vic102482
Premium
join:2002-04-30
Upper Marlboro, MD
| Vonage is Cool!!
I have had it for about 2 months now and it works GREAT!!:)
No LD charges to call in my state and blah blah blah.
There have been some horror stories with vonage jacking up the rates for people that use their phone a whole lot.
Also sometimes the dial tone drops out when I try to make a call, but otherwise its cool.
I would be pissed if I saw a bill for 60 bucks come my way just because I made alot of phone calls. If you cant support the services that you advertise then dont push them out. Simple. ISPs need to learn this as well.
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I tie a rope around my penis and jump from a tree, don't you wanna grow up to be just like me!!!! |
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oliphant5
Got Identity?
Premium
join:2003-05-24
Corona, CA
|  I have it too
I was so pleased with my service that I ditched Verizon all together. Now on TV I'm seeing more and more ads from telcos for unlimited or very low per minute rates and just have to think it's their attempt to fight off the growing VoIP market. Now they (Vonage) offers multiple lines, virtual numbers, 911 (as well as all the regular features that telcos charge for like call forwarding, waiting, 3-way calling, voice mail etc) and more features come all the time. Of course VoIP isn't for everyone but it works great for me.
[text was edited by author 2003-05-25 13:21:17] |
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RyanB18
We All Have A Black Rock
join:2001-05-05
Dallas, TX
clubs: | What exactly is Voice over IP? From what I understand its using the internet connection to speak. What are its advantages over regular phone service?
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"Eternal Vigilance is the price of Democracy." - Thomas Jefferson |
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rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO
| Incumbents Have Wrong Response
For me, it's not about UNLIMITED long distance. I'm tired of paying over $50/month for basic dial tone. It's ridiculous. Vonage offers 500 mins/LD plus unlimited local calling for $26/month.
$26/month is much more reasonable although considering I still have to provide the actual connection (broadband service), it could be improved. However, if you want broadband anyway, this is a key way to spread that cost over multiple services. Plus Vonage sweetens the offer by including tons of incumbent premium services like caller id, call waiting, call forwarding, call return, busy number redial, voice mail, etc. |
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xcea
join:2002-09-11
Fremont, CA
clubs:
| 49.95 is not low enough
$49.95 is not low enough! SBC in my area offers unlimited local and long distance for $48.95. MCI offers in the neighborhood plan for $49.95 also with unlimited local and long distance. I have the MCI one and it comes with more features like caller ID, call waiting.
It is hard to trust SBC again after they have charged you 9 cents a minute for a local call when you were only paying 5 cents a minute for long distance... Or when you connect service and they give you a phone number and you tell it to everyone and when they connect it is different and they say, if a business customer asks for the number we give it to them and assign you a different one... Damn that SBC...
MCI's voice mail is kinda lame in that it does not notify you when you have a message. (I have not activated the voice mail because of that)
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Lets not be sorry, after the fact, and let the past become our fate
[text was edited by author 2003-05-25 14:12:09] |
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oliphant5
Got Identity?
Premium
join:2003-05-24
Corona, CA
| reply to RyanB18
Re: I have it too
Price...and for me reliability as Verizon in my area is horrid. You also get to choose your area code and you get a much larger local calling area. With Vonage you can also get virtual numbers at $5 a pop making calls from friends local. Say you live in L.A. but you have family in NYC. You can get a NYC virtual number than your family would call and it would ring through to you. So for the $5 a month, they would get to call you as a local call. This is in addition to the other calling features you get for free.
[text was edited by author 2003-05-25 14:22:56] |
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vic102482
Premium
join:2002-04-30
Upper Marlboro, MD
| reply to RyanB18
said by RyanB18  :
What exactly is Voice over IP? From what I understand its using the internet connection to speak. What are its advantages over regular phone service?
»computer.howstuffworks.com/ip-telephony.htm
Instead of that mic hooked into the computer, imagine an adapter hooked to your router that hooks to your regulaer phone.
BTW to go to the "next page" it says next page under the superdeals buttons (I thought it was only an ad the first time I saw the page).
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I tie a rope around my penis and jump from a tree, don't you wanna grow up to be just like me!!!!
