dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
view:
topics flat nest 
Comments on news posted 2005-03-08 09:35:44: This past weekend saw outages on both the Vonage and Lingo networks, with some users of the latter still trying to get up and running. ..


dslwanter
20 years on this site
Premium Member
join:2002-12-16
Mineral Ridge, OH

dslwanter

Premium Member

Ha.

And people wonder why I stick with my landline.

ColdFiltered
join:2005-01-25
Atlanta, GA

1 edit

ColdFiltered

Member

Re: Ha.

I don't wonder why you stick with landline. In fact, I don't know you.

dslwanter
20 years on this site
Premium Member
join:2002-12-16
Mineral Ridge, OH
·Armstrong
Ubiquiti UniFi AP-LR
Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X SFP

dslwanter

Premium Member

Re: Ha.

said by ColdFiltered:

I don't wonder why you stick with landline. In fact, I don't know you.
Yeah too bad my landline isn't dependent on the power at home. Oh and they have generators down at the CO. VOIP is just something that I wouldn't rely on entirely.

I have a cell phone but I still keep the landline, just in case.

ColdFiltered
join:2005-01-25
Atlanta, GA

ColdFiltered

Member

Re: Ha.

My neighbor last week had a problem with his landline when the day-laborers installed an irregation system on a new property across the street and no one in planning bothered to have the ground marked for utilities.

That is a fiber they cut. Hope the landscaping company's insure covers the telco repair bill and justifies the skipping of traditional processes. Still, that landline solution did nothing for my neighbor. He was out three business days.

UHF
All static, all day, Forever
MVM
join:2002-05-24

UHF

MVM

Re: Ha.

to bad he didn't have DSL and VOIP. Oh, never mind, his broadband would have been down to. Cable cuts happen, but other than that, my landline rarely goes down.

Slidetbone
Mazin Go
Premium Member
join:2002-11-10
Land O Lakes, FL

Slidetbone to dslwanter

Premium Member

to dslwanter
said by dslwanter:

And people wonder why I stick with my landline.
Same here. When they can prove it's reliability AND use routers and switched dedicated to ONLY VoIP and not shared with internet traffic, then I may think about switching.

MTBikerChris
Premium Member
join:2001-08-28
Erie, CO

MTBikerChris

Premium Member

Re: Ha.

said by Slidetbone:

said by dslwanter:

And people wonder why I stick with my landline.
Same here. When they can prove it's reliability AND use routers and switched dedicated to ONLY VoIP and not shared with internet traffic, then I may think about switching.
Time Warner don't share there DP with internet Traffic at all.There system works great

dslwanter
20 years on this site
Premium Member
join:2002-12-16
Mineral Ridge, OH
·Armstrong
Ubiquiti UniFi AP-LR
Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X SFP

dslwanter

Premium Member

Re: Ha.

said by MTBikerChris:
said by Slidetbone:
said by dslwanter:

And people wonder why I stick with my landline.
Same here. When they can prove it's reliability AND use routers and switched dedicated to ONLY VoIP and not shared with internet traffic, then I may think about switching.
Time Warner don't share there DP with internet Traffic at all.There system works great
Yeah and every time your cable goes out, so will your VOIP. Those little generators they have to give you cable service will not last nearly as long as the ones in a Central Office. Oh I'm going to laugh at so many people God-forbid there is a nationwide emergency.

GeekJedi
RF is Good For You
Premium Member
join:2001-06-21
Mukwonago, WI
ARRIS TM1602
Apple AirPort Extreme (2013)
Ooma Telo

GeekJedi

Premium Member

Re: Ha.

said by dslwanter:
said by MTBikerChris:
said by Slidetbone:
said by dslwanter:

And people wonder why I stick with my landline.
Same here. When they can prove it's reliability AND use routers and switched dedicated to ONLY VoIP and not shared with internet traffic, then I may think about switching.
Time Warner don't share there DP with internet Traffic at all.There system works great
Yeah and every time your cable goes out, so will your VOIP. Those little generators they have to give you cable service will not last nearly as long as the ones in a Central Office. Oh I'm going to laugh at so many people God-forbid there is a nationwide emergency.
If there is a national emergency, I will guarantee two things...people will be asked to stay off the phone, and you'll get lots of "All circuits are busy" because to one listened!

