Tampa304
join:2009-02-05
No Display
 ·allvoi
 ·Verizon Online DSL
| Considering replacing my VOIP provider with ooma...... Am considering buying the ooma device. Its on sale for $214 on AMAZON.
Couple of questions to users of the ooma device.
1. How long did it take you to port your number?
2. Am on a dry loop using Westell 7500 modem, has anyone configured ooma to work with this modem?
3. I noticed that International calls with ooma is 3-4 times higher. what providers are you using to make International calls?
The main reason am with ALLVOI is they provide x number of free minutes to India and several other countries along
with unlimited(fair usage policy applies) U.S local and long distance and all this for about $14.99 plus tax(~$20) per month.
But now, their promotional plan is expiring and I fall into their regular plan where I would be paying ~$32(with taxes) every month.
Total cost going forward with my current VOIP provider: $32*12months = $384...
Initial ooma cost = $214 + $39(to port number) = $253 and cost to make International calls. | |
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 | Tampa304
join:2009-02-05
No Display
·allvoi
·Verizon Online DSL
| Re: Considering replacing my VOIP provider with ooma...... said by pandora :
As to Ooma costs vs what you have, it would be necessary to tally up the number of long distance minutes you expect to use every month than multiply by the Ooma rate to get an approximate expense estimate.
Thanks!...You are right...So far, its has been a balancing act in finding a good, reliable VOIP provider who offers unlimited U.S local and long distance plus reasonable international calling rates... | |
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| | garys_2k
join:2004-05-07
Farmington, MI | Re: Considering replacing my VOIP provider with ooma...... Future-Nine seems to charge about 5.9 cents/minute for calls to India, plus their domestic U.S. calls are 1 cent/minute on a pay as you go plan. Porting your number costs $25. | |
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| | | dcm
join:2008-09-12
Pennsylvania
1 edit | Re: Considering replacing my VOIP provider with ooma...... said by garys_2k  :Future-Nine seems to charge about 5.9 cents/minute for calls to India, plus their domestic U.S. calls are 1 cent/minute on a pay as you go plan. Porting your number costs $25. Add $5 for DID + $1 for E911 (optional) per month. | |
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| | | | garys_2k
join:2004-05-07
Farmington, MI
·Future Nine Corpor..
·Vonage
| Re: Considering replacing my VOIP provider with ooma...... said by dcm :said by garys_2k :Future-Nine seems to charge about 5.9 cents/minute for calls to India, plus their domestic U.S. calls are 1 cent/minute on a pay as you go plan. Porting your number costs $25. Add $5 for DID + $1 for E911 (optional). Correct! | |
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| | dcm
join:2008-09-12
Pennsylvania
| said by Tampa304 : Thanks!...You are right...So far, its has been a balancing act in finding a good, reliable VOIP provider who offers unlimited U.S local and long distance plus reasonable international calling rates... Do you truly need "unlimited" U.S. outgoing? What is your monthly average for U.S. outgoing? | |
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| | | Tampa304
join:2009-02-05
No Display
1 edit | Re: Considering replacing my VOIP provider with ooma...... said by dcm :
Do you truly need "unlimited" U.S. outgoing? What is your monthly average for U.S. outgoing?
I don't...Outgoing depends..anywhere between 1500 min to 2500 min per month. | |
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| | | | garys_2k
join:2004-05-07
Farmington, MI
·Future Nine Corpor..
·Vonage
| Re: Considering replacing my VOIP provider with ooma...... said by Tampa304 :I don't...Outgoing depends..anywhere between 1500 min to 2500 min per month. You should be good with most any "unlimited" plan, where caps of 3000 minutes or more are the norm. | |
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voipdabbler
join:2006-04-27
Kalispell, MT
| I bought Ooma this spring rather than renewing the contract with my former primary VOIP provider (I had been with them for 3 years and might have stayed longer if call quality for me hadn't gone to hell after they migrated to new servers). I don't make international calls (or even calls to Canada) so Ooma was a very affordable alternative. I have been very impressed with Ooma's call quality. (For the nay-sayers who like to predict that Ooma won't survive, it doesn't take long to recoup your investment with Oooma. My former primary provider's fees had climbed steadily since I first signed up with them. With the "regulatory fees" they've tacked on, it would have cost me over $250 to renew for another year.) If you need unlimited US calls and you've got your own PAP2 or other ATA, you could easily get an Ooma and sign up with a pay-as-you-go provider with good international rates. I've got the Ooma hub, an IP phone and a SPA3102 behind my router--all operating with no problems. (I've had a back-up pay-as-you-go provider for most of my years using VOIP--there will be hiccups with any VOIP provider that will result in service interruptions.) If you don't need unlimited US calling, then maybe all you need is a pay-as-you-go account with the provider who has the best interantional rates to the destinations that you call most frequently. Good luck. | |
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userofdsl
join:2000-07-31
Brighton, MA
| I find that the G711 codec sounds as good as my landline, and would rather not use anything less good.
The codec normally used by ooma doesn't sound as good as G711, although it's better than G729a or a cell phone.
Ooma lets you dial *99 before a call to get G711, intended to support fax use. In my brief tests of ooma, I could hear the difference. Ooma mentions this on their web site.
I use a good headset that makes the level of audio quality pretty obvious. | |
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prestonlewis
Premium,MVM
join:2003-04-13
Sacramento, CA
·VoiceStick
| My issue with Ooma is their business plan. They generate revenue by selling you the Ooma device and by any additional services they can bill you for. At least MJ charges you at least $20/year.