[text was edited by author 2003-05-25 14:23:38] |
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rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO
| reply to RyanB18
Voice over IP or VOIP is about using an IP-based connection to transmit data packets that represent the sound of your voice. The concept of making a phone call to another person is the same. The difference is that instead of using your local telephone provider's infrastructure (at least for your end of the conversation) and, if a long distance call, a long distance carriers network, you use the Internet.
Vonage offers a service that allows you to plug a box into your broadband modem and plug your phone into the box.* You'll immediately be able to call anyone, anywhere in the world regardless of whether or not they also have VOIP or traditional phone service.
This might be different than original views which generally regarded VOIP using the Internet as a point-to-point connection between two people who wanted to conduct a conversation free of LD fees using their sound cards, microphones and existing dialup or broadband connection.
Vonage and other recent providers, have taken this concept to the next level. While you certainly can call another Vonage subscriber and never enter the public phone system, Vonage has partnered with various competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) to connect your broadband-sponsored VOIP phone to the rest of the public telephone network. This is not unlike the cellular phone networks which are also connected to the public telephone network.
If you don't call another Vonage subscriber, the service works by routing your call over the Internet. The call enters the public telephone system as close as possible to the actual destination call. By the time your call enters the public network, it's usually a local interconnect instead of a long distance interconnect. That's why they can offer unlimited LD for $39/month. There's no difference in cost to Vonage for you to make a call across the street or across the country because the call rides the Internet instead of a LD carrier's more expensive network.
* - If you want to surf and make calls at the same time, you'll need to purchase an inexpensive router that allows multiple PCs and the Vonage device to share the same broadband connection. NOTE: Some DSL services are not capable of using such a device. For instance, AOL DSL broadband makes its connection via PPOE and special software loaded on the PC. This type of connection may not work with a broadband router. You could put a second NIC card in your PC and with Windows ME/2000/XP, enable internet connection sharing. Vonage would work with this but it isn't as easy as setting up a broadband router on a cable or normal DSL connection. |
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Archivis
Your Daddy
Premium
join:2001-11-26
Earth
 ·Verizon FIOS
| I may fall for bundling
Paying in the 50's for my veriations package + a few extras and them offering DSL for $30/month is really going to put a damper on the VoIP industry. Not to mention that VoIP eats bandwidth.
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The Internet Hitman | TIHM chat |
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TrustedZero
join:2001-08-25
Claremont, CA | VOIP
I have a question about VoIP. Say I am am using all my bandwidth downloading a game demo, if I make a phone call using Vonage while I am downloading will the quality of the phone call be bad? Or does VoIP not need much bandwidth? |
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lestat99
join:2000-08-04
Piscataway, NJ
| reply to xcea
Re: 49.95 is not low enough
Yes, both SBC and MCI have unlimited long distance programs for approx $39/month. However, what you aren't factoring in is that Vonage includes the second line (phone number) as well.
To compare apples to apples you have to account for the base cost of your phone line from your local provider which is typically, $26/month, plus factor in the cost of all of the features that Vonage offers such as vmail, call waiting, CLID, etc and now you are most likely around $40 just for the line before you even begin to make calls.
So a fair comparision is $40 for your traditional phone number plus $40 for the unlimited programs from MCI and SBC ($80) compared to Vonage which is $39/month which includes the phone line, features, taxes and unlimited long distance.
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Info Network Security:»www.packetdefense.com |
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SterlingJ85
Obama 2008
join:2000-11-19
Millville, NJ
 ·PHONE POWER
| ..
Vonage's bandwidth requirement depends upon what you have the settings at. There are two, High quality, and Normal quality. High sounds like an ISDN line, Normal sounds like a regular voice line. The difference is, 90 Kbps for high quality, and 30-35 Kbps for Normal quality.
But I have 256 Kbps upload on my cable modem, and always ran 90 Kbps with KaZaA always on. I never noticed a reduction in quality while downloading/uploading files, and even when doing a speedtest from Speakeasy! The ATA deals with data loss very well. Vonage also does not use any bandwidth if your not in a call btw, just so this question doesnt get asked later.