So go ahead and laugh. You won't be doing it over a land line.
BoriQua_M
join:2002-10-06
Signal Hill, CA

BoriQua_M to dslwanter

Member

to dslwanter
The last laugh will be on you. It's the way telephone service is going and nothing will stop it. Along the way there will be hic-ups like with EVER single other technological advance and what will really be funny is how you will come along for the ride. We won't see it, we don't know you but even you will switch.

dslwanter
20 years on this site
Premium Member
join:2002-12-16
Mineral Ridge, OH
·Armstrong
Ubiquiti UniFi AP-LR
Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X SFP

dslwanter

Premium Member

Re: Ha.

said by BoriQua_M:

The last laugh will be on you. It's the way telephone service is going and nothing will stop it.
My POTS has NEVER gone out for long periods of time. But how many times have we seen "multi-hour" outages with VOIP providers like Vonage already? So when you're with no phone service for 5 hours the LAUGH WILL BE ON YOU. Go ahead, keep getting sucked into this so called "new and great technology". I never said I wasn't willing to try, but I won't drop my landline for it. The only thing your phone line is made out of is copper and relies on far less electricity than VOIP. I highly doubt I'd want a phone service that relies on my broadband too, something about that makes me very uneasy.

Derch
Premium Member
join:2004-10-16
Hanahan, SC

Derch to dslwanter

Premium Member

to dslwanter
Even landlines are becoming troublesome, I just use my cell now.
raderator
join:2003-07-22
Conklin, NY

raderator to dslwanter

Member

to dslwanter
haha...p8 has been rock solid lately

dslwanter
20 years on this site
Premium Member
join:2002-12-16
Mineral Ridge, OH

dslwanter

Premium Member

Re: Ha.

said by raderator:

haha...p8 has been rock solid lately
Lately? My POTS is ALWAYS.
raderator
join:2003-07-22
Conklin, NY

raderator

Member

Re: Ha.

but we get zero junk calls cuz we got a new number.....nice

dslwanter
20 years on this site
Premium Member
join:2002-12-16
Mineral Ridge, OH
·Armstrong
Ubiquiti UniFi AP-LR
Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X SFP

dslwanter

Premium Member

Re: Ha.

said by raderator:

but we get zero junk calls cuz we got a new number.....nice
ERM ever hear of DONOTCALL.GOV? Yeah I receive 0 junk calls!
raderator
join:2003-07-22
Conklin, NY

raderator

Member

Re: Ha.

yeah but i don't trust the gub'ment

dslwanter
20 years on this site
Premium Member
join:2002-12-16
Mineral Ridge, OH

dslwanter

Premium Member

Re: Ha.

said by raderator:

yeah but i don't trust the gub'ment
Well then FIND ANOTHER COUNTRY TO LIVE IN.

MTBikerChris
Premium Member
join:2001-08-28
Erie, CO

MTBikerChris

Premium Member

This is what i have TW

This is why I have Time Warner for my Phone service.I don't have this problem.Also i don't care that i pay more for something that works better.Had vonage and MAN they sucked

Camelot One
MVM
join:2001-11-21
Bloomington, IN

Camelot One

MVM

Re: This is what i have TW

I'll agree on the Vonage outages, but this is the first time my CallVantage has gone down for more than a few minutes. (and it was still only about an hour)
rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO

rradina

Member

Bad things always make headlines...

Technology isn't exempt. There's no crisis. This has happened before and it will happen again.

ColdFiltered
join:2005-01-25
Atlanta, GA

ColdFiltered

Member

Re: Bad things always make headlines...

Well, as long as a) you were not solely dependent on VoIP and b) happen to need 911 service during an outage then your state makes some sense.

Tekkanano
Premium Member
join:2002-03-02
Alexandria, VA

Tekkanano

Premium Member

Re: Bad things always make headlines...

said by ColdFiltered:

Well, as long as a) you were not solely dependent on VoIP and b) happen to need 911 service during an outage then your state makes some sense.
Yup, everyone should only join VoIP as long as A & B at least applies to you, it's not worth loosing your life over a few bucks.

tomatoe
Premium Member
join:2002-08-03
Kansas City, MO

1 edit

tomatoe to ColdFiltered

Premium Member

to ColdFiltered

911 is a joke in your town

The changes of needing to dial 911 during a VOIP outage are probably about the same a winning the loto. Why people are so worried about 911 is beyond me. I've used 911 once in my life.

ColdFiltered
join:2005-01-25
Atlanta, GA

ColdFiltered

Member

Re: 911 is a joke in your town

Well, that is good. And hopefully it was a worthless call, or a successful call since you are still with us (thankfully) to debate. But, was it worthless to you?

