 
Z80
1 point 77
Premium
join:2009-08-31
Amerika | It's not what you make... ...it's what you keep. | |
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jgkolt
Premium
join:2004-02-21
Lakewood, OH
clubs: | Re: At least with VOIP there are choices ... so what are our favorite inexpensive reliable voip providers? | |
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Plattsburgh
@charter.com
| Phonepower. Only 14.95 a month with a two year contract (18.03 with taxes). Unlimited US & Canada. Cloned 2nd line (I use mine for my AIO with fax). Put that with my 2 year contract with Charter for 29.99 a month for 5 meg service and I get phone and internet for 48.02 a month for 2 years. Awesome. Oh and I've been with phonepower for over a year without any problems. | |
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Steve Mehs
Go Sabres
join:2005-07-16
| Re: At least with VOIP there are choices ... My thing has always been I want to get phone service from a company I know and trust. As much as I loathe Verizon at least I know tomorrow morning when I wake up I'll have phone service, the chances of Verizon going belly up is zilch. No way in hell am I going to get phone service from some rinky dink operation that I never heard of that may not be around next week. I do not trust any of these ubercheap small VoIP providers, if their prices are too good to be true, you know they can't be making money and then you have a SunRocket all over again.
Only thing I'll leave Verizon POTS for is Time Warner Digital Phone. It may be slightly more than real VoIP, but I'd rather pay more to have the peace of mind knowing Time Warner is not going out of business anytime soon either. And plus there's the whole 911 thing. No amount of savings, no matter the unlikelihood of something not working right is worth a potential life. It's either Verizon POTS or TW Digital Phone for me, nothing else will ever be a consideration. | |
| | | | | | | | patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY
| said by cameronsfx  :Most people aren't techs so they want lower price and KISS, Keep it Simple Stupid, VOIP. Install a phone modem and it works. No QOS tinkering or tinkering with the computer's settings to make it work. People want the plug-n-play VOIP the cable outfits in the USA are offering. Yep. Nobody wants Vonage and setting up QOS and have jitter during evening internet rush hour on their congested cable node. | |
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mod_wastrel
join:2008-03-28
 ·magicjack.com
| No, it's not that VoIP is dead; it's just that the things that differentiate it from land-line service--pricing, taxes, fees, etc.--are dead or dying. Why, in a couple years you won't even be able to tell the difference between the two by looking at your monthly bill.
The more things change... | |
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dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ
| Re: No, said by mod_wastrel :it's not that VoIP is dead; it's just that the things that differentiate it from land-line service--pricing, taxes, fees, etc.--are dead or dying. Why, in a couple years you won't even be able to tell the difference between the two by looking at your monthly bill. Remember eons ago when $24.95 vonage was $24.95 out the door?
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When I gez aju zavateh na nalechoo more new yonooz tonigh molinigh - Ken Lee | |
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mod_wastrel
join:2008-03-28 | Re: No, Yep, that was when I had Vonage... good times, good times.  | |
| wistlo
join:2003-01-04
New Orleans, LA
·VOIPo
| "traditional" VOIP The new VOIP services are priced and set up to replace land lines, function for function and dollar for dollar.
The part of VOIP that many fear will die is the marketplace of small providers that provide phenomenal service and much richer feature sets for a fraction of big telco's prices. Ironically, these smaller providers are older and could be described as "traditional VOIP" when compared to the new services being bundled with expensive telco entertainment packages. CallVantage is (and soon to be, was) one example of "traditional" VOIP.
Fortunately there do seem to be some survivors out there, like Voipo and Ooma. (I am personally very pleased with VoipO's service). | |
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cameronsfx
join:2009-01-08
Pensacola, FL
 ·Cox HSI
·magicjack.com
 ·Verizon Wireless B..
 ·AT&T DSL Service
| Re: "traditional" VOIP said by wistlo :The new VOIP services are priced and set up to replace land lines, function for function and dollar for dollar. The part of VOIP that many fear will die is the marketplace of small providers that provide phenomenal service and much richer feature sets for a fraction of big telco's prices. Ironically, these smaller providers are older and could be described as "traditional VOIP" when compared to the new services being bundled with expensive telco entertainment packages. CallVantage is (and soon to be, was) one example of "traditional" VOIP. Fortunately there do seem to be some survivors out there, like Voipo and Ooma. (I am personally very pleased with VoipO's service). CallVantage was also run by AT&T employees that knew what they were doing (the old AT&T employees not SBC robots). The problem with most indie VOIP cos is they have no clue what they are doing. Porting a number takes 3 weeks or longer? They probably don't know what number pooling is either. Porting from cell to cell co is supposed to be 24hrs-2 days. 99% port in 24 hrs from another Cell co. It really is supposed to be 7 days from a Lec to someone else.
