1 recommendation |
Why get itIf there is not price advantage to current land line service why get it? | |
|
| morboComplete Your Transaction join:2002-01-22 00000 |
morbo
Member
2008-Dec-12 4:01 pm
Re: Why get itall that extra VALUE! think of the time saved with BUNDLING! | |
|
| Hajman join:2001-12-17 Newtown Square, PA
1 recommendation |
to joe01880
said by joe01880:If there is not price advantage to current land line service why get it? Answer: VOIP features (like simultaneous ring) that are not available to landline customers. If Verizon is able to deliver the quality and reliability of landline services, VOIP features and bundled pricing that is the same or less than their current bundled pricing, digital voice will be superior to landline service. | |
|
| | |
Re: Why get itsaid by Hajman:said by joe01880:If there is not price advantage to current land line service why get it? Answer: VOIP features (like simultaneous ring) that are not available to landline customers. If Verizon is able to deliver the quality and reliability of landline services, VOIP features and bundled pricing that is the same or less than their current bundled pricing, digital voice will be superior to landline service. Features may be one thing; however, nobody changes providers based on features alone. Worse, they still have to compete (in most areas, heads-up) with other VOIP providers, and especially Comcast Digital Voice, which is one of the leading culprits in VZ losing residential landlines (oddly enough, the largest culprit is VZW, as cell-only adoption, especially among younger households, and retired baby-boomers, is growing in the current economic climate). Just as VZ had to step up and compete with Comcast on price in TV, they will have to do the same thing if they are going to get serious about VOIP. (Naturally, they run the risk of causing even faster landline losses as existing VZ Freedom Essentials customers that have been, or will soon be, migrating to FIOS, migrate to VOIP.) | |
|
| FFH5 Premium Member join:2002-03-03 Tavistock NJ |
to joe01880
said by joe01880:If there is not price advantage to current land line service why get it? Integrated services that can tie internet; voice; TV functions together in a pkg. It also has enhanced capabilities that arent available with traditional phone services, such as scheduled call-forwarding (also known as follow me), the ability to ring multiple phone numbers simultaneously (e.g., both home and mobile phone), phone-book synchronization and click-to-dial. Plus more to come along - like scheduling DVR recordings from a phone call. Sending email msgs using voice to text translators, etc. | |
|
| n2jtx join:2001-01-13 Glen Head, NY |
to joe01880
said by joe01880:If there is not price advantage to current land line service why get it? Exactly! Plus with Verizon being "The Phone Company" you are still stuck with all of those pesky fees and nuisance charges just like cable and their video service. The best solution is to get voice from the cable company, video from the phone company and flip a coin for internet. | |
|
| | |
Re: Why get itsaid by n2jtx:said by joe01880:If there is not price advantage to current land line service why get it? Exactly! Plus with Verizon being "The Phone Company" you are still stuck with all of those pesky fees and nuisance charges just like cable and their video service. The best solution is to get voice from the cable company, video from the phone company and flip a coin for internet. Have you seen what the cable companies charge for unbundled voip? Last I checked, around here Comcast VOIP a la carte was $60! | |
|
| | SlidetboneMazin Go Premium Member join:2002-11-10 Land O Lakes, FL |
to n2jtx
said by n2jtx:Exactly! Plus with Verizon being "The Phone Company" you are still stuck with all of those pesky fees and nuisance charges just like cable and their video service. The best solution is to get voice from the cable company, video from the phone company and flip a coin for internet. I don't think so. I believe VoIP is not regulated like analog POTS, so those fees you speak of apply only for analog POTS. If that is the case, then bundling with Verizon will make more sense. Best broadband, best TV and best digital voice...well, when DV becomes available and passes scrutiny . | |
|
| | | |
meh37
Anon
2008-Dec-13 1:33 pm
Re: Why get itsaid by Slidetbone: "I believe VoIP is not regulated like analog POTS..."
yet. Federal, state, and local governments have been slowly migrating "land-line" fees over to VoIP; eventually, I don't doubt that govt. will try to move all such fees to every voice service, regardless of how it's delivered. | |
|
| | | n2jtx join:2001-01-13 Glen Head, NY |
to Slidetbone
said by Slidetbone:I don't think so. I believe VoIP is not regulated like analog POTS, so those fees you speak of apply only for analog POTS. A rate schedule I received for FiOS shows an FCC Line charge of $6.50. FCC Line charge?!?!?! Cable does not have that one (yet). | |
|
| | | | SlidetboneMazin Go Premium Member join:2002-11-10 Land O Lakes, FL |
Re: Why get it...yes, but slowly those fees have also gotten to broadband and TV services.
I really do not believe that with our government ways we will escape the taxing of any services whether regulated or not. I remember when cellphone service was flat based on the plan. Now, there are fees included based on the rate center of the cellphone number assigned.