My reply to the OP was to counter his assertion that no crisis was the case. My point is that this isn't necessarily so. Those buying into VoIP vs. landline or cellular probably are looking at the monthly costs and that's about it. They never consider what if, say, 911 service is down for several days.

All I am saying is that the crisis is ignorant people not doing sufficient research to justify a backup plan (like cellular).

tomatoe
Premium Member
join:2002-08-03
Kansas City, MO

tomatoe

Premium Member

Re: 911 is a joke in your town

said by ColdFiltered:

... what if, say, 911 service is down for several days.
Sounds like piss-poor network design. No redundancy? Sounds like people just need to ditch Vonage and Lingo networks. Any outage on a VOIP network that lasts more than a few ms is garbage.

ColdFiltered
join:2005-01-25
Atlanta, GA

ColdFiltered

Member

Re: 911 is a joke in your town

There is no such thing as single-provider local-loop redundancy. Now, individual consumer redundancy can be in the form of a multi-platform arrangement, like cell phone and VoIP phone.
rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO

rradina

Member

The VOIP network isn't designed by VOIP providers. Ditching VOIP means ditching your current HSI connection in favor of a line with an SLA, such as a T1.

oliphant
I Have 8 Boobies
Premium Member
join:2004-11-26
Corona, CA

oliphant

Premium Member

I tried abandoning POTS

...and couldn't because of Vonage outtages. And when there was an outtage I couldn't call tech support ('cause I had bad cell service then). But now I have a $17 POTS line and Broadvoice for making long calls and it's a pretty good combo...only 'cause their VoIP is dirt cheap. I couldn't imagine going back to spending nearly $30 a month for Vonage's sketch service.

As much as I despite all the junk fees and taxes (some of which Vonage also added)...I must say my POTS service had never gone down.

IMO VoIP is suitable for an add on for either POTS or cellular but hardly a replacement.

jansm38
Vn800-B
Premium Member
join:2003-05-19
Blackwood, NJ

jansm38

Premium Member

Re: I tried abandoning POTS

I have 2 POTS lines, one of them I'll LNP to VOIP and let the kids use it. The other line is my "main" number and I'm keeping that on pots.

I like the idea of being able to dial 911 and know that emergency services will be on their way without even having to say a word. The ATA I use for VOIP routes 911 to my POTS line and outbound VOIP calls are routed to the POTS line in the event of a power or network outage.

VOIP is great and it's certainly the wave of the future, it's just not a total replacement for POTS. It's perfect as a 2nd line.

cdngrl
@shawcable.net

cdngrl to oliphant

Anon

to oliphant
Does that mean you have two lines? How would I do this? It seems like the best of both worlds - to have the POTS line for basic and then use VOIP for LD. Please explain to a newbie!

•••
Chodite
join:2003-08-21

Chodite

Member

Comcast's Digital Voice Service

I heard Comcast's Digital Voice Service isn't actually Voip. It runs through the actual phone lines, not a router or a cable outlet. Their network is also not run through the same network used to provide internet and TV, it's a seperate network that ONLY carries voice. And it also doesn't go down when the electricity and/or cable service is out. Because of these features, I don't see companies like Vonage lasting much longer.
nozzer
join:2004-06-25
Winchester, MA

nozzer

Member

Re: Comcast's Digital Voice Service

Comcast Digital Voice has been around in one form or another (at least for ATTBI customers) since 1998.
Vonage is *much* cheaper than Comcast digital voice. Comcast digital voice for unlimited calls is 39.95 + about 15 bucks in taxes and fees (and thats only if its bundled with cable TV). Vonage works out to 24.95 + 1.50 in fees.
Vonage is *not* under threat from Comcast (unless they start trying to block VOIP, but the FCC is going to come down real hard on Comcast if they try to pull that stunt)

noz

digiblur
Premium Member
join:2002-06-03
Louisiana

digiblur

Premium Member

VoicePulse

I'm glad I have VoicePulse!!

jvigier
Premium Member
join:2002-01-17
Wells, ME

jvigier

Premium Member

Re: VoicePulse

makes two of us

Transmaster
Don't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus
join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY

1 edit

Transmaster

Member

Stop and think

Let's put things in prospective. The Telephone system has been in existence for 132 years. 132 years to build the present infrastructure. You CAN NOT expect VoIP, which is just a few years old to do the same job. VoIP companies that try to tell you they can are feeding you a pile of BS. this argument of "well it hasn't happened to me" is foolish. It's like pissing on an electric fence as long as the power is off you are ok, Well I haven't been electrocuted so it must be ok, then somebody flips a switch.

jzibble
Premium Member
join:2004-03-12
Minneapolis, MN

jzibble

Premium Member

Re: Stop and think

Yeah just like mail. I mean the US Postal service has been around since 1775 - they know how to deliver mail! If you need to send information, send it via mail not over this new fangled email system.

