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drewphish1
join:2013-10-19

drewphish1

Member

Vonage

We are in NY. How much does vonage cost per month after taxes and fees? I see its 9.99 per month for first 3 months then 26.99 per month after it.

toro
join:2006-01-27
Scarborough, ON

toro

Member

Do you need international calls ? If you don't, you can give Basictalk a try. It's a Vonage spinoff, made to compete with Majic Jack and other low cost providers. After taxes and fees it comes to $12.29 / month.
If you are somewhat technical and don't mind getting your hands dirty with setting up an ATA, you can get much cheaper service from one of the fine companies often discussed here: Callcentric, Anveo, voip.ms, Future-Nine (and others, just browse the forum). It would be useful if you could estimate your monthly usage before choosing a provider.
nitzan
Premium Member
join:2008-02-27

nitzan

Premium Member

said by toro:

If you are somewhat technical and don't mind getting your hands dirty with setting up an ATA, you can get much cheaper service from one of the fine companies often discussed here: Callcentric, Anveo, voip.ms, Future-Nine (and others, just browse the forum).

You don't necessarily have to setup an ATA. There are a lot of providers that can send you a pre-configured one, plug n' call. Examples: VOIPo, Phone Power, Future Nine (we do both BYOD and pre-configured)

N9MD
Too busy to chat
Premium Member
join:2005-10-08
Boca Raton, FL

1 edit

N9MD to drewphish1

Premium Member

to drewphish1
The regulars in this Forum are somewhat more adventuresome than most other folks ... especially when it comes to looking for telephone service to replace overpriced landlines. To many of us Vonage is a 'dirty word' ... being way overpriced and sorely lacking in features such as Selective CallerID Block.

Incidentally, just to clarify toro's mention of BasicTalk, Vonage owns that product. Vonage is more suited for those who make lots of international calls while BasicTalk is aimed at domestic callers.

The factors we 'seasoned' VoIP users look at include (but are not limited to) cost, stability/reliability/quality, feature sets, ease of setup, customer support.

Regarding costs, a variety of plans are offered among our favored VoIP providers:
• fixed annual fee (sometimes even buy one year get the second year free),
• fixed monthly fee for incoming & outgoing calls;
• Pay as You Go (PAYG) incoming/outgoing per minute tolls (usually with a low monthly fee);
• free incoming calls with Pay as You Go (PAYG) outgoing per minute tolls;
• and a few other permutations/combinations of these choices.

Some of the popular VoIP providers supply the ATA (Analog Telephone Adaptor); others require you to Bring Your Own Device (BYOD); and still others give you the option of either using their device (often at no charge, but must be returned if you cancel service) or BYOD.

You will discover that the alternatives to Vonage offer features you might find very useful: Selective Call Forwarding, BlackListing/CallBlocking , SMS Texting, VoiceMail Retrieval, Simultaneous/Sequential Ringing to multiple destinations (Home, Cell, Office, Vacation Home), iPhone/Android apps, etc.

An added benefit to going with many of the oft-discussed providers in this Forum is the absence of extra/hidden taxes and 'fees' and unwelcome increased charges that one will experience/incur with Vonage/BasicTalk.

The ultimate decision depends on your own calling patterns and need for specific features. Low volume callers might benefit from a PAYG plan while high monthly minutes usage folks would do better with a fixed annual or monthly plan.

If you have not already done so, you might want to browse these »/gbu reviews.
PX Eliezer1
Premium Member
join:2013-03-10
Zubrowka USA

PX Eliezer1 to drewphish1

Premium Member

to drewphish1
You can do much better than Vonage.

As others have said:

Chauffeur-type companies where it's all done for you, or sportscar-type companies with the added freedom and flexibility of BYOD.

Vonage is overpriced, and they add lots of taxes and fees above the published prices.

[Just as GM established Saturn years ago to get rid of some of that crap, Vonage made their BasicTalk spinoff brand which is not quite as bad with the extra fees.]

Perhaps the greatest sin of Vonage is being antiquated.

Being old is not bad as such, I am almost 60 and I don't know how that happened.

But Vonage lacks basic features such as being able to block specific numbers.

Vonage customers have demanded that for YEARS!! I know there are some people on this forum who even think the lack of such a feature is deliberate, that Vonage makes more money when customers receive inbound junk/telemarketing calls.

As they sort of said in the MGM version of "The Wizard of Oz":

Why, anybody can have call blocking. That's a very mediocre commodity.

Every pusillanimous creature that crawls on the earth, or slinks through slimy seas has call blocking!

Except Vonage.

TL/DR: Many of the people driving Cadillacs don't realize that Cadillacs are expensive AND no longer cool. Same is true of Vonage.

flinchlock
Premium Member
join:2003-04-25
Augusta, MI
ARRIS SB6121
Obihai OBi200

flinchlock to drewphish1

Premium Member

to drewphish1
Click for full size
said by drewphish1:

How much does vonage cost per month after taxes and fees?