It will be a matter of how much we will stand to pay. | |
|
| |
|
Pricing & TOSI posted this in the FIOS Forum last month. That link goes to my post containing the PDF of the TOS with pricing in the TOS. » Re: Caller ID on Screen | |
|
en102Canadian, eh? join:2001-01-26 Valencia, CA |
en102
Member
2008-Dec-12 3:20 pm
AT&T is hardly embracing VoIPquote: It looks like both AT&T and Verizon are ready to really embrace VoIP, something they'd steered away from for fear of cannibalizing already dying landline businesses.
1. AT&T scrapped Call Vantage 2. AT&T has deployed Uverse Voice in a few of its Uverse markets where POTS exists. Here in Santa Clarita (suburb of Los Angeles), Uverse has been available since May 2007, however, VoIP product from AT&T is not available, and the local stores do not know if/when it will be available. | |
|
|
unsure...i'm unsure if this is convincing enough to switch from my landline as i already have fios. i just don't see the appeal. | |
|
|
Will they dump Voicewing now?I have had Voicewing for 2 or 3 years now and love it. I got Voicewing at the same time as FIOS. I believe VZ does not own Voicewing so does that mean that they will dump Voicewing?
I have no intentions of paying Verizon's prices, I saw $40 a month mentioned somewhere in this thread and their web site mentions per minute charges "in and out of network".
Maybe Verizon could spend a few $$'s of their profit and get a faster web site. Their FIOS and Voicewing sites are the slowest I have seen since I had dial up. | |
|
| |
Re: Will they dump Voicewing now?quote: Their FIOS and Voicewing sites are the slowest I have seen since I had dial up.
the .asp(x) at the end of the pages is the dead giveaway.... Junk Microsoft Windows servers providing the websites. | |
|
|
I'll stick to vonageI've had them here in nyc for 6 years without any hassles and only 27$ with tax. | |
|
Pv8man join:2008-07-24 Hammond, IN |
Pv8man
Member
2008-Dec-12 4:02 pm
Future opening for streaming Video phone over VOIP?I bet you any money that verizon is eventually going to start advertising VOIP Video phone.
If not, it sounds like a good idea, considering they defiantly have the capacity to supply the demands of the future. | |
|
almahixAllegro ma non troppo join:1999-10-18 Camarillo, CA |
Verizon's funky pricing modelsI have FIOS triple freedom just to get the bundle discount. That includes POTS but I don't use it because I prefer my VOIP service's features which I've had since 2004. (If Verizon had an internet/tv only bundle when I signed up, I would selected that, but the price of the triple freedom bundle vs the two services ala carte made the decision natural.) I would be willing to drop my VOIP in favor of Vz digital voice if it is priced competitively, but now that Vz has the flex bundle (without POTS), that plus my exisitng VOIP costs less than triple freedom or the projected FIOS bundle with voip, internet, and tv. When my contract is up, whoever has the best price for the three services I want gets my business. I don't care if it is one provider or two. Could be three for all I care! | |
|
| jt4 @comcast.net |
jt4
Anon
2008-Dec-12 4:19 pm
Re: Verizon's funky pricing modelsverizons viop is alittle different then say vonage viop. vonage voip signal does not go throght vonages network. it uses public internet. digital voice service such like comcast verizon uverse goes throght the provider own network. so they have more comtrol over call quility. does alarm systems work on vonage no. but they do with several other digital voice service with other providers. | |
|
|
meh37
Anon
2008-Dec-12 4:19 pm
Total cost?Given that it's from "the phone company", they can be expected to continue charging all applicable fees and taxes they currently charge--"applicable" as in "all"--over and above the "list" price. Yep, VoIP ain't what it used to be [about]: cheap calling to/from anywhere.
I already "leverage" my broadband connection for VoIP, so I really don't need to pay an additional $45, $50, or more for the pleasure of getting the same or similar from Verizon. If they want to make telco phone service relevant again, then just eliminate the line-item charges and reduce the price on the existing land-line service. | |
|
| funchordsHello MVM join:2001-03-11 Yarmouth Port, MA |
Re: Total cost?I agree with your notion that going with your Internet provider for VOIP is about as smart as going with your Internet provider for email. Besides, Verizon can't support or manage the services that they offer now.
Now they have another service for Phillipino techs to read the manual to me as they're getting shouted at by their supervisers in Tagalog!?!! I swear to Holy Hell that Verizon never calls its own support lines!