I've used Vonage as my only phone service provider for about a year. I've had about three outages in that time two were fixed with a VoIP router power cycle. While slightly inconvenient, it was a far cry from being electrocuted by pissing on electric fence (which I don't think is physically possible).

shutupcrybaby
@comcast.net

shutupcrybaby

Anon

Re: Stop and think

This thread and pots/voip debate crap has gone down the toilet. Enough already; my phone is better than your voip, my pots is more reliable than your cell. Get a life go outside...
bunch of winning old girlie men.
xrobertcmx
Premium Member
join:2001-06-18
White Plains, MD

xrobertcmx

Premium Member

Funny

Vonage hasn't gone down for me.

••••
dabig259
join:2004-12-28
Antioch, CA

dabig259

Member

Outages......Landline??

Don't need a freakin landline........If you have a cell phone. ( Doesn't need power incase of power outage )

Have Vonage:D:D and have only had 1 outage in 3 months of service. Still was able to receive all my calls forwarded to cell phone.:D

Air WAV
join:2000-09-16
Saint Louis, MO

Air WAV

Member

Good thing I use Nuvio

flushls
join:2004-11-02
Joyce, WA

flushls

Member

Landline Vs VOIP

I have a QWEST landline and it averages 2-3 hours downtime per week so please spare us the landlines are better shit.

On the other had My Cell has worked at my home flawlessly for over 2 years without a minute of downtime.

franknalco
join:2005-01-27
Littleton, CO

franknalco

Member

Landline v. VOIP

It is not even a close call yet. POTS is inherently more reliable a technology than VoIP. In fact, I can't name a utility that has been more reliable than my telephone. Sure, VoIP has an enhanced feature set, and would cost me a hundred dollars less per year (maybe), but that is little incentive to me to be involved in this still developing technology. I won't be the first one to try out the new Acme Co. parachute, either. I see nothing wrong with being a little risk averse when the upside is so limited.

Boggy13
@dllstx.fios.verizon.

Boggy13

Anon

Re: Landline v. VOIP

I use Vonage and my service has been down for at least 48 hours - that's when I noticed it was down. This is my second outage in 4 weeks, with the first one lasting 1 week because of a shipping error on a replacement router.

During this outage, I have only been able to reach Vonage support twice. Once by phone when I was told they would restore my service in 30-60 minutes and just this morning I finally got an e-mail reply and I am waiting for a call back to resolve the issue. I tried holding twice yesterday, but after a 60 minute hold the first time and a 95 minute hold the second time I gave up.

Yesterday I called Verizon and ordered a landline. I am not ready to give up on VOIP, but as I am about to start a job search I need reliable service for both voice and faxing. Vonage hasn't been providing that lately.

What bothers me most is the inability to get help when you need it. I would pay $10 more a month just to make sure someone was there when I had a problem. That would still be cheaper than local phone service. Maybe Vonage could add a premium support package. Being in the dark while your phone is out and not getting responses to voice or e-mail is really infuriating.

In some ways this whole debate strikes me as funny. 25-50 years ago, a large percentage of homes still didn't have phones. Now it has become so integral to our lives that people can't walk or drive without a phone attached to their heads. People get bent out of shape when their phone service is down for 15-20 minutes. In any given day, what is so important to us that we can't go without a phone call? For most of us, our quality of life would probably improve without the phones.
Doubledee32
join:2002-06-20
Charlotte, NC

Doubledee32

Member

VoIP

Yes Callvantage did go down last night-but I have a cellphone so for me it was no biggie. And considering I've had them since Aug2004. This was the first outage for me. And consider what I've been saving over the past seven months I can tolerate it because it still beats Bellsouth-HANDS DOWN!
Sonic Cow
join:2005-02-21
San Bernardino, CA

Sonic Cow

Member

911 concern

If you are worried about VoIP going down an not being able to call in an emergency then you need to worry about 911 service on your POTS line going down also. 911 computer systems fail just like any other computer system. Yea you can still get a person but you will have to give them your address because the system won't show.