FWIW, here is my Vonage bill info... we always had the cheapest plan here in Michigan.

I NEVER had any problems with Vonage, but I wanted to be able to block calls. I am now with Callcentric.

Mike

brg
Premium Member
join:2001-01-03
Chicago, IL

brg

Premium Member

^^^ Ouch. Average of $0.1645/minute. Now, that may not be bad compared to a traditional Telco (AT&T; Verizon). But many folks used to quality VoIP in these-here-parts start to complain when the rate goes over $0.01/min.

flinchlock
Premium Member
join:2003-04-25
Augusta, MI
ARRIS SB6121
Obihai OBi200

flinchlock

Premium Member

@brg

I thought I was getting a good deal... it was 1/2 of our old Telco. Like I said, no problems with Vonage... just no call blocking.

So, I started searching my favorite site (dslreports) and discovered super cheap rates. I did not understand VoIP service companies had IN plans and OUT plans. But, thanks to this forum, I am VERY HAPPY with Callcentric: good pricing and THE BEST SUPPORT!

Mike

toro
join:2006-01-27
Scarborough, ON

toro to brg

Member

to brg
said by brg:

^^^ Ouch. Average of $0.1645/minute. Now, that may not be bad compared to a traditional Telco (AT&T; Verizon). But many folks used to quality VoIP in these-here-parts start to complain when the rate goes over $0.01/min.

If I understand that spreadsheet properly, that's not what Vonage charges per minute. It's just what the user calculated by dividing the fixed monthly cost by the actual number of minutes used that month. Obviously, in his case a pay-as-you-go approach is more cost effective.

flinchlock
Premium Member
join:2003-04-25
Augusta, MI

flinchlock

Premium Member

@toro

TRUE! For us, PAYG is MUCH better.

Mike
drewphish1
join:2013-10-19

drewphish1

Member

we dont need international calls though having it would be nice. We basically want a landline. We currently have optimum online internet but didnt get optimum voice.

the thing is with the landline, we want it to be unlimited local calling and not like 10 cents per minute.

any recommendation for this then?
Stewart
join:2005-07-13

Stewart

Member

If you want service that comes with a preconfigured device, take a look at VOIPo, Phonepower, and Future-Nine. All provide "unlimited" US and Canada calling (cap is 3000 minutes or higher).

In addition to the features already mentioned, these providers have a "cloned line" capability. With two-line phones, or two or more separate phones, this allows you to make or receive calls, while another family member is using the phone.
drewphish1
join:2013-10-19

drewphish1

Member

i took a look at the website. It say 149 dollars for 2 years and thats $6.21 per month. Is that what you are talking about? How much is it with fees and taxes per month?

It basically is unlimited calls in usa and canada. This sounds way too good to be true if they give you the device etc and all that?
drewphish1

drewphish1

Member

Is it easy to install as well? Do they send you something? I did read some reviews that ppl said there were some bad reception etc but does this depend on where you are from or what internet you use? We use optimum online.
Stewart
join:2005-07-13

Stewart to drewphish1

Member

to drewphish1
said by drewphish1:

i took a look at the website. It say 149 dollars for 2 years and thats $6.21 per month. Is that what you are talking about? How much is it with fees and taxes per month? ...

For VOIPo, $36 is added for taxes and fees, i.e. your credit card is charged $185 when you sign up. This includes a free lease of the adapter -- it must be returned at your expense shortly after you cancel service, or they will bill you $50 for the hardware (which you might then use with another provider).

Some people have problems with voice quality. They usually are easily solvable and are generally unrelated to the specific provider. For example, Google "Vonage voice quality issues". VOIPo and most other providers offer a guarantee, where you can cancel service, usually within the first 30 days, for a full refund. If this possibility concerns you greatly, you could order service with a new number and try it for a while, with your old service still active. When satisfied, you can then port your old number to the new service. Most providers charge a porting fee of $10 to $25 to do this; check with VOIPo or whomever you choose.

brg
Premium Member
join:2001-01-03
Chicago, IL

2 edits

brg to toro

Premium Member

to toro
said by toro:

If I understand that spreadsheet properly, that's not what Vonage charges per minute. It's just what the user calculated by dividing the fixed monthly cost by the actual number of minutes used that month.

Yes; I understood that. That's why I said "average." And that figure is in fact the average of everything he spent divided by the minutes he actually used: it was his "real" cost-per-minute to use Vonage over time!
brg

brg to flinchlock

Premium Member

to flinchlock
said by flinchlock:

@brg

I thought I was getting a good deal... it was 1/2 of our old Telco. Like I said, no problems with Vonage... just no call blocking.

