Topic 'VOIP providers in Ontario?' in forum 'TekSavvy' - dslreports.com

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 07:09:20 EDT

merc782 posted : i am using nettalk, which i bought in futureshop. its has the best ROI. I highly recommend it.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 04:39:17 EDT

TypeS posted : It says Ottawa, ON under their username. Might be a new subdivision with no copper PSTN wiring?

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 04:16:13 EDT

Davesnothere posted :

said by TypeS:

....Hopefully the OP can make an informed choice now....

Oh YES, the OP ! :D

BTW, I am still curious where they could be, that has no DSL but does have cable.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 04:13:24 EDT

Davesnothere posted :

said by TypeS:

....Most VoIP provider have pretty much the same rates to all countries, so I wouldn't save much if anything on the calls to Central America....

Yes, I just noticed that Vonage includes a pre-configged device.

And my Internet usage would be better suited to the 300 plan in the case of TSI examples, though others might insist on unlimited.

Now that this has me going, I will check some LDX rates with my providers and report back....

Cheers !

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 04:11:43 EDT

TypeS posted : Well glad we cleared it up a bit then.

Hopefully the OP can make an informed choice now.

When I get my own place later this year, I might go the route of just not having a land line/VoIP line. I personally barely use anything but my mobile. And even then I've been forced by friends who refuse to use voice anymore to conduct the majority of my communication via texts (I'm lazy, calling is much easier haha).

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 04:05:58 EDT

Davesnothere posted :

said by TypeS:

....My point is that whether these 'pay as you go' VoIP providers are cheaper or not is subjective the how much usage the line actually gets.

I agree with that - just that I did not expect such a level of usage.

And yes, I was curious enought to look up the LDX rates too. :)

BTW, I chose 50% as I was not sure which direction you meant as the 75%.

Also, if the outgoing calls are to outside Canada (even to USA), the cost per minute generally rises with PAYG BYOD VoIP providers. - Mind you, many of them allow having numbers in other countries, and though I have not investigated that very much, setting up some of those might be a way to cut costs for someone with the calling profile which you describe.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 03:59:42 EDT

TypeS posted : Ah well calling to Honduras got cheaper than it was 2 years ago. Most VoIP provider have pretty much the same rates to all countries, so I wouldn't save much if anything on the calls to Central America.

Using flat rate providers or pay as you go providers is like choosing between TekSavvy's 300GB or Unlimited caps on their internet packages, you decide based on your usage.

There is also the added bonus that I didn't have to pay for the ATA device. And it does everything I need it to out of the box.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 03:57:05 EDT

Davesnothere posted :

said by TypeS:

....As for countries, they would be Spain [included], Australia [included], El Salvador [.16 per minute], and Honduras [.09 per minute to landlines]. - [on the Vonage 'World Canada' plan]

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 03:54:45 EDT

TypeS posted : I said 75%, not 50%, and the 7000 is just an average.

The calls to Spain & Australia are unlimited and free, the calls to El Salvador & Honduras are $0.16/minute. These calls are definitely all outgoing and lengthy ones as well.

I mentioned voip.ms and FPL because they are the providers that have been vouched for the most in this thread. as being cheaper alternatives.

My point is that whether these pay as you go VoIP providers are cheaper or not is subjective the how much usage the line actually gets.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 03:44:54 EDT

Davesnothere posted :

said by TypeS:

I'm not sure how many are incoming vs outgoing....

....As for countries, they would be Spain, Australia, El Salvador and Honduras.

OK, so if we estimated that HALF were incoming, then that would be 3500 minutes outgoing = $17.50-ish if to Canada.

But the outside of Canada/US calls - I have not checked any of the providers about which I was speaking very much about such rates - so Vonage has decent rates to those countries ?

BTW, I have not suggested voip.ms nor FPL by name (I have not mentioned FPL at all), though you have mentioned both of them twice as unsuitable for you.

EDIT : I have checked further and it looks like Vonage will issue a new Kingston number, but not Cornwall, and will not port in existing numbers from either, let alone even DREAMING about them properly servicing a city of 30K like Brockville.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 03:38:04 EDT

TypeS posted : I'm not sure how many are incoming vs outgoing, I'd wager at least 75% since the majority of the time my mother is calling back when she gets home from her jobs. The 7000 is just an average as well of 4 hours / day, Ive seen my mother spend whole afternoons on the phone.

