Comcast Tops In VoIP Audio QualityThough something called a "landline" still tops for reliability... ( old news - 10:08AM Wednesday Nov 12 2008) tags: competition · business · VoIP · Comcast · VonageComcast has been signing up a ridiculous number of VoIP customers each quarter (half a million in Q3), and has very quickly become the nation's fourth largest phone carrier. Not only are they the biggest VoIP provider, they offer the highest quality calls, according to a new study (pdf) by Keynote Competitive Research. The study compared AT&T landline service or POTS (plain old telephone service) with six broadband VoIP providers (AT&T CallVantage, EarthLink trueVoice, Lingo, Packet8, Verizon VoiceWing and Vonage) and two cable voice service providers (Time Warner Digital Phone and Comcast Digital Voice). Carriers were ranked based on two categories: Reliability and Audio Quality. Service availability, call completion rates, average answer time, and dropped audio performance factors all contributed to a carrier's reliability ranking. The study concluded that AT&T landline service (996), Time Warner Cable Digital Phone (925) and Verizon Voicewing (872) ranked highest in service reliability. Comcast Digital Voice (901), Verizon Voicewing (609) and AT&T Landline (506) ranked highest in audio quality. That said, it looks like the audio quality among most competitors (particularly those running on non-managed networks) didn't pose much of a competitive challenge to the big players. "We've been conducting VoIP studies for more than three years and have seen significant trends develop, such as serious disparity in reliability and audio performance between VoIP services on managed networks and those that rely on existing broadband home network connections," said Ken Harker, senior consultant at Keynote. "While conditions are dramatically improved for Comcast Digital Voice and Verizon VoiceWing customers, the best that other consumers can hope for is merely tolerable audio quality." Think having your service qualified as "merely tolerable" does much to help already struggling independent VoIP operators like Vonage? At least carriers were consistently merely tolerable -- according to Keynote, only one of the providers in the study failed to provide dial tone 99.9% of the time or better (you'd have to pay for the study to find out who). According to the firm, audio quality is about the same as it was for carriers last year, while overall reliability is improving.
Related:- Comcast Says They'll Play Nice With Vonage
- FCC Doesn't Like Comcast's New Treatment of VoIP
- Comcast Denies Unfair VoIP Discrimination
- Verizon Can't Use Number Ports To Win Back Landline Customers
- Comcast Struggles With Subscriber Additions
- Comcast Now Third Largest Phone Company
- Vonage (Sort Of) Posts a Profit
- Comcast Considering 4G Voice
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Cheese
Premium
join:2003-10-26
Naples, FL
clubs:
| Re: CDV said by dadkins  :Damn Right!  Even back when I had CDP, it worked great, huh Cheese? CDV is excellent too! Yep!  | |
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battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000 | average answer time? Oh great. More marketing BS to follow. Now instead of "Fewest Dropped Calls" type commercials we get to hear carriers brag about the fastest answer times.  | |
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Matt
Take me down to the paradise city
Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
 ·North State Commun..
|  Yep, we've been saying it for years
said by Ken Harker :
"We've been conducting VoIP studies for more than three years and have seen significant trends develop, such as serious disparity in reliability and audio performance between VoIP services on managed networks and those that rely on existing broadband home network connections," said Ken Harker, senior consultant at Keynote.
Yep, we've been telling people this for years. The managed networks (Comcast Digital Voice, TW Digital Phone, AT&T CallVantage, etc) are far superior in every way to non-managed services such as Vonage, Packet8, and even my business-class Nuvio nPBX based service.
As connection speeds get faster and public networks improve, the non-managed services will get better, but will never be on par with the managed services. | |
| | nasadude
join:2001-10-05
Rockville, MD
 ·Comcast
| Re: Yep, we've been saying it for years the question is:
is it worth the extra money (in some cases 2X or more) to have one of these managed services?
if you have a very good net connection, the answer is probably NO.
if your connection sux, the answer is most likely YES. | |
| | | keyboard5684
join:2001-08-01
Youngsville, PA
 ·Teliax VOIP
 ·WestPAnet Inc.
·WestPAnet Inc. CA..
| Re: Yep, we've been saying it for years Yes, I would have said my experience does not match the study. I have both a landline and Vonage. I have a great internet connection (fiber NOT through Verizon but a local carrier) and my Vonage is excellent all the time.
My landline is static all over (2 lines ), goes out about 3 times a year for days at a time, and is really just horible.
So, the point that as carriers improve there internet services to support VOIP (which also means supporting video much better) the third party like Vonage will all then be comparable.
I do not think it is fair to compare a Comcast line on a Comcast internet connection against say Vonage on Comcast.