I don't see how their current business model can be self-sustaining, similar to many critics of MJ. At some point, they will have met the market's demands for their product and they will not be selling any (or at least few) of their devices to generate revenue. What will happen then? | |
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| | userofdsl
join:2000-07-31
Brighton, MA
1 edit | Re: Considering replacing my VOIP provider with ooma...... The problem with ooma's business plan is that it is not transparent, leaving one to guess about what is going on, based on partial information and inferences such as VC participation.
On the internet, one can find interviews with ooma executives that heavily imply that the business plan is viable, and one can also find analyses that heavily imply that the business plan is not viable. Ooma claims that they are on track for profitability this year; a recent story claimed that before the most recent cash infusion, they had very little cash left.
Fear/hope about their viability is rampant, even on their own forums.
Other than fear of revealing unfavorable information, is there something that prevents ooma, or any other company, from making complete public disclosure, on a continuing basis, of their finances? In the age of the internet, this should be easy enough to do if a company desired to do it.
Public companies are already required to make some level of disclosure, but not necessarily to a level that would provide ideal transparency. Ooma and most VoIP providers are private companies. | |
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DogFace05
join:2005-12-09
Cary, NC
1 edit | Re: Considering replacing my VOIP provider with ooma...... We all know that you're compulsively enamored with Ooma, and that's fine. To each their own. However, there's no need to put words in other people's mouths. Nowhere in his post did prestonlewis claim that MJ in any way shape or form was "viable". Rather, if anything, he appears to also have expressed scepticism of their viability: "I don't see how their current business model can be self-sustaining, similar to many critics of MJ." | |
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| | | | | pandora
Premium
join:2001-06-01
Outland | Re: Considering replacing my VOIP provider with ooma...... We all know you compulsively despise Ooma ... so? | |
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| | | | | | voip_user
join:2006-06-14
Middletown, CT
·VoiceStick
1 edit | Re: Considering replacing my VOIP provider with ooma...... 1. CallCentric - 2cents/minute for US and 3 or 3.5 cents/minute for India
2. Voip.ms - 1cent/minute for US and 3.5 cents/minute for India
3. CallWithUs - 1cent/minute for US and 2 cents/minute for India
Put together an estimate of how many outgoing US/India minutes you need and we see what works best for you. | |
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Adamchik
@mindspring.com
| Ooma certainly seems to be able to get funding:
»www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco···y20.html
I think that the system is terrific - stable, with good sound quality. I also like that you can hear the messages being left on its answering machine. | |
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Tampa304
join:2009-02-05
No Display
·allvoi
·Verizon Online DSL
1 edit | said by svoip_user :
1. CallCentric - 2cents/minute for US and 3 or 3.5 cents/minute for India
2. Voip.ms - 1cent/minute for US and 3.5 cents/minute for India
3. CallWithUs - 1cent/minute for US and 2 cents/minute for India
Put together an estimate of how many out US/India minutes you need and we see what works best for you.
Great. this helps!
Assuming, we make about 1500 min in outgoing calls(within U.S) and 500 min in outgoing calls(to India and other countries)
CallCentric: $30 + 17.50 = $47.50
Voip.ms : $15 + 17.50 = $32.50
CallWithus : $15 + 10.00 = $25.00
ALLVOI : $0 + 24.99 = $24.99(~$32 w/taxes)
Ooma : $0 + $50(10 cents per min to India) = $50
Ooma : $0 + $10(International calling cards) = ~$10
My opinion on Ooma's survivability:
1. Ooma is probably making some $ by selling the hardware.
2. Ooma will make money from users making International Calls.
3. Ooma is making money from premium services currently.
4. Ooma may start to charge a monthly fee down the road. However, could be as low as $5? ( Remember, Verizon and AT&T
have retention monthly residential plans that begin at $5 - Just google it) | |
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| voip_user
join:2006-06-14
Middletown, CT
·VoiceStick
| said by Tampa304 : said by svoip_user :
1. CallCentric - 2cents/minute for US and 3 or 3.5 cents/minute for India
2. Voip.ms - 1cent/minute for US and 3.5 cents/minute for India
3. CallWithUs - 1cent/minute for US and 2 cents/minute for India
Put together an estimate of how many out US/India minutes you need and we see what works best for you.
Great. this helps! Assuming, we make about 1500 min in outgoing calls(within U.S) and 500 min in outgoing calls(to India and other countries) CallCentric: $30 + 17.50 = $47.50 Voip.ms : $15 + 17.50 = $32.50 CallWithus : $15 + 10.00 = $25.00 ALLVOI : $0 + 24.99 = $24.99(~$32 w/taxes) Ooma : $0 + $50(10 cents per min to India) = $50 Ooma : $0 + $10(International calling cards) = ~$10 My opinion on Ooma's survivability: 1. Ooma is probably making some $ by selling the hardware. 2. Ooma will make money from users making International Calls. 3. Ooma is making money from premium services currently. 4. Ooma may start to charge a monthly fee down the road. However, could be as low as $5? ( Remember, Verizon and AT&T have retention monthly residential plans that begin at $5 - Just google it) Note: Some of providers i mentioned (callwithus) will need you to be fairly familiar with setting up ATA. Also they do not offer 911 and cannot port in numbers. Read up reviews on this site
If you use 1500 outgoing US Minutes you might be better off taking the $20 unlimited plan from CallCentric. | |
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PX Eliezer
Premium
join:2008-08-09
New Jersey | Keep in mind you don't have to use just one provider.
For example, you could use Voip.MS for domestic calls, because they offer 911 service.
You could still use CallWithUs for international calls, for their cheaper international rates. | |
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Re: Considering replacing my VOIP provider with ooma......
Re: Considering replacing my VOIP provider with ooma......