As for countries, they would be Spain, Australia, El Salvador and Honduras.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 03:31:11 EDT

Davesnothere posted :

said by TypeS:

Actually I don't have a POTS line anymore....

OK, I'll admit that 7000 minutes is a lot, and is likely the exception rather than the rule for most folks' usages.

But let me ask you then :

Are you saying that ALL of those 7000 minutes would be for outgoing calls, or what % ?

And what sort of long distance calling would that be ? Overseas, or just North America ?

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 03:19:04 EDT

TypeS posted : Actually I don't have a POTS line anymore and as I said it originally was assigned a number in Kingston so that my family member there could call us without incurring long distance charges.

Please learn to read before you make assumptions. And whether another solution is actually better is completely subjective, dont banter your opinion as fact.

And neither voip.ms or FPL would save me anything (they would actualy cost me more) based on the usage my line currently gets. Unless I've calculated it wrong 7000+ minutes average the line gets use a month would be at $0.005 comes to $35-ish a month. Not including any long distance calls that are also lengthy.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 03:05:11 EDT

Davesnothere posted :

said by TypeS:

You shouldn't go ahead and assume that all of us would save.

As I said already, my phone line is used heavily daily. An unlimited plan fits my scenario much better.

What do you mean by a number local to yourself and local to friends in family ? ....

What screen name were you using when you "said already" ? (not the current one)

I mean a local number which other nearby folks about whom you care can call you without it being a long distance call for THEM, preferably the Bell number which you already have - which means that the provider needs to support porting-in for that city.

Anyway, I will prove this to you - go here : »www.vonage.ca/

Type in a local Bell phone number from Kingston into their 'Keep your existing number' checker.

I used 613-542-1234 , and 542 has been a Bell landline downtown Kingston exchange since the 1970's or longer.

It says "NO".

Try the same for 931 of Cornwall, also a long time Bell exchange.

Same answer.

Cannot port in numbers - WHAT GOOD IS THAT ?

All of YOUR other savings are moot if friends and family have to pay extra to talk to you, right ?

EDIT : I just noticed that you say that a separate POTS number was used for some folks to call you ?

Well THERE's an extra twenty-something a month !

If you REALLY want to save on phone service, do not mind VoIP and the fact that it rides on your Internet, then there are plenty of better solutions than Vonage, even if your usage is heavy.

And most of them let you port in your number or choose a new one in Ontario municipalities of all sizes.

They start at $2.80 per month including 911 service, with all incoming calls free, and charge half a cent per minute for outgoing calls to almost all of Canada.

This includes all of the calling features you could want, and they only take a cent per call to lookup the name for an incoming number if it is not in your contact list with them.

Are you suggesting that Vonage does all of that for less, AND supports the phone numbers of smaller communities ?

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 01:42:04 EDT

TypeS posted :

said by Davesnothere:

said by MrMazda86:

I have yet to have any issue with that either....

Maybe Kitchener is just large enough to get their respect (all 4 companies which I named above).

You (and all readers) could save even more though, and not be locked out of adjusting your ATA, if you chose any of several respected BYOD VoIP providers which are popular and frequently discussed here : »VOIP Tech Chat

For more info about some of them, see this DSLR page : »/gbu

You shouldn't go ahead and assume that all of us would save. As I said already, my phone line is used heavily daily. An unlimited plan fits my scenario much better.

What do you mean by a number local to yourself and local to friends in family?

I live in London, originally the Vonage account had a Kingston area number (a POTS line from TekSavvy was used for local calling) for calling a family member that went to live up there for 2 years.