That said, almost all these services line-item their taxes and fees. They do it in order to make you want to pressure regulators to relieve them of those fees. If they priced them in, they'd still have to pay them so you're not saving any money. They should be disclosed before you sign up. | |
|
| | elray join:2000-12-16 Santa Monica, CA |
elray
Member
2008-Dec-13 2:08 am
Re: Total cost?said by funchords:That said, almost all these services line-item their taxes and fees. They do it in order to make you want to pressure regulators to relieve them of those fees. If they priced them in, they'd still have to pay them so you're not saving any money. They should be disclosed before you sign up. That's perverse logic at best. Telco has the lobbyists to counter these taxes; the public does not. Telco buys access to every state legislature and congressman, not the taxpayer. The taxpayer votes for "tax reductions" that end up being increases (Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Sacramento, to name a few). | |
|
| | |
to funchords
The funny thing (to me anyway) is that the ability to line-item taxes, fees, and surcharges was lobbied for by the telcos, as you say, to show the customer just how much of their money is not going to actually providing the service but to "overhead". The effect, however, has been almost the opposite of what the telcos wanted. All of those "extra" charges are really part of the cost of doing business; the ultimate effect of breaking them out has more than anything convinced the customer that he or she doesn't desire the service at all, so the customer will find an alternative that comes as close as possible to simply having an all-inclusive cost, or just dropping it altogether. Of course, the govt. has been moving those taxes/fees/etc. onto VoIP as quickly as it can manage it to make up for the "lost" revenue (in spite of the fact that those charges were meant to be on the PSTN infrastructure more so than the service, which, since VoIP is a data service, makes me feel immensely cheated to have to pay any additional charges for it). | |
|
| EPS4 join:2008-02-13 Hingham, MA |
to meh37
If Verizon charges you taxes (non-tax fees are different, of course) that are not applicable for the services that you are purchasing from them (i.e., POTS-specific taxes for VoIP), that would seem to be fairly good grounds for a lawsuit or something, wouldn't it? | |
|
ggma1126GGMA1126 Premium Member join:2008-08-30 Claymont, DE |
ggma1126
Premium Member
2008-Dec-12 5:45 pm
pricingalready have fios phone if price the same no need for me switch except for the xtra features, but the other problem I have is I use my landline for fax also (have distinctive ring for this) also don't like the idea of not haveing a direct 911 ability that you can't have with voip | |
|
| Mark H Premium Member join:2008-05-18 Sterling Heights, MI |
Mark H
Premium Member
2008-Dec-13 3:16 pm
Re: pricingInstead of worrying about 911 calls, just keep the regular numbers to police and fire handy. | |
|
|
Long Overdue..This is LONG OVERDUE... However, I will give Verizon enough rope with this one to hang themselves on price, features, bundles, unfees, and about a million other things that could really make this a non-event.. or just another press release with no meaning behind it.
Verizon would still have an uphill battle in NY Metro, the price to beat is: 89.85 (otherwise known as $29.95 x 3). I know this would make great inroads in Time Warner and Comcast regions though-- even if they can't match or beat Cablevision's triple play price.
What it also means is that Verizon smells blood in the water with Vonage and cash poor voip companies that they are picking their moment to go on the attack! | |
|
K3SGM- -... ...- - Premium Member join:2006-01-17 Columbia, PA |
K3SGM
Premium Member
2008-Dec-12 6:54 pm
Battery Backup???VoIP doesn't work when the power goes out, unlike the (8 hour) battery backup that the regular Fios phone service provides. How are they going to sell that unfortunate downside??? Anyone up on phreaking the ONT to keep the Internet port running until the battery backup is completely exhausted??? Plugging the BBU into an UPS has already been done, but many people are clueless as to how Fios handles power failures, this sounds like a bad idea. So much for their 99.999% telephone reliability claims | |
|
| |
Re: Battery Backup???It already has battery backup . . . the last sentence of the linked article says Existing FiOS customers are eligible to switch to Digital Voice, which Gonzalez said is enabled through a software update to the optical network terminal (ONT) device at the customer premises.