Really time will truly tell. As more demand comes from technology wiser people that there video and voice comes in just as good as the rest of there content competition will catch up. Or, it will go the other way. | |
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Matt
Take me down to the paradise city
Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
·North State Commun..
| Re: Yep, we've been saying it for years said by keyboard5684 :I do not think it is fair to compare a Comcast line on a Comcast internet connection against say Vonage on Comcast. Why not? Vonage isn't an ISP and you can't run Comcast Digital Voice on your DSL connection, so it's a perfectly valid comparison. | |
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cdru
Go Colts
Premium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
| Re: Yep, we've been saying it for years Comcast's VoIP isn't in the same class as a traditional VoIP provider if I understand their setup correctly. Comcast has their own network for routing calls over so they can give a higher priority/better connection. With Vonage & friends, you are at the mercy of the internet backbones and congestion.
I think it's a valid comparison as it's technically VoIP and not traditional POTS, but not 100% the same type of service. | |
| | | | | | keyboard5684
join:2001-08-01
Youngsville, PA
·Teliax VOIP
·WestPAnet Inc.
·WestPAnet Inc. CA..
| Re: Yep, we've been saying it for years I am not sure with Comcast, but when I designed cable networks (4 years ago) we provided a Cisco router with 2 phone out jacks. Then, over a completely separate protocol (not IP) we pulled that voice over the copper in a way that no matter what the internet did the voice went right to the headend. The voice was even on a different channel.
So I really do not consider Comcast as VOIP voice services, even thought I do not know there design. Reason being is voice services, from what I have seen, are not over IP, in cable plants.
Also, voice circuits at the headend are given different priority and setup than say a T1 or whatever.
It just makes no sense to compare apples to oranges here. They are not the same service. Vonage and buddies all have a lot more challenges than a local call on a local network like Comcast. To me it is like saying Fios phone service is the same as VOIP. Or POTS is the same as cell service. | |
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Matt
Take me down to the paradise city
Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
·North State Commun..
| Re: Yep, we've been saying it for years said by keyboard5684 :It just makes no sense to compare apples to oranges here. They are not the same service. Vonage and buddies all have a lot more challenges than a local call on a local network like Comcast. To me it is like saying Fios phone service is the same as VOIP. Or POTS is the same as cell service. Again, it makes perfect sense because all the products you mention are in direct competition with each other. | |
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jmn1207
Premium
join:2000-07-19
Reston, VA
 ·Verizon FIOS
| I had CDV for about a year and the call quality was excellent. I think Skype is a touch better in that regard, however. I spend several hours playing cards with my family in Chicago and Florida while using a Skype conference on speaker. It sounds like we are all in the same room.
The only problem I had with CDV was that on some occasions people would not be able to reach me, even though everything looked good on my end. I just never received the call. This was from a POTS lines and cell phones at random times. People would call my cell phone at home and ask where I was. They would try and call me again and I would never get the call and it would just ring and ring on their end. "Not me!" should be their slogan. 
When the price jumped my Verizon cost for the same service, I just dropped it in favor of Skype with a Skype-In number. Works perfectly fine and I will be getting FiOS 20/5 installed this Saturday, which should only improve my already rock stable Skype service.
CDV was a great product, but after all the fees and junk tacked on to the cost, it was still $50 for me. Verizon matched Comcast for price in my area, with the same features, minus the internet-based voice mail. And that voice mail did not work worth a crap, if the site was even available. And it only sorta worked with a default IE browser for me. It may have changed since then, but I did not wait around for that to happen.
I have to keep a POTS line, so the extra phone line is just a convenience thing, and Skype was cheapest and most reliable for a year of service. And again, with what I consider to be the best call quality when I called other computers, POTS phones, and cell phones. At least it was for me, at my location, with my set up and equipment. | |
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UnKown
The Underground Network
join:2002-09-08
Orlando, FL
·Earthlink Cable Mo..
| Re: Yep, we've been saying it for years i agree with you, i have no problems with skype. and for 60 dollars a year you get unlimited calls to the u.s. your own phone number and voicmail. i just cant beat that service. i never have problems with the call quality, but bright house networks has been the best internet provider ive ever had. | |
| Ytsejamer1
join:2008-01-18
Somersworth, NH
| Gotta agree...it's pretty good I've been a Comcast phone customer since 2001...when they were using AT&T's switches for their backbone, and after they started using their IP backbone. I've never had a problem with it and it's been very reliable for me.
I hate to love anything comcast, but gotta give them props on this one. They seem to be doing things right with their phone service. | |
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NOCMan
Verizon Fios User
Premium
join:2004-09-30
Flower Mound, TX
| I call BS Is it not amazing that this report shows the top 3 telco/cable services as being on top.