Voip.ms and FPL do not suit everyone's needs.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 23:13:48 EDT

vikingisson posted : Yeah there's a lot of options and things that can go right and wrong. I think the OP only wants a phone line that acts like POTS but we can still geek out a bit. :)

Having your own PBX on a low power device is tons of fun and you can build your own failover schemes. The no cost incoming is nice if you get a lot of calls but what's nice about voip.ms et al is that paying for every call can work out really cheap. <$5/mth with some bells and whistles. I have more ways to contact me than I get actual calls. I still keep an old Nokia N800 as a house phone and it works fantastic. And the SIP enabled smart phone, and a cordless, etc....

to the OP, with a standards based SIP account you can do things like add SIP to your smart phone and never call long distance over your voice plan.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 23:03:40 EDT

tonytoronto posted : I have TekTalk as main line and now two voip.ms lines. Both work ok, there have been times TekTalk been down, i find voip.ms more reliable. Two reasons while i'm still with TekTalk-- voip.ms did not work with alarm system, tektalk did and included free incoming/outgoing local calls.
One more odd thing, if sometimes goes wrong with internet, tektalk will take long time to reconnect, .ms right away, within seconds. I have been thru all settings with teksavvy tech and they weren't able to fix it either.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 22:40:42 EDT

vikingisson posted : Most providers have locale choices for your number(s) including international. Your choice where and how many you want. If you have someone like a mother or customer that you'd like to give a local number to for calling you that's another nice feature. Toll free, all kinds of options. At around $1/mth for each CID that's a good deal.

Nothing stops you from using multiple providers if one has a location for CID that you want and another doesn't. With SIP URL (most of the decent companies have that) you can pass calls between providers at little or no cost so your phone only needs to connect to one.

Lots of fun tricks. Just for fun I built a PBX out of a Raspberry Pi ($35 computer board). it isn't my usual PBX since I already one but it works well enough to run a house full of users.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 21:52:58 EDT

Davesnothere posted :

said by TOPDAWG:

on voip.ms you can pick the area code you want or port your current number.

Yes, and so can CallCentric, Anveo, and several others for a large part of Canada - and all of these providers are frequently mentioned in VoIP Tech Chat forum.

But the point I was making is that when you get to smaller cities such as Kingston and Cornwall, and even smaller communities such as mine, THAT's where every one of Vonage, Primus, Skype, and MagicJerk (all of which brag about being established VoIP providers to Canada) falls short.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 21:41:55 EDT

TOPDAWG posted : on voip.ms you can pick the area code you want or port your current number.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 20:52:18 EDT

Davesnothere posted :

said by MrMazda86:

I have yet to have any issue with that either....

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 20:46:08 EDT

MrMazda86 posted :

said by Davesnothere:

said by MrMazda86:

From my experience, Vonage has them all beat in that department. The only thing I don't like about them is their inability to support more advanced networking....

What about whether they will offer you a number which is local to you and your local friends and family ?

Also will they port in such a number if you already have one ?

OK, how about the same for Kingston and Cornwall, and even smaller centres ?

THAT's where Vonage, Primus, Skype, and MagicJerk (all established VoIP providers to Canada) all fall apart.

I have yet to have any issue with that either. I have a number of virtual numbers, and they all seem to work GREAT. The only thing that I've noticed change since I made the move from Bell to Vonage is the phone bill. Everything else seems to work just the same, without issue. Even with virtual numbers, there doesn't really seem to be a down side on that front.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 20:43:00 EDT

Davesnothere posted :

said by MrMazda86:

From my experience, Vonage has them all beat in that department. The only thing I don't like about them is their inability to support more advanced networking....

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 20:21:29 EDT

MrMazda86 posted :

said by nettles :

What's the best one in terms of line quality for calling to the US intl?

And also fairly easy to set-up. It's not the setup that's the tough part, I could maybe set up voip.ms but if it goes down and one of the other members of the household has to trouble shoot it then....

From my experience, Vonage has them all beat in that department. The only thing I don't like about them is their inability to support more advanced networking. For most users though, this isn't a problem. It's only if you're "special" like me and have more specific requirements (like a static /29 subnet with 6 IP addresses and 5 computers before the Vonage adapter) that it can get a little sticky. Aside from that, they're GREAT!

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 18:04:04 EDT

vikingisson posted :

said by dbv:

I'm moving to a place with no DSL so I'm thinking Teksavvy cable plus VOIP. Anyone using VOIP at home and who's your provider?

You haven't given any details. What do you expect from the service and how will you use it? Will you use it a lot, get more inbound calls than outbound, E911?, live in an apartment with a buzzer, need it plug and pray simple or can you/ want to get technical, multiple lines, multiple points of presence, video call, and so many things. Lots of good choices mentioned but not for all use cases.
or just a phone...