So, I started searching my favorite site (dslreports) and discovered super cheap rates. I did not understand VoIP service companies had IN plans and OUT plans. But, thanks to this forum, I am VERY HAPPY with Callcentric: good pricing and THE BEST SUPPORT!

Mike

Agree 100%. In my case I whittled my telco services down over time. I first went to an alternative POTS supplier of Inter/Intra LATA calling. Then I went to a VoIP provider in tandem with the most minimal AT&T service, and dropped the non-ATT Inter/Intra LATA provider. When it was time to fully pull the POTS plug I -- like you -- had searched sites like this and was able to make the leap directly to Callcentric, porting my long-time AT&T number.

flinchlock
Premium Member
join:2003-04-25
Augusta, MI
ARRIS SB6121
Obihai OBi200

1 edit

flinchlock

Premium Member

said by brg:

... porting my long-time AT&T number.

My local phone company is TDS Telecom and back in 2008 we could not port our number we have had since 1988.

Mike

edit to clarify my sentence
Stewart
join:2005-07-13

Stewart

Member

said by flinchlock:

My local phone company is TDS Telecom and we could not port our number (since 1988).

Based on »www.telcodata.us/search- ··· state=MI it appears that you can port to Comcast. If you are already using them for Internet and TV the cost may be quite reasonable. You might also ask them what doing it as a Remote Call Forward would cost.

Also, check with Vitelity. They may be able to do a pseudo-port, e.g. via an LRN in Kalamazoo. You would have to buy this as a metered DID ($1.49/mo. + $0.012/min + USF), to cover compensation to TDS.

Alternatively, get a new number in Kalamazoo (should still be local for Augusta callers) and set up the Augusta number with a message referring callers to the new DID. After a few months, you could drop the old number.
twinclouds
join:2010-06-12
San Diego, CA

1 edit

twinclouds to drewphish1

Member

to drewphish1
I am not a picky person for telephone service but I really had very bad experience with Vonage with only less than two weeks trying. First of all, even though they said they charge only $9.95 for a month, the actually cost is $16.xx. Secondly, I had very bad experience with their international calls (China). The calls kept dropping every a few minutes. Although they have customer service available all the time, the people on the line really cannot do much. After the representative claimed the problem was fixed, it actually got worse. I would never use them again.
When I cut the POTS cord, I tried to find a good alternative. My goal was less then $10 a month and reliable with "unlimted" calling. but it was not very easy. I think there's a big market there if the VOIP provider can make it a turnkey system for people don't have much knowledge on setting up the system but want to cut the cord. Of course support and advertising are also important for this group of customers. In that sense, the BasicTalk may not a bad choice as long as their domestic call quality is good enough.

flinchlock
Premium Member
join:2003-04-25
Augusta, MI

flinchlock to Stewart

Premium Member

to Stewart
@Stewart

Thanks for your help. I fixed my original statement to reflect what happened back in 2008.

Mike
drewphish1
join:2013-10-19

drewphish1

Member

okay but with voipo it would have to be attached to a computer right? Would the computer need to be turned on and internet on at all times for voipo to work?

okay so if i have 2 landline phones already at home, i would connect each of these phones to where? I had thought one phone was attached to the computer but what about the other one? We want to have one landline on 1 floor of the house and another landline on the 2nd floor of the house.

Is the installation of the VOIPO easy?
slow mo
join:2002-03-19
USA

1 edit

slow mo

Member

VOIPo will send you an ATA, which you will plug into your router (if you have one) or you can plug it into your modem (if the ATA is a router+phone). Computer doesn't have be on at all. Phones are plugged into ATA.

For whole house phone, you need to detach the outside phone line from the box on the side of the house. Plug one phone cord from ATA to one house phone outlet; Now you can use them like what you do now.

Installation of VOIPo ATA is plug-and-play. It's pre-configured.

This is a simplified answer. If you have questions just ask. Plenty of knowledgeable people here will help you out.
drewphish1
join:2013-10-19

drewphish1

Member

Okay this is what i also what to mention. We previously moved from an apartment to this new house. At old apartment, we had 2 landline phones that we use with verizon. These are corded phones.

Would we be able to use these same corded phones for the VOIPo or would we need to buy those cordless phones for VOIPo to work?

Also since we moved into this house, the wiring from the previous homeowner ... we are not sure of it. So does that mean doing this whole process will be easy/hard?

We currently use optimum online internet service. We have the optimum online modem and a netgear router that they supplied us with for the wifi connection. We have 2 floors in house and basement. We want a phone for 1st floor and for 2nd floor.

Thoughts on this?
twinclouds
join:2010-06-12
San Diego, CA

twinclouds to slow mo

Member

to slow mo
Does VOIPo support Android Apps and/or generic ATAs?

infixed
join:2014-03-16
Melbourne, FL

infixed to N9MD

Member

to N9MD
said by N9MD:

Incidentally, just to clarify toro's mention of BasicTalk, Vonage owns that product. Vonage is more suited for those who make lots of international calls while BasicTalk is aimed at domestic callers.

