pandora
Premium
join:2001-06-01
Outland
 ·ooma
·Future Nine Corpor..
 ·Comcast
|  A bug in GBU
There seems to be a bug in the GBU on this forum. The cost of Ooma for the first 5 reviews was listed as $0 per month. While there were only 5 reviews, GBU correctly reflected the average cost of $0 per month.
A new review, indicates paying $9 a month. This is the approximate monthly cost of the Ooma premium service.
The problem is the GBU now indicates the monthly cost of Ooma as $9 per month, when for 5 of 6 posters the monthly cost is $0 per month. The average should work out to about $1.50 per month. GBU is overstating monthly costs significantly.
The GBU seems to treat $0 monthly costs as if the user didn't enter a monthly cost. In the case of Ooma $0 IS the monthly cost.
--
"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." |
|
Test99
Premium
join:2003-04-24
San Jose, CA | It has been changed to $0 per month. That strikes me as unfair to their competitors. The people we send to the gbu might well think they could get free phone calls, which is very far from the truth. |
|
pandora
Premium
join:2001-06-01
Outland
·ooma
·Future Nine Corpor..
·Comcast
| The monthly cost is $0 for many. Premium users pay about $9 per month on an annual basis. GBU may want to have an entry for initial cost, which would fairly reflect the very high up front cost of some services.
--
"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." |
|
PX Eliezer
Premium
join:2008-08-09
New Jersey
·Callcentric
·Optimum Voice
·callwithus
·voip.ms
| said by pandora  : GBU may want to have an entry for initial cost, which would fairly reflect the very high up front cost of some services. Now that's a good idea. The entry for "initial cost" could include devices such as the ooma box, as well as the activation fees, shipping fees, adapter costs, etc., charged by various providers. |
|
soitgoes2
Premium
join:2005-01-14
·Future Nine Corpor..
| reply to pandora
The costs column is tricky in general due to some people being PAYG, some with multiple DIDs, some with monthly plans with various limits, etc.
The startup cost is a good idea, but the costs are really hard to compare across providers. Apples::Oranges |
|
usa2k
Please PRAY for Rebekah
Premium,MVM
join:2003-01-26
Canton, MI
clubs: | A dollar range might make more sense? |
|
B
Premium,MVM
join:2000-10-28
| First, of course, $0 is not the "monthly cost" unless the service and the adapter keep working into infinity (to render the initial $250 or so null). Listing it at $0 is enormously misleading.
This GBU "problem", if it is one, has always affected prepaid providers such as Viatalk, Sunrocket, VoiPo, etc. Different people are on different plans which has always further muddied things. No matter how you slice it, Ooma is a prepaid provider. [ The only question is how much your average monthly cost is; obviously it decreases over time (until such time that the device breaks, you change providers, they stop offering service, etc.). ]
Since I never visit the GBU I don't really care, but yes I suppose it would make sense to have an "Average Startup Cost" column next to the Average Monthly Cost column. (Certainly ordinary telco circuit contracts separate things that way.)
-- B
--
In a realm outside causality and function |
|
ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium
join:2005-03-14
Putnam, CT
clubs:
·VOIPo
·Metrocast Communic..
 ·AT&T DSL Service
·ViaTalk
| reply to pandora
said by pandora :The monthly cost is $0 for many. Premium users pay about $9 per month on an annual basis. GBU may want to have an entry for initial cost, which would fairly reflect the very high up front cost of some services. Monthly cost would change as you divide initial cost vs months used.
--
"So, Lone Starr, now you see that evil will always triumph because good is dumb."
Have you been touched by his noodly appendage? »www.venganza.org |
|
pandora
Premium
join:2001-06-01
Outland
·ooma
·Future Nine Corpor..
·Comcast
| Maybe what we need is a pre-paid service box. For annual and pre-paid service plans.
Then a term of number of months from 0-99. Ooma for example costs $200, but has an estimated lifespan of 5 years or 60 months. The cost would be about $3.33 per month for basic service using those numbers.
As it is GBU assumes a monthly payment like a recurring phone bill. Many VOIP providers have annual plans, and Ooma has a lifetime plan. GBU may need some updating to consider alternative venues for calculating monthly costs.
--
"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." |
|
ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium
join:2005-03-14
Putnam, CT
clubs: | I can't see revamping the entire GBS for one provider. No one can estimate the lifespan of a new product. |
|
pandora
Premium
join:2001-06-01
Outland
·ooma
·Future Nine Corpor..
·Comcast
| The same is true of services like VOIPo or Future-Nine when on an annual contract. VOIPo's $199 contract is similar to Oomas other than estimated lifespan. Similarly Future-Nine offers annual contracts, I'm on one.
Other services, such as Future-Nine have pay as you go, with no monthly fee. I have one of those also. If there is no monthly fee, only initial acquisition costs matter. Any other VOIP provider who offers free pay as you go will have a $0 monthly cost for those plans. The $0 entries should at least be averaged in to calculate the average cost.
--
"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." |
|
ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium
join:2005-03-14
Putnam, CT
clubs:
·VOIPo
·Metrocast Communic..
·AT&T DSL Service
·ViaTalk
| said by pandora :The same is true of services like VOIPo or Future-Nine when on an annual contract. VOIPo's $199 contract is similar to Oomas other than estimated lifespan. Similarly Future-Nine offers annual contracts, I'm on one. Other services, such as Future-Nine have pay as you go, with no monthly fee. I have one of those also. If there is no monthly fee, only initial acquisition costs matter. Any other VOIP provider who offers free pay as you go will have a $0 monthly cost for those plans. The $0 entries should at least be averaged in to calculate the average cost. Not really. Say these providers are $199 for 2 years. After 2 years it renews for another $199. I assume this doesn't happen with Ooma unless you use Premier which is monthly, so it really isn't the same.
--
"So, Lone Starr, now you see that evil will always triumph because good is dumb."
Have you been touched by his noodly appendage? »www.venganza.org |
|
pandora
Premium
join:2001-06-01
Outland
·ooma
·Future Nine Corpor..
·Comcast
| Ooma premier presents problems for GBU, technically it isn't exactly for phone service. Phone service comes with no monthly fee from Ooma. It is for a second line, and google voice enhancements / extensions / whatever they call it, call blocking, email messaging, and other features to enhance your phone calling experience.
Ooma premier sells monthly for $13 or annually for $99, if you buy the $99 annual plan they waive the $39 phone number port fee. As a result premier mixes phone and non-phone services. It can be monthly or annual. Some have premier and get it free for lifetime.
--
"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." |
|
B
Premium,MVM
join:2000-10-28
| reply to ptrowski
It makes no sense to assume 5 years, or 2 years, or anything else, as the provider could easily fold or change service terms or declare the adapter's life over.
In any case, as ptrowski already implied, the issue has never come up before regarding any other prepaid providers, so it may, or may not, be worth redoing the GBU to handle the Ooma scheme. Again, I wouldn't mind seeing an average initial cost column; in fact it's practically required if they're really going to leave the misleading "$0" monthly.
Personally I never put stock in the pricing; every time I read a review it was different from the price currently being charged for that provider, so it didn't really matter...
-- B
--
In a realm outside causality and function |
|