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 16:41:56 EDT

TOPDAWG posted : voip.ms here no issues for me and yeah skip the TO server or you will have issues. Load it up with $25 every few months and I'm all good.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:50:27 EDT

Davesnothere posted :
Also check at THIS DSLR page »/gbu

Not all VoIPPs are represented on that list, as some have too few reviews, good OR bad (and which can still be found on DSLR by searching for a company name), but it will help you some.

BTW, where are you moving, that there is CABLE but no DSL ?

That's uncommon !

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:38:03 EDT

Davesnothere posted :

said by Trev:

You guys should check out the VoIP Tech Chat which is another forum on this site. You'll find a lot of options and find there are reps from a lot of providers, including Canadian ones.

....and US ones which serve a lot of Canada.

I'm currently with 2 US VoIPPs, CallCentric and Anveo, but could just as easily chosen VOIP.MS for one of the 2, and may yet at some point in the future.

They each get mentioned a lot in that forum, often in comparison to VOIP.MS or to each other.

All 3 of those (and some others) are worth checking out, depending upon your exact needs and budget.

You should start a similar thread over there and see who participates (though some of them have already visited the current thread/forum and posted).

Cheers !
--

We have only 2 things about which to worry :
(1) That things may never get back to normal
(2) That they already HAVE !
-
START Forum »Start Communications
Or you can still use Canadian Broadband.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:19:59 EDT

anon posted : What's the best one in terms of line quality for calling to the US intl?

And also fairly easy to set-up. It's not the setup that's the tough part, I could maybe set up voip.ms but if it goes down and one of the other members of the household has to trouble shoot it then....

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 09:56:53 EDT

J E F F posted : I'm using MagicJack for my one line, no issues.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 09:20:45 EDT

ekster posted : If you want to set it up yourself, but don't need a lot of extra VoIP features, go with freephoneline. No monthly fees, just a one time payment.

If you want a lot of customization and extra VoIP features, go with Voip.MS. Monthly fees, but very small. Normal usage is <$10.

If you want nothing to do with the set up, go with TekTalk. The more expensive of the above, but the TekSavvy guys take care of everything and it's still cheaper than a POTS phone with all the features included.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 09:07:56 EDT

cidknee0 posted : Personally I use the home phone service from modernworks.

I have never had an issue and sound quality is great. I used to use voip.ms, and always had sound quality issues. That and getting a hold of support is a pain.
I had family on Magic Jack which was horrible, they just switched and cant be happier.

Go with what you feel is best for you, I like the all in one solution where I don't have to get too techy and its all just plug and play. I can set all this up myself, but why when the experts can do it for me.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 00:37:20 EDT

londoner1 posted : +1 voip.ms been using only for a couple of months...indeed tech support when you need them are super fast to respond.....using a LInksys SPA 3102...tons of included features like voicemail to email feature (great for when you're not home to get msg's).... have set up a buddy that rarely uses a phone with a simple SIP program on his ipod touch....in effect he didn't need any hardware and has a phone bill that runs about $2 a month....it also gives him the flexibility to use the voip anywhere he has Internet (ie coffee house)

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 00:12:56 EDT

QuantumPimp posted : +1 voip.ms. One year anniversary this March. No problems to date. Use very infrequently so the low cost (approx $1 per month suits me just fine).

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 19:27:38 EDT

twizzler66 posted : +1 voip.ms - been on it for a year now with very little issue (server switched fixed all issues).

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 17:21:35 EDT

dbusguy posted : Been using Vonage since Oct 2007. Never had a problem. Used Vonage while on Rogers cable, T.S. dsl and now T.S. cable

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:07:44 EDT

Trev posted : You guys should check out the VoIP Tech Chat which is another forum on this site. You'll find a lot of options and find there are reps from a lot of providers, including Canadian ones.
--
I represent AcroVoice, a full service Canadian VoIP Provider.
Buy your Obihai ATA shipped from within Canada.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 13:25:52 EDT

WiMax posted : I've used iKtel, not worth it. They can't keep their systems up and running, they do "Scheduled" maintenance during the day and don't bother to warn their customers. Last week I had no phone service for 4 days.