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Sterling - Moderator at »www.siriusbackstage.com
[text was edited by author 2003-05-25 16:05:56] |
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Agent 86
| Too expensive for what you get
Now that traditional phone companies are offering 'unlimited' plans, it's hard to see why anyone would want Vonage. |
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vlad7
join:2002-12-30 | reply to oliphant5
Re: I have it too
Very happy with vonage also, I have it for about 5 months now. I will never come back to verizon.
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Browsing with Mozilla! |
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insomniac84
join:2002-01-03
Schererville, IN
| reply to Agent 86
Re: Too expensive for what you get
That maybe so if you get a package deal with your phone company with dsl and an unlimited plan. Vonage also allows you to take your phone with you anywhere in the world, all you have to do is find an internet connection. Most probably wont need this service, but there will probably be enough people that need it to keep vonage profitable.
[text was edited by author 2003-05-25 17:47:03] |
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supportguy8
join:2002-11-13
New Glarus, WI | Most Telecom's Have a Fix for This
Many telecoms offering DSL service lock you into a phone service plan, so you can't 'just' get DSL.
Ah the fun part of living in a CLEC city... |
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Mrq5
The Fab Four
join:1999-08-21
Warren, MI
| reply to insomniac84
Re: Too expensive for what you get
said by insomniac84 :
That maybe so if you get a package deal with your phone company with dsl and an unlimited plan. Vonage also allows you to take your phone with you anywhere in the world, all you have to do is find an internet connection. Most probably wont need this service, but there will probably be enough people that need it to keep vonage profitable.
[text was edited by author 2003-05-25 17:47:03]
This is an excellent point:) For some reason this is often over looked. For those that travel or visit relatives alot this could be a huge benefit of vonage! If your relative or Hotel has Internet access then you can plug in your Vonage Router>Phone and recieve calls no matter where you are while your callers enter in your home phone number. If Vonage is a second line your family at home can call you on the road and it will be a LOCAL call for them, even if you are in Brazil.
Bottom line - Vonage is an ideal solution for a 2nd phone line. Personally I cant ditch SBC/Ameritech since I have DSL, BTW - I 100% love my 6Mbps/384 DSL line. This DSL is smoking with super high downloads and low pings/tracerts. In fact I cant trust Comcast in my area to run Vonage, too many outages and pings are to high during evening hours.
Actually I would just get the bare-bones phone package with no extras at all from the phone company, local calls ONLY(only about $20ish, while still letting me keep my DSL line active) - which is perfect for my kids - I primarily use Vonage with all the bells and whistles:) Gotta love listening to Vonage voice-mails over the Web when at work!
[text was edited by author 2003-05-25 18:53:06] |
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Supafly
Premium
join:2000-07-15
Elk Grove, CA
| reply to rradina
Re: I have it too
said by rradina :
For instance, AOL DSL broadband makes its connection via PPOE and special software loaded on the PC. This type of connection may not work with a broadband router.
Netgear's RP614 works with AOL broadband |
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Scott18
Premium
join:2002-06-26
Institute, WV
| reply to Archivis
Re: I may fall for bundling
Just for kicks, I tried ordering Verizon's veriations package. Turned out that it isn't available in my area, even though I'm in verizon territory.
VioP needs only 30-35 Kbps for normal quality, you can even use it on a dailup connection if you have to. |
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rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO
| reply to Agent 86
Re: Too expensive for what you get
I'll agree when the local phone company offers me dial tone for $26/month and for that fee I get unlimited local calls, 500 minutes of long distance, call waiting, caller id, caller id call waiting, call waiting block, call return, busy number redial, voice mail, call transfer, call forwarding, web-based account management and web-based retrieval of voice mails.
Don't forget that the $39/month packages are on top of basic telephone service, taxes, fees and all the rest. That means the total cost of the phone is what? $39 + $30-$35? That's pretty damn expensive compared to Vonage and more than pays for the cost of my broadband connection on which Vonage rides. (I get a bundle deal from my cable company for buying digital + premium + broadband. I pay $35/month for my broadband connection.)
Perhaps when the phone company offers video, things will get interesting. At this point, they will continue to serve the blue hairs until they die. Most other modern-thinking individuals will begin to consider alternatives. |
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