sokhapkin
Premium
join:2003-05-08
Somerset, NJ |  [Other] Patmedia Digital phone
I pass this "incredible" offer... $40 per month (+$5 for voicemail), sky-high international rates.
Marketing people at Patmedia must be crazy to offer such prices. FIOS deployment in Patmedia service area has been started already. |
|
robjlevin
join:2002-10-30
Millington, NJ
 ·Verizon FIOS
| said by sokhapkin  :Marketing people at Patmedia must be crazy to offer such prices. Since it's impossible to contact them, there's really no way of knowing. |
|
Optimized
Premium,Mod
join:2001-05-03
Pompton Lakes, NJ
clubs: | reply to sokhapkin
That is pricey in comparison to other VoIP options out there, not much incentive to choose them is there?
--
Chilly likes it |
|
MEDIAPATRIOT
join:2003-01-23 | i pay 40 a month per line for unlimited local/long distance with c-id, c-waiting, voicemail, and all the other junk including automatic id block and the thing where you cant accept a blocked # |
|
WorkinClsDog
VoIP Engineer
Premium,VIP
join:2003-01-01
Piscataway, NJ
edit:
October 10th, @01:40PM
| reply to sokhapkin
I must say I'm very surprised by the price points and the Int'l Rates when compared to alternatives. Even the use of the "Triple Play" language is a surprise on their website »www.patmedia.net/patriot/Digital···eet.html - that's Cablevision's branding.
Keep in mind that Patmedia's marketing folks are vets of other cable co's (primarily comcast)... so they've been around a while.
Not sure who the underlying vendor partner ended up being, so I won't comment on the technical side of the setup til I hear more. (Although anything is better than Net2Phone, which is where the discussions started when I was there)
With FIOS going full speed ahead, this product may prove to be a tough sell to Patmedia's customers who are looking for the best deal.
I'm hopeful that the Patmedia sales force will be offering some type of contractual discount for customers who are willing to sign up for a longer term deal.
Looking forward to seeing the first review from someone who tries out the service...
--
WCD
Brian: Hey, barkeep, whose leg do you have to hump to get a dry martini around here?
|
|
WorkinClsDog
VoIP Engineer
Premium,VIP
join:2003-01-01
Piscataway, NJ
edit:
October 10th, @01:51PM
| reply to sokhapkin
Also - for those of you who have other VoIP providers... is Patmedia's handling of 911 any different from VonAge or any of the others?
Personally, the 911 issue makes me VERY skeptical of VoIP service as a primary phone - having a non-emergency person or third party hand-off 911 type calls is a bit frightening. This has happened with numerous VoIP providers and gets glossed over by many marketing departments as a "non-issue" in hyping their services.
I'd encourage some of the Patmedia customers looking at this service to ask some really tough questions on just who will be answering on the other end when they dial 911 via Patmedia's VoIP and if it's an actual emergency official - or a service which is handing off the emergency info.
Keep in mind too, that if you change your address and don't notify your VoIP provider - you're pretty much out of luck.
Some things to read and think about --
»www.patmedia.net/patriot/Digital···doc.html
»www.internetnews.com/infra/artic···/3501991
That second article details a very scary actual incident where VonAge's 911 (or lack thereof) caused real problems.
Not trying to be negative here, but all the details should be out there - hopefully this issue was addressed in their VoIP planning stages.
--
WCD
Brian: Hey, barkeep, whose leg do you have to hump to get a dry martini around here?
|
|
vapochilled
Premium
join:2004-11-23
Macungie, PA
 ·ProLog
| reply to sokhapkin
In defence WCD, you do have to sign multiple copies of the form saying you understand what the E911 situation is, some people really are dense when it comes to this. I do agree it has to change, I keep my sprint phone basic (about $7 a month) just for the 911, I use an auto line switch which ran me another $15 of evilbay.
I still save in excess of $55 a month on phone bills. |
|
musterjoker
join:2004-09-29
Old Bridge, NJ | reply to sokhapkin
Can people who are using this service from Patmedia comment on quality?
Thanks in advance |
|
WorkinClsDog
VoIP Engineer
Premium,VIP
join:2003-01-01
Piscataway, NJ
| reply to vapochilled
said by vapochilled :In defence WCD, you do have to sign multiple copies of the form saying you understand what the E911 situation is, some people really are dense when it comes to this. That's a good thing  and by no means is Patmedia alone in the E-911 issue arena - but definitely something all of us have to consider since E-911 is one of those things that pretty much everyone takes for granted until it is needed unfortunately 
--
WCD
Brian: Hey, barkeep, whose leg do you have to hump to get a dry martini around here?
|
|
vapochilled
Premium
join:2004-11-23
Macungie, PA | Yep, and in time I'm sure it will become transparent like the normal service. But as you say, don't rely on it just yet |
|
icepop456
join:2002-08-27
Somerville, NJ
| reply to sokhapkin
hahahah $45????
You have to be kidding me! Vonage is 1/2 the price and I don't believe Patriots QoS will be much help to make it worth it.
As everyone else has mentioned VoIP is too new to be reliable. Vongae has worked great for me, but I do have a cell phone for backup.
FYI: My vonage/patmedia did continue to work during a power outage. I had my equipment on a UPS and that kept the network up and running. Naturally the up time would be limited to battery capacity. |
|
vapochilled
Premium
join:2004-11-23
Macungie, PA | does seem a bit high, is there some extra service that I am not taking into account ? |
|
musterjoker
join:2004-09-29
Old Bridge, NJ | reply to sokhapkin
does anybody know what hardware they are using for their digital phone? |
|
payload6976
join:2003-11-12
Drexel Hill, PA | reply to sokhapkin
I had heard arris |
|
submrge
join:2004-10-10
Bloomfield, NJ | arris modem with 8 hours of battery backup. pretty slick little unit. |
|
musterjoker
join:2004-09-29
Old Bridge, NJ | Is it All-in-one device? |
|
submrge
join:2004-10-10
Bloomfield, NJ | yep. internet and up to two phone #'s |
|
payload6976
join:2003-11-12
Drexel Hill, PA | reply to sokhapkin
equipment is one thing, service delivery is another. |
|
justmovedtonj
@grey.com
| reply to sokhapkin
I just signed up with Vonage last night (price of course).
However, I believe that Patriot gives you dedicated bandwith just for the phone service so your connection to computer, games, etc. won't be slowed down, etc. This is a great benefit actually, but not quite sure if it's worth the price. FYI, I have not tried Vonage yet. |
|
ednj
join:2001-03-09
Hillsborough, NJ
·Patriot Media
 ·Vonage
| I have been using Vonage since October 1 and I like it. Great features, excellent audio quality (better than Sprint, my local carrier) and all for a great price. I have the basic plan of 500 minutes for $15 per month. With Sprint, I was paying $29 per month for local service with a few features and I had a different long distance carrier that charged 4 cents per minute for long distance. I am in the process of porting my Sprint local phone number to Vonage which is supposed to take 20 days. I am using one of my home wiring lines for Vonage and it works just fine. Caller ID and all other features are supported through the phone jacks.
I have seen no impact on my other Internet activities using Patriot Media cablemodem service. Based on the quality of service that I have and the cost of Vonage, I can't justify paying Patriot Media $40 per month for their digital phone service.
Ed |
|