I have vonage and I have no issues with voice quality ever. Perhaps they need to get a line with more than 128k upstream.
--
Mac Chatter
»www.macchatter.net | |
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knightmb
Everybody Lies
join:2003-12-01
Franklin, TN
·AT&T DSL Service
| Re: I call BS I agree, what is with the other "D, E, F" providers? Who are they? Are they afraid someone will call them out on their report and data? The report was only 4 pages long and offered nothing useful other than an endorsement for the Top 3 companies.
The report mentions (but doesn't say who) that one provider failed to work 99.9% of the time? Geez, sounds like someone didn't setup their VoIP line properly.
I call BS on the report as well. Seems more like an advertisement just kind of written up from scratch.
--
Fight NebuAD and the like:
Click Here to pollute their data | |
| | | 
ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium
join:2005-03-14
Putnam, CT
clubs: | Re: I call BS You propably have to buy the study to know who they are. | |
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cdru
Go Colts
Premium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
| said by knightmb :The report mentions (but doesn't say who) that one provider failed to work 99.9% of the time? Geez, sounds like someone didn't setup their VoIP line properly. I think you might have misunderstood how it's worded. I think what they were trying to say is that 1 provider failed to work more then 1 time in 1000, not that one provider didn't work 999 of 1000 attempts. | |
| 
mod_wastrel
join:2008-03-28
·magicjack.com
| Limiting factors... This makes it sound like call quality will be better simply by originating from CDV. This might be true for CDV to CDV calls (or not), but any call going through the PSTN is going to be no better than any other call going through that PSTN (not that all PSTN connectivity is the same). Endpoints factor into it, too. And, sure, managed is better, but the PSTN is, by its nature, managed. | |
| | rmrper
join:2006-06-13
Garland, TX
·AT&T CallVantage
·Verizon FIOS
| VoiceWing?!?! I find the high rankings of VoiceWing to be a surprise. I'm on FIOS, and one of the reasons I stayed away from them and went for ATT CallVantage was that VoiceWing doesn't have many good reviews here at BBR. And in fact, many BBR reviews indicate call quality was not good. | |
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Staplegun
join:2005-04-20
Flower Mound, TX | Re: VoiceWing?!?! call quality was very unpredictable at launch in 2003, but now it is great.... | |
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Lee GWB
Yaco
Premium
join:2001-10-13
Allendale, NJ
·Verizon Online DSL
| I had Vonage and Voice wing. I never had a problem with either. I left Vonage because I thought the ship was sinking. I left Voice Wing because I assumed that I would get all the features at around the same price. Guess what? VZ POTS is more $$ and less services than VZ Voice wing.
I do believe Fios Phone (VZ Inhouse VOIP) is coming soon.
VZ Voice wing I believe is outsourced.
Lee | |
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Staplegun
join:2005-04-20
Flower Mound, TX | Voicewing I have had Verizon Voicewing since it launched in 2003. It was a little shaky at first, but the quality has been excellent the last few years. I use it for conference calls, etc. without issue. | |
| 
mOjO_420
join:2008-08-20
Bartlett, IL
|  but did the study ask WHY?
I have Comcast's higher tier Internet package and Vonage phone service. I'm no fanboy of Vonage's but have been a customer since long before Comcast and others got into the VoIP game. I use an old PC running pfSense [I highly recommend this] as my firewall. pfSense has superb traffic shaping and I have tweaked mine such that I can simultaneously make a Vonage phone call, download 5 or 6 torrents, and game online without the slightest problem. I remember having to use a Linksys router as my gateway for a very brief while a year or two ago and it just didn't work. I had to choose between the above activities and would get a phone call and have to yell upstairs to my wife to stop the torrents or the phone call would drop packets and audio would cutout.
My point here is not how awesome my home firewall/network is but that my Vonage voice quality is excellent (better than some landlines even) and for reliability I'd have to give them 5 nine's because I can never remember a problem with the service quality or reliability that didn't actually stem from my own internet connection or network. Studies like this prove nothing to me except what I already knew...
(End-User + File Sharing + Vonage) = User blames Vonage.
So if you know what you're doing enough to setup pfSense or m0n0wall or any kind of good QoS firewall then don't waste $40+ on Comcast's phone service when you can get Vonage and others for $25 or less (if you dont need unlimited minutes). | |
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fatmanskinny
Premium
join:2004-01-04
Wandering | Quality is fine for me! I love the quality. It is just as clear as a landline. However, I don't like the outages. They are few and far in between but they happen.