The VoIP functionality is part of the ONT, and therefore has built-in battery backup. The VoIP functionality has nothing to do with the dataport. It doesn't require an external ATA. I'm sure that five-nines reliability will not be an issue. | |
|
| |
to K3SGM
said by K3SGM:VoIP doesn't work when the power goes out, unlike the (8 hour) battery backup that the regular Fios phone service provides. How are they going to sell that unfortunate downside??? Anyone up on phreaking the ONT to keep the Internet port running until the battery backup is completely exhausted??? Plugging the BBU into an UPS has already been done, but many people are clueless as to how Fios handles power failures, this sounds like a bad idea. So much for their 99.999% telephone reliability claims If they're smart, they'll just route it through the phone line portion of the ONT... that operates on battery... we're only talking about a soft switch (in the c/o) which can put anything on that spectrum... even funky elevator music if they wanted, video.. phones (unlikely). What is unclear though, is if there was a major disruption to power in the area... would internet generally work to provide service.. or would they make failsafe routing to the pstn? | |
|
| | mrvid join:2007-06-19 Levittown, NY |
mrvid
Member
2008-Dec-13 3:02 am
Re: Battery Backup???actually I think the answer the the question is right at the bottom of the verizon digital voice page, either click the link in the article or the one below and scroll to the bottom... » promo.verizon.com/fiosdi ··· icedemo/and the answer is yes, 8hrs of backup battery talk time As far as price, I imagine if cable is already offering similar phone service for cheaper, Verizon will likely have to at least lower their costs to that level if not lower. | |
|
| HarleyYacLee Premium Member join:2001-10-13 Allendale, NJ |
to K3SGM
Hi, Aren't Cox,TW,Comcast,OOL all VOIP? Lee | |
|
| |
to K3SGM
I've a SmartUps1500 that runs just my router. I'm sure I can get atleast 4 hours... But then again, I've a cellphone. And a solar-crank charger thing incase of emergencies. Almost infinite juice (till the battery refuses to charge).
If my cell reception wasn't so shielded, I'd drop the landline.
What gripes me more about Verizon is that it doesn't allow you to disable the cellphone greetings, login to a call central to download calls (like WAV or mp3 files), to login anywhere and check/make calls...like Vonage. Oh, and bye Vonage...this will surely be the end. | |
|
HarleyYacLee Premium Member join:2001-10-13 Allendale, NJ |
HarleyYac
Premium Member
2008-Dec-12 10:46 pm
One WordMagicjack Looks like they "may" have a reasonable product. Anyone use it ? Lee | |
|
| |
Re: One WordThey have voip forum section here already. km said by HarleyYac:Magicjack Looks like they "may" have a reasonable product. Anyone use it ? Lee | |
|
|
Trademark infringement?I wonder if Comcast will sue them seeing as their product is also called Digital Voice. You'd think Verizon would have come up with a different name. | |
|
| |
dec13
Anon
2008-Dec-13 10:40 am
Re: Trademark infringement?said by massysett:I wonder if Comcast will sue them seeing as their product is also called Digital Voice. You'd think Verizon would have come up with a different name. "Digital Voice" may be too generic to trademark and since it is prefaced with Verizon, I doubt it. That said - imitation is the highest form of flattery | |
|
| | |
meh37
Anon
2008-Dec-13 6:02 pm
Re: Trademark infringement?Is there a Verizon equivalent to "Comcastic"? (or "craptastic"... as you prefer... jus' wonderin') | |
|
|
jimboe
Member
2008-Dec-13 4:16 pm
Different from current FiOS phoneI thought the current offering of phone service to FiOS customers already was deployed via VoIP. VZ cuts the copper when you goto FiOS. The phone service is not via the PSTN (POTS) any longer.
Perhaps this new one just offers more "traditional", "VoIP-like" features than the "existing" phone service via FiOS? | |
|
| |
meh37
Anon
2008-Dec-13 6:03 pm
Re: Different from current FiOS phoneNew FiOS customers who maintain their land-line still get phone service via PSTN; copper or fiber doesn't matter... it still goes back to the CO and is handled the same way. There are differences with respect to signaling/frequencies when using fiber instead of copper, but almost anything you might have used the copper line for before going with FiOS will work exactly the same way. (Some alarm systems might have a problem, for example.) The voice service, however, is exactly the same (presuming you make no changes to your phone service when you get FiOS installed)--same price, same fees, same old PSTN. | |
|
|
Anonymous Coward
Anon
2008-Dec-13 11:24 pm
Say what you say...But tell me another VOIP provider offering the same level of services as Viatalk - 2 lines, great price, loaded with features, etc .. yeah they have periodic down times, but if you have decent cell coverage from home - well worth the money if you aren't in for bundling down with Comcrap/Verizon.
No, this is not an ad for Viatalk, I've been a Viatalk residential customer for 3 years and the W.A.F. is above average the last couple months. Beware non-tech savvy however.... | |
|
|
Is it really VoIP?From what I heard, FiOS phone service wasn't really VoIP. Or am I wrong in thinking so? | |
|
kyler13Is your fiber grounded? join:2006-12-12 Annapolis, MD |
What a joke$45? No thanks! I pay $15/month for my VoIP that has been every bit as reliable and consistent as landline. If this doesn't come in at $25/month, it's a worthless offering. | |
|
|
this is nothing new Verizon already has a $6 lifeline phoneYou have to hunt on their site but they already have an Economy I Service that is $6 for the line and 6 cents per minute. And in many areas their is a flat rate unlimited local for just a few dollars more.
I think this is just an example of Verizon trying to use the press to boost its stock prices by appearing to have a way to challenge the "VOIP threat" (which another of their divisions has joined already). | |
|
|
|