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| Optimum Voice Experience I have benefited much from dslreports so thought I would share my experience with the community. I am in Huntington (631)
Should I go Vonage or OV. OV doesn't have intl and vmail, both very important. OV offer QOS on voip, also they are selling phone line not IP telephony, also have people with trucks, who can come and fix if I am not in town and wife is alone. But no vmail, don't like call waiting and no way to turn it off permanently. can't do it any way if no vmail. Tough choice. No startup costs on OV.
Monday 3/31/03:
OK the decision is final, called OV, wait about 1.5 minutes, the sales person was knowldgeable, got an appt for Thursday (b/w 9-12), works out well since I have the rest of the week off.
Gave me my OV phone number immedieately, though had to ask for it, he asked me my current area code and prefix so he could give me 'local' number. Asked him for a 'nicer' number, he said he couldn't do it. Although I believe if I had better social engineering skills he seemed to have the ability to do it. Overall took about 5 mins for the whole call, very pleasent experience. ATT Local -5, OV 9. (not 10 because didn't try to give me a better number).
Thursday 4/3/2002:
Got a call from OV about 10:00 am, technician showed up 10:10, very pleasent guy, didn't mind my rats nest behind the computer, took about 7 minutes. I have dialtone, the guy is out. He basically swapped the cable modem with the Motorola Box, and went to some provisioning web-site to activate it. Had some trouble with Linksys, so plugged in the laptop.
OK now the guy is gone, so let's put back the LAN together. Turned off Linksys, and the Cable modem for 5 mins turn, straighten out the wires, turn in back on again. Check my IP address, it was same as before. very staticy for a dynamic address that it hasn't changed in three years, and now survived a modem change, but I digress.
Now let's play, called up ATT Vmail to change the message, redirecting people to the new number.
Made about 10 calls, half in the area, half across the country.
Very good quality on 80% of the calls. Dial tone seems to come a smidgen faster compared to the POTS line.
Calls complete very fast, sometimes get answers without rings, so it is a little weird, since you hear the first ring a little later than the other guy, usually its the other way around.
Got some clipping and a little 'warbling' on a couple of calls, not any more annoying than cellphone on LIRR. A little annoying but acceptable, the call didn't drop, and 'overcame' the problem. Also had a little problem when I dialed too fast, or hit redial, almost like the motorola cable modem doesn't like the DTMF. Sometimes misses it completely and the dial tone doesn't go away. Changed phones, seems like problem with only one phone. Got fast busy once, had to hit redial about 3 times before the call went through, interestingly call was to 516 area code, where their Lightpath switch is located.
Just to make things clear, the problems were very few and for very short (sub-second) periods. At least that is what it seems to my ears, I am perfectionist when it comes to voice lines.
Called OV, they ran line tests said the signal was very weak. They made me reset the modem, things didn't improve.
She said she could do no more and had to escalate the call.
20 mins later wife says that a cablevision truck is blocking the driveway. very surprised, went out to talk to the guy who is monkeying around with the service wires. Turns out he is doing something else, had a little disruption, about 2 mins, since I was online.
But the call quality improves. DTMF dropouts still annoying since its my favorite phone.
Friday 4/4/2003
The OV Tech calls, runs line tests, says signal very strong, maybe the guy monkeying with wires fixed something. Have a long chat, the tech is very Knowledgeable, seems concerned about the DTMF issue, says he will keep the case open and follow-up on it. Also tells me that they will go to a soft-switch in July, OV is negotiating for one now. Currenlty they are on a 5ESS at Lightpath, no secret, but says when they are on the softswitch they will be able to match all Vonage services. I asked about vmail, he says all services, so I am hopeful.
He says to look out for clipping and fast busies, and see if I get them again, I gave him the number that I had troubles with. Overall a good call, knowledgeable tech, but says the service is still new and all the problems are being worked out. I was hoping they would tweak some settings in the motorola box for the the DTMF settings, but no such luck.
Make about 20 more calls, no fast busies, or clipping today, so must have been the weak signal earlier.
Have left a message on the other line informing people to calll me on this number, have received about 7 calls so far, no problems.
Will keep people updated about my experience. | |
| I wonder when the tech said they would match all of Vonage's services, if he meant the ability to choose a phone number from a different area code, virtual phone numbers, or international calling. I would think the int'l calling would be a top priority. | |
| I think I mis-state, I think he meant to say they would be able to provide all the services that are available by using a soft-switch, not neccesarily Vonage. On the business side I don't see cablevision getting as flexible as Vonage, and flex phone numbers would be one of those things. As far as the Intl goes, it would be intereting to see if they want to deal with itemized billing, right now the service is pretty straight forward, so the billing is simple, once you add options then it gets tricky, let us see how this unfolds. He did say, they have been told that VOIP lines are the future of the company. I wonder if he meant Cablevision or Optimum Voice. | |
| reply to aniskhwaja
Hi man,
In in the VOIP telecom buisness. I dont quite deal with residential services like VONAGE or CV , more IPPhones, soft phones for longdistance calls.
As for the Fast busy after dialing, I see this lots when one of our Cisco 7200 has problems registering the device, that or it is a billing thing. Of course there is always a possibility that its a termination thing but normally, Id say its a GateKeeper / Gateway miscommunication thing..
cheers | | |
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| OV uses NCS (an MGCP varient), not H.323. There is no "gatekeeper".
I'd say the tech that visited did a great job. Enjoy the service. | |
| Does the Optimum Voice service support Call Waiting ID? | |
| reply to aniskhwaja
Optimum Voice is being marketed as costing $35.
What's the real cost after taxes and other fees? | |
 CamPremium
join:2003-01-25
Luther, OK | reply to vincent007
said by vincent007:
Does the Optimum Voice service support Call Waiting ID?
No | |
 jayklm
join:2000-10-01
Brightwaters, NY | reply to aniskhwaja
If optimum voice had calling to Hawaii I would have gone with OV. One thing that OV probably won’t have is the ability to take the box anywhere in the world and have your local line with you. With the ATA all you need is a broad band connection. This is neat. I have been using vonage for about 6 months now and I had a problem the first week of service (faulty ATA). Since I got the ATA replaced, Service has been excellent. The connection when I call Hawaii is better than Verizon!
jayklm | |
hkelloggPremium
join:2001-10-08
New Brunswick, NJ | reply to aniskhwaja
any word on the rollout plans on optimum voice ? I was wondering when it might be available in my area | |
| soon, I called them, in a few months..
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