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God saved me from myself! Thank you, Lord, in the Name of Jesus! | |
| 
Anon Cow
@telekenex.com | Step #1 for Comcast VoIP call 1.) Kill uTorrent
2.) Tell wife to not stream anything
3.) Make offering to the VoIP gods
4.) Dial call
5.) Call back on cell when echo starts | |
| | modemslayer
join:2003-12-11
Spokane, WA
·Comcast
| Re: Step #1 for Comcast VoIP call said by Anon Cow :
1.) Kill uTorrent
2.) Tell wife to not stream anything
3.) Make offering to the VoIP gods
4.) Dial call
5.) Call back on cell when echo starts
That's true for my Vonage line but not my CDV, which sounds as good as a landline no matter who is doing what on our home network. And with the triple play bundle I think it's like a dollar more than the Vonage.
To be fair to Vonage I never enabled QoS on my router, so I know I could get better quality out of it. But if I could get a second CDV line for the same price as the bundled one, I'd probably ditch Vonage. But I don't think they have "quadruple play".
I can see why so many people are switching. My other voice option here in Spokane is Qwest, and last I talked with them, their "special" was $28.99 a month for local only, and they had so many different long distance plans they couldn't even keep their own plans straight.
Skype is solid too. I've been thinking of buying a wi-fi phone for Skype and having one less router in the basement, and using it on the road too. | |
| | 
fuziwuzi
Not born yesterday
Premium
join:2005-07-01
Atlanta, GA
| said by Anon Cow :
1.) Kill uTorrent
2.) Tell wife to not stream anything
3.) Make offering to the VoIP gods
4.) Dial call
5.) Call back on cell when echo starts
I'm glad I don't have to do any of that with my T-Mobile @Home service. Using the T-Mobile supplied Linksys router with the voice ports, it is preconfigured to do QoS for the voice connections, so no user setup required. I've had bittorrent downloading at superfast speeds, and a YouTube video streaming while talking on the phone with no degradation in quality. I've never had a dropped call or static, everyone I talk to (including friends in China) tell me the calls are crystal clear.
And that is unlimited local and domestic long distance for $9.95/month added to my cellphone bill. Can't beat that!
I have it running on my Comcast 6/1 cable service.
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***************
I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. We've created life in our own image.
- Stephen Hawking | |
|
Zen6
@rr.com | some advantages POTS has not had infrastructure upgrades in 40-50yrs. The plant is old and all the maint in the world cant improve whats been hanging in the air for 1/2 a century. The techs do their best with what they have to work with. | |
| wildcat man
join:2007-11-03
Kansas City, MO
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
| good audio, but is it reliable? What did I miss here - Comcast not in the top 3 for reliability (which means call completion) but tops in audio quality? Is the conclusion that it works well when it works? I'd be interested in knowing where Comcast placed in reliability. Kind of reminds me of my old TR-7 convertible. Looks nice, but don't depend on it for trips over 30 miles. | |
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fatmanskinny
Premium
join:2004-01-04
Wandering
·Comcast Digital Vo..
·Comcast
| Re: good audio, but is it reliable? It is pretty reliable. However, when Comcast has outages, the cable phone may go down with it. Other than those occasional hiccups, I think it is a great alternative to land lines. Out of 10, I give it an 8.5. The quality is great, you get a ton of features and I can fax over it like a regular land line.
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God saved me from myself! Thank you, Lord, in the Name of Jesus! | |
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phoneboy3
@shawcable.net
| Yawn! As others have said over and over a thousand times, this is NOT the same as VoIP over internet so should not be compared.
Cable VoIP NEVER touches Internet traffic. It is 100% VoIP over a private managed network.
VoIP over internet will never be as consistent or guaranteed. Nobody ever claimed otherwise. It IS often quite a bit less expensive though! | |
| Telco
join:2008-12-19
·Callcentric
·Comcast
1 edit | CommieCast Too bad their customer service sucks. Took me 35 calls to get my number transferred from Verizon.
They are good until you have a problem. That's when you realize they must pay bare minimum wages and hire bottom of the barrel staff. Which is the case in the DC area. | |
| KnowItAll
join:2009-01-22
Los Angeles, CA
| Comcast Is there really a bad cable company anymore? They all have the technology and pretty much charge the same (high) rates. At least with cable you get Voip service - I've had mine for a year and haven't had any outages, echo problems with my service (Cox Cable). I do think Comcast has very aggressive marketing with their Voip service and this will allow them to gain marketshare while the rest of the cable companies are selling digital phone service. Comcast's voip rates aren't that great - there are alot of small companies with far better rates - I found clear price and service level comparisons at Voip Discounts. | |
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