I've had GREAT service with Vonage. My parents also have it. If you want a free month of Vonage service when you subscribe, PM me before you sign up and I can tell you how to do it.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 12:47:16 EDT

Teddy Boom posted :

said by Gwai Lo Dan:

What do you find lacking about freephoneline? I am thinking of changing to freephoneline and wonder if/how they are any worse than others.

I started using a freephoneline number that I always forward to a voip.ms number. I get regular noise spikes doing this... I should probably try setting up a phone to ring directly so that I can compare them, but so far I've found them to be a little annoying.

They can do SMS though, which is huge. I have BlueStacks running the fongo app on my PC, and when a customer texts me I can paste email length messages easily.
--
electronicsguru.ca

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 12:24:27 EDT

Jonathan987 posted : voip.ms works well for me and extended family/friends. They have been upgrading their servers for increased capacity and have a similar policy to teksavvy with direct contact to one of the heads of their service.

His name is MartinM and can be found posting here: »VOIP Tech Chat

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 11:49:41 EDT

Dunlop posted : +1 voip.ms

Only been with them a few months and the few issues I did have were resolved by their support staff that I would imagine receive an electrical shock when a ticket is opened (seriously I have tickets that have been personally responded to within minutes of being opened)

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 11:44:06 EDT

MrMazda86 posted : For what it's worth, I'm with Vonage and haven't had an issue to speak of in a loooooong time. The only "issue" I had at first had to do with my internet connection. Once I got the issue with the packet size sorted out, I haven't had a problem re-appear.

To my understanding, there is a certain issue with the current Vonage ATA that they release, however the older V-Portal for example has been problem free from the very start. I've also found their rates and services to be quite competitive compared to some other providers.

(EDIT: I forgot to mention... It works GREAT on TekSavvy Cable and TekSavvy DSL as well)

(EDIT: BEWARE of Vonage if you're planning on using multiple IP addresses. Apparently, there is NO way in which to DISABLE the NAT on Vonage adapters, which means you CANNOT use a Vonage device as a router for the purposes of using multiple IP addresses. They just won't support it.)

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 11:37:19 EDT

MZB posted : Another voip.ms fan.

Note that they have been upgrading servers recently, so advice about avoiding Toronto servers may now be out of date.

If you are using DSL in Ottawa, all your packets to Montreal go via Toronto anyway...

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 08:31:10 EDT

old sparks posted : I was quite happy with voip.ms, but their service got crappy in the fall, so I switched to their Montreal server and everything seems good again...

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 21:43:20 EDT

kragop posted : Sometimes freephoneline cuts out, making the service unreliable. I briefly used them, but I couldn't stand using them during busy times.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 21:41:54 EDT

kragop posted : one more thing: with Teksavvy everything is on one bill, so your no dealing with different providers. Makes managing bills easy.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 21:40:38 EDT

kragop posted :

said by dbv:

I'm moving to a place with no DSL so I'm thinking Teksavvy cable plus VOIP. Anyone using VOIP at home and who's your provider?

I'm using TekTalk from Teksavvy. I think its the best service around. $14.95/month, reliable service, clear voice quality, easy to setup, and overall great service.

My friend recently switched to TekTalk and is really happy with the service too.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 21:09:29 EDT

Montreal DSL posted : For a residential service it would be no issues ... Just that using the voip services as a prosumer :) I prefer to have Tektalk as the main line and freephoneline as a back-up ...

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 17:51:53 EDT

TypeS posted : It depends on your usage whether you should go with flat rate providers like Vonage, Primus, TekSavvy or pay as you go providers like voip.ms for FPL (long distance isn't free with them). Most people probably keep in contact with their mobile devices, email and skype so voice calling is dropping in usage which is why voip.ms and FPL are popular with people who don't use the phone as much anymore.

But in my parents household, my mother uses the phone heavily, to talk to her friends in the city, Toronto, the US, and a few international countries. Setting them up with unlimited usage via Vonage was the better value. A credit card gets billed monthly for the same amount without needing to worry about buying credits.

Re: VOIP providers in Ontario?

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 17:51:45 EDT

dbv posted : Thanks guys! Helpful lot, as always.

I'll check out TekTalk, freephoneline.ca and voip.ms once I move in.