But, except for the techies, Cable's VOIP will do fine. Comcast went to #1 in what a year or so? Cox is killing BellSouth probably taking 50% of their landlines. I dumped the Telco and saved $20 a month. And, I get a $10 break on the HSI. $30 savings a month adds up to $360 a year.
And, Google voice is free, simple, and free. Voice is going to be free eventually or almost free. As Google rightly says, it is just data. | |
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mod_wastrel
join:2008-03-28
·magicjack.com
| Re: "traditional" VOIP said by cameronsfx :And, Google voice is free, simple, and free. Google, however, doesn't actually provide phone service; and there's no evidence yet that Google ever will... I'm still hopin', though, that they will... eventually.
said by cameronsfx :Voice is going to be free eventually or almost free. As Google rightly says, it is just data. Not if the "phone" companies--whether telco or cableco--and their stooges in the govt. have anything to say about it. Yeah, just data... so why is it you have to pay into the Universal Slush Fund, as well as other "fees", for "just data"? | |
| | | patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY
| said by cameronsfx :And, Google voice is free, simple, and free. Voice is going to be free eventually or almost free. As Google rightly says, it is just data. Data doesn't have PSTN CALEA and E911. | |
| chronoss2009
join:2008-09-23 | and then i made my own software passed it to my friends and we talk , give to familly and wow nothing 40$ about it
SCREW phones , tvs and satellites WE DONT need em | |
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MrMaster
What If
Premium
join:2000-12-16
Austin, TX
clubs:
·RoadRunner Cable
| what about skype? so am I one of the only person here that uses skype for business and personal?
They have come a long way and it averages out to $5 a month with your own number. Hell, it sounds clearer than my crappy AT&T wireless service.
I also use it with Google Voice so both my cell and skype ring at the same time.
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One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done. -Marie Curie | |
| Mordhem
Love it, Hate it.
join:2003-07-10
Baltimore, MD
·Comcast
3 edits | Can I be the first. With the slow roll out of fiber may be soon we will be able to get out the shovels for the funeral of the Bell companys. You know if you think about it, at one time or another every single VoIP customer of Comcast used to be at one time or another a Verizon or AT&T Customer. Comcast should send them a thank you letter. Its funny Verizon is trying to dangle fiber in front of city's faces like teasing a dog. Yet in the mean time they are losing their all of their ground to Comcast with all of the delays with their roll out. Talk about starting a war that apparently they can't finish. Hell by the time they get the laws passed so they can unfairly compete vs Comcast their wont be no more company left.
Hell in a few more years their fiber network will just be at 9% and the rest of the 91% of their network still on old phone lines will now belong to the cable company's namely Comcast.
Yep I can see the Comcast over the Verizon now!
Oh I have not used this in awhile lol.
ALL YOU CUSTOMERS BELONG TO ME!
Ma' Bell's going to be calling Comcast daddy by the end of this one lol. So thats Daddy Comcast to Ma'bell. hahaha | |
| | watts3000
join:2002-01-21
Birmingham, AL
| Re: Can I be the first. I prefer 3rd party voip it's just plain cheaper the cable companies are too expensive. For example I use Tmobiles at home service which is around 12.00 per month with taxes for unlimited nation wide access before Tmobile I had ATT Callvantage which was 25.02 a month. Also the majority of 3rd party voip providers now are pretty much plug and play | |
| | | elray
join:2000-12-16
Santa Monica, CA
·SONIC.NET
·RoadRunner Cable
·Verizon Online DSL
| Re: Can I be the first. said by watts3000 :I prefer 3rd party voip it's just plain cheaper the cable companies are too expensive. For example I use Tmobiles at home service which is around 12.00 per month with taxes for unlimited nation wide access before Tmobile I had ATT Callvantage which was 25.02 a month. Also the majority of 3rd party voip providers now are pretty much plug and play This whole thread ignores some inconvenient facts:
1) Cable is a last-mile provider. Not exactly a "landline", but enjoys a distinct advantage in that its telephony services are IP, but *not* Internet-routed. Consumers don't know this, but it is reflected in the call quality and consistency. "3rd party" voip may be cheaper, but it is at the mercy of the Internet and your ISP.
2) Cable has a real service fleet to make up for its customer service and tech support, unlike Vonage, MJ, or any other pretend phone company.
3) Conversions from telco are driven by the madness that is "doing business with telco" and the laundry list of extra fees and taxes, and the first-year bundle rates cable offers.
This can be undone if telco offers an equivalent package: flat-rate calling with all custom calling features, inside wire maintenance and taxes included, for $35/month, $50 with 3M DSL. Make the bill end in ".00". | |
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VoIP Generated $21 Billion In Just Six Months
At least with VOIP there are choices ...
Re: At least with VOIP there are choices ...
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