offers.
The features are the problem. CC does a basic job and even has
disa and callback.
What it does not have, or has in an inferior way are:
Simplistic callerid processing. I would have to spend all
day setting up the callerid routing that I can do within minutes
using Voipo, Voip.ms, or Anveo.
No IVR. An amazing lack. Even 2 years ago, the lack of an
IVR would not condemn a voip provider to the second-tier category,
but not having one at this point in voip development marks CC as
fit only for the most undemanding users.
And when I say 'IVR', I am including the call flow processing
that goes with it, things like a time condition, another IVR, call
forwarding, sip url, ring group, etc.
CC has some of these, usually in a rudimentary form compared
to the three voip providers mentioned above.
Its calling rates and monthly DID charge are rather expensive. On
the other hand, it allows you to set up a free account and then
call CC to CC for no charge.
If you are someone who will never grow out of a simplistic voip
provider, then CC is for you; if you are someone who will grow out
of that and will grow into a provider with up-to-date features, then
give CC a pass.
member for 1.5 years, 12 visits, last login: 9 days ago
updated 126 days ago
Comments:
| Review by Trimline - Location: Orlando,Orange,FL
- Cost: $24 per month
- Install: about -1 days
Good "Easy setup, excellent sound quality, excellent support."
Bad "Nothing any longer."
Overall "Doing much better. Give them a try."
| Web-site:
Ease of Installation:
Call Quality:
Reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
28May2013 Update
Still humming along with CC. I really do like the new features introduced and will port in a number to them when a good porting deal is offered. 
Their G722 is tops.
27Oct2012 Update
Things have calmed down and my connection is restored. There are many configuration changes, or I should say options, you can set to resume a normal call quality.
I would like to reiterate that CC has probably the best BYOD offering on the market. They do have HD which is why I prefer them, and did I say you can have fax line as well. Just let CS know you are running a line in fax mode and you'll be set.
Also, on some DID's, they can set the outbound CNAM. You just need to ask.
Cheers.
25Oct21012 Update
After 3 weeks of spotty service due to a DDOS attack, sorry CC.
12Nov10 Update
Still going strong, no issues. I have 3 lines now in the office; one now is the wife's line that is forwarded from at&t - she can't live without that copper. On the third ring, it forwards to the CC line that is connected to the Panasonic SIP wireless phone system. Also, the outbound CNAM is the same on the at&t line; just don't tell anyone, especially her.
I ordered CC on the pay as you go plan, not thinking I would be really using it very much. My plan was to use mainly for international dialing.
Quite the opposite happened; I am thrilled with the call quality and switched it over to the North American plan. I now use this as my primary phone and dropped all the "extras" on my AT&T line.
The service is outstanding, took no time to register and make calls. Plugged in my SPA-2000 and entered the required fields as found in their support section. Flawless service with no surprises.
A very satisfied customer.
member for 8.9 years, 3631 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 129 days ago
Comments:
|  VexorgTR
join:2012-08-27
Sheffield Lake, OH
kudos:1 | I hope the attacks are done..... The new settings really did help keep us working in spite of the attacks.
Glad to have CallCentric back to health. I knew it would get right... just didn't think it would be under attack for WEEKS!
Welcome back. | |
| IscreamPremium
join:2009-02-17
New York, NY
kudos:5 Reviews:
·Verizon FiOS
| Outbound CNAM, on per DID basis, is now user configurable Dear Trimline - thank you for being CC's valued customer, for staying with us during hard time of [2012] October's DDoS attacks and hurricane Sandy, for taking time to prepare and keeping updated your review!
Since last portal's update [May 20, 2013] you don't anymore need to ask CC's support for changing your outbound CNAM.
The CNAM, on per DID basis, is now manageable directly from user's portal.
The setting of outbound CNAM is available for both residential (first name, second name) and business (company name) content for ALL US and Canadian DID types.
More features to come soon; your request/advise about [lowering] the LNP fee is being considered at highest priority - you may begin "preparing" a DID you wish to port in  )
B/w - during a year already, Callcentric performs Toll Free DID port-ins as well as Toll Free number vanity search for FREE. To my knowledge - no other provider [today] does it for free. | |
| Reviews:
 ·DSL EXTREME
·Grayson County T..
 ·Callcentric
| Callcentric Does Callcentric have redundancy now? I left because Hurricane Sandy turned them off and I am in Texas and my phone didn't work. I still have a basic account that is not used though. I would consider coming back if they have a backup servers not in New York. | |
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