Actually one of the more interesting things I find about BasicTalk is the fact that Vonage owns it LESS than one might imagine.

The $9.99 ATA that you can buy off the shelf at Walmart is GPLed, so unlocking it is both legal and ethical. Its actually the first product I've seen that has a paper GPL pamphlet in the box, rather than fine print buried somewhere in a PDF manual.

An excellent unlocking thread on the device here

»[Unlock] Unlocking the BasicTalk ATA

(that's toro's too)

N9MD
Too busy to chat
Premium Member
join:2005-10-08
Boca Raton, FL

N9MD to drewphish1

Premium Member

to drewphish1
said by drewphish1:

We have 2 floors in house and basement. We want a phone for 1st floor and for 2nd floor.

Please clarify.    Do you want the 1st & 2nd floor phones to act as extensions of one single phone number ... or do you want each phone to have its own separate number?
said by drewphish1:

Would we be able to use these same corded phones for the VOIPo or would we need to buy those cordless phones for VOIPo to work?

Corded/cordless phones have nothing to do with your basic VoIP setup. Even if you use cordless phones, you must have a 'corded' phone for the base station ... this base station phone must be plugged into the ATA (Analog Telephone Adaptor) ... and the ATA must be plugged into your Router. The router, of course, is plugged into the Optimum modem.
said by drewphish1:

Also since we moved into this house, the wiring from the previous homeowner ... we are not sure of it.

You don't have to be sure of the previous owner's house wiring! If you want to use a bunch of old or new phones ... that is, all corded phones ... you simply disconnect the incoming Verizon line at the D-Block (where the outside wires enter your home) ... run a phone wire from your ATA (not your computer, not your modem, not your router) to any one of the phone jacks on the wall ... and plug the corded phones in to other wall jacks throughout the house.
 
      If you choose to use a cordless phone setup, remember that you must still connect the base station (which is 'corded') to the ATA (not your computer, not your modem, not your router) ... an then place your cordless phones throughout the rest of the house. [You do not need to use the existing in-wall wiring or disconnect the D-Block for the 'cordless' option.]
said by drewphish1:

We have the optimum online modem and a netgear router that they supplied us with for the wifi connection.

If you have access to the NetGear router via a web interface using your computer, you could connect your ATA (obtained from VOIPo or Future-Nine) to the NetGear router ... keeping in mind that the ATA is connected to this device (not the cablemodem or computer).
 
      If you do not have access to the router (because it has been 'locked' by Optimum), it might be wise to purchase a second router for use with your VoIP setup.
said by drewphish1:

So does that mean doing this whole process will be easy/hard?

Frankly, the actual process is very, very easy ... once you understand the concept of ISP to CableModem/DSL/FIOS to Router to ATA to Telephones (corded or cordless).
 
      The computer would only be used, if ever, to modify software settings in the Router or ATA. If you go with the provider-provided adapter (ATA) option, you will probably be able to just plug in and connect the components [ISP to CableModem/DSL/FIOS to Router to ATA to Telephones] and be up and running within minutes.

Best of all, now that you have discovered this Forum, we will always be here to assist you further as the need arises.
N9MD

N9MD to infixed

Premium Member

to infixed

Vonage does indeed own BasicTalk .. lock, stock & barrel!

said by infixed:

said by N9MD:

Incidentally, just to clarify toro's mention of BasicTalk, Vonage owns that product.

Actually one of the more interesting things I find about BasicTalk is the fact that Vonage owns it LESS than one might imagine.

I understand that you are being cagey, infixed ... given that one can purchase the BasicTalk product (including ATA) from a local Walmart and then 'unlock' it for use with another VoIP provider.

But, in order not to confuse others, including the OP, with your subtlety ... the fact still stands that Vonage does indeed own BasicTalk lock, stock and barrel.    The monthly charges for BasicTalk do not increase after three months ... unless Vonage pulls its usual stunt of raising prices by sneakily adding more fees, tariffs, taxes, assessments, liens, levies, debt obligations, etc.
drewphish1
join:2013-10-19

drewphish1 to N9MD

Member

to N9MD

Re: Vonage

We want same phone number for 1st and 2nd floor.

As the netgear router... they told me you couldnt do any changes such as you can't change the name of the wireless network nor could you change the password of the wifi. Would that be problem?
drewphish1

drewphish1

Member

Someone recommended ooma. I checked website but theres an initial cost of 150 for the equipment. Then its 3 dollars a month if you want unlimited usa calling but 9.99 plus tax if you want canada unlimted included.

Im confused but why is voipo so cheap at 8 per month then and you dont even have to pay equipment and you get unlimited minutes usa and canada. Is there a catch to this? I did read something its not really unlimited but its 3000 minutes a month?