The chances of it happening are at the time you need them is like 1 in a billion but then again the chances on VoIP going down when you need 911 is like 1 in a million. There are always risks but that is inherent of technology growth

I would switch to VoIP but as a student I have Lifeline service through Verizon and it only costs $5.95 a month
ryanmcv
join:2001-10-14
Phoenix, AZ
Asus GT-AXE16000
Alcatel-Lucent G-010G-A

ryanmcv

Member

AT&T CallVantage

I've had AT&T CallVantage service for about a month now, and last night was the first and only time I have experienced an outage (it lasted for less than an hour). My family has 3 cell phones as well and we use them to make most of our calls anyways (considering we are usually only home during the evening). VoIP is more than enough for my house and saves us almost $500 a year thanks to the unlimited local and long distance calling at one flat price.

phattieg
join:2001-04-29
Winter Park, FL

phattieg

Member

Re: AT&T CallVantage

These new ATA (Analog Telephone Adapters) are crappy. I have had an old Cisco ATA 186 model, with no new crappy firmware/software issues. I have had no downtime of svc thru all of this, and I use my phone like a crack head does crack. Don't tell me they ALL suck, because it's just these new companies that know jack about VoIP making adapters. It's like saying you have an RCA modem, and they are the best cable modem in the world, when everyone else knows that they are cheap, crappy modems, that are only popular for just that reason, they are cheap. My adapter still cost as much if not more than these new ones coming out, and from what I have read in these forums, they work best...

voipuser1001

Anon

RE

First off, I have Vonage so I could be biased. I have had no problems except the voicemail notification light on my phone. That's due to my router and not the Vonage service.

My real point is about the comparisons to TWC digital phone. I'm pretty sure that the call is routed over the internet, the same as data traffic, from your house to the headends. It only has a quicker route to normal telco infrastructure than what Vonage, CallVantage, etc. has supplied. Most all the time this is insignificant lapse. The reason TWC can get phone numbers switched faster is that they operate through MCI which seems to be the biggest complaint about Vonage, etc. This is also why their costs are driven upwards from the lower level prices of other VOIP providers and the additional fact that they always charge a huge premium.
voipuser1001

voipuser1001

Anon

RE

First off, I have Vonage so I could be biased. I have had no problems except the voicemail notification light on my phone. That's due to my router and not the Vonage service.

My real point is about the comparisons to TWC digital phone. I'm pretty sure that the call is routed over the internet, the same as data traffic, from your house to the headends. It only has a quicker route to normal telco infrastructure than what Vonage, CallVantage, etc. has supplied. Most all the time this is insignificant lapse. The reason TWC can get phone numbers switched faster is that they operate through MCI which seems to be the biggest complaint about Vonage, etc. This is also why their costs are driven upwards from the lower level prices of other VOIP providers and the additional fact that they always charge a huge premium.
voipuser1001

voipuser1001

Anon

Re: RE

This post was doubled from another reply if it can be deleted.

BSvictim
@151.198.x.x

BSvictim

Anon

Landline not reliable

I have Bell South here in Shreveport. BS's HQ is 3 states removed (Live in Shreveport LA, BSHQ in Atlanta, GA).
I lose phone service at least once a month.

BS thinks both my phone lines are on Cable X. They really are on Cable Y.
BS thinks there are 2 "unused" lines on cable Y.

Every 4 -5 weeks, BS connects those "unused lines" on cable Y to someone else.

I lose BOTH landlines!
It takes a call with the cell phone (standing outside to get decent reception)
The recording tells me my service will be restored "within 3 days."

I have to go through push button hell to get a human and promise to mention them personally in the lawsuit if we need help for my disabled child while the phones are out.
It usually is restored within 12 hours.

How do I know about the Cable X / Cable Y thing?
The BS repair guy who came out to my house the first time it happened told me. Showed me the documentation. He was the guy who cut my lines 2 hours earlier and "gave" them to others. There is much new construction in our area and BS needs more lines.

Whenever someone uses the old documentation (or Xeroxes old documentation), the discover "2 unused lines on Cable Y" and I suffer again.

My cable internet service has gone out once in 2-1/2 years - and was restored within 4 hours.

BS's invoice every month has a flyer promising me huge savings if I add BS DSL as my IP.........
Sure!