VOIP Tech Chat → Packet 8

Can anyone give me any info anout there service. I am not worried about 100% reliabilty since I have a cell phone. But that also does not mean it can be down half the time also. Last thing is if they are good why are they so much cheaper then Vontage or VoicePulse.

I have Packet8 now for 3 weeks, it was never down not even a minute, the quality in general is less than regular phone company but better than cell phone, it works great for USA and Canada calls, less quality for international calls, if you have DSL you will not be able to cancel your regular phone company but you can keep it min. if you have cable internet you will be able to cancel your regular phone company, they are cheaper because they try to gain ground in this hot VOIP market, don't listen to anyone , try it for yourself for a month, if you don't like cancel and get your money back, to start you need to pay the 1st month $19.95 + $30 startup fee, if you have recommendation code you can save $20, make sure you get a code to save on your startup fees.

I had Vonage and now have Packet 8. Both are very reliable except when they are going through upgrades when you have problems for a day or two. Check the services available for both and select on that basis. I have had problems which I thought were Vonage or Packet8, turn out to be router. Had to disconnect and reconnect router and then all was fine. My sound quality is as good as POTS line. I have cancelled my LD carrier.

if you just want a dialtone, p8 is the cheapest option... the others offer more features, better website, etc

I'm very pleased with my Packet 8 service. There's also another message board that discusses Packet 8 service at Yahoo Finance:

»finance.messages.yahoo.c ··· id=72554

Good luck!

Packet 8 has been very reliable for me. I've never had an outtage with them. Vonage has gone down a few times for short periods of time but never P8. One thing, about once a month, I'll have a busy signal when I lift the handset to the P8 phone. I have to unplug the DTA and plug it back in to reset it. Other than that mild annoyance, P8 seems to do exactly what I want it to do: cheap, reliable phone calls using a South Carolina phone number.

Good luck!

I've had Packet8 for several months now with few problems. Generally pleased with service. Most calls sound as good as POTS. I will get the occasional fast busy signal when I attempt to dial out ( the second or third attempt typically works) or an occasional dropped call but these tend to occur less than five percent of the time. I still have my SBC line and use Packet8 mostly for my local-zone and long distance calls. Nice to have a second phone line as well.

I think a lot of the problems folks report with VOIP are cable network or router related. I have Comcast here in surburban Detroit with few problems. My advice would be to try it for 30 days and if it does'nt work well for you send it back.

I have had Packet8 for 2-3 months. I signed up for Packet8 when a local rate center for my area wasn't available yet. The order time was quick! After a few minutes of opening the DTA, I was making crisp and clear long distance phone calls. When a rate center in LA was added I called them and had the switch me to the new rate center. I couldn't have been happier. I called BellSouth and told them where to put their phone line. There were a few bumps in the recent upgrade to Packet8's network but all is well now. Now if I could just get Cox Communications to fix up the occasional packet loss problem.

said by digiblur:

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Now if I could just get Cox Communications to fix up the occasional packet loss problem.

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How much of an effect does this have on your P8 service? Due to a move I will probably be moving into a Cox area pretty soon and was wondering what to expect with my VoIP service.