said by knightmb :

I have to agree, Vonage has been rock solid for half a decade for me. I have 6 lines with Vonage, half of which are fax lines. I've converted all of my friends and family (who have broadband) to Vonage as well. None of them have any issues because you need a stable ISP first, then someone who knows the difference between QoS and Traffic Shaping to get a proper setup so that normal PC Internet activity doesn't mess with the calls. I do all of it for them and they are amazed at how cheap it is. They get every service possible that the phone company offers and unlimited calling to this part of the planet plus a few foreign countries just for the heck of it. The phone company just can't compare at $24.99 a month. The cable company phone service just can't compare for price or stability either.

If you have a descent ISP and some understanding of how the technology really works, you won't have any problems with the service. Can probably be said for many other VoIP companies as well.

said by Cheese :

My CDV is 24.95 a month, and ROCK solid, I am pretty sure that if the power goes out, your Vonage box is out too, or if your internet is out, same. CDV has a battery for up to 8 hours, does Vonage do that?

said by NwkEWR :

Cheese, tell me that you are being facetious, please do tell me that, otherwise I may need to mention the name of a technological wonder that no one has ever heard of before, it goes by the acronym of UPS, and no, it has nothing to do with United Parcel Service.

said by nitzan :

While we're comparing apples to oranges, how long would your PC last on your cable box's battery?

We're not talking about a PC here so it is irrelevant. We're talking about how long would your Analog Telephone Adapter, router, and cable/DSL modem run on a typical UPS. Answer: long enough for the power to come back. If you need your cable co to supply the battery for you that's up to you, but you can most definitely easily do-it-yourself.

said by Cheese :

And tell me how long that UPS is going to run if any type of PC is plugged in? Not 10 hours!

said by nitzan :

If you need your cable co to supply the battery for you that's up to you, but you can most definitely easily do-it-yourself.

said by s13 :

That's why you run it off a dedicated UPS. You can pick up a small UPS for under $40 that will run a cable modem for hours... cheap security.

said by Cheese :

Again, the AVERAGE user is not going to purchase a UPS strictly for using it to power a phone adapter.

said by s13 :

Anyone with a semblance of a clue will. UPS technology has been around for long enough and is commonplace enough that all but the most clueless users know of them and their benefits. Couple that with fears of losing phone service in a power outage and most will make the simple connection that VoIP + UPS = success.

said by Cheese :

Again, and READ carefully, THE AVERAGE USER IS NOT GOING TO POWER JUST A CABLE MODEM/PHONE ADAPTER, THEY ARE GOING TO PLUG A PC INTO IT, which in turn is going to drain the UPS quicker, and in turn, the phone service will not last as LONG as say a CDV modem

said by s13 :

Uh huh, and if you didn't have the memory of a goldfish, you'd realize I have been talking about a DEDICATED UPS the whole time. As in DEDICATED to the MODEM and/or NETWORK HARDWARE. As in NOT USED WITH A PC. My 81 year-old grandmother, a longtime Optimum Voice subscriber, was smart enough to figure this out and she's one of the least computer-savvy people I know. If she could do it then the average Vonage customer (who one can assume to be a bit more savvy by default) probably can too.